#💎Bird Mom {Pearl}💎

[gemmedchild]

((Ronaldo look out Pearl’s spear is coming!))

((Oh my God he can’t hear us he has headphones on))

Say goodnight Fryboy

[applesaps-sorts]

Sorting Steven Universe! (Using the Sorting Hat Chats System)

!! MAJOR SPOILER WARNING !!

Spoilers for basically the entire show, movie, and the SU: Future series. I decided to sort the main Crystal Gems + Connie! The side gems will be in another post. 💎

Steven - Badger/Lion (Unhealthy Badger Primary, Badger Secondary Model)

To kick it off, we have Steven! He's a badger primary who wants to fight for each and every community he finds. He bonds to - and constantly creates - groups wherever he goes (Shortie Squad, Little Homeschool, Off Colours, you name it). He even ends up with an identity crisis as he struggles to combine all of his many roles. For example, Steven struggles to be a part of the Crystal Gems, the Diamond Authority, and humanity at the same time. He also does the Young Badger Primary Thing of trying to become an authority figure - his mom. Not only do the gems compare him to his mom, but he thinks he should *become* her and feels obligated to fix her mistakes (in a very self-sacrificing manner, as many unhealthy Badgers tend to do).

Under all the badger he tries to model to be more like Rose Quartz, Steven is most content and powerful when he uses his authentic, direct, charging Lion Secondary. He's very clearly improvisational; He doesn't like to plan (just like Amethyst), in stark contrast to Bird Secondaries Connie and Pearl. Steven also gets super stressed out while modelling an Exploded Badger Secondary in SU: Future - for example, burning himself out trying to create Little Homeschool schedules, poor guy. He gets his power from being himself and standing his ground, which is how he’s able to change the Diamonds' minds about the Earth and gems. He believes the best way to solve the problem is to face each of the Diamonds directly, stand his ground, and just talk to them - and, to his credit, it works. Steven's authenticity and directness was such a big refresher to Homeworld's expectation of hiding your emotions and opinions so he's able to get through to them :)

Garnet - Lion/Lion

Lion Secondary Garnet! Garnet is blunt, authentic, and a terrible liar. She's also not the most tactful (rejecting Jamie's love confession) and values honesty. She also tends to use "Battering Ram Lion" mode and charge at her problems to get the best results. I was considering Bird because of her future vision, but Garnet doesn't collect things like a Bird does - she solves her problems using herself and her steadfastness as a Lion Secondary.

(As a bonus, when Garnet fuses with Amethyst, there's just too much Lion Secondary in the mix, so Sugilite's Lion ends up Exploded!)

I was originally thinking about sorting Garnet as a Snake Primary; She really values herself as a fusion, and when she meets the Off-Colours she bonds to each of them individually and wants to know all their personal stories. But I eventually settled on Snake-flavoured Lion Primary. When Garnet fuses for the first time, she instantly gets a gut feeling that who she is is completely right. And, from that moment on, she finds her cause: fighting for love and the freedom to fuse. She then dedicates her life to this cause that she cares about so intensely, joining the Crystal Gems and fighting the Diamond Authority. (I also don't notice her poking at her morality like a Bird Primary would.)

Amethyst - Badger/Lion

Amethyst is yet another Lion Secondary! She loves improvising and charging. We never see Amethyst alter herself for anyone - not by “face-shifting” like a Snake Secondary or “mirroring” like a Badger Secondary. This is the reason that she bonds so well with Steven!They’re a double house match! In the training episode with Connie and Pearl who love to plan and practice, Steven and Amethyst are most in their element when they're reacting in the moment. They just “go with the flow,” which is Amethyst's advice to Steven when he wants to summon his weapon at the start of the show. She basically tells Steven that she’s not sure how she even summons her weapon, and that it just happens when she needs it to. Total Lion Secondary advice.

Amethyst is also a Badger Primary. She's always incredibly happy to be part of a group and bonds strongly to them. Her line in the opening song is "I will fight for the world I was made in" - her community, the Earth. When we see her find the Famethyst and teach at Little Homeschool, she’s super happy and completely in her element. Being part of groups is her jam! Amethyst’s Primary was also a bit Burnt at the beginning of the show. She’s very torn up about being “defective” and “not like the rest of the Amethysts,” even though everyone would reassure her that it didn't matter. She just wanted to be useful to the rest of her community, and she felt that being "defective" was keeping her from that. When she learns that her differences don’t make her lesser than everyone else, Amethyst can just happily exist as the Badger she is.

Pearl - Bird/Bird (Unhealthy Exploded Snake Primary Model)

Pearl is a total Bird secondary. She literally collects swords, information, and skills. Pearl loves to plan and hates when people deviate from it. She loves teaching fellow Bird Secondary Connie how to sword fight because of their shared methodical values (which makes for a really cute training episode!). Pearl was the character who's secondary I had the easiest time picking out.

Pearl's primary is a little more complex, due to her unhealthy Snake Primary model for Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond. Pearl’s role on Homeworld was toxically Exploded Snake. (“Everything you do is for the Diamond Authority and your own feelings are irrelevant.”) She spends so long doing everything for Rose that she almost neglects building up her own Bird Primary system. Pearl's whole arc is about doing things for herself and shedding her unhelpful model. We can see Pearl's true primary while she sings "It's Over, Isn't It?" where we hear her Bird Primary clashing with her duty to serve Rose:

"...War and Glory / Reinvention / Fusion, freedom / Her attention / Out in daylight / My potential / Bold, precise, experimental..."

Pearl actually delights in reinventing herself. When she reforms for the first time, you can see all of her drastically different outfit changes, and how she evolves throughout each era of her life. Once she she sheds her model, she is free to be her naturally Birdy self.

Connie - Lion/Bird

I love Connie! She's just so self-assured and confident. She has generally Idealist Primary vibes, but I ended up settling on Lion. She has multiple causes throughout the show (her education, being a crystal gem, etc.) and trains and practises to be able to fight for them!

Connie has always seemed to have a kind of Lion Primary confidence (or stubbornness!) in her ideals. In the arc with her mom, she doesn't ever waver or have a problem with trusting herself. She knows what she's doing and that it's right. Her whole arc is getting her mom to trust her. A great balance for Steven's Loyalist Primary. Jam Buds!

Connie is also a Bird Secondary, which is why she loves having Pearl teach her how to sword fight! Two Bird Secondaries adding to their collections… literally so awesome for both of them. Pearl sees a lot of herself in Connie, and Connie reflects that admiration right back at her. That episode is so sweet and I loved it.

Rose Quartz (Pink Diamond) - Badger/Badger (Authoritarian Badger Primary)

Finally, we have Rose Quartz. For Rose's primary, we have another Badger! Rose rebels and leaves her position as a Diamond in order to fight for what she considers to be her community: all gems. She naturally cares about all gems she comes across, much like Steven. She wants to care about everyone, even when the Diamonds tell her that she's "better" due to her position as a Diamond. She didn't think twice about throwing away her position of power to create a community. Although by becoming the leader of a rebellion, Rose gained another position of power (secret Authoritarian Badger!) which she used to hide Bismuth and get Pearl to keep Rose’s true identity a secret.

Rose is also a Badger Secondary. She has a lot of the good qualities of a Badger, such as solving her problems by relying on others, and being an inspirational leader that gems love to follow. Rose is great at being uplifting and inspiring, and she shines in caretaking and gathering Gems together. But Rose also has many of the not-so-great qualities of a Badger Secondary: she feels stuck in her role of the dutiful perfect leader, so she mirrors others and goes against her morals in order to hide her flaws and her past. As much as Double Badgers, like any sorting, can be amazing and inspiring, they also have the ability to turn dark and manipulative.

Note: There was no way I could have done this analysis all by myself, so I consulted the SHC Discord server- and got tons of amazing ideas and feedback! A huge thank you to: @nenestansunsthings, @the-phoenix-heart, @soundofez, @kiezh, and @frantasticlyfran for helping me out with this sorting! Could not have wrote it without y'all <3

[gemmedchild]

((ok but Pearl’s face))

there he go