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Actually, we have already seen White Diamond.   Remember “Serious Steven”?   Yup, I think that was WD.

alright ive got a theory here

the diamond authority symbol? its in the order of hierarchy

pink is at the bottom because she is the “child” of them all

blue & yellow are equal in power. thats why we’ve seen them together so much. 

the reason we havent seen white diamond is because she is the most powerful of them all. & oh boy

i am not ready to see her

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I think I know who killed PD, how and why

OK, I'm going to throw this out here - kill it if it's not supposed to be, but MAJOR SPOILER warning.

 We finally got to see PD in action.   Kind of a bratty, selfish gem, hmmm?  And YD is already getting tired of PD getting in her way.

 So, just SUPPOSE a gem was grown to watch over PD, take care of her, maybe even be able to heal her if she hurt herself.   Pink of course since she'd work with PD, bad-ass fighter to protect PD,   healing ability in case something happened to her ... in short, this is why Rose Quartz was made.

 Maybe Rose and PD became good friends.

  But we know diamonds always have a pearl.  If you saw the episode  where Pearl took Steven to space in a homemade ship, you may remember Pearl's suit had a Pink Diamond emblem in the chest.  Hmm.   And suppose Pearl fell for Rose and PD found out about it?  

 PD's not the sharing kind.

 So suppose - besides planning to destroy the earth - Rose finds out PD plans to shatter Pearl, because Rose and Pearl are 'best friends'.

 Suppose Pearl and Rose make a plan to deal with that.

 No way Rose can sneak up on PD, but Pearl?   Pearls are always right there by their diamond, aren't they?  And Pearl knows a LOT about swords, doesn't she?   And in 'Cat Fingers', Pearl reminds Steven "all gems can shapeshift".  

 Something else I learned.   While diamonds have a very hard surface, if you strike one at just the right place with a thin but strong metal blade, every diamond had tiny faults and will break in to pieces.

 In other words, hit a diamond in the right place with a really good sword, and it shatters.

 That's why Rose had healing abilities, a really impressive sword AND shield, and why ... as the Zircon observed during Steven's trial, PD's pearl was nowhere to be seen when PD was shattered ... by a really impressive sword.

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Cody, 2005-2017

Best of friends, true family, companion, guide and teacher.

I will see you again as soon as God lets me.

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The Secret History of Twin Peaks - the Anomalies

[warning - long read ]

Last year, Mark Frost released “The Secret History of Twin Peaks”, a dossier written by an author known as The Archivist.   While media suggested that the book would fill in blanks about what the main characters have been doing since 1991, the dossier was mostly about the past; the dosser did not catch up to the end of Season Two until page 204, and even then a lot of the material was filler on character pasts.    The dossier included news accounts, historical reports, letters and various documents ... and it’s there that the anomalies in the book become important.  Frost went to a lot of trouble to create an authentic look and feel, yet I found a dozen documents in the book with contradictions.  I must conclude that the contradictions were deliberately placed for the reader’s benefit.   I will walk through these anomalies in the order they appeared in the book.

First, I will note that the identity of the Archivist is Major Garland Briggs, the Air Force officer stationed in Twin Peaks to oversee Listening Post Alpha.   He wrote his notes using a Corona Super G typewriter.  So far, so good, but this detail matters when certain documents are closely examined.

So, I start on page 79 where Dougie Milford enlisted the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked.   

  The first point I find interesting, is that President Roosevelt did not even address the nation to talk about the Pearl Harbor raid until the evening of December 8th.  But OK, maybe Dougie was just extra patriotic and wanted to get in as soon as possible.   

So there it is, Douglas Milford joins the United States ... Air Force.

  Uh, there was no “U.S. Air Force” until 1947.   Before that it was the U.S. Army Air Corps, and in 1941 anyone joining would have just joined the Army.  Also, isn’t it kind of weird that Milford is in uniform when he enlisted?

That’s an anomaly folks.  An important discrepancy.

The next anomaly shows up on page 80:

First, that’s the same photo as his enlistment document.  The department name is now appropriate for the time frame ... but neither Milford nor the issuing officer signed it.   That invalidates the I,D,   Anomaly #2.

The next anomaly shows up on page 92, when Briggs reports that Milford finds the money to buy himself a brand new Buick.

First, look a that date:  July 14, 1947.   Teresa’s review of the archivist notes that he has a peculiar habit of using a capital I in place of the number 1.   Note also that the small letter l looks more like a 1 than does the I, and the receipt shows that the l was a clear option.   Yet the date is shown as July I4, 1947, using a font identical to the Corona Super G ... which did not exist in 1947.

Note also that the address for Milford is missing; we only get “Twin Peaks”.  No automobile dealer would leave off the street address, as this is necessary for the state vehicle registration.   But there’s more:

The detail on the dale shows Milford bought a 1947 Roadmaster (that I in place of 1, again), with Air Conditioning.   But Buick did not offer air conditioning in their cars until 1953, so this receipt cannot be authentic.  It looks good, but is fake.   Anomaly #3.

The fourth anomaly appears on pages 138-40, in Milford’s field report.  

Milford’s report appears legit at first, but a closer look reveals problems.  When the Army Air Corps became the U.S. Air Force in 1947, the War Department became the Department of Defense ... there was no “Department of the Air Force”.  Also, there was no stationery printed for task forces, especially when the name itself was classified.  Further, the top right corner identifies “Lt. Col. Milford”, but the text identifies “Major Milford”.  Oops.

The fifth anomaly shows up on pages 143-4.

Margaret Coulson is examined by a physician following her night in the woods.  The hospital form shows no address, however, and there is no signature by the intake doctor, as would be present on any valid intake report.    

The sixth anomaly shows up on pages 189-90:

Norma sends an apparently ordinary post card to her parents.  The postmark is Hollywood, dated April 17, 1969.  The problem?  The stamp celebrates the Moon Landing

... which did not take place until July 20.  There’s no way the stamp is authentic, and therefore, no way the post card is legit.

The seventh anomaly shows up on pages 211-3, in another physician’s report.  

In this report, Dr. Jacoby is examining Nadine Gertz, but again the hospital lacks address or phone identification, and Jacoby;s license # is not present.  Another fake document.

The eighth anomaly shows up on page 227, which Briggs claims is about the sale of the Packard Mill.   But there are lots of problems with the document:

 Note that again, the capital I is used in place of the number 1, a clear clue that this document was created by Briggs, not any legitimate authority. Also, the properties are not identified by size, geographic location, or other legally needed details.  

More, there are no witnesses to the sale, no county land office seal, no reference to survey reports or other authentication.

The Notary Public’s seal also expires the same date the document is created.

The ‘honorable’ M.J. Kaffee never signed anything.This document is phony.

The ninth anomaly is a letter from then-Congressman Richard Nixon.   At first glance, it seems OK.  

But take a closer look at the stationery.  Notice what’s missing?

The letter states ‘house of Representatives”, but is missing the seal of the United States Congress, which always shows up on such letters.  Also, Nixon’s office address is missing.  Another phony document.

The tenth anomaly is an Air Force report on Project Blue Book.   Or it seems to be.    

There are multiple and contradicting security classifications, no signatures authorizing document release.  Again a classified task force is listed on stationery in violation of DoD procedures, and again the invalid ‘Department of the Air Force’ is used on the stationery. 

The eleventh anomaly is a memo from Gordon Cole to Dwayne Milford, confirming the military facility near Twin Peaks is connected to President Reagan’s SDI program (although Briggs makes clear that the actual project is a SETI array meant to listen to deep space transmissions).     

The document identifies Gordon Cole as “Regional Director”, a title which does not exist in the real FBI.  Further, “Eyes Only” correspondence is delivered only by courier, and is TSCI designation security, not merely “Secret”.   As before, the reference to declassification is invalid because there is no date of declassification or signature by an authorized Intelligence officer.  I should not need to mention, of course, that real SDI correspondence would be handled by the Air Force or the Deprtment of Defense, not the FBI, which is nowhere near its jurisdiction here.  There is no reason whatsoever to mention Special Agent Jeffries.  And if Cole were asked to speak to Milford about this, he would do so in person, not write a note to discuss a classified project. 

The twelfth anomaly is the letter from the Washington State Medical Association

Note that there is no reference to Dr, Jacoby’s license number, nor is there any case docket, as would be the case for a legally binding decision.  Any valid letter would refer to Jacoby by name, include his license number and case docket, it would copy his legal representative and state his legal options for appeal.   This letter is a fake.    

All in all, it’s difficult to understand all the motives.  Briggs clearly set up a narrative to sell a cover story, one built on a human story and full of emotion and a conspiracy that just happens to fit what people are willing to believe.  As the final season continues to unfold, I believe we will see a deeper story unfold, one inconsistent with some of the documents, but true to the people.  But watch Gordon Cole; he’s in far deeper than anyone has seen so far.   Just keep in mind that every FBI agent who disappeared in relation to the forces at work in this show has a connection to Gordon Cole, and his own place in the lodges.

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The right centerpiece brings the whole scene together!

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Twin Peaks by Frequency

Well, well, well.  Episode 9 of the third season is done, and Mister Lynch and Mister Frost have dropped us a big clue about how TMFAP and all his buddies do their magic.  We are directed to a blog called The Search for the Zone, 

where a bunch of links - some dead - are presented with intriguing titles, like  “Parallel Universe and Density Shifting”, or “On Electricity by Nikola Tesla”.  These links lead to essays which give long lectures which seem to clue us in on just how everything works in the Lodges.

Basically, the articles give hints that matter is controlled by sub-atomic frequency, which can also be used to manipulate time.  Remember the trick with Dale’s coffee in the Waiting Room?

 This may also explain why TMFAP has been turned into a brainy tree with static:

There’s a lot there, and if you can stand to read long articles, it has to lot to offer the Twin Peaks addict.

By the way, the visitor counter at Search for the Zone (thesearchforthezone.com) is counting down.  I have a feeling it will disappear when it reaches 0

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Greg Pays for Pearl’s Fun

You know, in last night’s episode “Last One Out of Beach City”, that police car was easily close enough to read the car’s license plate.  So that means

that while Pearl had fun being a bad guy for an evening,

it’s poor Greg who got a visit from Po-Po to discuss the traffic events of the night.   

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Outstanding analysis of Amethyst, and a great observation of both the plot potential and character implications by rektyourbismuth.   

- SU AMETHYST THEORY: “Deep Cut” Definition - Not a Defect; a Secret Weapon!! -

So when the Crystal Gems are all at the forge, Bismuth calls Amethyst “Deep Cut”. She says “Hey deep cut, what’chu packin’?”

When Amethyst pulls out her whip, Bismuth is genuinely impressed and continues, “Not every Quartz can make a whip like this”

I looked up what a “deep cut” means in gem terminology. 

“When we discuss colored gemstones such as sapphire, ruby and emerald, the main motive of cut is to maximize color to its full potential. In contrast, cutting in diamonds mostly refers to maximizing brilliance.”

“Stones that are too deep will look smaller than expected but they will show off more color than they would if they were cut to normal proportions. Deep-cut stones also preserve weight, increasing the cost of the stone without the expected increase in the size of the crown (top portion of the gem).”

Well, we now know why Amethyst is considered a defect by Homeworld, she came out cut too deep, so she looks smaller. But check out what else it says about deep cut gems; their color is more saturated, vibrant, beautiful. I think that’s why her weapon is special.(Or, if the color has nothing to do with it, then a deeper cut would mean her potential is maxed out. Like maxed IVs!) They also ‘preserve weight’ without having to be physically bigger. That could mean Amethyst has more mass packed in her body than the other gems, which would explain her shapeshifting prowess.

In particular, why Amethyst can shapeshift into someone twice her size like The Purple Puma, or Jasper, without taking damage (when she’s used to the form, Purple Puma vs Jasper, she’s been shown to sustain Puma for much longer without resting).  Even then it took a long time before being Jasper started to be hard for her.

In contrast, remember how tired Steven got, from just stretching his body a few inches??

Her smaller body is ALSO why when she finally accepts herself, it takes her TEN SECONDS to reform after she’s poofed the second time: 

How long did it take Pearl the Perfectionist?

TWO. WEEKS. So in battle, Amethyst’s small size gives her a tremendous advantage; she can literally save herself from being shattered by reforming almost immediately. No other gem has had that ability so far.

Finally, Amethyst is just deep. She’s a very deep person.

Why else do I think this is relevant? Well…  “Stones that are too shallow will look big for their weight and appear lighter in color than deeper-cut stones.” Why does that sound familiar?

Oh. 

Shallow has several meanings here. Her weapon is a helmet. Her battle strategy is to run into her foe. 

That’s a shallow strategy. No one will stay with Jasper because she only thinks of things from her perspective; she lacks insight in other’s emotions. She’s, in a way, shallow.  Or, an allegory for being born with pure talent vs having to work for everything you have, and how shallow pure talent alone really is. 

In Conclusion

Homeworld has a recourse problem, and Amethyst’s deep cut gives her all the abilities of a regular cut Quartz soldier plus more, while taking half the resources to create, and they’d consider her a defect?? Homeworld. You fools. 

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SU Theory: What The Diamonds Do and Why/How Rose Shattered Pink Diamond

Summary: Pink Diamond planned to shatter the other 3 Diamonds but a conflict with Rose Quartz got PD shattered, instead.  For details, read the whole thing.

OK, we’re in that strange place with the Diamonds, where we on the one hand have only seen them in very limited action, and there's not much hard data for them ... but we also have enough information we just might be able to make some informed guesses.  So I am going to look at the murals to note differences between the different diamonds and see what that might mean, and I’m going to compare the mural pic to the actual diamond appearance we have seen for Blue and Yellow Diamond, to help us see how much the real diamond takes after her mythic pose.

 So to start, Blue Diamond (Our Lady of Snowcones).     I notice that the mural shows a tall slender figure, apparently shining radiantly from her head, with her left hand holding one of her planets as she gazes at it, while the right hand holds her diaphanous skirt to show off its elegance.  Her gem shines from her chest as she faces right standing still.  Her face is not clear, but she has a halo-like aura around her head.

 The scene in “The Answer” where Garnet [ as Sapphire ] recalled visiting Blue Diamond shows us a hooded figure cloaked and still, facing forward, her gem on her chest but dark, and her right hand on her lap and her left hand held close to her waist. Her face is covered and she is sitting, projecting both calm authority and mystery.

  For Yellow Diamond (The Pez Empress), the mural again shows a tall slender figure, holding stars in each of her hands (the only diamond to have stars in her possession) with an array of planets and moons floating above her head.  Her gem shines from her chest as she looks to her left, standing still. Her face is not clear, but she also has a halo-like aura around her head.  Yellow Diamond also has something firm and authoritative in the area of her shoulders, whether a cloak or robe is not apparent at that time.

  When we see Yellow Diamond in action in “Message Received”, we see a different type of figure from Blue Diamond.  Where Blue Diamond was generally still and liked to project an air of mystery, Yellow Diamond does not hide her face and is quite active.  In the few moments we saw her interact with Peridot, Yellow Diamond was working at a keyboard of some sort, issuing written commands to Yellow Pearl, sitting, standing, and generally in motion all the time.  From a fashion sense, we see that Yellow Diamond is devoted to the Ridiculously Big Shoulder look (which explains the decoration around the shoulders in the mural), and where Blue Diamond simply puts a linen over her face and hair, Yellow Diamond is wearing a helmet.  The combination of the helmet, heavy coat, gauntlets and boots with massive shoulder guards all combine to tell us Yellow Diamond is in full-on military mode.    

 The last two diamonds have only mural images for us to consider, but we know that there is at least a basic sense of what’s going on.  Note first that both White and Pink Diamond are depicted in their murals with helmets very similar to that worn by Yellow Diamond.  Only Blue Diamond forgoes the helmet.

 For White Diamond (White Bread Rules), the mural once again shows a tall slender figure (again with the big shoulder pads!), holding something round and glowing with both hands, with a large array of planets and moons floating above her head.  Her gem shines from her head as she looks forward, standing still.  Her face is not clear, but she also has a halo-like aura around her head and body, unless that represents something like a cloak.      

 For Pink Diamond (Pinky), the mural once again shows again a slender figure, holding a dark planet with a single moon above her head, while her left hand is empty and open below her waist.   Her gem appears at her belly as she seems to be leaping up and to the right.  As with the other diamonds, her face is not clear, but she also has a halo-like aura around her head and upper body.  There is also what something like a gem structure at her feet, almost like a pedestal from which she leaps.      

  OK, so on to the guesswork.   I noted that Blue Diamond has a simple head cover while the other three have stylized heads, and since we have seen Yellow Diamond we see that her helmet is very much like the mural representation of her head, leading me to believe that the diamonds all wear helmets, apparently for function since Blue Diamond does not seem to be low in rank but doesn’t use the helmet.  We also see that three of the diamonds seem to be standing or floating in place, while Pink Diamond is leaping.   Note that Pink Diamond only has one planet in her mural depiction, and in the classic logo used for the Diamond Authority, her color is on the bottom of the logo, suggesting Pink Diamond has lower rank or status than her sister diamonds.  

  Looking again at the murals, I noted that Pink Diamond seems to be just a little smaller than her sister diamonds, and her mural is definitely less elaborate and elegant than the others.  For whatever reason, the planet she holds (seems to be Earth and its moon) is dark, where the other planets belonging to the other diamonds seem lighter.   We can also begin to guess at the division of duties between the diamonds, by considering what we already know about Blue and Yellow Diamonds.

 In “The Answer”, we could see that Sapphire served Blue Diamond, and her job was to see into the future.  Blue Diamond was herself an avatar of mystery and secret knowledge, yet I find it interesting that Blue Diamond had to ask Sapphire what would happen.  That is, Blue Diamond seemed to foresee an attack by the rebels but lacked details, especially about the outcome.  She was relieved to hear Sapphire predict the rebellion would end that day.  What does Blue Diamond use with her occult powers, if she can’t see the future as well as her servants, much less foresee the true future Sapphire would miss? Hmm.  

 If you look closely at the background audience in Blue Diamond’s court, by the way, it appears that Lapis Lazuli was there, which is never specifically stated but sure looks to be the case, and given the diamonds’ habit of color assignment makes sense, especially considering the non-obvious power that Lapis possesses.  So I’d suggest that Blue Diamond is the diamond of secrets and mysteries, and hidden things.  

 On to Yellow Diamond.  The obvious source for YD is “Message Received”, which is chock full of information about Yellow Diamond’s organization.  Let’s start with the fact that Peridot and Jasper were both sent to Earth by Yellow Diamond, but in Peridot’s case not directly by her (remember when Peridot reported in, YD asked “which peridot”?).  In that same conversation, Yellow Diamond asks Peridot “where is the Jasper I assigned you?”, which both shows that Jasper was important enough to be directly assigned by Banana Diamond, and also that there are multiple Jaspers.   Peridot is a technician and an academic (don’t forget Amethyst called Peridot a ‘nerd’ in “Log Date 7 15 2”), while Jasper (at least ever since we have seen her - maybe Jasper was nice when she worked for Pink Diamond) is an aggressive bully – we see both attributes in Yellow Diamond.  We also know that Yellow Diamond can dispatch space ships, and handles interstellar communication; don’t forget that when Peridot calls in in “Message Received”, the pearl who answers asks why she is using the ‘direct diamond’ line … which is controlled by Yellow Diamond.  Taken in toto, I think the two stars in Yellow Diamond’s hands in her mural symbolize Yellow Diamond’s control of technology and communication.  Yellow Diamond is the diamond of communication and transport.  

  I note as well, that in the episodes “The Answer” and “Message Received”, we see that each diamond has a pearl in attendance, in color matching the diamond they serve.  We also know from “The Answer” and “Hit The Diamond”, 

that rubies serve all of the diamonds as ordered, sort of a general pool of ordinary-class soldiers.  

 OK, moving on now to squishy ground.  We have White Diamond clutching a glowing globe of some kind, and a buttload of colonies floating above her head, and we have Pink Diamond, with gems at her feet but only one dark planet above her leaping hand.   Looking at a nominal military structure, Blue Diamond is the planner and keeper of secrets and Yellow Diamond handles logistics, meaning you need an overall commander in chief and you need someone to produce the troops.  That is where White and Pink Diamond come into play.  First off, going back to the Chiclet Authority logo we have seen so many times, White is on top.  

  That, combined with all those planets floating above White Diamond like trophies, tells me White Diamond is the Top Rock of the Fearsome Foursome.  And from that, I suspect that glowing orb White Diamond is clutching in her hands like a 3D version of Gollum’s “precious”, is a gem version of a planet killer.  Going back to the episode “Message Received”, Peridot is impressed with the power of the Cluster, especially if you happen to be stuck on the planet being destroyed, but she doesn’t seem to regard it as the ultimate in power – when telling Yellow Diamond not to proceed with The Cluster in “Message Received”, Peridot calls it “just one geo-weapon”, meaning Peridot is aware of something a lot bigger and nastier.  And I think whatever the Witch of White Bread is clutching in her claws, is exactly that.

 But what about Pink Diamond?  I’m still a bit disappointed to hear that Rose Quartz shattered PD, not least because that has to mean that Pinky was no better than her diamond siblings. Actually, maybe a lot worse.   But not to get ahead of myself.   I’ve said that we need someone in charge and that’s White Diamond, which leaves Pink Diamond to make troops.  We already know that the reason for the Rebellion by Rose was because she loved the Earth and its organic life, and she decided, as she told Pearl in “Rose’s Scabbard”, that she would “stay and fight” for the Earth.   We know that all the Crystal Gems regard kindergartens as atrocities, which kill off planets and their organic life in the making of new gems.  What else is interesting, is that we find out in “Beta” from Peridot that a second kindergarten was launched on Earth as the rebellion gained strength, because Homeworld desperately needed to make new gem soldiers.  We also know from Peridot and the scene of the second Kindergarten, that the beta facility was a much lower quality than the first one.  

  Why is this important?  Because the Prime kindergarten was created and run by Pink Diamond, but Pink Diamond was not around when the Beta kindergarten was created.  This means that Pink Diamond was in charge of building kindergartens, and would have forced Rose Quartz to take on Pink Diamond directly in order to stop the use and construction of kindergartens.

 Was Earth Pink Diamond’s only colony?  Hard to say.  While the mural makes it look like Earth was all Pinky had, the character of building a bunch of kindergartens on a planet kills off the place, then you have to go somewhere else.  Maybe the moon base mural depicts the Earth because that was Pinky’s current assignment at the time of the mural.  Another thing that jumps out at me, is the fact that of the whole Solar System, the Gem Homeworld only cared about using the Earth.  If you just want raw resources and rocks suitable to turn into gems, there are many other places in the Solar System besides Earth, and being uninhabited means they would have been easy for Homeworld to use. So why the Earth?  Is there something unique to the Earth that we have not been told yet?   After all, Peridot got excited about Earth’s “potential” once she had been here for a little while, so maybe there is something Rose and Peridot … and maybe Pink Diamond saw, that was not known or shared with Yellow Diamond, Blue Diamond, or White Diamond.

 And then there is the shattering of Pink Diamond.  We know the shattering happened sometime after the start of the rebellion. We know this from Ruby’s statement in “Back to the Moon”, and we also know it happened after the bubbling of Bismuth (I have to believe that if Rose had shattered Pink Diamond before her confrontation with Bismuth, Bismuth would have brought that up to Steven when he was talking with her and Bismuth believed she was talking with Rose Quartz).  There’s been some talk that maybe Pink Diamond was shattered by Pearl who shape-shifted into Rose, but I reject that because that would make the act a premeditated murder, and I believe it was either a terrible accident or something awful that had to be done to prevent something much worse, and in either case this would have had to be done by Rose Quartz, no one else.  

Pearl’s reaction to Ruby’s account indicates she was present, which is important to me because it suggests the condition was a battle, not an assassination (which is also supported by Ruby’s presence).  That is, Rose directly confronted Pink Diamond but had no immediate intention of shattering her – which brings up the big question, just how do you shatter a diamond?   I discovered that while diamonds are very, very hard, they are not the toughest of minerals (after all, since we always see diamonds cut and polished, which means of course that something was used to cut the stone), and it turns out diamonds are unusually vulnerable to heat.  But more to the point, stop and consider what we know about Rose Quartz?  Her coloring and a ton of details make it reasonable to believe Rose Quartz served under Pink Diamond.  We also know that Rose had a lot of qualities not commonly found in gems. Her healing powers, for example, were remarked upon often, as was her shield.  Rose had unusual empathic ability, could float and maintain illusory forms for a very long time, she had strong charisma with all organic life, and a knack for convincing anyone she met that she was trustworthy and honorable.  It’s always been difficult to know exactly what Rose was made to be, since her set of qualities was both broad and powerful.  That’s one reason so many fans believed Rose was one of the Diamonds.  But if we consider that Pink Diamond may have been in charged of making gems, then it appears that Rose was a special case … an experiment, if you will (which would explain why Rose felt the same curious desire to see what she could do with Pearl, with fighting vegetables, with a permanently fused acquaintance, and maybe whether a gem could become a new kind of being with the help of a human?), and likely for a special purpose … maybe one Rose decided she could not allow to happen.  

 Go back to those murals, and what you can see is that Pink Diamond seemed to be junior to the other diamonds – the other diamonds had many colonies but seemed to limit Pink Diamond to her duty of the moment, they presented themselves in sovereign form while Pink Diamond’s was more basic, even plain in comparison .. suppose Pink Diamond resented that and .. was planning to change a few things?   We know Rose Quartz was horrified to learn that Bismuth had created a weapon made to shatter gems, and we know that in SU there are often parallels between each side, which could mean that Pink Diamond planned to create the rebellion, not so much to save Earth as to gain a means to attack Homeworld’s territory with ready-made armies to overthrow the Diamond Authority.   Just maybe, that is part of what Rose meant in “Rose’s Scabbard” when she explained to Pearl that even if they won, they could never go home … because going back to Homeworld might unleash a hidden imperative to kill the Diamonds in control there.  This would help explain why Rose was determined to hide away on Earth, why she told Greg it was a good thing he didn’t know much about her, why she wanted to become Steven.  Pink Diamond – just perhaps - made a bio-weapon engineered to wipe out her rivals, and it ended up shattering her instead, and dooming Rose Quartz to leave Homeworld forever, not only out of love of Earth, but in a quest to regain her personhood, which she regained by becoming Steven Universe.

[clod-of-diamonds]

Thank You Lauren Zuke, and Why We Should All Own Better Emotional Control

I love the show ‘Steven Universe’.  It’s had a great effect on my daughter and her friends, in addition to being outstanding quality, sharing great life lessons, and generally having good effects on everyone who watches it.

 Well, until the question of ships comes up.  When that happens, a few of the fans turn into monsters, and nasty ones in a lot of ways. In this case, Lauren [ see photo below, just in case you forgot she’s an actual human being ]

 was sharing her thoughts on social media, particularly Twitter, where she posted her own thoughts and opened an account for the character Peridot.  

  Zuke/Peridot’s tweets were hilarious, well-timed, and were in perfect character, adding a new dimension to the show.  But Lauren had this silly idea that as a member of the crewniverse, she could have her own opinions and ideas about characters and arcs and possible ships, so she expressed her thoughts … and for that was rather nastily insulted and attacked by people whose contributions to the show may be compared to an arsonist’s contributions to public safety;

 It finally reached the point where Lauren shut down her Twitter account, and the wisdom from Peridot to us humans has ceased.

  Look folks, going after the people who create the content of ‘Steven Universe’ just for having their own opinions is a bad idea

  And it can kill off a show if it’s not stopped

 Some folks just can’t learn to control their emotions.   There is actually a pretty good solution for that problem, if someone wants to learn how to manage hostility and do some good, instead.  

 The pictures below have three things in common beyond the obvious.  Take a look first and see if you can figure them out before reading on:

  The obvious fact is that in all three photos, you see – let’s call it ‘interaction’ – between a coach and a sports official.  What you may not have realized are these important facts:

1.      The coach is abusing the official.  He’s not asking a question or trying to understand the decision, he’s screaming at the official for doing his job

2.      The official, you may want to notice, is not screaming back

3.      Speaking from me experience as a former official certified in three sports, most coaches who yell and scream are completely wrong, and the more wrong they are the more abusive they act.

 Back when I started as an official, I was sometimes intimidated by bully coaches, but over time I realized the essential truths of officiating: As long as I did my job right, I did not need to fear a coach, no matter how loud, in the end it was my call that would stand, so just make sure it’s right, and if a coach/player/fan gets too far out of line, I could always toss them.  In the end, it’s a game and we all should remember that basic fact.

 My point here is that the people who create ‘Steven Universe’ are not obligated to do it your way.  They have put in a huge amount of work to produce the best animated show on TV, and it’s a great thing that they are also fans of the show; they have more right than anyone to express opinions, and frankly only a complete moron would attack a creator of the show just because they have a ship to sell.  One of my favorite things about my time as an official was that a game is meant to be fun and enjoyable, in an environment of fair play and sportsmanship. If you are going to be part of it, you need to speak and act with goodwill and advance the positives.  A cartoon which emphasizes inclusion and the best in everyone deserves the same respect and classy behavior from its fans.  And a lot of folks owe both thanks and an apology to Lauren Zuke.

[clod-of-diamonds]

The Clod Answers More Mail

I can’t say that Beach city’s residents will become directly involved in Gem activities.  They have stayed out of the way up to now.  Just a quick review shows us this chronology:

 “Laser Light Cannon” – Alien ship attacks Beach City, goes unnoticed by the citizens of Beach City;

“Frybo” – Alien gem shard causes mascot costume to come to life, citizens treat it as minor scuffle;

“Serious Steven” – Steven’s panic causes teacup ride at Funworld to malfunction, he is “banned for life” from Funworld (but shows up there several times later on);

“Lion 2: The Movie” – Steven takes Lion to see the new ‘Dogcopter’ movie.  No one thinks this is odd;

“Ocean Gem” – an alien gem steals the ocean, and none of Beach City’s citizens thinks they should ask the Crystal Gems to help.  They are pleasantly surprised when the ocean is brought back, and somehow know to credit Steven rather than the other Crystal Gems;

“Keep Beach City Weird” – Ronaldo is obsessed by imagined conspiracies, yet somehow does not realize the Gems are aliens;

“Fusion Cuisine” – Connie’s strict and conservative parents are not alarmed or especially surprised to meet a six-armed giant who claims to be Greg’s wife and Steven’s mom;

“Horror Club” – Steven bubbles a monster gem right in front of Ronaldo and makes it disappear, but this neither surprises Ronaldo nor causes him to ask questions about Steven’s powers;

“The Return” – When gem aliens show up in a hand-shaped spacecraft, the citizens of Beach City evacuate on Steven’s advice;

“Rising Tides, Crashing Skies” – Ronaldo learns that the weird events are related to the Crystal gems living near Beach City, but also the that the people of Beach City don’t mind the Crystal Gems or what they do.

 Basically, the people in Beach City do just what the intro song says.  They believe in and trust the Crystal Gems to protect them and the Earth.  

The people of Beach City usually seem to be background characters.  Seriously, what should you expect from a guy who runs a fry shack, whose name is actually “Mister Fryman”, who competes with a pizza-making family down the boardwalk whose name is actually “Pizza”?  Other characters don’t even get family names (like Lars or Kevin), or they get legal given names like ‘Onion’ and ‘Sour Cream’.   So we could get an idea about who gets some depth, by people who actually get normal-sounding names, like ‘Sadie Miller’ … oh wait, ‘Harold Smiley’ and ‘Bill Dewey’ have normal-sounding names, and they are hardly deep characters at all.

  ** sigh **

 OK, so back to the drawing board. Looking at the episodes, I see that nine Beach City citizens show up in three or more episodes of SU.  Sadie Miller shows up in seven episodes ((“Tiger Millionaire”, “Joking Victim”, “Island Adventure”, “Horror Club”, “Sadie’s Song”, “Steven Floats”, “The New Lars”), and she is shown as a good friend whom Steven often tries to help, with varying degrees of success.   Sadie is independent and confident, and provides a well-grounded friend for Steven. She also helps see how important Connie is to Steven, since Sadie is a good friend but Connie is an essential part of Steven’s life.   Buck Dewey shows up in five episodes (“Lars and the Cool Kids”, “Shirt Club”, “Joy Ride”, “Historical Friction”, “The New Lars”), which I find interesting because Buck is easy to ignore, despite being one of the “cool kids”.  Buck doesn’t say much, but he seems to reflect the town’s general approval of Steven and laid-back style.  Lars also shows up in five episodes (“Tiger Millionaire”, “Lars and the Cool Kids”, “Joking Victim”, “Island Adventure”, “Horror Club”, “the New Lars”), and seems to me to the avatar for the guy who desperately wants to be someone important, but who struggles find his identity. Steven’s efforts to help Lars in some ways may reflect the Gems’ efforts to help Steven grow and learn about his destiny.  The rest of the town’s people, mostly good and solid (excepting Kevin), show up mostly to play background to the story of the moment, although Vidalia, Kiki, Jamie and Peedee may have important roles we just haven’t seen yet.   All of this is my personal inconsequential opinion, of course.  

  You kind of lost me when you said the humans could handle “magical stuff”.  From what I have seen, only the gems actually handle the power items, and the folks in Beach City generally try to stay out of the way when things get hairy.   Also, I’m not so sure the humans are really much more healthy in their emotional lives than the Crystal Gems. Lars, for example, seems to be struggling to find meaning in his life, while Sadie is toughing out a rough life of working a simple, boring job when she clearly hoped for more.  Even Mayor Dewey is pretty insecure for someone so established in his position.  Fryman and Kofi Pizza always worry about their business and family, and I’m not even going to start on what’s wrong with Kevin. As for the gems, they have tragedies and personal issues their lives, but they are generally handling them well. Pearl and Greg both still grieve for Rose, but they have worked out their personal differences and are friends who recognize their personal strengths and who have very strong relationships with Steven.  Garnet is a rock.  Amethyst has had to struggle with feelings of inadequacy, but she’s coming along, partly due to Peridot’s statement that she is the best of the gems, and partly due to her stronger friendship with Steven and the bond forged via Smoky Quartz fusion.  

 Having said that, I do think Beach City is important to the Crystal Gems, and not just because Steven knows a lot of the people.  Steven has learned about relationships, accepting people as they are even when they are not perfect, and the fact that becoming the person you are meant to be is a long journey, and the journey is in many ways the goal of the whole effort. I also think Beach City represents the Earth in some ways.  It lacks the flash of Empire City, but it has real substance and is ‘home’ in the minds and hearts of the Crystal Gems.  Someone like a Diamond would never understand that, but wisdom and virtue are found far more often in common hands than in the halls of the elite.

 Thanks!

[clod-of-diamonds]

Did Homeworld Have An Accident?

Take a look at these pics from “Message Received”, specifically all those floating rocks in the background behind Lemon Pez Diamond:

Assuming Peridot reached Homeworld with the “direct diamond” line, that should be Homeworld behind Pezzy.   But it looks like an asteroid field, not a planet.

Did someone/something blow up Homeworld?

[clod-of-diamonds]

The Clod Answers Mail

To answer that question, I start by describing what makes a good diplomat.  Basically, you need to be someone who can accept people without pre-condition, stay focused on your mission, defuse conflict, and reach a good outcome.  As I pointed out in the post about Connie, she enjoys good relations with all the Crystal Gems, in addition to Greg and Lion.  An early example of Connie’s diplomacy skills shows up in “Nightmare Hospital”.  Connie’s mom is very strict, but by the end of the episode Connie not only has her mom’s acceptance of Connie’s sword practice, but also her work with magic and friendship with Steven.  And like any good diplomat, Connie knows where she could go too far, so Connie never lets on to her mom that she and Steven are crushing on each other.

 Another example shows up in “Beach City Drift”.  Steven reacts badly to Kevin’s arrogance (as does almost everyone on the planet), but Connie keeps her emotions in check, and helps Steven choose a more effective and satisfying way to show Kevin what a winner looks like.  I especially liked how Stevonnie managed to win the personal battle without having to win the car race to do so, with Connie clearly directing the verbal tactics.

 Another diplomatic quality to Connie, is her ability to work as support without feeling demoted.  In “Ocean Gem”, for example, Connie accepts Steven going on his own to see Lapis Lazuli at the top of her water tower, but remains alert, so when the tower collapses, Connie is ready to use Lion to rescue Steven before he falls.

    Like Connie, Steven has shown he is someone who can accept people without precondition, stay focused on his mission, defuse conflict, and reach a good outcome.  Steven is remarkable for his success with both Lapis Lazuli and Peridot, turning each from enemies into friends and allies.   Notice that with Lapis Lazuli, Steven is kind to Lapis even while she is in the mirror, Steven frees her as soon as he realizes she is trapped in the mirror, and Steven heals Lapis so she can go home, all without condition or expectation of reward.  With Peridot, Steven again is unfailingly courteous and kind, causing Peridot to feel obligated to respond honorably.  Steven was even willing to heal Jasper.   Steven has also – at least partially – saved Centipeedle from her corrupted state, showing the potential for major gains with the gems left on Earth when the Diamonds abandoned the planet.

 Steven has learned that a lack of guile can be dangerous.  In the episode “Marble Madness”, for example, Steven reveals himself and speaks to Peridot even after Garnet warns him that he does not understand the risks or Peridot’s intentions.  In “The Return”, Steven tries to reason with Jasper but is knocked unconscious and taken prisoner.  In “Bismuth”, Steven fails to recognize the threat represented by Bismuth and he is nearly killed; Steven is forced to poof Bismuth with Rose’s sword to survive (this is the first instance where Steven has used Rose’s sword in violence).  

 Steven accepts everyone at their best, sometimes at better than they really are.  On the one hand, he puts himself at real danger to do so, but this also shows a nobility of character that sets Steven apart from, and superior to, anyone the gems have encountered before, which fundamentally alters the stage for their interaction and communication.

[clod-of-diamonds]

Quantum Neurocommunications:  Why Gems Are Compelled to be Honest

Jacob-c-Rose posted an interesting article titled “Are Gems Telepathic?”, which I liked and reblogged. But I found more to consider from Jacob’s observation.  Being picky, I first noticed that sound does exist in space, it simply uses different mediums for transmission.  But thinking it through, I realized the science behind this phenomenon compels honesty by anyone using the communicator described in the show.  Here’s how I got there:

  Sound travels at variable speeds here on earth.  Through the air, sound travels at about 767 miles per hour at 68 degrees Fahrenheit and sea level air pressure.  Underwater, sound travels about 3,300 miles per hour through calm water (!), and about 13,636 miles per hour through steel (!!).  The denser the medium, the faster sound travels.  Of course, space is mostly vacuum which means it lacks many of the molecules necessary for sound transmission.  So, for communication with someone separated by space, some means must exist for transmitting the data.   This becomes much more difficult when we try to address stellar distances. If you have ever listened in on communications between the Apollo astronauts on the moon and Mission Control, you will recall long gaps between each side’s statements or questions, because of the delay in transmitting the signal and responding.  Just imagine the delay when multiple light years are involved.

  In the episode “Log Date 7 15 2”, Garnet observes to Peridot that “Homeworld’s galaxy” is visible from Earth.  This implies a range of less than 100 light years, but still a very far distance by human standards.  Yet when Peridot uses the moon communicator to report to Yellow Diamond in “Message Received“, contact is instantaneous.  If what we know about Physics applies to this situation, communication must occur at the quantum level, which would make communication neural rather than voluntary.   That is, communication is occurring at faster-than-light speed, which is impossible except for sub-atomic particles, which in turn means communication is neural, even if it seems to be vocal.  This condition also explains why Peridot so readily rebelled against Yellow Diamond.

 When Peridot contacted Yellow Diamond via the communicator, she expected to report the situation and receive assurance of rescue and support.  Instead, things go south very fast.  Let’s go through the conversation line by line:  

Yellow Diamond's Pearl: This is the Yellow Diamond control room.

Yellow Diamond's Pearl: Who authorized you to make this call?

Peridot: No one, b-b-but it's an emergency!

Yellow Diamond's Pearl: That's no excuse to use the direct diamond communication channel.

Yellow Diamond: Pearl.

Yellow Diamond's Pearl: Yes, my Diamond?

Yellow Diamond: Why is there someone on the Diamond line?

Yellow Diamond's Pearl: I don't know. I was just about to tell her that-

Yellow Diamond: I'll take it from here.

 Why does Yellow Diamond’s Pearl interrogate Peridot as soon as she calls in?  Note that the channel is called “direct diamond”, implying it goes straight through to the top.  This is a hint that we’re not talking high-tech email or phone, this communicator reaches – and interrupts - Yellow Diamond in person;

 Peridot: My diamond! Peridot, reporting in.

Yellow Diamond: Which peridot?

Peridot: F- Facet-2-F-5-L, Cut-5-X-G. I'm sorry to contact you this way, but all other forms of communication have been destroyed and -

(Yellow Diamond makes a sign for Peridot to stop talking.)

Yellow Diamond: This says you're behind schedule on your mission to... How is... the Earth?

 Note that Yellow Diamond has no curiosity about why other forms of communication have been destroyed, she is only focused on the mission Peridot was sent to perform;

 Peridot: It's... full of life.

Yellow Diamond: Organic life... and where is the Jasper I assigned you? And why aren't you calling from the ship?

Peridot: The ship was destroyed.

Yellow Diamond: By whom?

Peridot: I-I-I-It was destroyed by...  no one! There was... an accident... while we were...landing?

 This part of the conversation reveals that telepathy is not occurring, or else Peridot could not have lied about the ship crashing;

 Yellow Diamond: I'll inform your manager of your incompetence. And what is the status of The Cluster?

Peridot: The Cluster... will emerge shortly.

Yellow Diamond: Good. We'll finally get some use out of that miserable planet... Thank you for your report, Peridot. There'll be a ship heading to your location to take you to your next assignment.

 So OK, we figured Yellow Diamond would be a jerk, but assuming the ship’s disaster is Peridot’s fault is a cheap shot.  What I find interesting, though, is that Yellow Diamond is speaking with clear candor, as if Peridot was not even there … or possibly, reacting instinctively rather than with considered words;

 Peridot: Wait! I-I wouldn't called to waste your time with a report.

Yellow Diamond: You already have.

Peridot: No, I mean... the reason I called... the real reason is... I believe we should terminate The Cluster.

Yellow Diamond: ...Why?

Peridot: The organic ecosystem creates resources unique to this world, we can't sacrifice all that potential just for one geo-weapon! I'd like to tell you some plans I came up with to utilize a planet without disrupting the local -

 This is where Peridot begins to turn.  She remarks about resources and ways to more effectively use the Earth to benefit Homeworld, but receives a complete smack-down from Yellow Diamond;

 Yellow Diamond: I've heard enough! I don't care about potential and resources.

Peridot: What?!

Yellow Diamond: I want my Cluster, and I want that planet to die. Just make that happen.

 So we’ve established that Yellow Diamond is a big-time jerk and bully, but her reaction is ill-considered, which makes no sense unless you consider that Yellow Diamond is responding neurally;

 Peridot: No!

Yellow Diamond's Pearl: *gasps*

Yellow Diamond: Are you questioning my authority?!

Peridot: I'm... questioning your objectivity! My Diamond.

Yellow Diamond's Pearl: Well!

Yellow Diamond: You are out of line.

 This exchange is pure emotion, again something we would never see, except that both Peridot and Yellow Diamond are locked into neural communications, and there is no means to slow down and better craft their thoughts;

 Peridot: I just think -

Yellow Diamond: I'm not interested in the puny thoughts of a Peridot –

Peridot: But!

Yellow Diamond: You have disrespected this channel and my time with your presence and you would do well to -

Peridot: But -

Yellow Diamond: Shut your mouth! You have failed at every stage of this mission. Your only chance to redeem yourself is to obey this simple order. You are to leave the Cluster to grow. It will tear apart the Earth, and I will take immense satisfaction in erasing that hideous rock off of our star maps. Is that clear?!

Diamond or not, this is a full-on rant that reflects not only Yellow Diamond’s visceral hatred of the Earth, her contempt for ‘lower’ caste gems, and her inability to speak with personal dignity, but also a personal bigotry that jumps to conclusions (Yellow Diamond has absolutely no evidence that Peridot has failed any part of her mission – in fact Peridot has done more than Jasper in finding a way to report the situation to Yellow Diamond), allows emotion to over-ride judgment, and forces a loyal servant to choose between her culture and her integrity;

 Peridot: I won't do it! I can tell you with certainty that there are things on this planet worth protecting!

Yellow Diamond: What do you know about the Earth?

Peridot: Apparently more than YOU! You... CLOD!!!!

(Yellow Diamond glares angrily at Peridot.)

Peridot: Uuh! Peridot, out!

(Peridot cuts the transmission.)

  By the end of their conversation turned argument, Peridot has burned her allegiance to Yellow Diamond so completely that there is no possibility of return. Since defection was never her intention, this sequence of events should be attributed to the neural communication between Peridot and the Yellow Pez.  

  We see the same candid quality whenever a gem speaks with Jasper.  While Jasper loves to monologue, she speaks with a candor that reveals more than Jasper meant to reveal.  Jasper’s respect for Rose, for example, revealed in “The Return”, is a bit more sincere than Jasper perhaps meant to convey, which may explain why Jasper immediately followed by announcing her desire to beat Rose into the ground.  Later, in “Earthlings”, Jasper admits that no one who ever fuses with her wants to stay with her, something she would never consciously admit, especially to an enemy. 

These admissions reflect the quality of gem communications.  As Jacob-c-Rose observed, Centipeedle revealed to Steven that gems have their own language, but he can’t read their writing.  Uncorrupted gems, however, are able to communicate even with different gem types – most likely from different worlds – because of some means of common communication.  Telepathy implies the ability to read minds, but this kind of communication seems to require both spontaneity and intention, which is again consistent with neural communication.  

  We see something more of this in “Gem Drill”, where Steven is able to speak with the gem shards under the Earth’s surface.  There are huge implications of this that apply to the overall arc, but for here it’s important to notice that gems with no physical voice are still able to articulate thought and intention, emotion and purpose, which Steven is able to not only comprehend but to which he effectively responds.

   Finally, we see the same neural level of communication with Lion, who never uses words yet makes itself known with clarity.  Neural communication therefore seems to serve for ideas as well as emotions, for purpose as well as assurance.  Mastery of such communication gives Steven an advantage in every encounter he has in the show.  

   ,

[clod-of-diamonds]

A good theory, but it goes further.  I will post my own thoughts continuing this observation to additional implications.

Are Gems Telepathic?

Whilst re-watching ‘Bubbled’, a science-y science thought came to me.

THERE’S NO SOUND IN SPACE!

It would be scientifically impossible for Eyeball’s voice to be heard in space- unless Steven and Eyeball’s conversation partially takes place telepathically- A “group chat” in their minds if you will!

However, this is not the only evidence. In ‘Monster Reunion’, we discover that Gems have their own language.

It’s not known if Gem Language sounds any different, but if it does, how would newcomers to Earth, such as Peridot, Jasper and the Rubies be able to speak English? They must’ve translated it telepathically!

This would also work with Steven’s abilities to visit other people’s minds- if all gems were to have low-level telepathy, would that make Rose Quartz (and then Steven) a kind of “super-soldier”? She may have been given special abilities for some reason (maybe to be Pink Diamond’s personal guard), which would’ve heightened the low-level telepathy all Gems share.

This also links with the “broken” mental nature of the corrupted gems. The mind is everything with these gems- Fusion is an amalgam of the mind. Corruption is a tear in the mind. The gem’s forms are a personification of their mental state, ergo their mind.

[clod-of-diamonds]

A Look at the Family Part 6

(all images used for this post are from Cartoon Network’s show ‘Steven Universe’, and are used exclusively for the fair use purpose of critique)

Continuing the review that may matter to few, but it helps me order my mind for looking ahead, I come to a family member perhaps more important than you may realize: Connie Maheswaren.  As mentioned before, I think it’s interesting to see how and when everyone arrived, because I believe the shifting chemistry between the extended family of the Crystal Gems comes in large part from the new personal forces at work as new characters arrive.  For convenience, I am using a Steven-based calendar, BSA (Before Steven Arrived) and SE (Steven Era).

 So, on to Connie Maheswaren (~2 SE, first appearance was in “Bubble Buddies”).  Connie does not appear all that often in early episodes, but she is showing up more and more, and her influence on Steven is becoming more and more obvious.  Let’s start with the obvious – Steven’s first fusing was with Connie, and it’s no coincidence that it happened in a spirit to Garnet’s fusing between Sapphire and Ruby.  That is, whether or not you want to call it a romantic moment, Steven and Connie were perfectly aligned in emotion and mind, and their subsequent fusing has been increasingly stable and effective.  This is a very clear signal that Connie is a very important person to Steven and the crew dropped a big hint about Connie with her family name of ‘Maheswaren’, which is Hindi for “Lord [or Master] of the Universe”.   We also see that Connie is intensely devoted to Steven; in “Sword to the Sword”, 

Connie readily agrees to Pearl’s statement that her liege (Steven) comes first in all things.  Steven rejects the notion as soon as he hears it, and by the end of the episode Steven and Connie fight effectively as a team. What’s interesting to me, is that Connie does not always fuse to fight (Stevonnie fights off Jasper in “Crack the Whip”, but in “Gem Hunt” Steven and Connie work cooperatively as individuals), but can operate as team of two or as a fusion according to the need and plan.  

Connie was introverted, even shy when Steven first met her, but has gained a lot of confidence through training and adventures, as evidence by her success in “Nightmare Hospital”. 

Connie also enjoys a close relationship with Lion, who trusts her more than any of the gems besides Steven; in “Ocean Gem”, when Steven gets into trouble as the ocean tower begins to collapse, 

Lion and Connie look at each other than an instant later are saving Steven by teleporting to his position before he can fall.  Connie also works as a kind of social mediator for many of the characters – she shares her thoughts and experiences with Greg, she studies under Pearl (giving each of those two people important validation that they matter beyond just being there for Steven), she follows Amethyst’s advice (it was Amethyst, after all, who encouraged Steven and Connie to go with their gut in “Crack the Whip” since battles would be spontaneous and could not be handled just with planned and practiced moves) and Garnet’s inspiration (Garnet encourages Steven to try fusion shortly before Steven fuses for the first time with Connie).   Connie serves well as a kind of diplomat, and may be important to future situations with negotiations with new gems the team encounters.

  I find it an important point, that the crew refuses to make clear whether Steven and Connie are boyfriend/girlfriend in the nominal sense, or are primarily close friends who happen to crush on each other.  This is very consistent with the constant message that the show focuses on relationships more than roles, and growth more than static condition.  Anything is possible, and that broad horizon keeps the plot fresh and full of energy.  It’s obvious that Connie is very, very important to Steven, and there’s a lot of evidence for it.  Connie, for example, is the only person Steven took into Rose’s Room, she is the only person Steven has fused with for non-battle reasons, and Connie gets subjected to more of Steven’s humor than anyone else.  The fact that Connie fights with Rose’s sword when Steven uses Rose’s shield demonstrates a sense that Connie completes Steven.  

The relationship between Steven and Connie, therefore, is far more significant than merely a friendship or romance, and I believe we will see Connie gain additional skills and demonstrate more insight as we move forward.