#something better

Something Better - Chapter 22 - faelapis - Steven Universe (Cartoon) [Archive of Our Own]

Something Better chapter 22, “The Last Crystal Gem”, is out now!

Something Better is my post-Future canon compliant Jasper fanfic, her search to find purpose in life without a Diamond, without Steven, and without knowing who she is anymore.

In this chapter… look, it’s a lot. You’re just gonna have to strap in.

jasper’s gonna have to confront a very, er, “unique” version of the trolley problem in this chapter.

huge fan of the various expressions i’ve seen of existentialism lately, usually in the form of a kind of sartre-inspired existential atheism / absurdism of living without purpose, hierarchy, set meaning or true finality + the bittersweetness of constantly trying to find lasting connection and happiness that way (steven universe, su future, everything everywhere all at once).

but also. also. when am i getting a kirkegaard “either/or” type show which examines, from a more spiritual or “sartre-critical” light, the way that a lot of our lives without meaning becomes distractions, that the aesthete seemingly cannot be happy in a lasting way and is always afraid of boredom. like yes i do yearn for a new interesting thing to come along which can never last, and always returns to boredom. basically comparing and contrasting the apollonian vs dionysian urges of selfless purpose vs selfish pleasure.

and by “when,” i mean that actually may or may not have some kind of plan similar in my fic “something better,” and this contradiction may be further exploring this topic in SU but with greater emphasis on the complications and critique of a selfish life, even if it doesn’t steer totally into “either/or” territory.

idil ahmed