Spoiler: choose your words carefully Rose/PD's command to Pearl was "never speak of this again". I wonder if the exact wording is significant - will Pearl be able to talk to Steven and the other CGs about what happened? Will the fact that they already know the secret allow her to speak about it? Conversely, if Rose's command had been "never tell anyone about this" would Pearl have been able to do what she did with her phone and her hidden memories, since that was a way of telling Steven the secret without directly speaking about it?
Okay people, here is- pros and cons for the Waifu War for every gem I can think of right now. Spoiler for Long. Spoiler Amethyst Pros- soft and squishy for good hugs and cuddles. Loves messing around, playing pranks, comedy, and rocking out to some sweet tunes. Energetic, if not athletic. Likes eating, and will eat anything. Cons- can be rather childish. Not good at handling her emotions- either tries to hide them and broods, or lashes out. Odd eating habits, poor hygiene. Impulsive. Likes pro wrestling. Pearl Pros- very affectionate, treats her partner like they’re the most important person in the world. Multitalented. A great dancer. Kind and thoughtful, prepared for anything. Well organized. Cons- doesn’t eat, period. Can be jealous and possessive. Represses her true feelings. Weak sense of humor. Has to make sure everything is Just So. Flat as a board. Garnet Pros- cool and confident. Talk, strong and athletic. Always looks good, even when coming up out of the ocean. Intelligent and insightful. Cons- can be emotionally distant and “robotic”. Not very talkative. Already dating herself. Never takes off her sunglasses. Rose Quartz Pros- nurturing and affectionate. Curious about everything, loves new experiences. Positive and uplifting. Loves singing and dancing. Soft and squishy, good for hugs and cuddles. Also tall and strong. Cons- a rich-girl-turned-hippie. Lies about her past, not as wholesome as she appears. Once left her girlfriend for a guitarist. “Loves both of you.” Has a kid. Lapis Pros- funny and sarcastic as hell. Artistic and creative. Loyal and protective of those she cares about. Loves going to the beach, the pool, anywhere with water, and is an excellent swimmer. Not bad at baseball or dancing, either. Cons- emo as hell. Has anxiety and anger issues. Avoids her problems by running away and closing herself off. Peridot Pros- small and adorable. Highly intelligent and artistic, enjoys learning new things even if she doesn’t admit it at first. Loves watching television and media analysis. Cons- narcissistic and egocentric, not good with emotions or social situations. Can be childish at times as a result. Flat as a board. Also a complete nerd. Obsessive about her interests and vocal about anything she dislikes. Jasper Pros- big and buff, very athletically talented. The “perfect” Jasper Quartz. Dedicated to her causes. Cons- headstrong and stubborn, has serious anger problems. Obsessed with someone else. Yellow Diamond Pros- commanding and charismatic. Rich and influential, could probably get you anything you want. Tall as hell. Cons- very focused on her work, not nice to her underlings. “What’s the use of feeling?” Colonized other planets. Blue Diamond Pros- emotional and caring, softer than Yellow. rich and influential, could probably get you anything you want. Tall as hell. Cons- depressed and brooding. Seeks revenge against those who do her wrong. Colonized other planets. Aquamarine Pros- small and adorable, has a British accent. Has a cutting sense of humor. Cons- a rotten little brat below the surface. Topaz Pros- big and buff, but also looks really broad and chubby? Probably great for hugs and cuddles. A total sweetheart below the surface. Cons- never takes off her headphones. Already dating herself. Bismuth Pros- big and buff, creative and good at building things. Has a strong sense of humor and makes terrible puns. Cons- went overboard with the whole “breaking point” thing. Sometimes goes to extreme measures for what she believes is right. Holly Blue Pros- looks like a midpoint between Garnet and Jasper in terms of body type- big and strong, but not too much. Fawns over the people she cares about or admires. Other things?? Cons- looks down on most other people, not nice to her underlings. Fluorite Pros- sweet and soft spoken, would probably make you tea and cookies. Tall as hell. Cons- is basically a grandma. Already has six girlfriends. Very slow. Padparadscha Pros- small and adorable, a total sweetheart. Cons- has a delayed reaction to literally everything. Rhodonite Pros- kinda big, kinda strong. Great hugs. Probably knows how to dance. Cons- anxious as hell, already dating herself. The Rutile Twins Pros- you’d be dating twins. Cons- you’d be dating twins. Yellow Pearl Pros- loyal to those she cares about. Cons- kind of a brat. Blue Pearl Pros- sweet and gentle, and artistic. Cons- shy and sad. Emerald Pros- one-eyed Waifu and captain of her own ship. Cons- angry and loud. Pink Diamond Pros- oh you know Cons- oh you know
Idk if it counts as a spoiler at this point, but.... Spoiler: Discworld ref it's kind of nice to think that it seems as though PD comes from the Tiffany Aching school of thought. These are mine! They are mine! I have a Duty!
Hey I spent over an hour on that post, if you don’t like it go make your own :P (In all seriousness, those are personal opinions and not everyone is gonna agree. More/different opinions are good! I’d be sincerely happy if someone did make their own)
Spoiler: Pearl I don't want to take away her agency too much. I think she was definitely portrayed as an enthusiastic co-conspirator to Pink for a reason. And given how isolated Pink was shown to have felt, I wonder if Pearl wasn't the only person she felt comfortable confiding in for a long time. The problem is there's still an inherent power imbalance in Pearl being programmed to obey Pink. I think it's important that Pearl and Pink seem to have planned the death faking together, and it's important that right before it happens, Pink is talking Pearl into it, but not ordering her to do it. In that context, when Pink gave the final order she did, it was likely not out of distrust of Pearl, but an insecurity about an uncertain future and circumstances that might force the information out of Pearl. By making it an order, Pink probably thought she was neatly making it so nobody could force the information out of Pearl. Unfortunately, as we've seen, that's not how things worked out. I'm unsure if the ban applied to talking to Rose about Pink, but even if it didn't, I don't think Rose would want to discuss what happened. Pink thought that the other Diamonds would back down. She thought she'd protect her world and avoid the duties of a Diamond at the same time. If she'd actually presented an argument to the other Diamonds, she might have been able to protect Earth, but she'd still be bogged down with duties she didn't want, so she decided to playact a rebellion and playact a war and run off with Pearl and be in love and get everything she wanted, and then the Diamonds retaliated. She was a dumb teenager rebelling and she had to grow up. Rebecca Sugar has specifically stated that Steven gets his compassion for Greg and that Rose thought she could convincingly act as a human, but was only playacting on a shallow level. I think part of that is that Rose is unwilling to be honest about her own identity even to herself. I wanna pull at this thread of thought more but I'm tired and distracted... but basically, by acting as Rose Quartz, I think Rose kept a level of remove between her and other people even when she didn't want to. That big secret and resulting guilt fucked up Pearl so bad, but I think it fucked up Rose equally so, even if she's not a naturally compassionate person, or even if her compassion is more distant and abstract. I think you see this with how things went down with Bismuth... when Bismuth fought Steven she would not listen to reason and it was a situation where Steven couldn't avoid poofing her. But I realized that that's not how the fight with Rose and Bismuth went. When Bismuth fights Steven she's already reeling from intense betrayal and distrust... she's lashing out at what she perceives as a person she gave everything to who betrayed her. That's an emotional response that only exists because of how the fight between Rose and Bismuth ended. Bismuth adored Rose and the crewniverse has said she would have done anything for Rose, that she tried to do what she thought Rose wanted and was repaid by being hurt and sealed away without knowing what she'd done wrong. With that level of trust at the start, I think Rose could have talked Bismuth down, but she didn't. While I disagree with the principle of the Breaking Point, the intention of that episode is supposed to be that Bismuth is right, at least about a lot of things, and Rose was wrong in how she responded, and that dissonance between that and how people idolize Rose informs a lot of stuff going forward.
Spoiler Watched the new SU episodes... Love/am interested in Pearl even more. Curious how they'll elaborate on Rose. Either way, this complicates a lot of things 100%. Also it kinda got lost in the big plot reveal but Lapis and Peridot are gay.
Spoiler: a single pale rose this episode is all the pearl angst i ever wanted and more, and i love it. and i love the new depth and revelations it gives the show. like, it takes the old fan theory and makes it more layered and messed-up than the fans had ever guessed. :D:D:D the characters are and the story is so complex and i love it! :D:D:D (well, except for that one fic i remember reading in which rose made steven for manipulative reasons. that just about equaled this.) and i totally ship this new, messed-up version of pearlpink/pearlrose! :D:D:D and now i wanna bring my pearl rp subaccount back to the rave! :D:D:D
There’s one a few pages back I believe. And madridista-forever on Tumblr always has links. c: EDIT: Whoops, ninja’d!
Man... I don't... Spoiler I'm not dreadfully surprised by anything... I like how the storytelling has been done :) What a shame for Pearl; she had to keep the secret even from the person it belonged to. How much it must have hurt to sacrifice so much for the person she loved and receive hatred and isolation for it. I really don't think Pink thought it would go so badly; everything we've seen of her/Rose is that she has high ideals, a lot of enthusiasm, sheer passion for her cause, and is trying to make good things happen, but she has low empathy/poor social intelligence and often can't predict how people will really feel/react, so her calculations are bad and her preparation lacking. She is so fascinated by love and compassion and growth but doesn't experience much of it... she strives for ideals as an average, flawed person. She wants things to go well and for everyone to be happy but she doesn't really know what makes people happy, does she? One thing that has really gotten under my skin about the general reaction to this episode is people around tumblr, youtube, pretty much everywhere mentioning how it must have sucked for Rose and Pearl to see their rebellion 'come to nothing' with 'everyone dead.' Bruh... their STATED GOAL was to PRESERVE HUMANKIND AND LIFE ON EARTH, and they preformed above expectations. What sucks is what the gems did to each other, and that's something Rose and Pearl definitely didn't want. I think she didn't expect the other Diamonds would do what they did, or else she'd have a better plan than grabbing the two closest gems and shielding them. I think she just miscalculated again.... badly. I wonder whether Love Like You is about Pearl or Greg. That song is the defining Rose/Pink Diamond character moment to me... it's the song of someone who wants to be better and is trying hard. I'm finding myself a little harrumphy about the strain of 'Pink was a cold mastermind' thought going around. Maybe a person can use a dark, calculating streak for the greater good. Unrelated theory, somewhat crackpot: I ran into this fanart and was hit by a thought: white diamonds, cut correctly, reflect light beautifully, usually in facets of blue, yellow, and light pink/red. What is White Diamond is the fusion Diamond, and that's why she hasn't been seen or referred to by the other Diamonds, who should probably talk about her more? What if the other three were just facets of the whole, perfect Diamond, and they can't fuse into her anymore--or not for long without Pink to serve as a connecting force? What if the giant White Diamond in homeworld is a statue in her honor, put there to remind the gems of their loyalty to her in her absence? Is this a secret or something publicly mourned? I can already think of a dozen reasons why this doesn't work (first in mind is the fact that White has her own planets on the mural, but maybe those are joint rulership planets/original conquests?) but I think I'll just roost on it like a hen on her nest anyway.
Spoiler I'm seeing it quoted a lot that Rebecca Sugar said 'Rose was a bad person', but does anyone know the exact context of the line?
