#We all have different prsonalities thoughts | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

kendrixtermina · 7 years

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Crying Jewelry Friends! - Reviewing the latest Steven Bomb.

First, sorry for the delay; I didn’t review them as soon as they leaked because I wanted to watch the bomb with my sisters. This probably improves the quality of the observations as they are perceptive in some areas that I’m not and vice versa. By and large, we loved it and thought it was very clever.

- So yeah, all those people who theorized that Pink Diamond was like the quirky little sister got it right. *tips hat*

- I love how Connie immediately figures out the ‘Palaquin’ part. No reason the characters have to be dumber than the audience. Thanks for taking us seriously!

- This also clarified some things about Rose’s and Greg’s relationship; on the one hand she slipped him that ‘home planet’ white lie and she seems to have had a big bag o’ secrets but on the other hands there were moments like when she trusted greg with the laser light cannon which suggested she was a lot more open with him than the CGs ever suspected.

Now we know the dynamic behind it: She actually did have an above-average full trust going there, but he told her that it didn’t matter to him. At the time it really didn’t, homeworld wasn’t an issue; It’s different for Steven tho.

So that was Greg trying to make her feel accepted & help her over her feelings of guilt! I like how it was actually Greg’s decision & flows naturally from his prsonality.

- The enslaved humans sequence gave me serious TOS vibes - they all need Jesus Captain Kirk.

- Steven has really hit puberty here/ done some teenage rebellion/reorientation in seeking out the information for himself; The whole confrontation wth the gems and the moment in the ship really drive down the self-doubt that was explored over the course of this season. He takes an action for his own inner peace but then immediately feels bad like it’s a selfish thing; It’s good that he’s got this out of this system, and that they made it an actual plot point how he basically has to squeeze the information out of them

- The “How to Warp Drive” Sequence had some really nice animations, and it’s amusing how they didn’t listen to Peridot and had almost everything happening that she warned them of XD It’s cute how they trusted her to hold down the fort.

- i wonder if we’ll see those very tiny gems from the calibration menu

- I am also glad that they remembered the Rubies, and that they seem to have found each other so at least poor Leggy isn’t all alone. Looking forward for when they pick them up.

- So agates are enforcers/overseers, though the one we meet (Hollyblue Agathe) is kind of like your archetypical misplaced kindergarten teacher, sort of with vague umbridge/thatcher vibes, though she’s more like a mix of stern nanny and haughty aristocrat. I don’t think she’s pure evil (though she’d definitely be the type to retain some token prejudice after reforms happen), but it was very very satisfying to see Pearl sass her in the end.

- and we finally know what Lapis Lazulis do! I guess I was right with ‘terraformers’, and that they’re high-ranking (like Saphires and Agates); It makes sense how she has such huge power but no combat experience, and what her probable mission was. I wonder if this will be expanded upon but in any case it might quiet down some of the haters still asscribing sinister motives to her

- We might have to reconsider the place of Quartzes in the hierarchy; I don’t think they’re fully seen as thrash given how the Rubies and Peridot talk of them, but even Peridot used to look down at Pearls so you kinda how everyone looks down at those beneath them.

- But it certainly shows the pressures Jasper had to overcome and why she felt such a strong need to distance herself from earth and the other beta products - I didn’t expect so many of them to be still alive tho.

- All the Rose Quartzes being sorted out was also something people called. So homeworld ~does~ use bubbles, though one wonders who made them, did PD do this before she was killed? I loved that bit where steven noticed that they’re just like his own gem it took my sisters a bit to catch onto this? It’s kind of cruel how they’re all sealed like, many of them were probably loyal to homeworld and basically thrown in jail, or even the death row, for something ‘our’ Rose did.

- Indeed, YD markedly dismisses Agate with the exact same line that she dismisses Pearl and the Quartzes with, calling to wind how Peridot clapped to “make Pearl go away”. No matter how high or low you are in this, you look down at the ones below and are terrified of the ones above.

- Another wish of mine that finally come true is an episode that explored Garnet’s feelings, though “Three Gems and a Baby” already hinted at that, these eps had her more exposed; I loved how there was a sense of continuity wether they were fused or not, but it also showcased the developement of them as individuals and how they are stronger together. Sapphire in particular really shines as a character in here.

We already knew that both are still affected for how they were treated, Ruby being treated as disposable, their way of life and eve their love seen as abomination, both expected to conform to narrow roles - for Garnet individually there’s also the added layer than they don’t even want to let her exist except perhaps as a war machine. Ruby is audibly salty but perhaps more tellingly, both (and by extension, Garnet) are still bloody terrified of Blue. Even as Garnet, she was reluctant to confront her. Garnet still sometimes falls into the ‘predetermination paradox trap’ and not being a socially smooth leader.

- Ironically, she has something in common with the Diamonds there and how they’re not always up to the pressure of being the boss. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pink were a dark mirror of Rose’s leading style - She seems to share her idiosyncratic quirkyness in a sense, or what passes as such for a Diamond.

- We also got a further backstory hint for Pearl - She used to serve under PD and got disgusted with how they treated the humans perhaps seeing a parallel to her own situation. We know she spent substantial time serving on the other side. But though Pearl was always the least human friendly and most anchored in homeworld culture, in contrast with the homeworld folks themselves we see how she’s actually rather far from them and couldn’t really play her old role if she wanted to, which she doesn’t.

While she encounters doubts and engrained insecurities on her own path, that doesn’t mean she hasn’t advanced at all - nice, uplifting and very true message, and relatable, like,prsonally, even though I cut contact with my abusive father I still don’t have my shit 100% together and often that makes me feel like he was right all along, but when I look back it’s clear that it’s much better to not be constantly angry, have zero control, not be yelled at and mocked all the time and I wouldn’t stand for being near him even if someone made me. I still struggle but its not nothing.

- In general a lot of the CG’s character developements is showcased by having them attempt to pass for homeworld gems - They can play out/ ‘master’ these roles without being trapped in them and therefore they no longer have power over them.

- Amethyst already had that moment when she had to impersonate Jasper but this event offered something else for her character curve that still makes it an important moment. She has always been comparing herself to ‘proper’ Quartzes, but so far, those have been an abstract threatening presence pieced together from Peridot’s comments and the attitude of Jasper, who is just as different from the average as Amethyst herself.

Granted, the Amethysts are probably what one would think of as ‘rejects’ given that they’re said to have mostly sentimental value, but, they’re what some of homeworld’s forces look like.

But now that she’s actually met other Amethysts, they’re no longer some scary shadowy quality - they’re rowdy & silly just like herself, and they even liked her and accepted her as one of her own. So she gets to sort of connect with the roots the othes sielded her from but in a positive way where they’re not some elusive ‘badaness’

- To the others discarding their cut numbers was probably empowering but for Amethyst learning what hers might have been probably gave her a sense of closure and belonging. I suppose it underlines the important point that different people can experience the same things diferently and attach different meanings to them

- Which confirms that the first part of the number/ cut numbers are used as a quasi informal adress where distinguishment is necessary but the full number would be too formal. Which I vaguely suspected because Peridot uses “Peridot5xG” as an username.

- Headcannon: We just met the sideways carnelian and “Skinny over there”. I mean, we’ve all been waiting forever to see a ‘properly cooked Amethyst’ and the other Beta gems. Like, thank rebecca! I count this as fanservice.

- Also we got to see what a typical gem barracks look like/ what they have for personal accomodations. As I suspected not that much personal space or induvidual decorations (Then again, they don’t really need beds or tables; though they do seem to get exhausted.) Interesting that it lowkey looks like exit holes. Maybe they find that comorting? It’s mitigated in that they seem to have a sense of community geoing on.

I imagine Jasper owned a fancier place by herself, while Peridot used to live in place much like that but Peridot-sized and with space to keep tools.

- We knew singing YD was comming but everyone expected a classical villain song. In general it was a VERY clever musical sequence that I will make a separate post on. It is a very well-crafted, very intelligent musical sequence, as it should be given that the intro turned up to be leading up to this and how it co-opts the Diamond theme itself.

The clever thing about it is that it gives people all the things they could want from a villain song while still subverting the expectations: We hear the actress’ voice exposed, it provides a look into the antagonist’s motivations, it gives us a dark swingy tune with some juicy contralto action, setting up both the physical and idiological conflict -

But it’s not “muahaha evil monologue”, but Yellow Diamond in a private conversation, in the role an older sister. They basically did a villain song without actually doing a villain song.

- The punny title, as the introduction to our central antagonists, can also said to underline one of the central anti-theses of the show. “What’s the point of feeling” in general. This show has always fundamentally been about emotional expression, and the way it treats emotion is one of the things that fundamentally set it apart from other shows - at least American ones. So the logical antagonist for a hero like Steven to confront would be people like that who hide away their ostensible grief behind cold, hardened facades (but nonetheless still suffer it and never really work through it.)

BD may have had these moments in private but she’s just as icy as Yellow with her subordinates; They all personally fired the corruption ray.

But most important: They - especially Yellow - feel like they have to be this way to be strong leaders.

Much more poignant than just unfeeling pragmatists with nothing else, because few people are actually like that.

- Even though they have more power & privilege than anyone, even the Diamonds sometimes feel limited or pressured by their intended role as leaders

- Neither of the two is over it, or cares more than the other, they just have different coping mechanisms. The way BD ends up putting her hand on Yellow’s back in the end makes that patently clear.

- They’re God-Emperor Dictators, but among themselves they act like an aristocratic family. It’s clear in word choice (’we still love her’) and how they behave toward each other, the physical comfort etc. I must admit at the beginning/ before the PD reveal, I never expected their relations with each other to be anything other than ‘deadly decadent court’/rivalry and that THEY killed PD for dissenting. Then again, intelligent trope use and subverted is something this show always did very well

- Makes one wonder what White Diamond’s role in this is - Is she the big sister, or more like the Queen Mother? We know she’s probably the eldest, rules homeworld (the sphere in her hands) and a forehead gem; Her role might be intertwined with how the first gems came to be and how/why the system was created, what problem it was intended to solve, something that needs to understand in order to repell it. One also wonders what other, dispararate reaction she had to PD’s death - perhaps, saying she deserved it for being weak in order not to face that she really blames herself or something?

- It makes me think of that WWI documentary I recently watched (take a shot for each ) It’s often jokingly referred to as the most expensive family feud ever but it was more of a constant clusterfuck; Before things broke out there had been letters of the Tzar and the German emperor writing each other a letter where they referred to each other as “Willie” and “Nickie”, hoping to avert the war. Everyone cheers when the king is beheaded because he represents more than one man, they are the system personified, the ones who could change it and didn’t; The person in charge exists to take responsibility. - that’s what the Sword of Damocles is. But even kings are people and thugh they might have done more to stop things they’re still humans who might not have deserved what happened to them.. This is even more true with aristocrats who were ~born~ into their roles instead of chosing them.

- For perspective: Mari, a big theater nerd and actual amateur performer who’s been in musicals herself & is friends with ppl who do ths on a regular basis, couldn’t stop gushing about its professional brilliance. Apparently YD’s VA is a really big deal whom even Lin Manuel Miranda feels honored to work with.

- I for my part have a new earworm just when I was getting ‘it’s over isn’t it’ out of my system

- I was also correct on the creepy ending sounds being the Diamond Theme, all of it leading up to this.

- There was also more on another of my favorite Threads, the role of culture and music in Gem society and how they used to have all the spires and pictograms. It seems that the aristocrats still have music, or maybe it was all for the aristocrats to begin with, and low-ranking folks like Peridot just never had contact with it. Clearly, you don’t have to be an elite to be artistic and musical.

- This also underlines the contrast between Peridot and Pearl tho, Peridot being a technician with an artsy side whereas Pearl was a pretty musical servant who turned out to be rather good at tech. Both music & technology seem to be taken for granted as YD readily makes use of it but doesn’t really value the people who make it for her. (”I don’t want to hear about potential and ressources.”)

- Another great obversation Mari made is how much the Pearls’ personalities come through even though they make exactly the same movements and dances. I loved that bit where Yellow Pearl impersonates an Agate. In general, the Pearls were just adorable little show stealers.

- Here’s some interesting observations from Sabbel (the other sister):

a) The way Agate speaks about YD suggests that she is quite popular in

To me personally the scene where Agate gushes about her underlined the contrast between Yellow Diamond and her propaganda, but in a different way than before -

We had this thing where Peridot expected her to be super rational, then she’s capricious an shatters all expectations just by existing.

With the PD reveal, we could already theorize that there was a generational divide there, with Earth being a sore topic that Peridot is as unaware of as Amethyst (it’s no coincidence that the two younger gems become fast friends)

Now we have a more complete picture/puzzle that both these pieces fit into - Like, last time she appeared it was “She is not a god”, but this time we’ve seen Yellow Diamond the person.

But what you also see is why someone like Jasper would rally around YD and her ‘commanding presence’, she too wanting to keep up the strenght while supressing her grief. It paints a picture of what Jasper, who respects strenght and strenght only, might have thought of her. And of course YD herself would take over PD’s ‘useful’ underlings rather than the ones with mostly sentimental value.

b) Sabbel also finds it’s worth noting that, as their personal attendants, the Pearls get to actually witness the Diamonds in such moments/ their everyday lives. They still react sorta afraid like they expect tantrums

c) She loved how the Amethysts have varying hair lenghts. I do too. Heck, can we just adopt all of the Quartzes?

- Though I know that people are going to leather pants them anyway, In my eyes one of the greatest strenghts of the episodes is that it manages to humanize the Diamons without allowing you to forget that they’re villains.

This is enforced in how the episodes are full of dismissive treatment down the homeworld hierarchy, and how everyone involved consistently refers to humans as “it”, or how those poor Rose Quartzes are casually used a props.

She determies that Greg “doesn’t deserve to die”, but doesn’t even consider any of the other humans.

Somewhere between “every racist has exceptions/ token “friend”” and seeing them as animals - You don’t eat your pet & sort of treat them as family but at the same time you don’t mind eating animals you don’t know. (unless you’re vegan or something)

This is a very selective ‘mercy’ that Ruby is quite right to enraged about; Objectively, Blue Diamond is very hypocritical, cold and disgusting dispite her pretty aristocratic looks and demeanor. But she’s not a 2-dimensional monster and obviosly acts different around her sister than she does around her subjects - and the same goes for Yellow Diamond of course.

- The Zoo itself underlines this perspectives, with how the CGs see it as a cruelty, the other diamonds see it as a silly eccentric, even endearing quirk of PD’s. There’s a sense that she sorta liked Earth life as a curiosity, but not enough to spare them or see them as people. So perhaps she and Rose started out on the same page here untiil Rose spent more time with Earth natives. Even she sorta saw them more as a protectorate than she really understood them until greg came.

- Of course, all of this sets up further developements. They are comming for Earth and are going to notice the cluster’s not emerging any time soon, and it will be a tragedy, because they didn’t even come for revenge. It might go the way things went with Eyeball and Jasper.

In any case it’s obvious that at this point this won’t end with just fighting the Diamonds off, but rather, with homeworld being reformed (which pleases me immensely), clearly, the diamonds can be reasoned with -

Greg already began to sort of build a bridge by showing blue Diamond that they both have feelings and can be able to share that.

But we now have the interesting situation that the ostensible weakest link happens to be the exact same person that Garnet, our leader, has a personal beef with. That makes for interesting dynamics.

I always praised how she was actually allowed to get angry and be short tempered with Peridot even when she genunely couldn’t have known, instead of having to be a perfect example of virtue all the time, particularly of how victims of real life oppresion or abuse (and what is opression but sanctioned nation wide abuse?) often get told that they have to be perfect before they have a right to complain. We’ve seen her backstory & know that she has every right to be pissed.

But here, it could make things complex.

That said, the lesson here is not to revile Rose, but see this from a perspective of generations and progress - Because whatever Rose did, it did buy the Earth time and allowed for Greg, Steven and Amethyst to exist.

Because Rose and others of her Generation (Pearl, Garnet, Bismuth etc.) were immediately victimzed by the Diamond’s regime, you can hardly ask them to be emphatic towards their opressors - (to an extent, the same can be said for Jasper and Lapis as a clear-cut victims of the rebellion)

I still don’t doubt that Pink Diamond totally had it comming; The Zoo and Pearl’s reactions as she mentions it imply that she was cruel.

But was killing her the most conductive thing to do for peace? ...Debatable. In many ways the war did harm. But Rose did the best she knew to do.

For the younger generation, however, things are different - Peridot, Amethyst, and especially the half-human Steven, they can see the whole war with more distance and objectivity. Steven was partially raised in a completely different world and has empathy for both sides, which might lead him to lead a solution that Rose with her baggage couldn’t have enacted. That’s the whole point of Rose envying human adaptability & having Steven in hopes that he could bridge the gap between gems and organics, as well as heal the wounds of the war.

Another factor is that technology has advanced and Peridot has made a plan for peaceful ressource sharing that didn’t exist back then - Maybe the combined voices of Steven, Greg and Blue Diamond could finally make YD listen to it. She’s not completely irrational.

It’s not for nothing that the ones to witness the Diamonds’ vulnerable side are not their former subjects Garnet and Peridot, but the near-complete outsiders Greg and Steven for whom this comes with far less baggage.

- In the end Steven started all this trek because he felt he needed answers - He asked about what happened and what Rose did and why, but ultimately it all comes down to what he should do after the diamonds after learning that the other side is people too, that even they are beloved; In that sense he ‘got what he needed’.

He’s heard Bismuth and Rose’s followers, he seen how the system hurt his beloved family, but he’s also seen how the rebellion hurt gems like Lapis, Eyeball and Jasper.

In that sense this ties into the teenage rebellion theme from the beginning, in that he went to look at the evidence with his own eyes & form his own opinion, his own answer.

#steven universe #yellow diamond #blue diamond #that will be all #garnet #amethyst #pearl

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