Lars Barriga

"Bingo, bongo!"

Lars Ulrich, better known simply as A Bad Drummer, is a resident of Beach City and a former employee at the Big Donut along with Sadie. He debuted in the Pilot. Lars was previously a normal human, before his abduction to the Gem Homeworld, where he died and was resurrected by Steven's healing powers. As a result of his revival, Lars was turned pink and given his own set of magical abilities. Since his revival, Lars has taken up the role of a captain, with the Off Colors as his crew, to rebel against the Gem Homeworld and escape the planet to reach Earth.

Appearance
Lars is lanky and somewhat tall. He wears tunnels in his stretched earlobes. His curly, orange-brown hair is styled into a sort of mohawk. He usually wears a white-gray long-sleeved shirt with a green shirt sporting a snake design over it along with a pair of ripped, dark blue jeans. In regards to his shoes, Lars is often seen wearing mint and dark-green high top sneakers. At the Big Donut, his work uniform is a violet T-shirt with a half-eaten donut design on it worn over a pale cream long-sleeved shirt.

In "Joking Victim", Lars is seen wearing a honey-brown T-shirt with a purple-red scorpion on it, which is a reference to when Buck Dewey tells Lars that the snake on his shirt is "nasty" in "Lars and the Cool Kids". In "Horror Club", he wears skull plugs in his gauges and dons a long-sleeved black shirt with a red jacket that is also seen in "Lars and the Cool Kids". In the pilot episode, Lars wore a cyan shirt with a salmon collar and black trousers.

Before getting abducted Lars wore a black shirt with a sea green skull, army blue pants, and black and white sneakers. Both his pants and shirt were ripped and tore after fighting off Shattering Robonoids. After being brought back to life by Steven in "Off Colors", his skin and hair are now pink (the same hues as Lion) with a scar on his right eye. When he becomes a space pirate, Lars starts wearing a burgundy uniform with white pants, black gloves and black boots with a black cape similar to the outfit worn by the anime and manga character Captain Harlock.

Personality
Lars has a bit of a mean personality which he uses to hide his low self-esteem, which is shown to have been carried over from his childhood, as seen in "Horror Club". Lars liked to put on a facade to make it appear like he didn't need any help from anyone and to make it appear like he was a "cool kid". Lars acted this way to once again hide his low self-esteem. Because of this, he often clashed with Steven who had a completely different ideology to him; Lars is someone who refuses help and Steven is someone who is always looking for ways to assist people. When Lars' facade is put at risk or there is a chance that people may catch on to who he really is, Lars will often act with anger such as when he called Rose Quartz weird to Steven's face when her magic moss began engulfing the Cool Kids. Lars' desire to maintain such a prestigious image came to a point where he would rather skip work to hang out with the Cool Kids, lying to Sadie in the process in order to do so.

At the core, Lars isn't a mean person even though he puts on an act that makes it seem like he is one. Despite his rude facade, he seems to have a bit of a soft side that has been brought out time and time again by Sadie and Steven. During the events of "I Am My Mom" and "Stuck Together", Lars reveals that he feels like a "wuss" and doesn't understand why Steven thinks that he is capable of doing anything. Lars also hints that he may be inspired by Steven because he says "I've always just been stupid and afraid. Not like you. You're always helping people. You're never afraid". At times, Lars may have been a coward such as when he ran away from the potluck out of fear during "The Good Lars" and when he failed to help Sadie who was in danger from Topaz in "I am My Mom". It is for these reasons of low self-esteem that Lars puts on his facade in the first place.

Lars appears to not have much motivation to do anything before he was taken to Homeworld during the events of "Wanted". For example, Lars was failing most of his classes as revealed in "The New Lars" and slacked off during "Joking Victim" where he took advantage of a minor back injury to get out of work. Sadie has mentioned that Lars has tendencies to turn up late to work and clock out early, as shown in "Lion 3: Straight to Video".

Through the course of the Wanted event, Lars begins showing a more determined side, sick of constantly being helped by Steven. In "Off Colors", he fights off some Robonoids that were pursuing Steven, the Off Colors, and himself, even at the cost of his own life. In "Lars' Head", Lars is shown to be willing to let Steven and the Off Colors go to Earth at the cost of being left behind. He convinced Steven to go back to Earth as a way to repay him for always trying to help him and to be someone who deserved Steven's help.

When Steven returned to Earth, Lars became very close with the Off Colors during their travels in an attempt to return to Earth. Over time, Lars grew into a leadership role and became captain of the Off Colors; this new position allowed Lars to have a major self-esteem boost, because when Steven reunited with Lars in "Lars of the Stars", Lars was much more brave, courageous, and cunning when leading his crew to battle against Emerald. Lars has also become a strategic leader. Even though Lars has experienced so much from his time in space, he continues to retain his feelings of jealousy when seeing Sadie hangout with the Cool Kids, who he believes should be him. Although a new side to Lars has opened up, this fact may still imply that Lars suffers from self-esteem issues.

Powers
It is possible that Lars shares all abilities displayed by Lion, but as of "Lars' Head", only these two abilities mentioned above have been portrayed. It is possible that he also shares Lion's longevity, as Lion is shown to be at least two hundred years old, but this ability would obviously be difficult to prove. According to Rebecca Sugar, Lars could have the same powers as Lion but he has his own limits.
 * Dimensiokinesis: Lars can manipulate dimensions, though this ability is instinctive and not directly controllable.
 * Pocket Dimension: Due to being resurrected by Steven, Lars displays the same pocket dimension ability as Lion, with access through his hair. This dimension is a vast pink Savannah that now includes two grassy hills, one with an acacia tree and another with a tree resembling an oak. As shown in "Lars' Head", Steven (and others, demonstrated by Connie in "Lars of the Stars") can travel through one entrance and exit through the other.
 * Supernatural Stamina: After being revived by Steven, Lars stated that he was not hungry, even after not eating for a few days, after getting kidnapped by Topaz and Aquamarine and getting taken to Homeworld. Steven also noticed that Lars has a heart rate, but it was extremely slow.

Skillset

 * Culinary expertise: Lars has been shown to be very skilled at baking and cooking. This is first revealed in "Island Adventure", when Sadie and Steven comment on how great the fish Lars cooked was. This ability is further explored in "The Good Lars". This ability is a source of some embarrassment to him, and he considers it "lame".

Sadie Miller
Lars worked with Sadie at the Big Donut. They were often seen at Beach City events and gatherings together, as seen in "Tiger Millionaire" and at the end of "Steven and the Stevens". Sadie has a crush on Lars since long before the events of "Island Adventure", but he has never been aware of it. In "Island Adventure", they grow closer and end up making out briefly until Steven, unaware of the inherent intimacy and privacy of the situation, awkwardly interrupts them and ruins the moment.

In subsequent episodes, he seemed to have returned Sadie's feelings as he was visibly uncomfortable and showed signs of jealousy when Ronaldo got along well with Sadie in "Horror Club". In "The New Lars", Lars rejects Sadie's offer to hang out with her after their job. When questioned why he does this by Steven, Lars says that he does not like Sadie romantically and if she thinks that, "that's her problem." Later on, after Lars finds out that Steven (in Lars' body) confessed his love to Sadie, he immediately became interested in what Sadie's response was. Sadie comes into the Big Donut, and Lars asks if she wants to come by to his house. She accepts, leaving Steven to know that the two are in love.

In "The Good Lars", his and Sadie's relationship continues to be strained as she tries to help him become closer with the Cool Kids—like he's always wanted—after they invite him to their potluck. (He even makes a comment saying how he refused to show up to the party with Sadie and the cake: "If I show up to this party with my family's weird purple cake and with Sadie, everybody's gonna know I love baking and everybody's gonna know I love..."). However, out of fear, Lars does not show up to the potluck, and Sadie comments to Steven while they're leaving that she wishes she could make Lars change into a happier, more confident person. This same point is emphasized, in the episode "I Am My Mom", when Sadie calls out to Lars for help after being captured by a Topaz and he instead runs away to hide. During "Stuck Together", Lars expresses regret for not helping Sadie at that moment, showing that his fears even affect his decisions regarding people he cares about, such as Sadie.

There are more insights and breakthroughs regarding Lars' feelings for Sadie especially in the episode, "Lars of the Stars". Lars gets visibly upset after hearing from Steven that Sadie has been doing perfectly fine since he last saw her (before getting trapped in space). His reactions of shock and disappointment are at first small as he begins looking through pictures of Sadie on Steven's phone, commenting, "She looks really happy," and, "I don't believe this." Yet his preoccupation with how she's doing even leaves him unresponsive when the entire Off Colors crew, Steven, Connie, and the Sun Incinerator ship all sound alarms, call for his help, and fill the screens with red and orange 'Warning' signs announcing Emerald's approach. Still, before responding to anyone or anything in this environment, Lars' face flushes as he shouts at Sadie's picture, "How's she having such a good time without me?," zooming in on her grinning face as he further exclaims, "Does she even know I died out here?" Lars' initial conclusions about Sadie are that (a) Steven doesn't understand Sadie's motives, and (b) Sadie is "getting back at [Lars] for everything [he's] done" in order to hurt him. Lars furthermore only answers Connie's reason-based question, "Do you really think Sadie is living her life just to get back at you?", with his own emotionally-based question, "Why else would [Sadie] be having so much fun [with the Cool Kids] without me?"

Despite these hurt feelings and misunderstanding, however, Lars willingly chooses to listen to Steven and Connie while they explain Sadie's worries, as well as how she chose to try and move forward instead of remaining sad and inactive. Connie and Steven's words especially connect with Lars when the two offer a comparison between Lars' choices after being stranded in space with Sadie's choices: "Are you doing any of this to hurt Sadie?" It is here that Lars begins to directly share his feelings about Sadie, saying, "No! I'm doing this because I have to. I'd never do this to hurt Sadie. Because..." (before Steven and Connie finish his sentence with their own words: "You're best friends!") Although Lars then turns his attention back to his crew and their needs, it's shown through his happier expression—as he glances one more time at Sadie's smiling picture before handing the phone back to Steven—that he's glad Sadie is doing well rather than worrying about him constantly.

Steven Universe
"You're always trying to help me. You brought me back to life. Just let me be somebody who deserved it." In early episodes, Lars appears to be annoyed by Steven often, because he saw him as a little kid that cramps his "cool teenager style". Despite this, Steven was oblivious to this fact and, as younger kids often do, look up to the older and cooler Lars and desperately wanted to be accepted by him. Lars used this admiration for him to make Steven a target of his jokes and mockery often. Even so, Steven still refers to him as his "BFF" in "Bubble Buddies", despite his attempts to make fun of him and does not even mind risking getting third-degree burns all over his body for a slim chance of receiving a high-five from Lars.

In "Lars and the Cool Kids", when Lars angers Steven and is called a jerk for insulting Rose, he shows remorse for his actions, understanding he had pushed his annoyance at Steven too far. As a result, Lars finds a way to connect to Steven better, and they get on better terms, with him respecting him a lot more as a result of underestimating him. He even gives Steven the high five he has wanted, but in his way, which is on each other's chest.

In later episodes, Lars had not insulted Steven since but is still annoyed by him often, especially when he nearly ruins his friendship with Sadie in "The New Lars". He is also shocked that the people of Beach City had liked him better when Steven was in his body, feeling more feelings of annoyance towards himself, and Steven. In "The Good Lars", Lars is more open to including Steven in his friendship, taking his advice to bake the ube cake and letting him help. When Steven insists for Lars to open up about his feelings, he is also willing to tell him the truth, showing that his trust has developed in him. He also takes Steven's advice to heart, asking when he even matured, since their early interactions.

In "Stuck Together", Lars is upset to have been taken with Steven on Aquamarine and Topaz's ship to Homeworld. He blames Steven for it, and although he takes full responsibility, Lars still shows a lack of halfheartedness to help himself get home. When his actions anger Steven, Lars gets upset, asking Steven why he thinks he is capable of helping him and doing these tasks successfully, classing himself as a "wuss" who is easily afraid, unlike him. He admits being always jealous how Steven can deal with everything with his life and how everyone loves him. After Steven admits being afraid of going to Homeworld, he tells him that he is glad he is with him despite the circumstances, much to his delight, and they bond over the similar feeling. Lars also becomes unwilling to leave Steven behind when Topaz offered them a way back to Earth.

This newfound closeness and bond develop more in "Off Colors", because of the unfamiliar environment of Homeworld to both of them, they stay together. While in the kindergarten, Lars acknowledges his actions for not helping Sadie and running away, which later transfers in the Robonoid attack. When Steven reassures him it was okay to be afraid, Lars realizes he was the only one holding himself back and saves everyone in the attack, costing him his life. In "Lars' Head", he shows a new devotion to helping Steven as a way to pay him back for always helping Lars including saving his life. When he convinces Steven to go back to Earth and Steven puts his hand on Lars' chest, he bats it away and hugs Steven, showing how close Steven has grown on him since the beginning.

Ronaldo Fryman
In "Horror Club", Lars and Ronaldo are seen to be childhood friends, but their relationship becomes strained after Ronaldo takes a picture of Lars being hit in the face by a board in a Gem-possessed lighthouse which sends him flying. Ronaldo wants to release the photo to media as proof of the paranormal; however, Lars is embarrassed by the photo, worried about what others would think of him, and tears up the photo, much to the dismay of Ronaldo, which leads to their falling out. Lars seems still to be bothered by this event, as he is described by Ronaldo to be "emotionally disturbed".

The Cool Kids
Lars desperately wants to be friends with the "cool kids" and finds anything that they do or say to be cool/hilarious. He will even change his opinion based solely on what they think, even though they do not seem to be bothered by differing opinions. When they first meet, the "cool kids" only tolerate Lars because he is friends with Steven in the episode "Lars and the Cool Kids"; however, they gradually came to accept Lars into their group of friends. They are later seen happily hanging out with him in "Joking Victim" and Jenny thanked him for inviting them over. They are also seen together during the Beach-a-Palooza in the episode "Sadie's Song".

Dante and Martha Barriga
Not much is shown of Lars' relationship with his parents, but they are shown to be generally supportive despite his poor attitude, which they try to talk to him about. It is implied that whenever they talk to him about his grades, he would loudly yell at them, possibly swearing. While they love their son, when it appeared that he is robbing Steven's house they are shocked but ultimately not surprised. Lars' parents are devastated when they learn he is still stuck in space, and Martha throws a tomato at then-Mayor Bill Dewey in anger towards his insensitivity towards their loss. They later provide Steven with a care package to give him during Steven's next visit.

Off Colors
After saving them from a group of Shattering Robonoids, at the cost of his own life, the Off Colors accepted Lars as a member of their own. When he offers them a way to live on Earth, they reject it, as Fluorite states that they will stay with him to help him survive on Homeworld and get back home.

By the time of "Lars of the Stars", the other Off Colors view Lars as their leader and refer to him as Captain Lars.

Trivia

 * Along with Sadie, Lars is one of the first human characters to be shown in either the main series or the pilot.
 * He is sometimes antagonistic towards Steven and Sadie, but he is not technically an "antagonist".
 * Lars and Sadie were some of Rebecca Sugar's first characters, made while she attended college.
 * On the Steven Universe Character Page on cartoonnetwork.com, it says in Lars' description that he is a "High School Slacker", implying that he is currently in high school.
 * This is cited in "The New Lars".
 * Lars does not like fries, as revealed in "Frybo".
 * Lars attends Beach City's underground wrestling arena with Sadie.
 * Rebecca Sugar has confirmed that Lars is banned from the local video game store in Beach City. This is also confirmed by Sadie in the episode "Joking Victim".
 * It has been implied that Lars might have a relationship with Sadie that is beyond friendship since they kissed and had a falling out in "Island Adventure".
 * In "Horror Club", Lars still has feelings for Sadie as he tries to gain her attention to the annoyance of Ronaldo and Steven.
 * His birth name is presumably "Laramie", as he is called by Martha and Dante in "The New Lars", meaning that "Lars" is a self-given nickname.
 * His birth name is of French origin, meaning "tears of love", which could be foreshadowing to how he is revived.
 * His last name is revealed to be Barriga in Keep Beach City Weird: You Can't Hide the Truth!!!, and is mentioned in-show in "Dewey Wins".
 * "Barriga" also means "belly" in many languages (including ones such as Asturian, Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish).
 * Ian Jones-Quartey stated that Lars is not white and later confirmed that Lars is of Filipino descent.
 * Lars was originally designed with black hair and a darker skin tone in the pilot.
 * His surname, Barriga, is of Spanish origin, a common trait among Filipino surnames due to Spanish influence in the Philippines.
 * In "The Good Lars", Lars reveals he is very familiar with eating and baking with Ube, a species of purple yams that are popular in the Philippines.
 * It is revealed in "The New Lars" that he sleeps naked.
 * As of "Stuck Together", Lars is the first human to set foot on Homeworld.
 * As a full human, Lars is undetectable by Shattering Robonoids, who can only lock on to Gems' gemstones.
 * As of "Off Colors", Lars is the first human character to have died, then be brought back to life.
 * Lars' revival could offer an explanation about Lion's origins, as well as the reason his fur is pink.
 * Notably, after Lars is revived, the collar of his T-shirt is ripped in three places, forming the rough shape of a star with his collar (two points on his chest, the sides of his collar, and one on his back). This is reminiscent of Lion's mane, the shape of which also roughly forms a star.
 * As of "Lars' Head", Lars is the first known full human to gain Gem-like abilities due to Steven reviving him.
 * In the first episode, "Gem Glow", Lars' head appears more square than in his later appearances.
 * Lars' captain uniform, as seen in "Lars of the Stars", resembles Harlock's uniform from the 1970's anime series Space Pirate Captain Harlock. Lars also has a scar over his eye where Captain Harlock has an eye patch.
 * Lars' catchphrase "Bingo, bongo", is coincidentally the name of a 1982 movie parodying Tarzan.
 * He shares the same skin and hair color with Pink Diamond. Lion's fur colors are also identical to both Pink Diamond and Lars' skin and hair colors.

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