#goodbye steven

And that’s...

...the show.

That’s Steven Universe.

That’s the end of the most important show I’ve ever watched.

That was...perfect.  I wasn’t sure if they were going to nail it, but they did.  I was crying through half the episode, really blubbering.  I could barely take it.  This was SO good.

Steven Universe...what a show.  This show was so important.  It broke so much ground, and it affected my life in countless ways.  I don’t know where I’d be without Steven Universe, but I don’t think I’d be anywhere near as happy.  This show means so much to me, and I’m sad to see it go.

It’s the end of an era.  I...wow.  I finished Steven Universe.  That’s it.  It’s done.  I can’t believe it.  One hundred and eighty liveblogging sessions.  A little shy of twenty thousand screenshots, counting the ones on my old fried laptop.  4.46 million views.  It’s nuts.  What a journey.

According to my Discord chat, I’m the first person to liveblog every episode of Steven universe?  Some people beat me to the final episode, but they’re ones that started midway through the show.  Who’d’ve thought I’d be the first getting from start to finish?  Crazy.

I’m stunned.  I can’t believe it’s over.  It...man, I’m gonna talk in circles here for a minute, but this show changed my life.  I can’t believe it’s over.  I can’t believe it.  There’s no more Steven Universe for me to watch.

I thought it would feel like there was a hole in my life, but instead I feel...complete.  That finale really finished it off for me in such a satisfactory way.  That sense of completeness is really buoying me in a time when I thought I’d be absolutely crushed.  It’s amazing.

I did it.  I made it all the way from start to finish.  That’s Steven Universe.

Goodbye, Pearl.  Goodbye, Connie.  Goodbye, Amethyst.  Goodbye, Garnet.  Goodbye, Greg.  Goodbye, Peridot.  Goodbye, Lapis,  Goodbye, Bismuth.  Goodbye, Ruby.  Goodbye, Sapphire.  Goodbye, Sadie, and Lars, and Onion, goodbye Sour Cream and Buck and Jenny and Ronaldo.  Goodbye, everyone.

Goodbye, Steven.  I’m going to miss you so much.

The Future comes in at my new #1 for Season 6, displacing Snow Day, and my new #1 for the series, displacing A Single Pale Rose.  Very little in this show is on par with it, and nothing made me cry like it has.  What a capper.  What a perfect sendoff.

I love this show.

If you’d like to read some other Steven Universe liveblogs, now that I’m done, I have a few active ones for you to check out.  Minda Reads is finished with Steven Universe, though he only started with Three Gems and a Baby.   Taz, the SU Workbook, is the newest game in town, and damn is she good at what she does.  Zephyr is another liveblogger that started at the beginning, and he’s halfway through Future, so there’s quite a lot there to read.  MissFineFeather is another liveblogger that started midway, with Can’t Go Back, but is up to Prickly Pair in Future.  All of these people also do other shows and webcomics, so check them out if you want to branch out, too!

As for me...I’m going to take Friday off.  I think I’ve earned it.  Well, off from liveblogging; I’ve got streams like Baba Is You and Final Fantasy VII Remake to do, and I may do those for fun, but I’m taking my usually scheduled Friday off from liveblogging.  I’ll be getting back to liveblogging on Monday, with the Patron Picks, and after that will be more She-Ra; my plan is to finish Season 1 of She-Ra, then take a big bite out of Season 2 of Infinity Train.

This has been a thrill, liveblogging for you.  I hope you Steven Universe fans stick around for the other shows I do, but if not, know this: I treasure every moment we’ve spent together.  It’s all been so important.  You all make this possible, with your patronage and your fandom, and I owe each and every one of you for making me able to do this for a living.  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

I’ll see you next time.  I love you guys.

(For the record, I did this entire liveblog wearing the Shouty Goat shirt that @thischick25 made me years ago.)

IN OTHER NEWS:

Back in January, I completed a blind playthrough of Steven Universe: Save the Light!  You can view the full playlist by clicking here!

I recently completed my playthrough of the second story campaign in Fire Emblem: Three Houses!   You can view all the streams of the Golden Deer and Black Eagles routes I have done by clicking here!

I recently completed a blind playthrough of Hollow Knight on Twitch!  You can watch all the Hollow Knight streams I’ve uploaded to Youtube by clicking here!

If you’d like to help me pay my rent, buy me some food, or help with my bills and medicine, please use my direct donation link!  If you’d like to support me per liveblog completed every month, please pledge to my Patreon! Becoming a patron not only allows you to vote on what shows I do whenever I choose a new one, but also grants access to the community Minecraft server to $5 patrons or higher!

You should also go pledge to Gio’s Patreon–our Discord server maintenance tech, creator of Rubybot, and community Minecraft server overlord deserves far more than I can afford to pledge to him by myself.

If you’d like more of me and my content:

My Episode Lists master page, where you can find every show and liveblog I’ve done!

My Discord server, where you can come hang out with me and other fans, check out member liveblogs, and join community gaming guilds!

My Twitch channel, where I stream variety games every so often!

My Youtube channel, where you can check out past streams!

My ask blog, where you can send me questions and comments!

My Twitter, where I make announcements about liveblogs and streams!

It’s your kindness and support that lets me do this stuff, and I wouldn’t be where I am without all of you to do it for.  Thank you all so much for your support, and for tuning in every episode!

OTHER PEOPLE YOU MAY ENJOY:

It’s not some magical allegory to mental illness, it’s not some metaphorical fantasy version that gets healed with special powers, it’s spelled out. Priyanka Maheswaran talks about PTSD and untreated trauma, Steven describes impostor syndrome and believing he’s a monster, exhibiting neurotic guilt and shame, showcasing compulsions. And, just as importantly, he has a support system that seems, on paper, good, but they are unprepared to treat him accordingly and unaware of his state because they normalized the idea that “he’s got this”. The people around him learn to see the neglect they exhibited, even if unaware of it, and wish to learn how to handle things with him. 

Healing, even for a magical healer, is not linear, magical or immediate. 

Specializing in children’s lit as part of my job I always try to connect with the materials from my own experience and think how something would have influenced me as a kid back then, because I feel people sometimes try to think of stuff for kids following certain market patterns but forgetting they once were kids themselves too. 

I was thinking about SU and Future a lot lately and one thing that came to me is that there is a generation that grew up with him. Kids who were 10 when season 1 aired are now 17. It feels insane to me because I’ve been an adult this whole time, but for kids who were children in season 1 this was a major part of their lives. 

Having a show I watched as a kid or even a young teen talk about mental illness, support systems, normalizing therapy, showing the level of emotional turmoil that baggage like a young hero’s can carry, would have probably changed my life. Without getting personal and specific, it wouldn’t have “healed” me but it would have helped tons. Imagining kids growing up with this is a gift.  

I am, even with whatever doubt I may have with one or other aspect, impressed, ecstatic and humbled by what Steven Universe has done throughout its years of existence. This finale encompassed part of that, how it has raised subjects of conversation in the space where it’s most needed, for the kids who may grow learning from a hero who heals but who also needs to heal himself. 

I hope that, much like other great shows before it, Steven Universe begins its own legacy and sets a bar to follow, a bar that provides examples of much needed representation, of deconstructed masculinity, of normalizing subjects that should exist in kids shows (and in all shows), and has enough patience to trust that audiences will pay attention and engage in a story at its own pace, if the story being told is honest. 

I just wanted to say goodbye to my favorite and the most precious show of my life :'( I always had a feeling that it will go on forever and be somewhere around, but sadly everything comes to the end. But most important that the end was great and i really loved it, it left me with strong desire to rewatch everything x)

I honestly can't recommend Steven Universe enough, i felt exstatic from smart it is, and it taught me so many things! It explored things no one explored and did it very well. If u still didn't watch the last season, do it! The most amazing work i've ever seen and very relatable in so many ways..

Honestly, I didn’t think I would feel so inclined to write a farewell letter to Steven Universe, but boy was I wrong. It was October 2015 on a sunny fall afternoon. I was lying on the floor in my room on my phone when I decided I’d give Steven Universe another try. I had seen most of season one in passing but I was too young to really care. But when I watched “Back to the Barn” I was so intrigued that I went back and watched all the episodes before it. I wanted more. I REALLY wanted more. I was hooked on a show that, little did 13 y/o me know then, would alter me and my life for years and years to come.

Steven Universe has influenced me beyond any other show that I’ve watched. I grew up with this show. I loved the characters, I loved the setting, I loved the songs, and I loved the story. Everything about the show I adored. In my darker moments I watched and cried, in my happy moments I watched and laughed. I bonded with my brother over this show, I made new friends over this show. I got back into art for this show. This show was my life. I related so much to the struggles and the joy that Steven had and I still do! It’s hard to make a character so vastly relatable and yet here we are... relating.

SU showed me that no matter the adversities we face we can overcome them. Whether mental, physical, emotional, or circumstantial, we can persevere and learn from those hardships. I’ve become a better person from Steven Universe. I’ve grown, I’ve changed, and so has Steven. As I sit on the cusp of my 18th birthday tomorrow I realize what a wonderful experience I’ve had growing up with this show and everyone involved. I know goodbyes are hard. So Instead I’ll provide a little something more vague.

Everything is a cycle and every end is a new beginning. No matter what happens the cycle will renew and go on for eternity. The memory of the cycle before will remain and go on to influence the next. So yeah sure Steven Universe has ended, but there’s new opportunities right around the bend. This is the beginning of a new cycle, a new era. Steven’s Legacy. So thank you Steven. For all you’ve done for me and for everyone.