huggywuggysuppy

[huggywuggysuppy]

Emp1 Gem and Traffic!Gem are opposites.

Wizard Gem has a very “content with/desire to maintain the status quo” mindset that requires her love for other people (and vice versa) to break out of, while Traffic!Gem absolutely hates the status quo of her pedestaled untouchable antagonism, pushed onto her by even her loved ones, that she really only escapes by embracing enough to subvert (PL) or to have her goals align with absolute power and it’s consequences (SL).

In isolation Wizard Gem would’ve kept ignoring Xornoth and been corrupted, while Traffic!Gem longs for a solo season. Fortunately Wizard Gem’s allies stay with her no matter what, while Traffic!Gem may just push them away herself. Inspired by oomf @pickastitch.

[huggywuggysuppy]

Aren't you worried?

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Saw your new post, and what do you think about editing from a purely narrative standpoint?

@/lorefulgood has some very interesting posts about how CCs cut and edit their videos to portray themselves how they want to be portrayed; they even have a really good theory that editing is the CC's memory.

Do you think C!Pearl wants to portray herself like the video is portraying her, or do you that's all CC!Pearl?

It's not something I've really considered until now since editing is so closely linked to CC intent (see: my OG post), but now I’d say editing absolutely affects C tone and narrative, especially w/Pearl. Lorefulgood has some really strong points about editing discontinuities used positively, along with how the POV sees other players. Fascinating to consider what characters value through the weight/time they give it in their videos.

Pearl’s editing feels a lot closer to C!Pearl, partly because she doesn’t consciously curate a capital ‘c’ Character as much as other CC’s (ex: GeminiTay). Pearl values being seen as a Good Teammate, moral code included, and especially a Good Player: approachability, not ending anyone’s seasons lamely, always yes and-ing shenanigans, etc. DL is a fun case where Pearl was acting irrationally and morally complicated on purpose, yet still couldn’t help feeling guilty and telling the camera all about it, if not outright apologizing to other players. Famously most other POVs see her as unequivocally a force of vindictive chaos, yet her own is incredibly sympathetic just by showing her facing it on all sides, along with her good intentions and loneliness. That separation — others seeing her far more controlled and malicious than the raw truth — continues through all ensuing seasons.

Now that raises the most interesting idea: Pearl's transparency in her episodes almost always justifies her actions, even and especially when they seem wrong from other POVs. She's willing to include the cruelty of others even when it's not funny/easy to watch, and more importantly she always includes the necessary lead up/context to decisions others don't like. This isn't DL exclusive: SL Pearl has almost painful confusion and mixed feelings except for constant care for her allies (inc. Scar in the end,) and WL G's tension feels entirely validated especially since she commits to Impulse Ep1. Combined with her furious paladin-like commitment to being a Good Player: Pearl's entire rhetoric demands the audience see the good intentions other POVs miss, because if her decisions weren't based in SOME kind of logic/ethics she wouldn't be doing it.

This hyper-empathetic viewpoint can get extremely compelling in the right situation: because as long as Pearl believes she's following her moral code, she can justify any of her behavior. While the vast majority of Pearl's actions are good (-intentioned), it's not a facade, there is harm to believing she can't do anything wrong. Pearl hasn’t truly stuck around to support her chosen champion (BigB, BDubs, Impulse) because she gets so tunnel-visioned on her own goals, despite framing her motivations as selflessly helping them -- because that's what a Good Player would do. (Nevermind that she's already gotten Scott a victory back in LL). More recently, we've seen PL Pearl able to both do evil for the sake of her teammates, while play the nice victim pinning all the negative rep on them. Even DL Pearl's more questionable actions are framed as retaliation for Scott, in which case he's sacrificed the moral high ground. My ideal Pearl plotline is her choosing to play offense while still feeling morally justified for whichever reason (conquest, retaliation, teammates' win, etc.) She only needs to stop keeping "make it to the finale" her top priority.

Pearl's perspective is painfully human: believing she is making the ethical if not rational choice in every situation, including retaliating after being pushed way too far. Her editing reflects the foundational need to justify her actions and be seen if not understood for her good intentions. And cackling-villainous evil is much less interesting than evil that believes itself right.

[huggywuggysuppy]

Cleo: I-in between a Diggity Dog and a False, nowhere I’d rath—I’m gonna not say that.

[huggywuggysuppy]

The new hot tub is a little chillier

[huggywuggysuppy]

bestie how is your brain so big!?!??! how do you manage to answer asks with multiple paragraphs every single time!?!? where do you store all of your gempearl info!?!?! because i do NOT understand

-anon but you prolly know who i am !! its fine im anon for the comedic flair. the c in anon stands for comedic flair trust me

This made me smile, thank you so much!!

A lot of it’s in dialogue with mutuals, especially on discord. Tumblr gets the professional diluted thoughts, but there’s a significant WIP process of trying ideas out in a group setting. I work and process best by trying to explain concepts to someone else, which is part of why I started making longform posts to begin with — I wanted to understand the blorbos better for my writing.

Which is the other place the GemPearl is stored: although many of my fics don’t get posted bc they’re unfinished, tons of stuff gets worked out through thinking about situations and dynamics. Nowadays writing analysis interests me more than fiction, thanks to the constant content from streams, but now and again I go back when something really itches at me. The great Villain Traffic!Gem analysis started because WL’s unfinished plotlines bothered me and in writing the fic I put together how Gem fits into the larger context.

As for long ask replies, well, here’s another one :D I really love writing, and also having dialogue with others on ideas I wouldn’t have come to on my own. Sensing a pattern? MCYT is the perfect storm where the real people means infinite depth, while the C/CC divide allows fantastical fiction, and the fandom provides endless remixing on already-flexible stories. And when I want to relax, I can sit back and enjoy the silliness. There’s nothing better to rotate around in my brain when taking a break from IRL thinking. It means even when I don’t build a capital ‘a’ Analysis around an ask, I end up having tons of thoughts anyway. I think that’s why MCYT is special to so many of us, too.

[huggywuggysuppy]

PL Villys Trapped 3 Different Ways

Internally in how Gem trusts and treats Pearl, tactically with the server hunting them and no allies to fight back, and how they contradictory consider their place in the finale. And here's how they fight back.

Pearl's looming Plan is really emblematic of how she has no real way to stick with Gem and also be free of the current unaddressed tension limbo. She can't apologize for anything bc even Gem admits Pearl's done nothing wrong, and spending time w/her only allows Gem to control issues her (following unreasonable orders, and holding it against her if she doesn't.) Pearl distancing herself to do Plans elsewhere is the only way to force Gem to stop spiraling and change her mindset. Gem sending her on a suicide mission this session was largely tactical on both their ends — Pearl needs to lose lives — but as the destruction era begins, their unaddressed tension is only worsened by Pearl drawing away. This dissonance between GemPearl is something we haven’t seen before. They’ve always been loosely on the same page / aware of what’s happening, even if that's disagreeing. Pearl’s never hidden her intent like this and it has Gem incredibly on edge — which may be exactly what she needs for development.

While I don’t believe Pearl’s plan is divorce, especially since she did NOT get to start it this episode, she deliberately used the ‘Toxic Villys’ rhetoric to catch Etho off guard. In the same way trapped chests prey on Scar, Etho’s made no secret he’s interested in Villys imploding. That sort of targeted manipulation is usually disdained by Pearl, or at least she always hams it up into obviously lying enough that the other person catches on. Even back in episode 3 Pearl taunted Martyn into the Square Hole and felt guilty when he listened to her very transparent bait. Her willingness to play Gem’s style (and do it well) further proves Pearl’s loyalty is with her team — and how Grian’s ridicule that Villys aren’t “monsters” / have moral limits is completely unearned compared to his teammates’ intent.

As mastermind, Gem feels the tactical pressure the heaviest, and acts pragmatically despite the horrors. Her justification for sending Pearl into the Very Obvious Backstabbing Villys trap being “I want to trust somebody today, and Cabincore lie different than Rejects” is mostly hot air for the plot, but does demonstrate Gem being genuinely burnt by being unable to work with Cabincore. Without them, the Villys are alone, and she’s back in the WL “hunted by entire server” status that trapped her in aggressive passivity to begin with. She’s only able to break out of that by working with people who can get kills: but zero qualifying allies means she’s just sitting on her hands which sucks, so Gem works w/Rejects who obviously want to kill them instead of Cabincore who will get away with it. She’s entirely right: Grian going down to Red would put Villys in a significantly stronger position — not bc of server attention, but so they can murder and take other teams down on their own terms. Being Boogey next episode would help, but ultimately Gem wants the freedom to take care of things herself.

Despite appearances, Villys' endgame looks very different for all three of them. Pearl's is easiest: she's not in it to win, only support her team, and discusses rooting for Gem on stream. Her role in the team is still somewhat henchmen, now sacrificial, although she's challenging being "just a loyal guard dog." What's new is Grian's pride in "we're the only team sticking together" and Gem's confession that she expects the Villys to fall apart. Grian is gunning for a second victory, yet has done zero prepwork to have any exit strategy from Villys: it's possible he's expecting another 3L or WL where they only turn on each other in the final 2. Which could happen if Gem feels safe enough to not split apart sooner. I've talked about how well positioned she is to betray Grian, in part by having all their negative rep fall on his shoulders, allowing her (and Pearl) to last-minute ally w/others who carry more grievances with Grian than them. Very much informed by her SL experience, mind you. Depending on when Gem pulls the trigger, Pearl may feel obligated to stay with Grian instead of betrayal, although again she is rooting for a Gem win. From a purely tactical perspective: Gem could very easily get the rest of the server to dispose of Grian, while staying true to her mastermind role.

Yet it seems Gem’s motivations are genuine care/desire to stay with GriPearl, which is really compelling for someone always trying to convince the world she’s a rational manipulative schemer targeted by all. There's a very real risk she talks herself out of keeping the team intact: fully aware Grian wants the crown, and now on edge from Pearl having a life outside of her. It's more likely they stay together: partly bc the whole team surviving through the finale would be a feat, but also as Cabincore get cut off they'll rely even further on each other. Either way, Villys are hemmed in on all sides: interpersonal conflict, server splitting, and strategic mind games included. But they're facing them head-on: and that alone may prevent the crisis.

[huggywuggysuppy]

when was the control issues line from gem?

(37:38) in Gem's episode 6. Right around when she's explaining the plan to Pearl, who questions why she's participating in this obvious backstabbing trap.

PEARL: Jimmy is gonna kill me, you know this right? Like regardless of your words, the words mean nothing in this series. GEM: Well that's why I didn't wanna go in the portal -- because I have control issues with this trap -- but I want to trust somebody today and have it come true. PEARL: (Laughing) Don't trust Jimmy! GEM: For some reason I do! He's a little bit more pathetic than the cabin guys, they don't lie the same.

[huggywuggysuppy]

Society's Chosen

Gem had heard the whispers long before she was chosen. The blood thirst was a companion she held dear. It got to feed every time she fell to red. Vicious violence, predatory hunt would sustain her until the next game.

But be given permission to enact violence, while she's still green - that is a true honour. Might as well making it a spectacle. Give everyone something to watch.

[huggywuggysuppy]

currently obsessed with the idea of how gem's control issues are born from the events of secret life (which have become worse over the seasons) and how those control issues can develop into major possesiveness that she doesn't dare to really question. one of gem's best qualities is her pragmatism which is really funny when you consider that, at least partially, the same pragmatism is born from an extreme and irrational emotional response

“major possessiveness” ahaha like the Smajor possessiveness that got her into this mess. Cycles and all that.

But seriously, oomf @cargocraft summed it up pretty well:

That's the what, so let's talk about the why and how. Much of how Gem engages with fandom and her own talent is shaped by the direct backlash for SL and her instrumental role in being competent, story-driven, and unafraid to own it; all amplified by garden-variety misogyny. Nowadays she and other Lifers are able to outwardly love the season again, but we can't discuss SL changing Gem without acknowledging that many of the pressures came from external toxicity -- often mixed in, such as the controversial Boogey Army that solidified her PvP and villainous reputation. Her pragmatism is partly understanding her actions will almost always be taken in bad faith by somebody.

However, Gem's control issues manifest in micromanaging her team due to Scott's legacy and Grian's enabling. Back in SL, Scott put Gem on a pedestal: forcing her into not only leadership, but taking all of G&TS reputation and problem solving on her shoulders. This allowed Scott to move fluidly between teams and pin any of his actions back on Gem: it's all her idea, for her strategy. Gem used this reputation as intimidation and leverage, but always representing G&TS put immense pressure on her, especially compensating for Scott and Impulse's negative rep. Her relationship with leadership and competency was permanently altered. WL Gem was expressly hands-off with Joel, who has zero interest in the social game himself, letting Gem focus on managing her own reputation: trying to repair it from the force-of-nature villain warlord Scott built her into.

Yet PL Gem has embraced masterminding Villys without complaint. GriPearl ask every episode who their alliances are, their enemies, plans, all social game matters center on Gem: Grian straight up tells BigB he has to go through Gem if he wants to join. And Gem accepts this because Grian is the public-facing leader: the mascot of the Villys, taking all the rep and illwill for wrongs like the square hole, yet letting Gem make all the decisions. This gives Gem the same freedom and mobility that SL Scott had, plus she's still directing the alliance as the real leader. Gem's communication with her liutenant is much cleaner than w/Scott: Grian's fully willing to make friends and burn bridges and whatever she even suggests. He only commits to villainy bc Gem offered the idea, but is the most dedicated to the bit. They're only able to pull off macot/mastermind because they trust each other: as CargoCraft put it, Gem assumes she’s not the outlier and everyone else is also overthinking as much as she does, which goes well with Grian who actually is.

Except managing Villys so intensely is extremely controlling. Because Grian hands her the reins, Gem's already-present desire to protect Villys turns into taking care of them, which means constant monitoring and correction and tactics. It justifies using Pearl as a pawn and sending her into traps, justifies curating an image of protectiveness and internal strength -- we must agree on the lighthouse, how dare Ren try poaching Pearl -- partly so the Villys are isolated from any external friendships that would risk her social balancing act. Even when Etho was in their good graces, he was always friends with "Grian and Gem'," and they end the relationship as a duo. Her thought process becomes rational problem solving to keep herself and the alliance safely in power. Even though all these actions are also deeply emotional: paranoia that the server is hunting her, testing Pearl's loyalty and punishing her for not being 1000% on her side even after wronging her, keeping Grian entirely codependent so he can't leave her in the final hour despite his personal ambition. And of course the largest emotional root of deciding her own place in the server, even a villainous one.

SL Gem had all the power and no control, in WL she focused on regaining control without (using) power, and now in PL she has both and it's doing terrible things to her alliance.

There's a lot to dive into on this topic and I recommend flooding oomf @cargocraft's inbox because this is his propaganda -- just my take on it. Something to be said on how the destructive impact on Gem's health to both coldly logically rationalize all her relationships, and constantly fail to remove herself entirely so she's still guilty over coldly logically acting to protect them. The hurt/comfort writes itself.

[huggywuggysuppy]

Gem very deliberately turning to the camera and stating “I’m not sure what I want yet, or where my loyalties will end up, but I know I wanna stay with Grian and Pearl.” Message received loud and clear. It’s not revealing the why, but communicating her unbiased intent to the audience? After we’ve demanded insight into her plans? That definitely shifts the rhetoric from “intentional Villys toxicity” to something much messier, and maybe even sympathetic. Facing the community head on in open combat.

[huggywuggysuppy]

You’re laughing. Pearl agreed in-episode she’s been mistreated by her team, other people (Etho) are right to have noticed, and she’s doing something about it, and you’re laughing.

[huggywuggysuppy]

Hey thanks for the shout out! I think "Villys dynamic is just Like That normally and isn't toxic" is very closely related to "It's not that deep / the curtains are just blue" which outright rejects analyzing the work any deeper than block people shenanigans. And if you're only interested in that layer of depth, of course "Toxic Villys" seems unreasonably cruel -- it's like calling GriGemPearl themselves toxic which is a lot more personal. Really since DL but especially in PL, which explicitly panders to the fans and focuses on interactions over gimmicky shenanigan content, Life Series IS partially for the dramatization/analysis side of the fandom. Pearl and especially Gem play towards it on purpose, moreso than most other lifers. Curtains-are-blue takes alienate this audience's enjoyment, even though we have just as much place to post about it. Charitably, there needs to be a stronger understanding of the difference between "C!Analysis" and "CC!Discourse," and more respect to both groups.

This specific example is also complicated by the backlash against perceived mistreating CC!Pearl, particularly after ep2, which IS calling GriGemPearl themselves toxic. This has since been addressed as an overreaction and unnecessary by Pearl herself, along w/GriGem. However, them discussing it has once again blurred lines between C and CC. Taking CC's Word of God "Pearl said she's fine with it" and "Gem said they're just Like That" is again shutting down any nuanced C!Analysis -- such as my own "she's gaslighting Pearl for the bit" take on that line, and Pearl's nonagreement feeding the speculation. It's fun to tease the audience onstream about ongoing C! matters: everyone remembers the WL era tension, and let's not forget how they STILL haven't PVP'd after nearly a year. Onstream dialogue only applies if you want it to, and if so the context it was said in may still confirm both interpretations. Also, at some point Death of the Author applies: forming conclusions from what's directly and only in the episodes. To some people that's toxic Villys! And to others it's normal shenanigans! Just don't belittle the other side because the medium is intentionally messy, especially using CC's word of God as the entire argument.

Just saw an anon on some trafficblr confession blog or another addressing the way pearl fans have been talking about and analyzing pearl/the villys' dynamics, and its main gist was that a subgenre of pearl fans are a bit too quick to victimize pearl and that gem and Grian’s behavior isn't harmful, it's just jokes between friends. After all, Pearl, Gem, and Grian are really good friends with each other IRL.

I just want to offer up my thoughts. With something as unpredictable as an improv roleplay series set in minecraft, there is gonna be a sizable disconnect between what the cc's WANT us to take away from the narrative and what the actual narrative shows. In order to analyze the life series strictly as a piece of media, we have to set aside our preconceived notions about the CCs and how THEY interact, so we can focus on the characters and how THEY interact. (which, to be fair, can be quite confusing—different ccs build different levels of narrative after all.)

Starting with what the actual narrative shows—lots of other analysis posters on this site have gone deeper into the villys' dynamics this season (@huggywuggysuppy has some really cool analysis posts in my humble opinion) but the synopsis is, there is a pattern of Gem and Grian constantly belittling pearl, acting like she's bound to betray them at any moment (despite her being one of the most loyal lifers), and essentially "othering" her from the group.

When you step back and look at what the cc's want us to take away from the story, it gets much more complicated. Obviously the season isn't over yet, so if there IS some big overarching plan, there is no way we would know of it yet. Nevertheless, Gem, Grian, and Pearl are all very much narrative-focused CCs. They like to build a story and a character for themselves. It wouldn’t be so far-fetched to assume that the whole pearl-isolation within the villies IS intentional. However, from Pearl’s stream the other day, Gem mentions that “the audience thinks [the villies are] toxic because [we] don’t understand [them]”. Which does poke a hole in the theory that their dynamic is intentional. If the villies are cleary toxic from what the videos show us but Gem the CC is telling us to our face that they’re not BUT we also know that Gem is incredibly aware of narrative arc, her character, and fandom response/analysis, AND pearl doesn’t agree with Gem’s remark here, pointing towards the possibility that they both have very different storytelling visions then we have to circle back to our original assumption–we don’t know what is intentional and what is not intentional and there’s no way of knowing until the season’s over and the CCs explain themselves. 

Tl,dr: the “annoying pearl fans that make mountains out of molehills” are just analyzers who are analyzing this strange piece of media (minecraft improv roleplay) in the best way possible at the moment. Maybe Gem Pearl and Grian will come forward in 2 months and explain everything going on behind the scenes currently (not a very likely possibility, but a girl can dream), but until then, we have to assume that everything is intentional. 

[huggywuggysuppy]

one thing i will say in defense of gem’s editing is that she has gone on record to say at least some of her last past life episodes were edited badly (i don’t remember her exact wording, it was on a stream? but the vibe i got was that she was saying that she didn’t put a lot of effort into the specific editing of it) so i don’t know How intentional the stuff with pearl she cuts out always is?

Editing choices are my favorite type of evidence, even though it's often the least reliable / meaningful decision the CC's make. Relevance, comedic timing, single-episode narrative cohesion, and straight up exhaustion (as you mention), all take precedence over characterization. It's very reasonable to disqualify from consideration / grant CC's grace. However, editing decides what the author wants the audience to focus on. And that is very relevant to GeminiTay.

There's precedent for taking editing into account: most if not all Lifers edit for the audiences that watch multiple POVs (Gem keeps her episodes under an hour for this exact reason). The natural extension of rewarding multiple-POVs is discontinuities: infamously leaving out Ep1 "you're not worried about teaming with me?" thereby making Gem's later actions a lot more sinister only from Pearl's perspective. The tone difference adds to the entertainment and inherent unreliable narration from every CC telling a hero narrative with them at the center. Although arguments shouldn't rest on editing decisions, the events within the story are flavored by their presentation. Valuing editing is a feature, not a bug.

And Gem specifically engages with the fandom on this. Before Episode 4, Gem mentioned on a P.E.A.K. stream "you guys will maybe be a little bit mad at what I cut from the video," and around Episode 3 on a different stream she pointed out she's "gonna sound like an unreliable narrator because of the way she handled something." (Which in hindsight was probably sending Pearl up the ladders & later taking it back.) And she's not alone: just yesterday (8/14) Pearl talked onstream about "being entertained by fans dramatizing everything so severely," regarding the reactions to her "plans" tweet. I initially brought up Gem editing out Pearl interactions to punctuate how coyly she interacts with fandom. It can be argued Gem bringing editing up onstream like this is more defensive than encouraging fans: which isn't untrue, but it further demonstrates Gem's making these choices considering how she comes across -- and it matters to her.

Just as she plays to the casual viewers, Gem is in open dialogue with the superfans analyzing this. Yet, it's dangerous to assume everything she does is intentional. Are all her editing choices for the toxic Villys / Gempearl / etc. reading, slash the search for evidence of it? Of course not. On some level, the pressure to appeal to both casual viewers and dedicated superfans is exhausting: especially for CC's like Gem who are seen to play more antagonistic roles and therefore judged harsher. But editing is directly tied to character and tone, adding onto the tangible actions/dialogue. Succinctly: it approaches the CC/C divide, and therefore is open to interpretation. Ultimately it's up to individual viewers to decide where on the spectrum to weigh editing choices.

In a medium already about expanding simple elements into dramatic plotlines, editing choices carry weight, although not absolutely. Editing doesn't convict Gem, but it won't acquit her either. And frankly both Shinies know their interactions are popular: they're gonna pay special care to including or cutting them. See Liauditore's C/CC Interpretation chart that changed my life -- this whole post can be summed up as the east quadrant.

[huggywuggysuppy]

Most interesting part of Gem and Pearl discussing if Pearl should divorce them is how Pearl DOES NOT AGREE when Gem claims Villys are healthy and normal. She hears Gem out and understands her perspective but importantly doesn’t agree, she just doesn’t argue. Later independently and on Weds stream, Pearl is equally careful: mentioning she understands why people want her to leave Villys (‘for the narrative’ she says), and how she’s been “watching, living her best life, and being slightly tortured.” Which could mean nothing!

[huggywuggysuppy]

PL Gem addresses Pearl’s “Plans” (and defends her own innocence)

From Tuesday (8/12) Pearl stream. Fantastic 45 minutes of the shinies, totally reccomend watching, but here is the relevant Life Series transcript + analysis at the end.

(This one’s rougher bc I’m without access to a PC but NEED to share. Bear with formatting.)

(14:40)

Gem: Everybody thinks we’re divorced because of your tweet and I want to set them straight that we are not — we’re fine.

Pearl: (Chuckling) No [we are fine]. I took your tweet as like how excited you were for the boogey stuff, and like as if you just — you were missing my secret goodies. Is what I took it as…

Gem: Well yeah — yeah, your tweet confused me when I saw it because we do this thing at the beginning of the episode where we stand together and we kinda think of what we’re gonna do today, and that’s the time where if you have a plan you need to share it with the class.

Pearl: But I can’t—

Gem: (Continuing over her) And you didn’t share anything, sooooo…

Pearl: (Firmly) I can’t share it with the class. That would completely go against the entire plan that I have.

Gem: (After a long silence) … She’s divorcing us.

Pearl: I am not.

Gem: I don’t think you should divorce me and Grian. I think it’s fine. I think the audience thinks it’s toxic ‘cause they don’t understand us.

Pearl: (Delighted) You’re worried, so much. But the worry is needless. It’s not what you think it is. (Giggles) When I said it was just — it’s all fun? Like that’s exactly what it is — it’s just — yeah. Don’t worry. It’s all good.

Gem: I’m having fun.

Pearl: Yeah. Yeah. We can always do more… I was like — If the session went slower, is what/when I would’ve implemented it. (Wryly) But it seems like I didn’t have to worry about that this time.

Gem: The session—dude, I don’t even know if I spoke very much that session, like. There was… I— It was horrible. It was chaos.

Pearl: It—Genuinely, people [chat] asked me what word I would use to describe the session and I said “whiplash.” Because that’s how I felt. I just… we had a focus, and then suddenly: “Oh dear! Oh! There’s another thing going! There it goes.”

Gem: I established zero narrative.

Pearl: (Amused) I think a lot of narrative was built today. But probably like personal narrative is another thing.

Gem: I personally established zero narrative.

(Both giggle.)

Pearl: That’s okay. We’re the—supporting Villys. It’s alright. (Another chuckle) I’m excited for them to see it though. It should come together pretty well. I liked this session more.

Gem starts playing Pearldle, changing the subject temporarily.

Gem: (finishing longsuffering about ‘not being able to spell’) But I’ll spend time with my Pearl.

Pearl: Yay! (Chuckle) …Other people keep stealing you away! So, I need my Gem time.

Gem: (After a long silence) …You walk away from us a lot. In PL.

Pearl: I don’t mean to. I turn around and you two are gone.

Gem: I notice… People keep being like ‘well Gem and Grian aren’t with Pearl’ and like, watching my edit I’m like “Pearl’s wandered—like she saw a squirrel or something and now she’s in the other corner!” I can’t — I don’t have a leash!

Pearl: (Laughing) I don’t know! Like, genuinely I’ll be like “I’ll just go check this out for like 5 minutes,” or I’ll turn around and you both are like over the other side of a hill or something and I’m like “Oh! Okay. All right. That’s okay.” Or— It’s a bit of both.

Gem: Like yesterday — today for you — me and Grian were like “let’s do this thing” — I’ll just tell you, we were gonna diamond mine. And we turn around and were like “I’m sure we talked about this as a trio. But now it’s me and Grian under here and no Pearl,” and (Laughing) I don’t know what happened!

Pearl: (Also laughing) I stayed up top with Grian! They’re gonna—they’re gonna love it: there was a little bit that he did and it was quite funny. So I was—I was up there with Grian. It looked like I was gone but I was there. Oh! That’s the thing: I had to go make stuff to do the things that we were going to do because I didn’t have the stuff that we needed. …I’m trying to keep it cryptic, but. Y’all ran off with your fancy stuff, and I needed stuff.

Gem: I—my inventory on PL is 110% full. I can never not make what I need.

Pearl: (Chuckling) Yeah… Yeah, enjoy that. (Reading chat) We’re teasing? We ARE gonna tease. I think—I think chat’s gonna have fun with this episode.

My Analysis

Gem immediately jumping into defensive damage control mode after Pearl admits to hidden plans. Notable how she’s prioritizing Pearl after seeing her seriously consider acting against the status quo — one benefiting Gem — AND evidence Pearl would have gone through with it in a quieter ep. Gem’s arguments are fascinating, especially in how they can be dismantled:

“That’s the time to share plans w/class, aka sharing everything is expected” Impractical and unrealistic to demand from any of the Villys, plus internal plotlines are historically fair game. Control issues Gem strikes again /aff and where Grian might be following this expectation, Pearl shouldn’t have to, although tbf probably wouldn’t mind about anything else. Gem’s reaction/tweet reply as shock and offense that she wasn’t let in on the fun implies she’s supposed to hear everything. There’s characterization in there to dissect <3

“GriGemPearl just treat each other like this normally and the audience doesn’t Get It” Even if true, the context is wildly different inside a Life Series than on HC. Yes the fandom (inc. myself) is primed to see Toxic GemPearl and often cherrypicks evidence. However, they and especially Gem have given extraordinary reason to question the dynamic: least of which all of WL and “You’re not worried about teaming with me?” At some point it’s noticeable and unusual enough to be characterization instead of simply normal trio shenanigans.

^^ (It’s possible Gem was only referring to the backlash for perceived mistreating CC!Pearl, particularly after ep2. Which has been firmly addressed by Pearl herself as unnecessary and an overreaction, and valid for Gem to dispute. Here I’m considering it since it was said within the rest of Gem’s denials, but it’s optional evidence.)

“Plan to fill quiet sessions isn’t needed since ‘I’m having fun’” Personal Gem opinion, as Pearl’s expressed her own frustration with passivity recently. Generally smoothing over/excusing any Villys friction as something Gem (and, implied, Grian) aren’t feeling: it’s just Pearl, maybe even just the audience. Don’t wanna rock the boat unnecessarily and create drama in the murder, lying, and drama game… it’s a sentiment for sure.

“Pearl’s the one walking away all the time (and Gem is accessible/not avoiding her)” Possible, and Pearl concedes it’s partially true, but when Gem describes an example Pearl defends how she WAS sticking w/Grian. She also raises a BIGGER issue: breaking away bc she’s behind material wise aka not tryharding inventory like Gem and/or the Villys aren’t keeping her supplied enough or even waiting for her to catch up. Also doesn’t address behavior like Pearl fully embracing the lighthouse and still getting denounced for her “angsty attitude.” Perhaps there’s reasons for Pearl to prefer wandering off. Gem bringing this up now might also be to guilt Pearl into (physically) staying closer in upcoming episodes.

CRAZIEST OF ALL Gem preemptively defends herself for this upcoming episode. Citing an example we haven’t seen yet, describing how chaotic and packed it was, even later joking “I think I blacked out this session.” Most notably she wasn’t pushing any narrative this time, don’t judge her actions so seriously. And while I totally believe Gem (and most CC’s) got overwhelmed, that doesn’t acquit other episode’s behaviors, nor prevent her building on a preexisting plan/narrative. It’s damage control to protect herself from the shifting tone brought by Pearl’s plan.

Also Gem confronting the fandom, like WE put divorce in Pearl’s head, claiming we just don’t Get It. Woman who’s cut several key Pearl interactions from her videos with no defense, by the way. I’d have more faith if she explained any of her plans — including if they’re just “Villys on top / subverting how fandom handles villainy.” Right now it’s all on purpose until proven otherwise. Meanwhile Pearl probably won’t betray/leave Villys for anything, especially given how genuinely she insists Gem shouldn’t worry, but finds comfort and incredible confidence in having a plan, regardless of its outcome. Helps she’s not even hiding her delight in having the upper hand on Gem for once.

Insane stream. Pearl grinning kicking her feet just thinking about her mysterious Plan. Camera pans to Gem shaking like a chihuahua. Just wait till Friday.

[huggywuggysuppy]

first pass on pearl & gem