what do you think of how lapis left the moon base?

faelapis:

i’m pretty happy about it! i was worried they were gonna have her decide that Friendship Matters Most, but they didn’t. they didn’t avoid her problems, and i appreciate that.

i’ve seen posts about, like, if steven had hid his diamond dream from lapis, it would have all worked out. she’d come back to earth… but uh. that’s kinda the point? i don’t want steven to shield lapis from anything uncomfortable. because he and peridot have done that. a LOT. they’ve been so concerned with seeing her as the Traumatized Person who Cannot be Upset in Any Way, that they refuse to confront her with difficult choices. or admit her faults. or address them. so she can grow as a person.

it makes sense with the characters, yes… but. that’s why you need a payoff like this: steven, through his own mistake, sets lapis off and is explicitly told – by lapis herself – that she is not like him and his friends.

she is not going to fight for earth, even if she cares about him and peridot. her priority is herself. because – and this is the kicker – rather than helping lapis become a better person, peridot and steven both assumed she already was. they assumed challenging her would just Upset Her.

this is why peridot’s reform arc worked so well: there was a lot of gentleness, and a lot of hope. however. steven was honest when he was upset with her. he didn’t dismiss it when she did something harmful. a good example of this is “too far”: steven directly calls her out for hurting amethyst’s feelings, and – while we understand where peridot is coming from and why she acts this way – she is challenged as a character. she has to apologize.

that never happens to lapis.

not once.

even when she feels guilty about her actions, steven doesn’t say anything. he’s too scared. he doesn’t want to deal with lapis as a flawed person. he’s too hyper-fixated on her trauma to address her faults. he knows what she’s been through, and he’s gotten used to making excuses for her when she does harmful crap.

”the message” is a perfect example of this: greg has gotten his leg broken by lapis. she stole the earth’s ocean, for her own sake, and tried to kill steven and connie. most people would agree that – after all of that – he has the right to write her a diss track. but all steven heard were the words “super mean”, and he decides whooops, that’s too far.

his response song – “lapis lazuli” – is the embodiment of how he sees her: her motivation. her feelings. there is not a single line about her actions. greg’s trauma is secondary. the only allusion to what she did with those feelings was that lapis was “so mad, but then you came around to me”.

and that makes sense for steven! this isn’t a callout post for him – lapis was his first “project”. i think he attaches some of his own self-esteem to being able to handle her.

both times steven have set lapis off about a threat – the diamonds – it’s been through assuming that lapis would be a lot more reasonable than she is. he basically saw her as a Crystal Gem Lite: someone with her own issues, but who would always save the day.

so… to hide his dream from her would have been to give lapis a freebie she didn’t deserve. instead of hand-waving her conflict – again, by having steven lie to her, for her own comfort, which was apparently a thing people wanted? – she is confronted with a choice. and she leaves.

because at this point, lapis lazuli is so emotionally volatile that even the idea of a threat sets her survival instinct off. this forces her to look inside herself and choose that her own survival is what matters most, even if that isolates her. and that’s a good thing.

because lapis should yknow. have flaws. and it makes sense. it’s a direct consequence of not just what happened to her, but what she’s done wrong. how peridot responded. how steven responded.

at this point in time, she chooses survival over confronting her demons.

of course, i’m not saying that lapis is bereft of hope, or that steven is responsible for her choices. that would be silly. he’s just a nice boy who wants to help. it’s her, not him, and she’s coming back someday.

but the reason i’m often “harder” on her than on other characters is because she’s in a very unique position. for all intents and purposes – to steven – lapis is season one rose. she is someone he refuses to confront. he does not want to think anything bad of her. if someone suggests otherwise, they are Mean and Wrong, and should just hand the “phone” (narrative) to him.

for steven, lapis remains an idol of innocence. just as rose was. she just sits upon a throne of victimhood rather than a throne of heroism.

this is why she is not reformed yet. steven didn’t think she needed to be.