Now, along the lines of recycling gems- I'm sort of thinking that for the vast majority of them, the answer is no they can't be recycled at all, because if that was possible and would prevent corruption(do you think it would? I think that it'd be important that it did if it was an option because otherwise the 'new' gem wouldn't know their limit like how long they need to take to reform properly, etc. and so would actually be more of a risk in someways than a gem that hasn't been recycled) then they would probably have a much less pressing need for new gems. As it is, they're trying to figure out how to use gem shards to potentially create new soldiers. And using gem shards was already old technology before the war, but it didn't work well- see Frybo ep. and Pearl's whole lecture then. I'm not sure if figure out is the right word, since I can't tell whether the exiperiments are something that has since been done before or not, because Peridot says that they're forming properly- either she has a basis of what properly should be as defined by the results of past experiments, or they're forming properly as in they're forming how Homeworld wanted them to. Now, resetting certain classes of gems on the other hand, might possibly be a thing. Gems like Pearls, for instance, since they seemed to have been created more or less just to serve other gems in one way or another. If a Pearl wasn't serving their correct purpose, if they were able to be reset then it would be a simple matter to fix. (I... I actually got this headcanon from a pearlidot fanfic on the kink meme lol) Again, speculating on possible reasons Pearl is considered defective because that interests me so, so much: maybe she's not able to be reset like the others. If Pearls in general are able to be reset in some way, that would make a good case for why Pearl was never crushed, which is something that would probably be extremely easy to do out on the battlefield when she's been forced to retreat into her gem. If they knew Pearls could just be fixed, then it would be a bad idea to crush them. STILL on that topic, someone on tumblr brought up a really interesting idea about whether it might be possible to repair a badly cracked gem with shards or something from a different gem, and they were applying this to Jasper. Because obviously there is something not quite right about Jasper since she has qualities of a fusion, Malachite follows the supposed naming rule for fusions of three+ gems, and Malachite has three sets of arms. Seriously, where is the third set from? We've seen that gems can have multiple sets of arms/eyes, but until Malachite it was never more sets of arms than there were gems in the fusion. And really, to me at least Malachite actually more closely resembles the big forced fusion than she does any of the other fusions in the past. I like the idea that Jasper is a successful forced fusion, but given that she was around during the war that seems extremely unlikely, while if it was this way then it could have happened after the war. More shard stuff: we never saw Garnet's reaction to the shards in Frybo, Pearl and Amethyst seemed especially terrified that Garnet would find out that they'd lost a bunch of shards(and that Peael had had the bubble in the first place) . While that's probably just because Garnet is technically the leader now, I also think it could be because gem shards in general might be a touchy thing with her for some reason. Peridot also possibly falls into the resetting idea a little for me maybe: gems probably become corrupted as a result of being unable to sustain a physical form that follows their gems basic blueprints, right? Well, if Peridot's arms are prosthetics, then that brings up the question of why she'd be able to maintain a stable yet incomplete form. Because I'm a horrible person, I really like the idea that this was actually a result of experiments done on her as a way for Homeworld to try and figure out how to prevent corruption. And also, if they are prosthetics, how does that work exactly? Does this mean that she would be unable to fuse seeing as part of her is technically 'organic'?(more so than her base form obv.) and if the answer to that is yes, then would she be able to retreat into her gem at all if need be? Idk it's late lol, and this is getting not stuff that rp buddies and I have been wondering lol.
Yeah, in my head it's less the number of regenerations, and more how quickly they come. Because the faster you go, the more flaws you'll miss/decide aren't worth worrying over. I feel like monstrification was never an intended weapon that someone introduced to the population, and that the Gem monsters running around Earth are simply casualties from both sides. Maybe the Gems would drop already monstrified Gems into each others' strongholds or whatever if they could (we know that it's theoretically possible, since Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst tried to send the Shooting Star through the warp pads without sending themselves.) I still don't buy the Jasper-Fusion theory. Malachite has three arms because she is an utter mess, and in any case Malachite only has 2 gems. This, by the way, dovetails a bit with my theory about monstrification - if less stable minds go with less human forms, then the quality of a fusion will depend on the stability of the two minds working together. Most of the Crystal Gem fusions are basically OK, with a few faults (like extra eyes or arms) that come from not being perfectly in sync, but Malachite, because her Gems are fighting, is an unstable mess.
I figured Rose too, cause she's the one with healing tears, yeh? She can fix her soldiers, homeworld can't. Maybe there was something of a tradition of taking shattered/cracked gems back to base with you, to remember your comrades or properly dispose of them or whatever, so fucking with the remains like that would be a good way to sneak tiny monster bombs behind enemy lines. Plus, it's way demoralizing to think you'll come back after death a mindless friend killing monster, and way moralizing for Rose's soldiers to know that their commander is there to fix them up.
Then again, how uncommon do you think healers are? Quartz in general seems to have healing properties associated with it, so if homeworld had a Smokey Quartz there to fix everyone up with her healing I dunno sweat, then that plan goes right out the window. Thinking on it, I do really like the idea of corruption being a natural result of prolonged violent confrontation for gems. Wars fuck people up. Don't need any outside forces there to make that happen.
Well, we know that Rose can't actually fix monstrified Gems. For one thing, the Crystal Gems said that she tried but it's implied she never succeeded; for another the monster Gems don't actually appear to be damaged, pe se. There's no obvious cracks or faults. And if it was something that Rose created, then I don't think she'd do it and not create a way to reverse it, if there was any reason to think that it'd spread to her own forces - and if she wanted it to be some kind of bioweapon that could affect a lot of Gems, then that'd be a very real threat! I'm not even sure how she would introduce something like that. ETA: Yes, agreed. I much prefer the monstrification-as-a-alien-PTSD theory, it seems more thematically in line as well.
I've got mixed feelings on the "Jasper is a (forced) fusion" theory(/ies). On the one hand, cool. On the other, it feels kinda fluffy and pointless. Like, she looks so different from other gems, and that's got to have a point to it, but all the homeworld gems look varying shades of weird. So, all the weird shit could just be thematic(that the word for it? Made purely for the sake of conveying that they are in fact aliens with alien motivations and morals). And they can't just pull off a second secret fusion reveal. And it doesn't feel like her character needs it, at least not how I'm reading her. At least not the "self loathing fusion" bit. The "unknowing fusion" thing would be wicked cool, I think. And on the third and fourth hands, I just like the though of Jasper having hands for feet and need some sort of justification for it.
I really like the combo of monstrification-as-pstd and monstrification-as-battle-damage. amethyst started getting really weird results in her regens, and maybe the holomagic that makes their bodies is like a jpeg compression, and they are connected - if you're in a crap mental place and you regen too fast your image gets a really shitty compression, like Ame, and doing that multiple times further 'compresses' the images so, like, corrupted gems are like SBAHJ comics of gem physiology. Amethyst needed four hours to regen because the mutations on her shape needed time to be remodelled, and that needed calm and concentration; Pearl taking two weeks would mean that her image is really damaged, because she wasn't in a particularly bad brainspace at that moment (for pearl), but because of her extensive regens during the war she needs time to clean the noise/compression on her template? i imagine that a gem regeneration proper would need maybe an hour in ideal conditions, and that during battle you'd need to regen in a matter of seconds because a wonky arm is better than a shattered gem, leading to monstrification - these gems have such a shitty image quality they can't make out the proper shape anymore. Pearl, despite dying more because of Rose, would probably not die as many times as frontline soldiers - she's probably around rose all the time and rose was fighting bigger enemies than the cannon fodder.
Ok so I know with the Stevenbomb 3 fast approaching many people speculate that Sardonyx is Garnet/Pearl's fusion but guys hear me out... what if Garnet and Pearls fusion isn't Sardonyx but is....Ammolite
Wow, it'd be really hard to stretch out a consensual fusion of two established characters into a week's worth of episodes. It is supposed to be the "week of Sardonyx," right? Maybe not the whole week. Either way, woooooow, that shit's way pretty. Plus fits with Opal and Pearl's "organic gemstone" thing.
*points out that Jasper and Sardonyx are both types of chalcedony* chalcedony is a class of gems made up of microcrystaline quartz, so basically like tons of itty bitty crystals. So I'm going to stick to the possibility that Sardonyx is a successful forced fusion- Peridot did say she already got what she needed from the kindergarten, so maybe what she got was Sardonyx? Interesting thing to note- Rose Quartz is also a type of chalcedony. But that doesn't particularly bother me theory-wise considering I subscribe to the Pink Diamond theory. If anything, if Sardonyx and Jasper are confirmed to be forced fusions then that will only strengthen the Pink Diamond theory for me.
Yeah unless it turns out that a Pearl/Garnet fusion is messed-up enough to through a hardware store of wrenches into everything I don't think that'll be Sardonyx. My bet is on 'that thing Peridot got from the Kindergarten.' If Jasper was a fusion, then wouldn't there be some evidence of that in the Malachite dream? And from what I can tell the forced fusion thing is still very much in beta-testing - Peridot was checking on it, and there might be one potential success in there. If Jasper was a forced fusion then they'd hardly need to send a tech to check on the experiments of what a forced fusion would be like.
Then again, Peridot did say the experiments were "developing properly", and how in the hell would she know what a proper frankengem development looked like if forced fusion were a complete unknown? Also, they came back to earth after a couple thousand years to check on this experiment, so it's been in the works for a damn long time. There had to have been something that prompted them to try, and something that prompted them to try the specific methods they're using(time? Time+pressure?). Ain't saying Jasper's a fusion, but I do think it might help if Homeworld had explicit conformation that this kind of thing could work. Otherwise, what even the hell, yunno? Speaking of frankengems! Is anyone else wondering why they'd do these kind of experiments on a planet that's not under homeworld control? Were they already started before the Gem War and thought too delicate to relocate? Do forced fusions require earthlike conditions? Is homeworld not confidant in their ability to keep them secret and under their control? Damage reduction if the gems get corrupted? Thoughts?
Well, considering how Peridot said that a few have emerged early, and considering the ones we saw, 'properly' might just mean 'able to make a semistable form.' The fusions didn't immediately poof, and they reacted to external stimuli, so that could be what qualifies as 'developing properly.' It depends on what the ultimate goal of these things are.
@tinyhydra exactly! I would really like to know how Peridot knows what a proper forced fusion looks like, and I definitely think it's probably because it's already been done. I was thinking Jasper may have been sort of a different forced fusion though- that her gem might have been severely damaged and was repaired with pieces of a different gem(s). No matter what 'type' of forced fusion she might be though, she'd be a successful one, meaning that she's one single entity and so wouldn't look different in Malachite's mindscape. Malachite's appearance does actually point to something being not normal about Jasper though, given the three sets of arms. We've never seen a fusion with more sets of a type of limb than there were gems in the fusion until her. I think they were definitely started before the end of the war, possibly because at that point they were still convinced that they were going to win and earth would be under Homeworld's control. Also damage reduction is a very possible reason too. Though they might not have moved them because they didn't have a chance. The war might have ended pretty suddenly.
Well, Garnet/Ruby says "This was punishment for the rebellion!" so it could be some Gem scientist had notes on forced fusion and ideas for experiments, which until the war were shut down because it's a waste of useful Gems, and then suddenly there are all these Gem fragments, many of which were turncoats, and Homeworld decided to kill two birds with one stone. The fact that Garnet seems kind of surprised and that Pearl and Amethyst didn't recognize what the forced fusions were suggests that, if forced fusions were a Thing back then, then they were very tightly under wraps.
Has anyone else heard of the idea that there were two wars for earth? I can't remember the reasons for the headcanon really, but if that was what happened then maybe the experiments were started after the first one. *shrugs*
As I recall, the reasons boil down to Jasper saying "I was there at the first war for this miserable little planet" or somesuch - which, considering that nothing in the series thus far resembles a war, means that there were probably multiple wars for Earth in the past.
There was a fucking massive tumblr post linked earlier in this thread that talked about a possible timeline, and I think one of the things it mentioned was the pyramid temple with all the Rose vs Diamond iconography. I can't remember a whole lot of their reasoning, but I think there was something about there needed to have been more Gems on earth for a place like that to make sense, and that the murals meant that it had to have been built after the (first) gem war. It might have been the place with that White Diamond looking gem?
I took the 'clusters are developing properly' to mean just that - the clusters are developing, that is, the shards of different gems are sticking together instead of just sitting there close to each other all dead and doing nothing.
