| This article is about the group. You may be looking for the episode or the defective gem type. |
| “ |
Gems like us aren't needed. |
” |
| —Fluorite, "Off Colors" | ||
The Off Colors are a group of unaligned Gems who present abnormal physique, behavior, or abilities and have been deemed "defective" and "off-color" by Homeworld's strict standards and Caste System.
They lived reclusively in an abandoned Homeworld Kindergarten for eons before the site was compromised with the arrival of Steven and Lars.
The Off Colors, now with Lars serving as their leader, escaped Homeworld and went on many adventures and committed crimes against Homeworld's regime. Eventually, they stole a ship from Emerald and defeated her in a space battle with the help of Stevonnie, before heading to Earth on a lengthy interstellar trip.
In "Change Your Mind", Lars and the Off Colors finally arrived on Earth to discover Steven had made peace with the Great Diamond Authority, allowing the Off Colors to live without fear. After the events of "Little Graduation", however, most of the Off Colors graduated from Little Homeschool and the team opted to return to space for further adventures.
History[]
Pre-Series (Eons Ago)[]
Because she can only see events that have already happened, Padparadscha was deemed an "off color" by Homeworld and ostracized as a result. Since emerging from their Homeworld Kindergarten, the Rutile Twins were isolated from forming incorrectly, bearing a resemblance of conjoined twins. The twins recalled the other Rutiles running away after seeing their deformed body. Rhodonite and Fluorite were also isolated for being fusions and fled (as Rhodonite's component Pearl and Ruby were even replaced by their Morganite after being caught fusing). These four Gems met each other and remained in hiding in an abandoned Homeworld Kindergarten to avoid being "shattered".
"Off Colors" and "Lars' Head"[]
Steven and Lars are taken to the Homeworld Kindergarten where they meet the Off Colors after the Rutile Twins find them being chased by a Shattering Robonoid. Because of Steven and Lars escaping the trial, Shattering Robonoids searched the desolate area for Steven and Lars, eventually making their way into the Off Colors' home. Defending the Off Colors, Lars sacrifices himself to destroy a Shattering Robonoid that explodes. Accidentally, Lars is brought back to life by Steven's mourning tears. Now magical and pink, Lars persuades Steven to return to Earth in order to ensure his safety, using the new pocket dimension within Lars' head and exiting through Lion. The Off Colors choose to stay with Lars on Homeworld despite his protest.
In Between "Lars' Head" and "Lars of the Stars"[]
After Steven returned to Earth, the Off Colors figured out a way to escape Homeworld. Because Lars could bypass the scanners that detect Gems, he and the Off Colors could steal a ship. Once off Homeworld, Lars and the Off Colors committed various crimes against Homeworld and its outreaches as they attempted to return to Earth. These crimes included stealing Emerald's personal shuttle and crashing it on Upsilon 9, impersonating imperial officers during a "cosmic jubilee", and taking Emerald's fastest ship (the Sun Incinerator) while sixty-seven elite Citrines guarded it on Klavius 7. According to Lars, Emerald was hunting down the Off Colors since "Sector 4". At some point, Lars also stole a cape. These crimes made many enemies of the Off Colors, and Emerald was debriefed of each events causing her trouble.[1] As the Off Color crew were returning to Earth, they were also on the run by the pursuing Emerald.
During this time, Lars grew as a leader, gained a vast amount of knowledge on space travel, created the Star Skipper, and became captain of the Off Colors who would give each Off Color member a specialised position; Padparadscha is the technical adviser, Fluorite is the chief engineer, the Rutile Twins are in charge of maneuvering the Sun Incinerator, and Rhodonite is the head of strategic operations.
"Lars of the Stars"[]
With the Sun Incinerator, Lars and the Off Colors head towards Earth until Emerald tracks them down. During this time, Steven and Connie enter the ship from Lars' pocket dimension in order to give him a package his parents made for him. Emerald vows to destroy the criminals herself through the comms, but Sun Incinerator is able to travel at hyperspeed to delay this threat. Lars and the Off Colors tell Steven and Connie that they are very excited to finally reach Earth after all of their travels. Not long after, Emerald is once again able to track down the Sun Incinerator in her imperial warship: the Destiny Destroyer. Lars orders Rhodonite to drop the Sun Incinerator's shields. When Emerald attacks, she misses on purpose because, as Lars mocks, she values the ship too much to actually destroy it. Emerald instead attempts to prevent the Off Colors from escaping. Meanwhile, Stevonnie travels in the Star Skipper and destroys the Destiny Destroyer's main weapons. Following this, the Destiny Destroyer launches missiles at Stevonnie's ship, causing a crash landing on a nearby planet.
"Jungle Moon"[]
After Stevonnie crash lands, the Off Colors continue looking for them. Stevonnie is able to communicate with them using an old Moon Base communicator, allowing Lars and the Off Colors to pinpoint their location. Stevonnie and the Off Colors are reunited and the Off Colors continue their trip to Earth without being hunted down.
"Your Mother and Mine"[]
Steven first introduces Garnet to the Off Colors in "Your Mother and Mine". She immediately compliments all of them, but inadvertently makes them all feel uncomfortable until she inspires them with the tales of The Real Rose Quartz.
"Letters to Lars"[]
The Off Color crew continue traveling through space. Lars reads a letter sent from Steven about how things are back home, the crew encounter one of Yellow Diamond's Asteroid Mines.
"Change Your Mind"[]
After their long travel across the stars, the Off Colors land in Beach City during a performance of Sadie Killer and the Suspects. Around the same time, The Great Diamond Authority, now reformed and united, land on Earth under Steven's request to heal the Corrupted Gems. The crew were briefly scared and comically propose to surrender, thinking the Diamond Mech came for them. Upon being reassured the good news, the crew and the Diamonds meet and greet. Sadie and Lars meet again and happily banter until Sadie has to return to the stage.
Steven Universe: The Movie[]
The Off-Colors appeared briefly: Lars is seen working at the Big Donut (specifically, baking and serving his trademark Ube Roll). The others are seated on the boardwalk waiting to sample their Captain's baking skills. Later on in the film, the Off-Colors appear to help rescue the citizens of Beach City from Spinel's Injector. Finally, they appear briefly in the "Finale" musical number.
"Little Graduation"[]
The Off Colors, excluding Lars, are the first graduating class of Little Homeschool and are having a graduation party. Steven goes to Lars's bakery Spacetries to get the cake for this celebration. Lars reveals that, after the graduation party, he and the rest of the Off Colors are returning to space, which shocks and confuses Steven. Later that day, Steven begins the ceremony and gives an inspirational keynote to the Off Colors. The Off Colors then move their graduation hat stencils and officially graduate Little Homeschool.
Lars attempts to leave the party afterwards, but Steven enters his pink state and traps him and the rest of the partygoers in a diamond-shaped dome in an unintentional attempt to keep Lars (and by extension, the rest of his friends) from leaving. Steven unsuccessfully attempts to deactivate the dome and refuses to take responsibility for the situation by blaming it on Lars' attempted departure. Shep, Sadie's new romantic partner, figures out the reasoning behind the dome, and by assuring Steven that his friends will be there for him while still being allowed to live their lives without him, the dome is deactivated successfully. Steven says his goodbyes to Lars and the Off Colors, and the crew leave Earth to explore space once again.
Members[]
- Lars Barriga - An ally and member of the Off Colors after the events of "Lars' Head". He is now pink and has powers since being resurrected by Steven after his death. Lars later becomes the captain of the Off Colors.
- Fluorite - The presumed original leader of the Off Colors, and a fusion of six Gems.
- Padparadscha - A member, and a defective Sapphire that can only have visions of events slightly in the past.
- Rutile Twins - A member and a defective Rutile split into two during formation.
- Rhodonite - A member, and a fusion of a Pearl and a Ruby.
Allies[]
- Steven Universe - A member of the Crystal Gems, and close friend of Lars. He promises that Earth is a safe haven for Gems like them.
- Connie Maheswaran - A member of the Crystal Gems. She accompanies Steven during his visit to the Sun Incinerator through both Lars' and Lion's wormholes.
- Stevonnie - A fusion of Steven and Connie, who aids Lars on attacking Emerald by destroying her Destiny Destroyer using the Star Skipper. After crash landing on a former Homeworld colony, they are later rescued and sent back to Earth.
- Garnet - The fusion of Ruby and Sapphire, and the current leader of the Crystal Gems. Steven first introduces Garnet to the Off Colors in "Your Mother and Mine".
- Lion - A member of the Crystal Gems. Just like Lars, he was resurrected and gained dimensional powers through this experience.
Trivia[]
- In general, the term "off-color" refers to Gems that have flaws and as such are looked down upon by Gem society.
- In "That Will Be All", the Beta Kindergarten Quartz guards employed in Pink Diamond's Zoo (the Jaspers and Carnelian who are members of the "Famethyst") are referred to as "off-colored" by Holly Blue Agate.
- Earlier in production, there were intended to be two more Off Colors, two Gems named Flint and Chert. They would have a moral detachment to fighting and thereby go against their intended purposes.[2]
- Alongside the number of Off Colors being too great, these two planned characters would also not fit in with the current group of Off Colors, as their only abnormality regards what they believe but not also who they are.
- The characters later appeared in "Homeworld Bound", though they are not a part of the Off Colors.
Gallery
References
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