STEVEN UNIVERSE Conceivin' Steven

Steven Universe is a special boy. He is the first ever hybrid of a human and a Gem. Gems are an alien race of transmorphological, sentient gemstones taking human form while on Earth. Steven's dad, Greg, is a human and his mom, Rose Quartz, was a Gem. But Rose was no ordinary Gem. She was the leader of the Crystal Gems, a group of rebels who fought off the others from her home world when it was revealed that their mission on Earth was to transform the planet into a Gem-generating station, depleting its resources and killing all of its aboriginal life in the process. But in spite of their political differences, Rose loved the Gems. And she loved her son very much and wanted him to know the full potential of both his human and Gem heritage and so, when Steven was born, she gave up her physical form so that she could pass her gem, and therefore her very essence, onto him.

Today is Steven's 14th birthday and he is celebrating it with his father, the other Crystal Gems and his best friend, Connie, at his father's uncle's farm just outside of Beach City where they lived. Connie is twelve and three quarters and was surprised to learn that Steven is older than her. She thought, because they were the same height, that the two of them were the same age. The explanation is a bit complex. Gems are made, not born. They start as the perfectly shaped, highly concentrated forms of energy that is their gem. In the case of Steven's friends, these gems are a garnet, an amethyst and a pearl, which are the names they go by, Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. The gems provide the energy to create their physical form and sustains them throughout their lives, which can last many millennia. As such, to a human, the Crystal Gems do not seem to grow or age. And Steven, being half Gem, grows and ages at a very different rate than Connie. However, the gems also allow the beings to alter their physical form briefly if needed and, in an attempt to make Connie more comfortable with her perception of Steven at 14, Steven forced his physical form to stretch to the size a 14 year old should be. But he would soon learn that this kind of manipulation does not come without consequences. The prolonged shape shifting weakened his gem's ability to maintain his original physical form, and after nearly a full morning and afternoon of being stretched, Steven's gem snapped his body all the way back to baby form while it recuperated. This upset him and he had no other recourse in his new state but to let out his frustration and embarrassment with a long wailing cry.

Greg, who had raised Steven alone from birth knew the best method for soothing baby Steven - a long drive in the van. That had always worked before. But Greg had long ago removed Steven's car seat from the van so Amethyst, Steven's Crystal Gem friend, volunteered to take the shape of Steven's seat for the time it would take to calm him down. Connie, not wanting to miss any part of Steven's birthday, came along for the ride to keep her friend company. In his infant form, Steven was unable to use his words so Greg thought it best to pick up some diapers before heading out so as to avoid any accidents. Amethyst, as Steven's car seat, wholly approved of this idea.

It took a couple of hours on the road but in the end it was Connie's friendship, comforting and reassurances that the two would always be friends, no matter what, that finally got Steven to calm down. It was just at that moment that Amethyst cleared her throat in an effort to gain Greg's attention.

"What, Amethyst," Greg said, a little perturbed that she might get Steven's crying started again. But Amethyst was trying to be helpful.

"Baby Steven needs changin'," she reported. Connie and Greg smiled at one another, amused by the situation Amethyst was in, as Greg pulled the van over. By the time Greg got out and slid the side door open, Amethyst had already reverted back to her natural physical form and was holding the baby in her arms. Greg was impressed how maternal Amethyst looked with what he suspected was no previous experience.