suthoughts

[suthoughts]

Bringing this back after the last couple of episodes

Comet and Rose

For a long time I assumed that the main reason Rose connected with Greg’s song Comet in the way that she did was due to its space themes and the fact that that reminded her of home. However when I went back and rewatched the episode (for another post I want to make) I realised that almost every line connects to Roses life in a way that must have felt to her like fate. There’s also a lot of Diamond imagery presents throughout and a couple of shots I suspect will get a deeper meaning the more we find out about Roses life.

When Pearl heard the Burger Jingle version of the song she was upset and confused about why this song was what fascinated Rose with Greg, but if she’d heard the actual words she might have understood.

How Rose felt she was seen by the other Diamonds:

‘Some… say I have no directions, that I’m a light speed distraction, that’s a knee jerk reaction.’

‘And as the solar wind blows through my hair knowing that I have so much more to share.’

Along with being the way I suspect Greg felt he was treated by his family it’s also the way Rose felt she was treated by hers. The reason for her temper tantrum in Jungle Moon was that she didn’t feel like Yellow thought she was important, and of course, the whole reason she had to take on the persona of Rose Quartz and rebel was that Blue and Yellow wouldn’t listen to her or take the way she felt seriously. While he sings the last line Greg even stretches out his hand to a sky filled with (primarily yellow, blue and white) Diamonds.

How Rose used to feel/wishes she felt:

‘This is the final frontier, everything is so clear, to my destiny I steer.’

Greg even sings this with diamonds in his eyes. Back when Rose was Pink Diamond, before she got her first colony, her future and life way laid out before her and she was determined to steer straight towards it. The same could easily be said for her decision to protect the Earth and, her decision to start the rebellion and even her decision to fake her own death. Pink saw what the problem was and clearly saw what she thought she had to do to change it. She didn’t think things through or think of any alternative consequences because she was young and inexperienced and thought she could see the ideal solution right in front of her.

‘But the moment that I hit the stage thousands of voices are calling my name and I know deep down in my heart it’s been worth it all of the while.’

‘The moment that I hit the stage I hear the universe calling my name and I know deep down in my heart I have nothing to fear.’

There are a lot of pink (and interestingly also white) Diamonds in the background for these lines, with the latter also including a large backdrop of Greg highlighted in pink.

Rose had a lot of conflicted feelings about what she did and is strongly implied to (at least after the war) strongly dislike herself and feel deeply ashamed of her past. Having self confidence and feeling that your life has been worth something would be very desirable feelings for her.

Roses reality and isolation among humans:

‘Life in the stars is all I’ve ever known.’

We know from We Need to Talk that despite her love of humans and the lengths she went to to save them and their planet Rose’s status as an alien and the difference between their lives left her feeling very out of her depth among them.

‘Fly like a comet, sore like a comet, crash like a comet, I’m just a comet.’

The final lines of Comet must have been what it felt like for Rose and Pearl from the start of the rebellion up till the corruption blast that cut it to an abrupt and horrible end after they thought they’d won. Greg even sings this highlighted in pink.

Bonus:

‘A wandering spirit tearing its way through the atmosphere.’

This line has imagery of a star falling from space before being caught by Greg. The pictures seen in the promo were presumably drawn by Pink Diamond when she was younger and are widely speculated to show her birth from a shooting star. If this is the case then this shot appears to be reflecting that.

[suthoughts]

I’ve just had an idea about where White could fit into all of this!

I’ve seen a few of posts comparing White in Change Your Mind with Steven in the current series. From the fact that they both feel that they’re supposed to be perfect and know better, to how stuck in their own head they’ve become/ are becoming and the fact that they’re making still, unchanging versions of the people they care about (albeit by different means).

The way Blue and Yellow talk about White suggests that she hadn’t always been the way she was. Perhaps she started off much like Steven until centuries of being the person everyone looked to for answers, believing she had to be perfect for the sake of her subjects, and fearing that everyone would change and move on without her slowly moulded her into the person we first saw?

Perhaps, as her ‘need to be needed’ is no longer being fulfilled, when Steven next visits her he’ll catch her at a bad time and, rather than talking to him as her grandson White will end up confiding in Steven as another adult (similarly to Garnet in Pool Hopping). Given how Steven currently views himself, along with his reaction to Cactus Steven, I can’t imagine he’d take too well to the realisation that he could be on his way to becoming just like the dictator he fought years ago.

Is the “villain card” really a VILLAIN card- or something else?

So, I’ve been thinking a lot today about @faelapis​‘s recent post (link in reblogs so this can go in tags) discussing the corrupted Steven theory, and specifically how he pointed out how in the intro… that the camera “zooms inside Steven’s heart” when transitioning to the shot that features Big Looming Pink Fella.

And I know the fandom generally refers to threatening spreads such as these as “villain cards,” since- at the time of the intro’s release in October, all of these characters were heavily implied to be antagonistic to our main characters in some way. But after seeing the first ten episodes of SUF in full, I feel we should pause and ask ourselves-

Are any of these characters really villains?

And if not, then what IS their role in the greater story of this epilogue, and more importantly- their role featured prominently in the show’s intro?

Let’s take a quick look at the characters we’ve seen already.

_

Jasper

Thus far, Jasper has played the least antagonistic part she ever has in the entire history of Steven Universe. I’d even go so far as to consider her a shaky acquaintance of Steven’s, at this point. 

But as far as her purpose in the show goes so far, Jasper is important because she is the very first person to mash it up with Pink Mode Steven. The very first person who catches a glimpse of this new ability of his to begin with. When Steven first shifted into this state, it was because she pushed him into a situation that was both emotionally and physically compromising. Jasper is every bit as stubborn as Steven. She knows exactly how to push his buttons. It’s for this reason that I don’t think he would’ve discovered his pink state without her, without her egging him on to fight.

Steven tries his best to be very patient with everyone, and yet his frustrations with Jasper’s inability to move forward (hypocrite, much?) elicited a rather jarring rush of directed anger that- before- he generally seemed to keep bottled inward. 

I get the strong sense that he didn’t allow himself to freely and openly express these sorts of “negative” emotions at all before this encounter. 

Furthermore, Jasper slapped him in the face with the biggest call-out of his mental state ever.

Jasper: “I don’t need your help. You’re the one that needs help. You think you’ve beaten me, but you’ve never beaten me on your own. You’ve always been a fusion. You’ve always had your friends because you’re nothing without them. You think everyone needs help.”

Steven: “I – I just…”

Jasper: “But it’s only you. No one is as pitiful as you.”

Every other episode of the show so far has only gone to further showcase that this is what Steven believes about himself right now. (See: Little Graduation, especially.)

And what happened with Jasper that day… was just the beginning of his slow decline.

Bluebird Azurite

This character… also isn’t big villain material. She’s barely even a threat.

Rather, Bluebird serves as a stark reminder for Steven that there are people out there that hate him for being him. Not only that, but those who would fuse for just that reason.

To hate him together.

(I must admit, I still find the notion of Steven potentially falling apart because of a lack of self-love interesting, as much as it is heartbreaking. But I already wrote that post, so moving on-)

But she also is a reflection of how Steven is resistant to change right now.

Greg: “I mean, everyone can change, but not everyone wants to.”

Steven: “Yeah…”

He used to believe in the idea of positive change wholeheartedly, and yet… I think the passing years have led him to a place where he himself is scared of it, of the unknown, of moving on from what’s comfortable, of all the nebulous what-ifs. Which is why when Bluebird shows up, he projects his own resistance on this scenario. He doubts Bluebird’s ability to change for the better because he now doubts that for himself.

Instead, I think he fears he may be changing for the worse.

I strongly believe we’re going to see Bluebird again. I just get the sense that there’s more she can bring to the table. 

“Mean” Lapis and “Nice” Lapis

Also not villains. Just obstacles.  

Similarly to Bluebird, they seem to push that “resistance to change” theme further for Steven. Some people just… are stuck in their ways. (Thankfully though, not all of them. Thanks, Freckles. Love ya lots!) 

Since Why So Blue is focused squarely on capping Lapis’ character arc, there’s not as much Steven-related meta threads I can glean from their first appearance, truth be told. 

I think we’re likely to see more from these two, as well. If they do serve a greater role in the overarching story of SUF, it isn’t complete yet. Fingers crossed!

Cactus Steven

Dear goodness, this creature is completely innocent. Poor baby. XD

This poor fella plays the role of being a physical embodiment of- at the time of Prickly Pair- Steven’s mental state, and pushing the lad to repress his turbulent emotions even further.

Throughout SUF so far, Steven has become consumed by negative self-talk, (”I used to be helpful, but the Gems don’t need me anymore”), a stark reluctance to let anyone see the evidence of his mental instability, and explosive anger he cannot gain a handle on. 

And as his mirror, Cactus Steven: 

Repeats things Steven says, spilling all of that negative self-talk and the reasons why he doesn’t want to approach the Gems about his issues.

Is shoved away under a box, representing Steven’s emotional repression.

Warps into a monstrous form, explosive anger brimming at the surface.

Notably, Cactus Steven only fights in direct response to what others lay on him. He is not overtly antagonistic until Steven himself makes the first strike. Later, while the Gems are attempting to fight him back, he desperately tries pushing them away… much like Steven has been all season.

Cactus Steven: “Just… get… OUT!”

Furthermore, Steven creates him. He creates this monster. He’s the reason he becomes so messed up in the first place. That has to feel pretty awful, especially when he’s doubting his ability to be helpful nowadays. He tried to nurture this creature, and look where that got him? This furthers the narrative idea mentioned earlier, of Steven perhaps fearing that he’s now changing for the worse.

Finally, by by the end of this episode, it seems worryingly as if Steven’s reluctance to open up about his problems has solidified.

Pearl: “Is there anything you need to talk about…?”

Steven: “…I think I’ve said enough.”

_

To wrap…

We don’t yet know what role White Diamond will play, but it’s probable that it’ll be something that strongly impacts Steven in a personal way. And at this point in the show, I’m doubtful she’ll suddenly heel-turn back into villainy.  

With all this in mind, my current theory is that… 

These characters are not on this title sequence card as ‘villains’ at all, but rather, each serve as important ‘road markers’ on the path towards the eventual climax of SUF.

Meaning, Steven’s encounters with each of them will influence his way of thinking in a way that leads him further down the road towards eventual corruption. Or whatever else is waiting for him at the end.

And the camera specifically “zooms into Steven’s heart” because these characters, standing in front of that monster, represent the moments that lead him into that state. 

What we’re seeing here is a visual record of the burden he carries inside him.

[suthoughts]

Aquamarine and Eyeball

I was hoping I’d be able to do this properly, with evidence and such, but given that Bluebird airs tonight I’m not going to have time and I really want to have this out there before anything official happens. Especially as Bluebirds existence ties in very nicely to a theory I’ve had about Eyeball since her reappearance in the trial.

So here’s a summery of my theory and later, when I have time later I’ll come back and explain in more detail why I thought this:

We know Eyeball was alive during the War, fought the Crystal Gems for Earth, and witnessed the apparent shattering of Pink Diamond. However, as it seems that none of the other members of her squad were alive at the time and Rubies ‘tend to come in groups of three or more’ I think that Eyeball was originally part of a different squad of Rubies, all of whom were killed in the war.

After having lost everything on Earth, Eyeball was given a new squad with a relatively high status (at least for a Rubies) by Yellow Diamond, who seems to have a bit of a soft spot for the gems that fought for Pink. However this just made Eyeball feel worse, as despite their close, family like nature this new squad just reminded her of what she’d lost.

Fast forward to Hit the Diamond, where Eyeball had to return to Earth, the planet that had taken everything from her. With these memories, watching others bond in a way that she once had with her original sisters, made her feel more angry and alone than ever. However there was one speck of light: they’d been sent to retrieve Jasper. Another gem who, like Eyeball had lost everything on Earth, but who (as far as Eyeball was concerned) had gone on to make something of herself despite all that.

This was someone who not only might be able to understand how Eyeball felt, but as she wasn’t a Ruby, she wouldn’t remind her of her dead loved ones, perhaps being able to fill the hole in Eyeballs heart a little as result.

In fact, Eyeball seems very interested in having close personal relationships with Gems that aren’t Rubies. Not only does she seem to want the friendship of a Jasper, but she’s also interested in perusing the companionship of a Pearl and, it seems, the love of an Aquamarine.

So what about Aquamarine. Well funnily enough I think she could form Bluebird for very similar reasons.

I’ve seen the suggestion that Aquamarines gem placement represents the phrase ‘turn the other cheek’ and her fusion with Eyeball makes me think that this might well be the case.

With this and how easily she let Topaz off, I’m beginning to wonder if Aquamarine’s just someone who’s very good at playing the part she has to play and repressing the parts of her she needs to repress in order to make her life as easy as she can.

If we consider the fact that her extremely elite status likely means there are very few gems she can hang out with, along with the weight she put behind her statement about sentimentality, I think Aquamarine might (possibly without realising it) be a bit lonely.

So what with Aquamarine and Eyeballs shared loneliness, their lack of connections to each other’s past lives (they’re even from different eras) and the fact that their personalities match up (I think) quite well, I don’t think their’s going to be any ulterior motivation behind Bluebird for Steven to find. Perhaps Bluebird’s come to Earth to learn about her new body, to confront the baggage the planet has for one of her components, or simply to stir things up for fun.

Either way I can see her being an honest relationship rather than a plan actually causing some inner turmoil for Stevens. For one thing he’s spent the entire episode wrongly doubting and accusing someone for being something they’re not, and for another thing, Eyeball would be revealed to be another Gem his mother hurt.

[suthoughts]

I can’t believe my Pumpkin’s dead

[suthoughts]

Spinel’s Missing History

On the face of it, what we know of Spinel’s story seems pretty complete, she was made to be Pink Diamond’s friend, the two played together in the garden, Pink abandoned her, she stayed in the garden until Steven’s message reached her, then she made her way to Earth in order to get revenge. However I believe it was presented this way on purpose, so we wouldn’t noticed the very thin gaps where some very important information lays hidden.

The Creation and Purpose of Spinel and the Garden

During the first period of her life Pink Diamond was, affectively, a child. This caused her to be both naturally very affectionate and determined to have fun, and this lead to her doing things the other Diamonds regarded as unacceptable, like treating her Pearl as an equal and a friend.

I believe that, after Pink Pearl was removed from the picture (either as a punishment or because she was broken in some way) Pink Diamond became more unhappy than she already was, causing her to act out more. Realising they couldn’t stop her childish behaviour the Diamonds decided to find a way to make it controlled and acceptable.

So they made an extra special Pearl, in multiple colours, who, with her forehead gem rather than a naval one, was built to be more of a teacher/assistant rather than a friend. Then they made Spinel, a gem it would be appropriate for Pink to be friends with, and placed her in the Garden, a place for the two of them to play. They then told Pink that she could play all she liked, provided she only did it in the in the Garden they’d built for her.

If you look at the Garden’s location you can see it’s on a fragment of rock far out in space. It’s not on a planet or even a moon, taking up space that could be used for something of value to a gem colony, it’s also (much like the Zoo) isolated and hidden away so it’s not accidentally stumbled across by those who have no business knowing about it (thus keeping the Diamonds image intact).

Then look at Spinel’s outfit. She’s got gloves, big puffy sleeves and a hint of makeup on her upper eyelashes. In fact, other than a skirt, she has all the outfit components that seem to be specifically reserved for high class gems. Although we know she was viewed as little more than a toy by the Diamonds, she would likely have been seen by the Gems of Homeworld (and maybe even by herself) as a member of the elite. In short she was someone it would be appropriate for Pink to be friends with.

Pearls Lack of Knowledge about Spinels Fate

It seems odd to me that, despite having known about the Garden and having been familiar enough with Spinel that she could work out who she was despite her significant change in appearance, Pearl didn’t know what had happened to Spinel. What she did have however, was an idea as to why she might want to hurt them.

When I first watched the film and heard Other Friends, I thought Spinel was one of Pink’s old friends from her days back on Homeworld, who was angry at the fact Pink had had friends who weren’t her. Looking at Pearls reaction during the song I have a suspicion that’s what she thought too.

As others have pointed out the rejuvenated Spinel was naturally possessive towards Steven, staying permanently by his side to the point of quite literally hanging off of him, inserting herself into every discussion and situation and, crucially, becoming aggressive when he started prioritising others needs over her.

Now while it is possible that this was just her old memories beginning to reawaken I don’t actually think this was the case. Unlike the other times in the film where a gem begins to regain their memories (including Spinels own one later) she’s left unchanged by the incident, so instead I think this is more likely a naturally reflexive reaction.

So why would Spinel, in her purest, untraumatised form, have a natural reaction like that? Well I believe that, as a fail safe to prevent the Pink Pearl incident from happening again, the Diamonds designed Spinel to be Pink’s only friend. The deliberately designed her to be naturally clingy and possessive to ensure that Pink Diamond couldn’t make any other friends, and this is why, although the evidence points to Pearl having met Spinel and seen the garden, she never knew what happened to Spinel. Because Pink had to stop bringing her.

Given the lack of disgust towards Ruby and Sapphires fusion there are clearly some aspects of Homeworlds society that are taught rather than instinctive, so it could be that, in the Garden, fulfilling her role, Spinel could have been hostile towards Pearl from the beginning, or it could be that she began to feel Pearl threatened her status as Pinks best friend. Personally however I think it’s most likely that Pearl was tolerated in much the same way the rejuvenated Spinel tolerated the Crystal Gems, until that is the time came for Pink to not only leave, but to take Pearl with her.

What followed revealed a side of Spinel Pink hadn’t been aware of and was what likely started the rift that formed between them.

Spinel’s New Form and ‘New Toys’

Despite being the smallest gap (ranging from between a day to a week) this one is the most obvious. Between viewing Steven’s message and arriving on Earth a pretty big change had come over Spinel. She not only had a bran-new form but had somehow acquired a giant Injector and a Rejuvenator despite both of these being things she wouldn’t have had access to in the Garden.

These things seem to suggest a third parties involvement, and I think the fact that Spinel even saw Steven’s message at all was deliberately engineered.

While it is possible that the message was also being broadcast to abandoned places, I’m not sure how likely it is to have reached the Garden, especially when you remember that no one seems to have thought of, or even remembered the Garden for years. Add to that the fact that Spinel said that she’d had the message on loop in a way that suggest she hadn’t set it to do that, and things start to look suspicious.

I believe that, once they were satisfied the message had done its work, whoever sent it traveled to the Garden before Spinel decided to leave, poofed her in order to transport her more discreetly, and took her back to there base where they kitted her out and groomed her for the task ahead.

So who could that have been?

As I’ve already said in other posts I believe there are two groups of Gems most likely to pose a threat to peace: Upperclass supremacist Gems who are upset about their loss of power, and Gems who have been oppressed or abused by Homeworld and feel that those who have oppressed/abused them have got off lightly. With both her past and her likely high class status, Spinel would be a prime candidate for recruitment for either party, especially when you realise that with her lack of experience, maturity and the fact that she was in shock, she’d be easy to mould and manipulate.

However as she targeted Earth rather than the Diamonds, and had been given two tools it would be hard for a lower class gem to get there hands on, I think it’s most likely a group of upperclass Gems. Not only that, but given the colour of both the Injector and the Rejuvenator, along with the fact that of all the Gems to have knowledge of the garden the most likely one is a member of Pinks court, I’m beginning to suspect that there’s only one gem we’ve heard of who ticks all these boxes. Rhodonite’s former owner, Morganite.

[suthoughts]

I’ve got some thoughts on Spinel and the fact that I suspect there are some (pretty important) bits of her story we haven’t got yet. However, as I can’t find anywhere I can watch the necessary clips with accurate subtitles, I need some help checking something before I write a post about it:

Is there anywhere in the whole film where anyone (most likely factory setting Pearl or the Diamonds) puts ‘the’, ‘a’, or something similar in front of Spinel’s name, e.g. is there any dialogue to suggest that there’s more than one Spinel?

[suthoughts]

Quick Theories Post

Here are all the theories I can think of, out in the air before the Movie airs. I’m hoping to write a post for each of them, going over them in detail and explaining why I think there the case, but given how long it often takes me to write a post some of them might end up becoming obsolete before that happens.

Pearls are made by White Diamond and are used as a surveillance tool. Unknown to the Pearls themselves she can quite literally see through their eyes, allowing her to know everything that goes on across Gem kind, including all their secrets, especially of those in power. This is how she knew so much about earth culture, including what a child was. She’s been watching through Pearls eyes this whole time.

Part of the reason Rhodonite stays fused permanently (other than love of course) is to keep her Pearl component safe from Morganite, as, if she found them she could give Pearl orders she would be powerless to obey. When she’s part of Rhodonite she’s a different person and therefore doesn’t have to obey her owner.

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl will take on something of a mentor like role with (what I’ll call for the sake of simplicity) the new Crystal Gems, helping them adjust to there new lives.

As part of her affinity for organic life Rose was able to age and un-age beings, this however was a power she rarely used as it didn’t fit with her morals. This is another reason Stevens physical growth is linked so closely to his mental state and also the reason Greg looks the way he does in that photo of him and Rose. She wanted him to have a way of feeling like he grew old with her whilst also getting him to understand why she wanted to give up her life to have a child.

When she was suddenly caught up in the battle Lapis had a panic attack and instinctively used the water she’d been working with to form a powerful cyclone of water around her, poofing any gem that came to close regardless of whether they were Homeworld Gems or Crystal Gems. This is both why Bismuth poofed her and why she was mistakenly branded a rebel by Homeworld.

Pearl will find herself in a similar situation with Mystery Girl and Kevin to that Greg was in with her and Rose. She will use her previous experiences and growth to handle the situation better than the three of them did at the time.

[suthoughts]

@mcwolly-sketch don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about people with non physical disabilities. As someone with autism people with mental disabilities are entirely included in my definition of disability, and Steven Universes representation of them is something I’m very keen to get around to talking about.

Gems with non physical disabilities didn’t come up in my limb enhancers post, because it was just about limb enhancers, why Homeworld uses them and the effect they have on the Gems that use them. They’re only given to Gems who’s ‘flaw’ is being too small, which is why Gems with other disabilities (who face a different form of oppression) aren’t really brought up.

(The main reason I covered limb enhancers separately is because my opinion on them isn’t particularly common among the fandom and I realised if I didn’t cover it separately I’d have to do a lot of repeated explaining when I come to talk about Amethyst, Peridot or Carnelian.)

It always takes me a while to write posts and I’m currently trying to get all my theories out before the Movie aires, but if you like I can tag you when I finally get around to analysing Padparacha or writing about Peridot from an autistic view point.

[suthoughts]

New Plan

As some of you will have no doubt noticed it takes me a looooooong time to write a post, and there’s usually a pretty big gap between when my content goes up.

I have a lot of courses of IV antibiotics and because I both want to write and am absolute not letting myself anywhere near my precious book while I’m all drugged up, this is when I write most of these posts. (Hence the length of time I take to write them and the fact that they aren’t exactly my greatest written works.) During my last admission I also had a large kidney stone removed and discovered two things I should really have been able to work out for myself:

1. After you have a 1.1cm kidney stone removed you spend a long time feeling not great.

2. Writing an analysis of episodes and characters is a different skill than making up theories.

So having spent this entire time doggedly working through my post on Amethyst to have only done TWO EPISODES, and the film that was once a long way off now right around the corner, I remembered how history has taught me that if I don’t post my theories soon there going to be immediately proved or disproved.

So I’ve have had a change of plan. The analytical posts are going on hold for a little while because they’re A, hard, and B, are about stuff that’s already aired and therefore what I want to say isn’t going to be rendered null and void after the movie aires. When I go back to them (and I will, I didn’t spend all these months on Amethysts one just to throw it away) I’ll probably not try and air them all in a row and start with smaller characters like Carnelian or the Rutile twins rather than throwing myself into a major character right away.

So what I’m actually going to do is make a bullet point list of all my theories, similar to what I did before the last Steven Bomb (only this time I’m listing ALL of them instead of going ‘White’s not likely to try and yank Stevens Gem out now, I’ve got time to write a proper theory’ like an idiot).

Then, if I get round to it I’m going to try and write a post for the ones I’m most interested in!

[suthoughts]

Limb Enhancers

One, among many, of the good things about Steven Universe is that it does a very good job representing a lot of minority groups. Generally this is talked about a lot among the fans, however there is one represented group that I don’t think I’ve ever seen talked about (which is kinda odd considering it affects two of the main cast): the disabled.

I put this down to the fact that compared to other minority groups the disabled side of Tumblr is a lot smaller and less widely spread. Generally the only reason I see disabled content is because I seek it out, meaning that, unless you’re disabled (and therefore unlikely to forget you exist) disabilities aren’t going to be something on your mind.

Steven Universe LGBT+ viewers have explained and pointed things out that I (as a cis het woman) would never have fully understood (e.g. why Garnet put off telling Steven she was a fusion, why Lemon Jade fused at the ball even though it was so dangerous, etc). So I’ve been planning for a while to make a series of posts on Steven Universe’s large disabled cast.

However I soon realised that there was something integral to the way off coloured gems were (and likely still are) oppressed by Homeworld, that I’d have to break down and analyse before I could properly begin. And that is: Limb Enhancers.

The Purpose:

The fact that Amethyst, an off colour gem who we know from Peridot can ‘do everything a real quartz can do’, was forced to wear them in order to attend the ball, shows as that Limb Enhancers are used not as aids, but as something designed to dress up the more marginally acceptable off colours as ‘real gems’ so that they can be presented in society.

The main reason I think Limb Enhancers were originally mistaken for aids was that the secondary features of Peridots (a gun and a log) were useful in her day to day life. However we know there are other, less detrimental ways Homeworld could have given them to her.

For instance let’s look at Aquamarine.

We know Aquamarine is, most likely an era 2 gem, and this, along with the fact that her wand appears to be a permanent fixture rather than something she pulls from her gem, would suggest that she can’t naturally summon a weapon. This would mean that her wand (which seems to function in the same way as Peridots finger guns) was something that was given to her in order for her to do her job. So why wasn’t she given limb enhancers? We saw a lot of Aquamarines during the last arc, all out in public and allowed at the ball as they were while Amethyst was not. Aquamarine wasn’t given Limb Enhancers because she looks correct.

Then there’s Blue Zircon, another gem who’s young age would mark her as era 2, and another gem without Limb Enhancers. While there is a chance she functions properly, the fact that her prosecutions come from her monocle rather than her gem (like all the other protections we’ve seen gems do) suggests that she, like Peridot, might not have powers and that her monocle could be something that was given to her so she could do her job. So, if there wasn’t a way to fit a log to a wand like Aquamarines, Peridot could simply have had a fixture like this attached to her goggles.

The Physical Affects:

The main reason I don’t see Limb Enhancers as aids is that aids are designed to make life easier for the people who use them. Limb Enhancers however make life harder and, if used for long enough, have a negative physical affect on a gems body.

Firstly let’s look at Amethyst, a gem we know to be very mobile and athletic. In Limb Enhancers she was shown to be barley able to keep herself upright. While this was because she wasn’t used to using them, we know from this that they are hard to use and take time to adjust to.

Just how much time would a gem be given to adjust. Looking at the fact the first batch of Earths Amethysts were sent out almost as soon as they had emerged, the answer is most likely that they weren’t given any. This may just about work for a gem like a Peridot, who would be able to learn to walk on the job (although it would likely slow down productivity and possibly get them into trouble) but for a Quartz soldier stumbling around a battlefield like a newborn deer would likely spell death. Then there’s the question of how mobile they could actually become. Could a Quartz soldier in Limb Enhancers ever perform a spin dash, one of the staples of their combat strategy?

Then there are the long term affects. For a long time after she lost her Limb Enhancers Peridot was unable to run on two legs, falling over if she tried and having to resort to running on all fours. While Peridot may be clumsy she isn’t that clumsy, and by Kindergarten Kid she was able to run without falling over. When you combine this with what we already know it suggest that long term use of Limb Enhancers negatively alters the way a gem uses her body, forcing them to become dependent on Limb Enhancers whether they want to be or not, and faced with a lengthy (and potentially dangerous) transition if they ever want to stop using them again.

The Mental Affect:

As well as forcing gems to become physically dependent on them, Limb Enhancers cause gems to become mentally dependent on them as well. Homeworld society is set up to make off coloured gems hate their bodies. Those who are considered too misshapen are killed on sight, and those who are ‘acceptable’ are either hidden away on remote outposts or dressed up to look like their correct counterparts. Worse still they are taught that this is their fault.

I know from experience that even in a supportive environment, when you’re disabled, it becomes very easy to see your disability as something ‘other’ than you. An enemy that stopping you from doing what you want to do and being who you want to be. It becomes an enemy that you cannot fight because that enemy is you. But you cannot see that or accept that, because that means you have lost.

Limb Enhancers give gems the opportunity to pretend they’re not disabled. To put on a mask and hide behind it from who they really are. (A lot of people with non noticeable disabilities do this at some point in there lives, and it’s hard not to because you tend not to notice you’re doing it.) The problem with this is that, while they ignore their disability, their hatred towards it doesn’t go away, and when the mask finally falls off they have to confront the monster they’ve built up underneath. And because it’s suddenly so big and frightening it can take a long time to realise it’s there.

This is what happened to Peridot when she lost her Limb Enhancers and it was also why she was so desperate to get them back and it took until Too Short to Ride for her to finally be ready to admit to others that she was disabled. It’s important to note that this episode saw her get a tablet (an aid that didn’t compromise a part of her identity) and, after she acknowledged what she was, she discovered her abilities to control metal (something unique and beneficial to her that may well be a side affect of her disability).

I’ll talk more about Peridot in a later post, but now as that’s everything I have to say on Limb Enhancers, I’ll sign off with Peridots word as she flew over Homeworld as herself, an off colour Peridot:

‘Set your eyes on me, Homeworld! I, Peridot, have returned, not as your servant, but as your savior!’

Which says a lot about how Homeworld made her feel, doesn’t it?

[suthoughts]

Yellow Zircon

I was originally going to put the post I promised on Yellow Zircon after Battle of the Heart and Mind had aired, however the distraction of the Homeworld hierarchy has left a lot of what I was going to say null and void. Hence the delay.

In this, the new, reformed, Yellow Zircon post I’ll analyse her character and hypothesise on her feelings and future using the theories I’ve talked about in other posts.

Gem Placement

Like her blue counterpart, Yellow Zircons Gem is found at the base of her neck, where the knot of a tie would be. As I’ve already said in my post on Blue Zircon, we’re not really able to compare the Zircons gem placement with other gems to determine their personality, however the association of that part of the body with different forms of execution (along with the phrase ‘your neck is on the line) makes me wonder if their gem placement is representative of the metaphorical noose they live with round their necks.

Self Preservation

As we’ve seen in both the trial and Blue Pearls courtroom sketches, the courtroom can be a dangerous place and the Zircons rely on both their intelligence and sense of self preservation in order to survive. As I’ve already discussed, I believe that Blue Zircon is fully aware of just how much danger she lives in and, as her intellectual equal, I assume Yellow Zircon is aware of it too.

However, as the prosecutor of the Gems who have defied Homeworlds laws, Yellow Zircon has slightly more leeway when it comes to Blue Zircon. The chances of her being branded a traitor are much slimmer and her biggest threat comes from one of the Diamonds lashing out at her in anger. So while Blue Zircon relies on being right, the safest thing for Yellow Zircon to do is to be liked

The first important thing is how Yellow Zircon presents herself. She come across as smart, confident, proud, well spoken and capable. All of which are things we know Yellow Diamonds values in her court. Then there’s the amount of compliments she showers her Diamond in, something that she was quick to stop doing once she was told not to do so.

The third thing is the speed at which she agreed with everything her Diamond said, from the quick, ‘of course my Diamond’ after she was told to stop showering Yellow in compliments, to her last remark of ‘case closed, right my Diamond?’ Ironic it was this technique that resulted in her being poofed, as if she had just sat quietly and not drawn attention to herself she may have left the courtroom in one piece.

The final point to make is that, along with being liked, Yellow Zircon is not above using dirty tactics to get the upper hand. Her remark to Blue Zircon about her committing treason was clearly meant to get under her opponents skin and shake her more than she was already shaken. It also had the effect of presenting Blue Zircon in a negative and ill prepared way to the Diamonds when they arrived.

Anger

If my theory about anger being a affective antidote against Blue Diamonds wave of sorrow is correct, then (as I pointed out in a previous post) Yellow Zircon crying one tear suggest that she has a lot of anger inside of her. So what is it directed towards? Personally I think it’s most likely to be resentment towards the fact that she has to sacrifice her pride and suck up to her Diamond in order to be allowed to live.

Although this is less likely, I also think it would be interesting if her resentment was also due to the fact that she has been made into a killer. While she didn’t shatter accused gems herself it was her actions that led them to die, and even though she had no real choice in the matter she was still morally responsible for their deaths.

Future (Bonus):

If I am right about a civil war between Gems who want the old system back and those who want revenge for their past treatment, then, going off of what I’ve just discussed about Yellow Zircon, I can see her going one of four ways:

Way 1: Having learnt from her experience in the courtroom, Yellow Zircon attempts to hide away and stay out of the things. She has been left very nervous and afraid, and is currently having to reevaluate her entire life.

Way 2: In order to assure her own safety Yellow Zircon joins whichever force seems the strongest and is fully ready to desert for the enemy if the tables turn.

Way 3: Yellow Zircon joins the gems attempting to reinstall the old system in order to obtain a safe and comfortable position for herself near the top.

Way 4: Due to her anger at her previous treatment and eventual poofing Yellow Zircon joins the revenge Gems in an attempt to get some sort of justice or closure.

Either way I can’t see her going into direct conflict herself. However, her keen intellect and good people skills would still make her a valuable asset.

[suthoughts]

The Future of Steven Universe

Since Change Your Mind aired both myself and other fans have found themselves asking, what’s next for Steven Universe? With corruption cured and the apparent destruction of Homeworlds cast system where else is there to go?

In this post I’m going to talk about what I think is next for Steven Universe, looking at the unresolved mysteries and problems, along with characters who still have a story to tell, and the possible aftermath of the last episode.

Unresolved Mysteries:

The Pyramid Temple:

We can deduce from the era 2 diamond insignia on the floor that the Pyramid temple was sent to earth after the war. Why was it sent and what was the meaning of the rather cryptic mural on the ceiling?

Pink Diamonds Creation:

The drawings Steven looked at during Familiar seemed to be depicting Pink Diamonds creation. Was there any reason why she was created? One of the drawings seemed to depict a Geode, is there any connection to the Geode on Earth.

Lion’s Chest:

We’ve gone back to feeling like we have a much more solid grasp on Roses life again, however this chest remains unexplained. What’s in there and why did Rose want to keep it locked away somewhere so secure that it couldn’t even be accessed after her death? Where is the key now?

The origins of Pearl:

The fandom is currently divided between those who believe our Pearl was created by the other Diamonds as a replacement Pearl for Pink, and those who believe she once belonged to White Diamond. Either way, what made the Diamonds give her a new Pearl if she got the last one taken away for ‘bad behaviour’?

Pink Pearl’s Missing Eye:

How and why did Pink Pearl lose her eye? The fact that the first thing she does is feel where her left eye used to be while she asks what happened suggests that her eye was still there when she was ‘bleached’ by White. Is it a result of being under Whites control for so long or did something else happen?

Jungle Moon:

The planet that orbits the Jungle Moon was destroyed, and not in the way that you get from colonisation. What happens here?

White Diamond:

Why did White Diamond know so much? Not just about the fact that Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond were the same person, but she also knew a lot about organic terminology (such as mother and child). Why did she believe she was supposed to be perfect and how did she come into existence?

Unresolved Problems:

The Human Zoo:

Both the bubbled Rose Quartzes and the Zoomans need to be dealt with.

The Zoomans present the problem of being not only content with their captivity but completely unable to survive outside of the zoo. Even beyond the complexities of the human world they’re going to need to be taught a lot of things that most people wouldn’t even need telling due to their upbringing. They currently have all the fear and common sense of a baby and have to be taught not to just walk into the sea or run into the road. Also, given how they coped with rejection, how will they respond to things like hunger?

The Bubble Rose Quartzes have a simpler solution of just unbubbling them with the knowledge they won’t Immediately die, however there are still complications regarding their release. Regardless of the way individual Rose Quartz may feel about having been bubbled for goodness knows how long (which presents a whole other set of problems) they still have to be filled in on a LOT of Gem history and, most importantly, relocated.

The Resource Crisis and Gem Reproduction:

Homeworld is still in the middle of a resource crisis, likely brought on by the unsustainable way they have of producing more gems. Sooner or later the Homeworld will run dry, and sooner or later the Diamonds are going to want to colonise another planet and, in the process, wipe out all the life from it.

Shattered Gems:

Shattered gems have a degree of consciousness, not enough to truly alive, but enough to suffer. Ideally a way would be found to free them from their gemstones and let them move on.

Characters:

Bismuth:

Bismuth has just been reunited with her closest friends, however for a very long time her existence revolves entirely around the war to the extent that her ‘purpose’ was making weapons for the rebels to fight with. While the construction of the house is keeping her busy at the moment how will she adjust to the life of a civilian and how will she handle rubbing shoulders with gems like Jasper or Nephrite, who used to be her enemy?

Lapis:

Now that she’s stopped isolating herself Lapis’s character can begin to grow. At the moment she feels she’s the only one who can’t ‘let go’ of her trauma, something that (given that the episode after she said this saw us journeying into Pearls repressed war memories) is obviously untrue. What Lapis needs is constructive coping techniques that don’t involve lashing out at those around her.

While Steven and Peridot meant well they both have a tendency to blame themselves for situations outside of there control and were scared of hurting Lapis further. Now however, as part of the main group, Lapis will have to interact with Pearl (who knows what it’s like to be treated like an object, and used to have a very similar way of dealing with her feelings) and Garnet (who while being kind and supportive will let Lapis know when she goes too far).

There’s also the matter of her back story. Now that we finally know about Pearls life on Homeworld she is now, officially, the Gem we know the least about. It’s also important to note that, other than Lapis, every other part of her origin story was a silhouette, something that has been repeatedly used (for instance in Your Mother and Mine) when a story doesn’t quite match reality.

Peridot:

Peridots relationship with Lapis was stifling. In my opinion this came partly from the fact that she had no idea how to support someone like Lapis, and partly from the fact that, during conflict, she assumes she’s the one in the wrong.

During her ‘redemption arc’ she was the main source of conflict, due to (generally out of ignorance) saying hurtful things to the Crystal Gems. She spent a lot of time being taught the correct way to behave. Before the revelation that Rose was Pink Diamond she never saw conflict between the Crystal Gems and may have assumed it had only happened because of her ignorance. If this is the case then the next step for Peridot is trusting her feelings and realising that sometimes other people make mistakes too.

Jasper:

There’s a lot of story potential for Jasper, from her origins in the Beta Kindergarten to the revelation that the Gem who took everything from her and her beloved Diamond were the same person. The cast system she absolutely believed in is now suddenly gone and she’s suddenly got nothing to fight and therefore, no purpose. Does Jasper even know that the Famethyst are still alive and at the zoo? Then there’s her whole negative experience with fusions to consider, along with the negative way she views herself.

Nephrite:

I’ve already made a post about Nephrite and what I believe to be her backstory so I’ll just write a summary here: Nephrite was considered something of a failure on Homeworld and, despite being persistent believes that she can do nothing right. If I’m right then she story will likely be about her, not only dealing with the trauma of corruption, but learning to believe in herself. It could also possibly give us information on how planets are scouted out.

Rhodonite and the Rutile Twins:

Out of all the off colours Rhodonite is the one who seems the least comfortable with her existence, ranging from telling Garnet that they should all be ashamed to occasionally correcting herself when she starts to talk about herself as one person instead of two. The Rutile Twins self loathing seems to be a little more subtle but they seem to have a similar dislike of their body as Amethyst and Peridot once had.

Jade and the Zircons:

Last seen poofed by Yellow Diamond we don’t know where they are or what happened to them.

Lars and Sadie:

What’s going to happen now Lars is back home. Both he and Sadie have grown as more independent people during his absence, will they still be able to connect with each other or have they grown apart?

The Aftermath:

Pearls:

While the cast system has been destroyed and all the gems are now no longer obliged to fall into their specific rolls, are the Pearls free? They are treated as objects by Homeworld and, as such, the Diamonds may have not mentally included them in the liberation. Even if they were included how willing would members of the elite be to give up their Pearls? In fact, if the theory about Rose accidentally breaking her Pearl is true, can Pearls even be given their freedom?

Former Corrupted Gems:

Did any of the gems go back to Homeworld with the Diamonds, and if so how many? Either way that’s a lot of gems who now have to find a place to live. Given Homeworlds mentality towards off colours how are they all going to cope with the fact that, with their new appearance, that is basically what they have become.

Homeworlds Off Colours:

As we’ve seen from Lars’s crew among others, the conform or die oppression the Homeworld off colours have faced have left them with a lot of issues. Even ‘acceptable’ off colours like Peridot were left feeling resentful towards themselves after being dressed up with lim enhancers to look like ‘real’ gems. Homeworlds mentality will not have changed in one go and there will be those who remain hidden out of fear, or out of a refusal to accept themselves. There may also be those who are (rightfully) angry about their oppression and want revenge for how they’ve been made to live.

The Former Elites:

Now we reach those I consider most likely to be the future antagonist of Steven Universe. While there will doubtless be elite gems who embrace the change there will be those who do not. Those like Aquamarine, who like their power over others and aren’t willing to let it go. A lot of people think the Gem shown in the film trailer is Morganite, the former owner of Rhodonite’s components, and if that’s the case, the deconstruction of the cast system, along with her views on thing like cross gem fusion would give her a motivation to start (or at least join) a revolution.

Middle and Lower Class Gems:

Gems who are not members of the elite, particularly low class ones like Pearls and Rubies, have problems regarding their own individuality and desires. They’ve always been treated as one of many identical and indistinguishable copies. As we’ve seen from both Ruby and Pearl, the affect of Homeworld on a gems individually can take a long time to lose its hold.

Then there are the gems like Holly Blue Agate, who have spent their lives sucking up to those above them and kicking those below. How will they cope with the changes? If there is a revolution I can see at least some of them joining in an attempt to get more power for themselves.

I can also see some lower class gems deciding to join, either in an attempt to secure some of the power that had been denied to them, or out of fear of freedom.

[suthoughts]

Blue Zircon

There’s been something about Blue Zircon that’s interested me ever since The Trial came out two years ago. It’s not just the fact that I really like Ace Attorney (something the blue, cravat wearing, defence attorney was clearly a reference to) but the fact that our introduction to her was completely different to that of any other gem we’d seen so far, and that even now, when you compare her to other blue gems, she sticks out. As such I’ve wanted to make a post about her for a while and finally, having made all the posts that are in danger of becoming obsolete with the new episodes, I can do it.

In this post I’m going to look at the sort of gem I think she is based on what we saw during the trial, and talk about what could happen with her character. There might be a few Ace Attorney spoilers in this post, but probably nothing major.

Life Before The Trial:

The first thing I tried to think about, when guessing what sort of person Blue Zircon was her gem placement, that is, the base of the neck. As the only other gem we know with the same placement is Yellow Zircon (who we know even less) I’m unable to compare her with better known characters and am, instead, looking towards things that are associated with that part of the body. I could think of two things: various forms of execution (beheading, hanging, etc) and the fraise ‘your neck is on the line’, the latter of which fits very well with what she said to Steven ‘Don’t tumble my rocks! Both our gems are on the line!’

So what does this mean? While it could be that, like the Ace Attorneys Kingdom of Khura'in, on Homeworld defence attorneys receive the same punishments as their clients. Simply put, there client is shattered then they are shattered as well, they should have done their job better, or not tried to protect a criminal.

However I don’t think this is the case for two reasons. The first is that, rather than it being a matter of choice who they represent, each Zircon is assigned at least some of the cases they are given, meaning that they aren’t actively choosing to assist a criminal, and the second is that, shattering every Zircon that loses would be an waist of both resources and the time it would take for a new Zircon to be grown.

So what then did Zircon mean when she said that her gem was on the line? Well if you consider the fact that, as a gem in that courtroom, she is a witness to everything Homeworld wants to keep quiet and out of the public eye, meaning that everyone was 100% convinced of her loyalty she suddenly becomes a very dangerous gem to have around. Then you have to remember that that loyalty could easily be called into question when you realise that, as a defence attorney, it was her job to go directly against Homeworld and there’s probably a fine line between defending your client and being seen as a traitor.

Now as arguably one of the most intelligent gems we’ve seen so far Blue Zircon almost certainly knows this, which is why she’s so scared of the time, it’s also why she’s so clever, despite not being a forehead gem, if she was stupid she wouldn’t have survived.

If she wanted to live she had no choice but to do her job perfectly and give ‘4000 years of loyal service’. Which she did. And in return she was told to defend the the murderer of the daughter/sister of two supreme dictator who’s mental stability had been (since Pink’s ‘death’) like a roulette wheel. In other words she’d been handed a death sentence. This is why she was angry about this being ‘what I get’ she’d done everything exactly the way she was supposed to and she was still going to die anyway.

The Trial:

While I’ve already talked about the reason why above, I find it interesting to point out that, compared with other Homeworld gems we’ve seen, Blue Zircon has an unusual amount of fear regarding her Diamond, other gems (such as Peridot and Holly Blue Agate) May have been nervous in there presence, but they were exited at the prospect of meeting them. Blue Zircon was just scared.

The second point is the way that for most of the trial, she was very careful to stay in her own lane and not do anything to provoke the Diamonds. If I had to guess I’d say that both Zircons have very strong self preservation instincts that manifest in different ways. (I plan on writing a short post on Yellow Zircon later.)

The third, and final point, is the fact that Zircon got ‘carried away’ in her pursuit of the truth. From the moment she said that Pinks death didn’t make any sense Blue Zircon was almost a different gem, she was calm and confident and presented herself in a way much more akin to what we’d expect from a blue gem. Pursuit of the truth is something important enough to Blue Zircon that it could make her forget her fears and even (for a moment at least) override the survival instincts she’s built her whole life upon.

Predictions for the future:

I believe that the chances of Blue Zircon defecting from Homeworld and joining the Crystal Gems is a lot higher than a lot of people think. Even if the Diamonds forgive her and allow her to go back to her old position everything that’s happened will have taught her that just following the rules is not the safety net she used to think it was, eventually there will be another case with no way through and, with the events of The Trial branded to her name, that would likely be sooner rather than later. Leaving Homeworld for Earth is the best shot she’s got of life, simply because it’s the only other option she’s got.

So if she joins the Crystal Gems how would she grow? Well I think her desire for the truth will likely play a very important role. The importance of the truth and how far your willing to go to find it is one of the key themes of the Ace Attorney games. There are times when the truth hurts, and it tears the characters of the games right down to rock bottom, but it also helps them clime out and leaves them into a much more solid life where they can move forward free of the lies that were holding them back. I can see something like this happening with Blue Zircon, aside from being in ‘a lot of trouble’ she’s going to have to look at the way she’s lived her life up till now. Perhaps there were times when she could have won, but not without putting her loyalty up for question. Once she’s come to terms with all of that the next thing for her to do is move on and become the sort of gem those clients had needed her to be.

Another important thing about the Crystal Gems is that they always have each others backs. After having spent her life with no one but herself to rely on, it may be hard for her to trust another gem with her life but, if she can manage it, having someone else she can lean against would be a big help in reliving her Anxiety.

[suthoughts]

Blue Pearl

After I made my post on what fights Blue Diamonds wave of sorrow I’ve been thinking a lot about Blue Pearl and what she could be like. What with it looking like we’ll be seeing more of her in the upcoming episodes I’d like to post them now and see how accurate I was. Let’s start by looking at, for want of a better word, her genetic makeup.

Genes:

Publicly blue gems tend to appear, cool, elegant and somewhat aloof. However in private they’re shown to have difficulty coping with strong emotions, generally shutting them out and refusing to acknowledge them until they can’t be contained before they violently explode outwards. From what we’ve seen of the low points in Sapphire and Ruby, and Peridot and Lapis’s relationships they also have trouble empathising with others. We’ve yet to see Blue Pearl in private, but publicly she matches up with this image.

Next we have chest gems, who are generally greatly influenced and driven by their emotions and beliefs, they also tend to be somewhat spontaneous and speak out when they feel someone has wronged them. It’s here, among Amethyst, Bismuth, Blue and Yellow Diamond that Blue Pearl, with her poker face and soft voice, really sticks out.

Appearances in show:

For most of her time on screen Blue Pearl stands still with a neutral expression. When she moves she does so elegantly and when she speaks she does so softly. She is to all appearances the perfect Pearl. Including the latest prime, there are only three times when she chooses to experience her emotions and twice when she does so involuntary.

The first is during That Will Be All, here Blue Pearl gives a little grimace when Yellow Pearl comes and stands next to her. Form this we can deduce that, at the very least, there is something she dislikes enough about Yellow Pearl for her to decide to show it, if only for a moment.

The second is during The Trial, which is a relative gold mine in terms of Blue Pearl emotions. I agree with most of the fandom that drawing is an acceptable way for Blue Pearl to express herself and show her feelings, however if we were to take out her log and look at it I don’t think the drawings we’d find world be as nice as many people seem to think. Let’s look at what she drew during The Trial. Other than her drawing of Stevens face with a big x through it she also drew Steven falling to his death and Blue Zircon looking distressed (remember that, in terms of court records, Yellow Zircon was the one who was talking and there for was the Gem Blue Pearl should have been focusing on).

These are not happy or nice pictures and yet Blue Pearl shows evident joy in their creation.

Other than that and the ‘where was her Pearl moment’ (which I will write about at a later date) there is one other time during this episode where Blue Pearl shows emotion, and that is during Blue Diamonds wave of grief. I’ve all ready talked about this in more depth within my other post so I’ll just briefly summarise: If I’m right then Blue Pearl crying only one tear and having relative immunity to her Diamonds powers suggests that anger is her dominant emotion.

(Unfortunately I can’t find a full version of this clip to screenshot.)

The final time (so far) Blue Pearl expresses emotion is the small smile she gives after she welcomes home our Pearl. I believe this is the first expression of genuine happiness we’ve seen from her and shows that while she may dislike Yellow Pearl she likes and probably got along well with our Pearl.

Symbolism:

If the Pearls do represent the wise monkeys then Blue Pearl, with her hair that completely covers her eyes, is see no evil.

Conclusion:

As a chest gem Blue Pearls feeling and beliefs are likely very important to her, however as a Pearl she can not voice or act on them. As a Blue gem she’s also not great at dealing with said feeling and so, if you also remember that White Pearls existence probably serves as a reminder of what happens if a Pearl steps out of line all she can do is hide how she feels.

Unlike Amethysts, who have each other and seem to always have someone they can vent to about their superiors with, Blue Pearl has no one except perhaps for the occasional meetings with the other Diamonds Pearls. We can immediately write off venting at White Pearl because this would be like venting at a creepy puppet that may be full of listening devices. Yellow Pearl however is fully conscious but she also seems to genuinely love her Diamond and enjoys her position as a Pearl to the point of secretly taking selfies of herself and Yellow Diamond while at work. She likely won’t hear a word said against either Homeworld or the Diamonds (I’ll try and write a post on why I think this is later). This would make her not only a write off but, as a peer to Blue Pearl, who already has to conceal her feelings with her superiors, she would be a source of annoyance at the very least. Given the speed at which our Pearl managed to work out how to break the rules consequence free in Now We’re only falling apart, it’s not unreasonable to suggest that our Pearl has always had something of a rebellious streak to her. This and the fact that Blue Pearl seems genuinely happy to see our Pearl again makes me wonder if Blue and our Pearl were once close and if Blue used to vent to her when things got to much.

I would be interested to see whether when alone with our Pearl, Blue Pearl displays the warmth and almost boisterous nature we’ve come to associate with chest gems.

As I have already said, I believe art is one of Blue Pearls venting tools. Drawing is a way she can manifest her anger and, if she and Pearl were close, it’s the only way she’s had to do so since Pink Diamond was ‘shattered’.

The final point is that Blue Pearl, with her hair completely covering her eyes, looks to represent the ‘see no evil’ monkey. Many people have described her as ‘spacey’ but I believe that, as that’s an ok thing for a Pearl to be, she purposely blocks out most of what happens around her so as not to add to the ticking time bomb her feelings already are. This last part is a bit far out but I also wonder whether, if she and Pearl were close, she knew about Rose Quartz being Pink Diamond. Pearl would be smart enough to work out a way of her knowing that meant she didn’t have to tell her Diamond unless she was asked a direct question, which if Blue was doing that to her Pearl of all people, then she pretty much already knew everything.

In summary I’d say that while people joke about our Pearl being Salty I think Blue Pearl is bitter, and rightfully so.

[suthoughts]

More Quick Predictions

There are a lot of posts I want to make about a lot of different things, however with the new episode airing today (or 12:30pm if you’re me) and how long it takes me to write stuff up I’m going to make another post quickly listing what I think so I don’t miss the buss, I will type them up properly at some point but (as you can see by the fact I still haven’t covered all the points from my last prediction post) it will probably take some time:

- Gems are truly immortal creatures and practically impossible to completely kill. After corruption is dealt one of the things Steven will move on to is freeing the fragments of a gems soul from inside Gem shards and fusion experiments.

- If Steven is able to contact Lars his return to Homeworld will be much quicker than his trip to Earth due to Peridot modifying the Sun Incinerator using the wreckage from Blue and Yellows arm ships.

- (And again, because we’re on Homeworld) Eyeball Ruby was driven mad after losing her entire original squad in the war. Part of her fascination and love of Jasper comes from the fact that she wants to find someone else who understands what it’s like to lose everything.

[suthoughts]

What Happened To White Pearl

I was originally going to make a post listing the points of comparison between the end of season 5 with the end of season 1, however with Together Alone creating more (eg, Garnet being proofed in a very similar manner) I suspect the comparison have yet to end, and it would be wait until Battle of the Heart and Mind before listing them.

Instead I’m going to write about something that might come up a lot sooner than I originally thought, and that’s what White Diamond did to Pink/White Pearl. I currently have two theories on the subject, one of which I know other people have also come up with, while the second I haven’t seen talked about:

Bleaching:

As many of you will have already been made aware, pearls in the real world can be both dyed and bleached, with bleaching being potentially harmful to the gem involved. If this is what happened to the current White Pearl then I have two thoughts about what the beaching process could involve.

The first is that White Diamond is capable of performing something similar to a lobotomy. To both myself and several other fans more familiar with the more horrible aspects of mental health treatment, White Pearls missing eye coupled with the fact that her mind has obviously been altered in some way suggest a lobotomy (as the brain was reached via the eye). Nephrites brief return to her own body suggests that White Diamond has the ability to leave lasting damage upon a gems physical form, perhaps by either using her aura to damage the statues we saw in Reunited, or physically touching them. If the latter is the case then White Pearls missing eye could be a scar left from where White Diamond pressed something like a finger against her face.

The other cause for bleaching that I can think of would be that it is what happens when a gem is shut away without access to light. This theory was something that was bought to my attention recently, after Stevens dream saw the former Pink Pearl sliding away into the darkness. If an absence of light can cause bleaching then this would be an interesting twist on the real world, where too much exposure to light can result in the bleaching of certain gems, such as amethysts.

Shattering and Reassembling:

Before being disproven in A Single Pale Rose I thought that Steven’s Pink Diamond dreams were a result of White having spent her time relocating Pinks shards and joining them together in an attempt to resurrect her. This was largely due to what we saw of the cluster, and the song G-g-g-ghost causing me to wonder: What would happen if all the pieces of a shattered gem were placed back together?

Given the way Gem shards react to each other I think they would most likely make some attempt to hold themselves together, and with a little help they might even manage it. What, then, would happen to the living Gem the shards once belonged to?

In my opinion we’d be left with a gem who would be unable to change position or even move without risking disrupting her shards, not that that would really matter as she’d be little more than a slightly damaged, lifeless shell anyway. If any part of the person she was was still in there it would be more like a ghost made of memories, and as such, would be better off being let go.

[suthoughts]

White Pearl

This will be a little different from my previous Pearl posts simply because of how different White Pearl is to Blue and Yellow. For the moment at least, she is something of a lifeless shell, scarred by whatever horrible thing happened to her. Because of how little we’ve seen her and how useless any current present day interactions would be in determining who she was/is as a person, I’m going to rely on imagery and other characters reactions much more heavily. As a result I will start with what I think happened and then talk about the evidence afterwards, because I feel like otherwise things are going to get messy and confusing.

The Story of White Pearl:

White Pearl was Pink Diamonds original, made to order, Pearl. She was the first thing Pink Diamond got on her path towards becoming a proper Diamond. Suddenly Pink Diamond had someone who didn’t talk down to her, who listened to what she had to say, and who (as a new gem yet to be shaped by experiences) would have the same child like mentality. She had what she would think of as a friend and equal. Around Pink Pearl she could stop trying to live up to expectations and just be a kid.

As time went on Pink Diamond began to realise that she was the one who always chose the games they played and was always the star of the show. From this point on there are three possibilities, they all however have the same unhappy outcome:

The first two are that this is where Pink Pearl taught Pink Diamond what it truly means to own a Pearl, explaining how she has no free will of her own and is literally incapable of going against her Diamonds wishes no matter how much she wants to. This would have affected Pink Diamond greatly and resulted in her purposely giving her Pearl an order she couldn’t follow, most likely ‘I don’t want you to do what I want.’ Her reason for giving this order is where the scenario differs. Either she said it in an attempt to break her Pearls programming and set her free, or, with the toddler like mentality we saw in Jungle Moon, this revelation made her feel like Pink Pearl was only pretending to be her friend and, without really thinking about it, she gave her Pearl this order in retaliation.

The third option is that orders towards Pearls can be given accidentally without the giver being aware they are doing so. As a result, in an attempt to get her Pearl to make a decision, Pink accidentally gave her Pearl an order she could not follow (again, most likely ‘I don’t what you to do what I want’).

This broke Pink Pearls mind and, terrified, Pink Diamond ran to White Diamond for help. This resulted in Pink Pearl being branded as defective and was either literally or figuratively killed. With her only friend murdered, possibly before her very eyes, Pink Diamond was angry and distraught. In the same way Marty is dead to Greg, White Diamond became dead to Pink.

Looking for emotional support, Pink Diamond went to Blue and Yellow Diamond. Unfortunately she was instead told something along the lines of ‘she was just a Pearl, she’s not important.’ While Blue and Yellow probably though they were helping Pink this was the beginning of the rift between them and Pinks conviction that they ‘didn’t care’.

With Pink still upset over the loss of her Pearl and showing no signs of cheering up any time soon the Diamonds (or at least Blue and Yellow) ordered a new Pearl for her, who was specially designed and ordered to make her happy. Then, when that didn’t work Pink was given what she always wanted, a colony.

Evidence:

Physical:

While Yellow and Blue Pearls gem placement matches that of their Diamonds, White and our Pearl’s do not. While there is an explanation for our Pearl’s gem placement (the other Diamonds deciding that Pink would benefit better from a logical thinker rather than another loving yet emotional Pearl), there is no reason for White to chose a naval gem over one that would compliment her own personality. Pearl’s outfits also usually loosely match their Diamond’s, this is the case for all three Pearl’s except for White, whose crop top and tights match Pink Diamond’s outfit more than White’s.

Our Pearl’s outfit, while matching Pink Diamond’s closely contains the colours of all four diamonds, it also lacks the simplicity of the other Pearls. This would make sense if she was created as an extra special gift by the Diamonds, designed to be better than Pink’s old Pearl and take her mind off her loss.

Another interesting thing is that, as a lot of artists have pointed out, White Pearl’s buns loosely resemble Roses. This causes me to wonder if all the roses associated with Pink Diamond, and even her identity as Rose Quartz, was her way of paying tribute to her first friend.

Roses Behaviour:

From the very beginning of the flashback in Now We’re Only Falling Apart, Pink Diamond was shown attempting to be Pearl’s friend. She tries to talk to her as an equal and, for a moment, is shown to be upset and almost pained by the robotic reply she receives in return.

Later in the episode she becomes blown away by Pearl’s expression of individuality, before immediately panicking to the extent that she grabbed hold of Pearl when she told her she ‘needed to be replaced’.

Probably the most noticeable thing though, is how much more mature Pink Diamond is in this episode compared to her first (chronological) appearance in Jungle Moon. In my opinion the age a gem comes across to us (as humans) is reflective of the sort of experience they have and how it affects them. Looking at the flash backs, all three of the surviving Crystal Gems seem at least a little older after Roses death, with Amethysts being the most noticeable. This suggests that grief is one of the experiences that mentally ages gems. As a result Pink Pearl’s effective ‘death’ would be a good reason for Pink’s sudden maturity, especially because, as the person who ‘broke’ Pink Pearl, she would consider herself at least partly responsible.

Pearl’s Wording:

‘I was given to Pink Diamond just a few thousand years before she was given the Earth. I was supposed to make her happy, I just never could.’

There are two interesting points here, the first the fact Pearl said Pink Diamond was given both her and the Earth, rather than her choosing them for herself. The second is the odd objective she was given. Why was Pink unhappy and why was her unhappiness so bad that she would need to be given a Pearl for the express purpose of cheering her up?

Open Book:

As I said in the small prediction post I made last night, I think Open Book reflects Pink Diamond and the relationship she had with her two Pearls. Remember that Steven and Connie have already been used to reflect Rose and Pearl in previous episodes (most noticeably in Sworn to the Sword).

The first thing to notice is that Room Connie’s original outfit is a reddish pink, before changing to a white wedding dress with accessories in her hair that could reflect White Pearl’s hair buns. There’s also her eyepatch, which, as many other viewers have pointed out, is on the same side and covers the same area as White Pearls missing eye.

Then there’s the actions between Steven and Room Connie themselves. While the two of them were originally playing together the part I find most important is the moment when Steven accidentally ‘breaks’ Room Connie by telling her that he ‘doesn’t want her to do what he wants. After the initial breakdown this causes the Room Connie to turn hostile, chase and attack Steven, only to be fought off by the real Connie.

A lot of viewers see this moment to be foreshadowing some sort of battle between our Pearl and White. I think it’s more likely a reflection of the way Rose felt about her two Pearls, and, in particular, the guilt she carried about her role in what happened to her first Pearl. I think the words Room Connie says to Steven are particularly important:

‘I know you like her and I know you want her to like you too. That’s why you can’t tell her the truth, but you want to! You want to tell her!’

What’s also important is that, once Steven confesses to Connie and she reassures him that it doesn’t matter, he gives his reasoning as the fact that he doesn’t want her to ‘think less of him’.

Whether or not Rose ever told Pearl about White/Pink Pearl is debatable. If she didn’t this secret would explain Roses Lions, as being animals she could confess everything to without worrying about them telling anyone or thinking less of her.