#pink diamond also being a huge rebel in more direct ways

[dynjay]

An old AU idea I had where Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz were two different people and Pearl belonged to White Diamond.

[lattetimes]

Full Thoughts on: Steven!

i’m gonna try to keep this as short as i can.

DISCLAIMER: yes, this post is going to include SU Critical things in it- this is a crit blog so that’s to be expected from me. these are just my opinions, and if you disagree with them then that’s okay!!

also, if this post winds up in the main tag, please let me know ASAP. i’m trying to keep it from popping up in the main tag and keep it in the SU Crit tag instead. 

1. my first thoughts on Steven

from the start of the show, i had mostly good things to say about Steven himself. he’s a very positive and happy kid that is unashamedly emotional and openly expresses how much he loves the people around him. and i personally loved the fact that he was open about his emotions and wasn’t afraid to cry or to show others compassion, even if they seem to be someone that was undeserving of kindness since they were kind of a bully (Lars specifically). his powers are directly linked to his own emotions, and i’m a huge fucking sucker for that kind of stuff i won’t lie. 

he’s raised by 3 nonbinary women that are each his hero since they’re all strong and caring in their own unique ways (Amethyst is the “cool mom” and encourages Steven’s more playful/adventurous side ; Pearl is the “responsible doting mother” that wants to keep Steven safe and teach him about Homeworld ; Garnet- and by extension Ruby & Sapphire- is the “passionate and wise mom” that provides Steven with insight and even gives him confidence in his decisions) that provide unconditional love to him. he’s taught to be compassionate from these 3 mother figures and his father (who is constantly working and trying to provide him a good life), and is told stories of how his mother loves humans and loved the planet and also loved him. even though he has a very unique familial situation, he loves all four of them equally and respects all of them as individuals. 

he’s a fat boy that’s not ashamed to be fat, and he’s an emotional boy that’s not afraid to cry or to admit that he’s scared, doesn’t understand what’s going on, and he’s not ashamed to talk about his feelings. he’s willing to give others a chance, and he wants to heal those that were hurt. he wants to right any wrongs he’s committed, and he wants the Crystal Gems to understand that he’s still a part of their team and family, even though he’s still young and trying to understand himself. 

2. Steven now is... kinda irritating. 

as of right now, i have to say that my opinions on Steven have changed drastically. i’m really not a fan of the direction Steven is going in, and a lot of it revolves around the “Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond” reveal. he thinks that he can try to “fix the broken family” that is the Diamond Authority (even though they are literally all space tyrants, like he said in the show in the latest season). and that’s something that made me very uncomfortable.

having Steven criticize and then randomly idolize Rose was very confusing- having Steven and Pearl confront Sapphire and tell her that Rose wasn’t in the wrong for lying to all of them was very messed up, and it made me so upset with those two characters and the show in general. Rose literally led so many Gems to their deaths on both sides of the war, and that was not okay at all. she lied to everyone. she could’ve gone as just herself and started the Gem revolution and gain even more support from rebelling Gems! 

and Steven feels like he’s now responsible for all of his mother’s fuck-ups and should be in charge of “fixing” the Diamonds, and that’s disturbing. and he’s so nonchalant about these things and still wants to forgive the Diamonds after they locked him in a fucking torture box and he discovers that White Diamond’s Pearl was actually Pink Pearl but fucking tortured (or “fixed”). i understand him wanting to negotiate with the Diamonds at first, but why in the hell does he believe that they’re “secretly good people, they’re just misunderstood!” when they literally kill planets as a career. their murals literally show the amount of planets they’ve conquered and destroyed just for their own sake. like dude, what the fu-

3. How I’d change Steven

personally, i think Steven shouldn’t be so adamant on wanting to redeem the Diamonds (which is something a LOT of SU Crit blogs agree with in general). 

what’d i’d change immediately is how he views Rose and the Diamonds in general. i don’t think he’d be okay with them at all after seeing how the corrupted gems were suffering and seeing the Cluster itself. seeing Garnet tremble from the thought of Blue Diamond, seeing Peridot terrified after standing up to Yellow Diamond, seeing how Pearl felt like she was completely worthless as an individual, and then Amethyst constantly being called “wrong” for being outside of the mold of a regular Amethyst are all reason enough for him to be completely against the idea of redeeming the Diamonds. 

they’re dictators. they’re tyrants. they hurt his friends. one of them kidnapped his father, had a fucking human zoo and called Connie a fucking pet (i’m STILL not over that, and it’s STILL disgusting)! he should be conflicted in wanting to even talk to them. like jesus, man! 

i’m gonna go back and add more to this post as i keep thinking more about it, but overall Steven’s character has lost his charm for me completely. he’s irritating and tells everyone to “accept their abusers because they’re sad and it’s making them sad” like no. fuck that. i’m sorry, but no.

[thinkinboutspace]

Change Your Mind: A Summary of All My Thoughts and Feelings

Alright fellas, strap in because this post, much like tonight’s episode, is going to be a real long one.

I want to try and organise this so the topics I’ll be addressing will (probably) be in the order of the episode progression. And if you haven’t seen the episode yet please DO NOT read this because it’s going to be ridden with spoilers.

Everyone good? Okay, let’s do this.

My feelings are basically just me screaming for about 3 hours, but I do have some actual opinions that I need to share because none of my friends have been watching the recent episodes and I’m DYING.

First things first: THE DIAMONDS. I was expecting emotional scenes because this is Steven Universe we’re talking about but HOLY SHIT that was a LOT!! I knew Blue Diamond was going to accept this the fastest (although that leak of her yelling at Steven had me scared) but the dialogue? 

“You were right to leave. I always thought that you were failing this world. But if you were happier on Earth, maybe this world was failing you.”

That’s such a powerful line and I love it so so much!! I also love the fact that she says this after Steven points out that it isn’t normal for her to use her crying powers on him as a punishment. The character development there is SO GOOD and it’s one of my favourite things about this episode!!

Yellow’s reaction was a tad bit different though, lol. For a while I wasn’t sure if she was going to “change her mind” and when the moment came and she did I cried! We all know that Yellow is the strongest of the the two because she thinks she has to be, and when she finally breaks down and admits that she’s been feeling opressed by White and that Homeworld’s system is flawed it felt so real and raw and relieving. Because she can finally be herself after thousands of years of her trying her hardest to not feel anything.

Next up: the new outfits and fusions!! Lapis and Peridot FINALLY GOT THEIR STARS IM SO SO HAPPY!!! And the fusions, where to even BEGIN AAAH!! 

While I was very happy to see Smoky Quartz again, we had all seen her before and so the only thing that was new was the outfit. Don’t get me wrong though, I loved seeing my bean again!

RAINBOW QUARTZ 2.0 RAINBOW QUARTZ 2.0 RAINBOW QUARTZ 2.0-

Pearl and Steven! Fused! And I am! So excited about that! Rainbow Quartz 2.0 being silly and making the ‘two stones with one bird’ joke had me laughing and I just love them with my whole heart!

SUNSTONE OH MY GOODNESS!! Sunstone was only on screen for about five minutes but in those five minutes they snatched my wig, my heart, and I think they’re my new favourite. I know that every fusion combines the aspects of it’s counterparts and the fact that Sunstone is a child-friendly PSA come to life is genius and adorable and I love it (I’ve been saying that a lot but it’s TRUE OKAY)!

OBSIDIAN!! THE TEMPLE FUSION!! THE FUSION DANCE BETWEEN THE FOUR OF THEM WAS ADORABLE AND I’M CRYING!!! THEY REALLY ARE A FAMILY AND SEEING THAT IN THE FUSION DANCE WAS SO CUTE AND HEARTWARMING AND I CAN’T TAKE IT!!

I also need to take a moment to say that I LOVE CONNIE, BISMUTH, LAPIS, AND PERIDOT, AND WITHOUT THEM THIS EPISODE WOULD NOT BE THE SAME AND JUST, AAAAAAAAAH!!!

But now that my screaming is (sort of) over, I have to tackle the biggest part of the finale: White Diamond.

Hoooooooooo boy that entire scene was a LOT to take in. First of all, we have White using her powers to take control of Blue, Yellow, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl (and of course White/Pink Pearl but we knew about that one). That, I think, was the saddest moment of them all. And it’s not even that alone that got me upset, it was how White Diamond described it!

“As for me, I’m certain I don’t need you. After all, I’m every colour of the light! But you’re a part of me! A part I always have to repress.”

“Please stop helping them! You’ll only make things worse. That’s what you do! I make things better.”

“Now the impurities you’ve encouraged in them are gone!”

There’s a lot of other things she says that make me upset but those three pieces of dialogue in particular just, oh boy. White really believes (at least in that moment) that not only is Steven just Pink taking on another form to rebel, but that in order to get Pink to “show herself” or whatever, she has to break Steven down and verbally attack him. 

She pokes at every single one of his insecurites that we KNOW he’s had throughout the show and it’s heartbreaking to see! The smaller details with the gems being controlled really added to the horror and disgust I felt watching White monologue about how she well and truly believes that they are all flawed.

AND HER THEN TAKING STEVEN AND REMOVING HIS FUCKING GEM OH MY FUCKING LORD GUYS I FREAKED THE ABSOLUTE FUCK O U T!! I am not making this up, when that scene ended and the commercials started playing I threw the pillow that I was hugging on the other side of the couch, jumped up, and started pacing while whisper-screaming because I couldn’t actually scream around my family. Steven Universe has had it’s moments of horror (the Cat Fingers monster was one of the creepiest things I have ever seen), but I don’t think I’ve ever felt fear as genuine as that while watching this show (or just any cartoon in particular, really).

When the show resumed and we saw Steven’s gem reform separate from him, I got scared because for a split second we saw the outline of Pink Diamond and it would be the WORST if she were to reform - but that’s absolutely not what happened!! Instead we see a new, seemingly all-diamond version of Steven and the implications of that are ENORMOUS!! This is already addressed in the show, but it means that Steven has never been his mom and that he is absolutely his own person! And Steven’s fear that has been growing and growing throughout this arc has been shut down and I love that!

I need to take a moment to yell about the animation in the scene where Steven and his diamond self reunite, because HOLY SHIT it was POWERFUL. The animation in Steven Universe is, generally speaking, always on top of it and it makes you feel things when it needs to, but THAT SCENE? When Connie hands human Steven to diamond Steven and he starts cry-laughing out of happiness? The way they both laugh (and you can HEAR the genuine relief and joy) and the camera spins for a second? The way White’s eyes open in front of them after they both stop spinning? The background music building up to when Steven becomes himself again? I could go on and on about that but in summary - the cinematography in that scene was AMAZING and I would like to draw as much attention to that fact as possible.

(We’re almost at the end of my rant I promise, lol. If you’ve read this far, thank you!)

White’s realisation that she’s been wrong this whole time and she needs to ‘get out of her own head’ is written SO WELL!! She doesn’t admit it out loud (which makes sense because she’s been a perfection-seeking tyrant for years, it’s gonna take more time than that), but she breaks down and we get to see that she’s starting to question everything she’s ever known. Which doesn’t sound good, but to me it is because now she can finally start changing the way Homeworld is structured (and they returned to Earth and healed the corrupted gems, so that’s definitely a HUGE step in the right direction)!!

Lars and Sadie reuniting was wonderful, Steven and his dad reuniting was ALSO wonderful, and THE OFF-COLOURS!! WE SAW THEM AGAIN AND MOST LIKELY WILL GET TO SEE THEM AGAIN IN FUTURE EPISODES AND I’M HELLA EXCITED FOR THAT!!

The last thing I have to say before I go is the songs. Blew. Me. Away. Sadie singing Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart was so sweet and when it pans to Greg in the audience you can tell he loves it! I need to listen to the new Crystal Gems theme song because I don’t remember all of the lyrics at the moment but I DO remember that they were very powerful and reminded me of just how far this show has come and I love that a song is able to do that for me. The song that Steven sings at the end, ‘Change Your Mind,’ was short but sweet and the meaning it held!! Steven is finally on the path to accepting who he is and he’s realised that he doesn’t need the Diamond’s approval and I just am floored with that character development!!

And with that, I conclude my very long summary of thoughts and feelings! I know I definitely missed a lot of smaller details, but for the most part I think I managed to touch on just about everything major! Thank you for reading this far!

[flairrstarling]

White and Pink Diamond

I'd like to think that Pink always liked to let other gems start thinking and acting like actual people with free will and aspirations that can contradict their purpose. Like how our pearl was supposed to be an obedient servant that's not supposed to have any thoughts or wants, but being with Pink seemed to give her more and more personality.

In that scene where the two of them are in the moon base, Pearl and Pink have a slightly awkward dynamic. It feels like Pearl is new to Pink and doesn't really understand Pink that much. Pink seems bored with Pearl. I'm sure that Pink would have gotten her own pearl way before she got her own colony, so it doesn't make sense how they seem to interact awkwardly.

So, my hunch is that right before pink got her colony, she had some big drama with the diamonds. I believe it's like how you said in your video on white pearl, white pearl was the original pink pearl, and our pearl was the original white pearl, since the Diamonds' pearl's would match their own gem placement out of symbolism. I think that before Pink got our Pearl, she was already really close friends with her own pearl, who would already have her own thoughts and wants, just like how our Pearl is right now, since Pink Pearl would have been with Pink Diamond all the time.

But I think White is a very intolerant of imperfection, or acting out of line. You can tell what a leader must be like just from seeing how their society works, right? I think White would have seen how Pink "converts fully functional gems into strays from their purpose" and gave her a lecture. Knowing Pink, she'd never just take the scolding, so they must've had a huge row, which resulted in White punishing Pink by taking Pink's Pearl away from her, and switching Pink's Pearl with her own. To "correct the mistake" White would permanently crack Pink Pearl and deprive her of emotion, essentially brainwashing her into a mindless slave.  

Or maybe White would've punished Pink that way because Pink was acting like a brat about wanting a colony. Pink was always very emotional. Maybe that's what White meant by "getting everything out of her system". Maybe she threw a fit and White gave her what she wanted while waiting for her to calm down.

Or maybe White and Pink had a little personal talk while Pink negotiated for a colony. Pink would have to give up Pink Pearl, to get her colony. Or maybe White gave the colony to Pearl just for her to get into the right mind about being a leader, y'know, like how some people become more responsible when they are entrusted with a responsibility? To let her "get everything out of her system"?

On a side note, here are some random facts that I didn’t throw in. -I think Homeworld gems were welcoming Pink back because White Diamond obviously has Sapphires. -I also feel like White is kind of sort of blind? I know, her eyes were trained onto Steven, but I just don't feel like she sees like a normal gem. -The only fact I have to support that Pink always encouraged gems to do things other than the purpose they were made for is that White says “We’re finally done with this latest little game of yours.”  -Pink or Rose didn’t talk about White all that much because she must have some deep dark secret that even Blue and Yellow might not know of between her and White. Y’know...something like trading a friend for a colony...(Which honestly doesn’t feel like something Pink would do, but since Pink is depicted as a teenage rebel among the diamonds I think she would be childish enough to want something so badly to the point of trading off Pink Pearl)

Diamond Parallels - Strong, Leader, narcissist, emotion-concealing Yellow, objective, the direct opposite of Blue, emotional, grieving, not acting like a leader (when Yellow told her to be a leader in What’s The Use Of Feeling Blue) -Pink, smol, bubbly, emotional, naive, forthright, child-like, slightly immature , opposite of White, unfazed, manipulative, intolerant of imperfection, uses a parental tone (although mocking), fake, big

I might not have a lot of proof for this, but it's just out of fun, and it just seems like something that would happen. If someone actually reads until the end, thanks so much for reading my opinion that nobody asked for. Either way, I'm hyped about White, like the rest of the fandom is!

[kettlequills]

What would have happened if (in perfect Pink perfect white) that White was Shattered instead. Like, the immediate aftermath?

Disposable but with White Diamond?

The usual chaos. In the immediate aftermath, I doubt there’d be anything too exceptional happening. White’s courts are going to be in havoc, but Yellow and Blue are both familiar with White’s courts in a way that they wouldn’t have been with Pink’s (having grown up under White) and would know who to call to suppress panic - namely, the Moonstones (who, in my AU are currently (during Pink’s day) being used as lawyers/judges due to their truth-tracking abilities, but were originally created as police) and Diopside. Like, don’t underestimate Dio? Diopside is the oldest gem alive next to White (and maybe Nacre), she knows what she’s doing. Everyone in White’s court would recognise her as a direct proxy for White. In many ways, it’d be smoother than any of the other Diamonds dying, as all of White’s gems are more likely to be old, used to such big fusses blowing up from time to time, and in denial for a while, as well having Diopside to mean that, effectively, nothing has changed for them. Note, none of White’s court are currently a highly unstable colony planet. They’ve been ticking over happily for a while now. So, initially, crisis management wouldn’t be a - vast  problem.

But in the long run…

White is the lynchpin holding a lot of Homeworld’s identity together. Everyone as old as Yellow and Blue remember a time when she was sole monarch, and of course, there are the individuals like Nacre and Diopside who remember more than that. White was also the living breathing repository of most of Homeworld’s memory and law. Every gem, from Yellow and Blue to Garnet to some random Ruby somewhere, recognises White Diamond and can associate her with power, conquest, and origin. White has forgotten more of Homeworld than most other gems have ever experienced, and that sort of impact would be huge.

Not to mention - it’s a slight possibility, but still there - that many pacts in Homeworld’s favour that many have forgotten about were negotiated with White specifically, and simply have been long forgotten and never actually updated to include Yellow and Blue. The example that comes to mind is Nacre - who swore to White, not the Authority (because it didn’t exist) to obey her, to not procreate other hivemothers, and to provide servile pearls in exchange for citizenship and the rest. If she decided to split from the Authority, there is no legal recourse actually stopping her. Likewise with much of the oldest portions of White’s court, like Diopside, who possibly would view young Yellow and Blue as upstarts and may even be provoked into rebelling against them and claiming independence.

[absurdistocchiolism]

Who shattered Pink Diamond?

...is the question we are still all asking ourselves. The episode ‘The Trial’ gave us all food for thought on the subject, and seems to wave our attention towards Yellow Diamond instead of Rose Quartz.

Her reaction to the events of the trial are certainly suspicious, but I don’t think we can rule her in yet, for two reasons:

-          White Diamond

-          Pink Diamond

We know nothing about these two Gems, including what they might even look like, their personalities or their abilities. So let’s look at what might be with what little we do know.

WHITE DIAMOND

What do we know about White Diamond? She’s a Diamond, and her ‘color’ is white (which might also mean she’s transparent instead of opaque white). That’s what we know for sure.

What I think we can infer from the mural above is that her gem is located on her forehead, the orb she seems to be holding at navel-level is probably Homeworld, and that the other orbs over her head are colonized worlds she controls or colonized herself (a total of 14 with varying moons). Quite a few.

I also think that we actually got a glimpse of her in ‘The Trial’ in the background of Homeworld.

Notice the distinct absence of any color to this figure, when usually we get pastel hues of some kind for gems that are made visually pale. I think that a gem’s color is indicative of which Diamond made them or who they are made for (like the Pearls for example) as the colors seem consistent, but again, later.

If this is indeed her, then we know another thing: SHE FUCKIN HUGE BRUH, EVEN BIGGER THAN THE OTHER DIAMONDS. This might be evidence of her being the Ultimate Authority among Diamonds since we’ve seen the other Diamonds being huge compared to other gems, and this seems part of what marks them as authorities.

W e might speculate that she may even be the originator of the other Diamonds because of her lack of color and hugeness, and her direct control over Homeworld. But not necessarily of all other gems, since we’ve heard Blue Diamond mention that Pink Diamond actually made the Rose Quartzes (’But they were hers’, she said. ‘Yellow, she made them.’). And if she didn’t, it then begs the question of who did make them since all other gems seem made in some way by somebody.

We can also guess at the idea that she either approves of, or finds justifiable, the colonization of worlds for resources.

Even worlds with other forms of life on it. It may even be that she considers other lifeforms less than gems, but the only evidence for this attitude is Yellow Diamond’s contempt for such in the episode where Peridot contacts her from Earth to try to convince her to prevent the Cluster’s emergence. (’Organic life’, she says with some contempt.) Human life, or any that is not a gem, is not worthy of consideration in her eyes.

Blue Diamond is more dismissive than hostile, but the result is still the same, and the only reason she wants to preserve some humans in a zoo is in memory of Pink Diamond. (more on this later)

Incidentally, did we see any other intelligent life forms in the SU universe? Are there only humans and gems? And why ? Have the gems wiped them out in their colonization of other worlds? So many question!

So White Diamond is a distinct unknown, a variable factor that we can neither stick in nor dismiss into any given situation with any confidence. She may have been involved with the events in Pink Diamond’s shattering. She may not.  I’ll go into some speculation later, but for now let’s move on.

PINK DIAMOND

What do we know about Pink Diamond? She colonized Earth, her gem is on her navel, she made the Rose Quartzes, and she was shattered by... somebody. A shattering that made Homeworld abandon Earth entirely, and declare that she was shattered by everybody’s favorite Rose Quartz.

So what can we infer from her mural? Hers is, in my opinion, one that stands out among her peers. So let’s compare them all together to show you what I mean.

The immediate thing we can see that’s different with her is her pose. She is shown in dynamic motion, with both legs clear and separated, an active agent. Her foot that touches some kind of ‘ground’ is clearly having an effect, with shapes sprouting from it, and she is the only one to do so, all others seemingly ‘floating above’ everything. She also has the biggest background ‘halo’ but this may very well be purely decorative.

Next is the placement of the Earth above her, and her looking up towards it. Not sure about this part, but none of the other Diamonds are looking up quite as high. This may be nothing, but I still found it rather striking. It may be indicative of personality or intent. Or not, so I’ll leave it at that.

There is also the fact that she only ever colonized one planet: Earth.

Why only Earth? All the other Diamonds have at least 7 on their murals, with Yellow Diamond also holding what I am speculating may be two stars, with planets orbiting them, possibly indicating that she has colonized at least two entire solar systems instead of just planets. If this is accurate, then her own count is also 14 worlds colonized, with Blue Diamond at 8.

So why has Pink Diamond only ever colonized one? The other Diamonds are clearly capable of gaining and holding multiple planets (and possibly solar systems), so why is Pink Diamond steady at only one?

1. We might consider the possibility that she may be the ‘youngest’ Diamond, since new gems are probably being made for various purposes fairly often, or at least at need. If we assume White Diamond was ‘the first’ and that the others originated from her, than it might be that she, like the other Diamonds, was ‘made’ once a certain threshold of possible control over the colonies was reached, necessitating her creation to keep all gems in line. If she was the ‘youngest’ Diamond, she may only have Earth because it was literally the only one she ever had time to colonize before she was shattered.

2. She may have had interest only in Earth.

3. She may have no interest in colonizing at all.

#3 may have some basis in what seems to be her ‘specialization’ in the gems that appear to be hers, if we assume that those gems in some way share her color as I mentioned above.

Blue-ish gems seem associated with Blue Diamond (including her Pearl), and all seem associated with some form of control or administration: Holly Blue Agate maintains the Human Zoo, Sapphires can see the future and inform the Diamonds of events they might need to watch out for (allowing for some control over events), Lapis-lazuli control water, Aquamarine is distinctly in charge of Topaz...etc.

Yellow Diamond’s Pearl is distinctly yellow as well, seemingly for no reason. And Peridot, while not yellow, is distinctly green (a combination of blue and yellow). Yellow Diamond seems most focused on what me may see as R&D, with Peridot being technicians, and Yellow Diamond herself being very analytical, overseeing the making of the Cluster and ‘the most rational being in the universe’ according to Peridot. A good trait for any ‘scientist’.

And most of the red or reddish (or pink-ish) gems are some form of military. Rubies, Jaspers, Amethysts, Rose Quartzes, Carnelians. All of these are warriors or soldiers of some kind. All have a color close to red or a mix of red, and as noted before Pink Diamond made the Rose Quartzes.

So Pink Diamond’s specialization may be military matters, and she may simply be the one that actually conquers worlds before the others move in to colonize them. In general, I have been told by folks in the military, and by people who know them, that soldiers of all kinds usually find long-term stuff like administration and research boring, with some even going out of their way to do hair-raising and dangerous things out of boredom. Pink Diamond may be the same. Her focus on Earth in her mural may be indicative of her being in the process of taking control of Earth when she was shattered. (this may be unlikely as Blue Diamond was shown to visit Earth as well before Pink Diamond’s shattering, and much protocol of colonization states that you don’t bring in anybody other than military in any kind of force before you’ve secured your position enough to keep them safe)(also, why a military if there is nobody to fight? Unless they did indeed wipe out entire alien species. Or maybe to deal with rebels only, who knows)(more later)

So maybe Pink Diamond sweeps in, conquers and then leaves again for another world to secure, leaving behind a small force to keep things safe while the other Diamonds come in and properly colonize. This might be why there was only Earth in her grasp on her mural: she was still conquering it while the mural was made. A mural found on Earth’s only moon, where its presence might be relevant in the future.

#2, now this possibility raises all sorts of questions, but is the one that appeals to me the most. It also contributes to my personal speculation about the reasons for her shattering, because it takes into account what I’ve already detailed here: her possible personality. Hear me out.

Recall again Pink Diamond’s pose compared to the others:

An energetic, dynamic, active pose, one that suggests motion, of reaching... as opposed to the seeming still stability of the others with their legs fused into one. Why this difference?

If my assumptions about personality depiction is correct, then there’s something about Pink Diamond that was singularly active, a trait possibly shared by the gems she made.

Rubies are not too smart in general, but still quite willing to simply do shit, with not much being needed to convince them to fucking play baseball. And in the flashback to the ‘birth’ of Garnet, we see them as quite rowdy, aggressive and enthusiastic when left to their own devices. They also seem impulsive, as in the actions of Garnet’s Ruby, who literally threw herself into both danger and fusion.

Jaspers are also, if our only example of them has so far been true to form, quite willing to be aggressive and fight, and are relentless unless poofed. (remember how much it took to poof the show’s Jasper?!)

Amethysts (like our favorite crystal gem and the Famethyst), as well as the only Carnelian we’ve seen, are all quite easygoing jokesters, and don’t require much convincing to participate in what is essentially treason in order to help out Crystal Gem Amethyst AND stick it to the abusive Holly Blue Agate. They are also very physically demonstrative in affection and playfulness, very emotional compared to other gems.

And if Crystal Gem Rose Quartz is at all indicative of her kind, then a mind of their own and an ability to learn could be indication of a certain adaptability. A soldier who can adapt to new challenges is a precious one, because they can be flexible and useful in a wider variety of ways.

So what does this suggest about Pink Diamond?

This is where my own speculations take the front here, and, fair warning, they will get wild, and some of them may seem a bit of a reach and hanging on to only scraps of info from the show’s trivia... but here goes.

I think Pink Diamond was probably a much more flexible, enthusiastic, curious and adaptable than the other Diamonds. I think this may have made her better for the exploration and colonization than the others, and I think this may have made her, if only a little, (but still) enamoured with Earth, a world that proved to be incredibly strange, but so lively that it made it attractive to her in a way that others may not have been.

And I think this may have been what got her shattered.

Not by Rose Quartz necessarily, but by order of Homeworld. Possibly White Diamond.

Here’s why.

Gems are ‘born’ knowing what they are meant to do, and as far as we can tell, emerge fully functional from either the ground (as in the kindergartens) or some other means. They come out this way with their full capacities at their disposal and with their personalities already decided and somewhat fixed. They are not set in stone (pun!) as demonstrated by all the Crystal Gems and ‘Off-color Gems’ on Homeworld, but it takes a lot before something even budges a little (see Peridot).

This means that there is also probably a commonality within a gem type. We’ve seen the way most Rubies have traits in common, and this is probably also true across gem the types.

This may also be why all the remaining Rose Quartzes were bubbled after the fiasco on Earth. If one Rose Quartz can’t be trusted, then they are all suspect.

This presents to us a people to whom stability, conformity, sameness and obedience to an established order would be the norm, or even necessary for a civilization to continue. And deviance from it would be tantamount to... treason. Anyone who doesn’t, or can’t, fit or fall in is a threat to that order. They might feel justified in eliminating such threats. Anything except leave those to their own devices in a society that they might destabilise with their actions.

Homeworld, and the authority of the Diamonds, is therefore dependant on this frigid order, by its lack of change.

But Earth? Earth is a place of constant change, of organic life in constant evolution, with climates in constant flux. ‘The only constant is change’ is rightfully Earth’s motto. A truly dynamic system. One that produced intelligent organic life that they could talk to, relate to, even like? Even love?

Earth would not be attractive to stability-loving gems.

But it would be an attractive place to an equally dynamic personality, one that likes to explore, that may be easily bored and loves challenges.

Maybe it was very attractive to Pink Diamond.

God only knows, it was enough to turn Rose Quartz traitor. And everybody who chose to follow her.

And if Rose Quartz was anything like the gem that made her...

Then the roots of her rebellion may lie in the very traits that Pink Diamond gave her. The adaptability, the empathy, the ability to learn. To change.

Why would they have these? These are traits that would get them in trouble on Homeworld, a place that depends on sameness to continue. But they are necessary for exploration. For expansion into new places. Places like Earth.

 Earth may simply have been too weird, to wild for a rigid-minded gem to be able to adapt to. So she needed a new kind of gem, one that could adapt. And make way for the rest of the colonization process.

Maybe Pink Diamond made the Rose Quartzes out of necessity. Maybe making them from the Earth itself, kindergarten-style, gave them what they needed to adapt to Earth itself. And it may have backfired on Homeworld. Its possible that all, if not most, of them could have turned traitor, especially if the trait was a commonality among them like other traits are common among other gem types. Better to destroy them all. (or bubble them)

So why not simply shatter the ones who don’t fall in line? Surely Pink Diamond had the authority to do so, like her peers. And if Blue Diamond’s willingness to shatter a Ruby of daring to accidentally fuse with one of her Sapphires, then Pink Diamond may not have been too different.

But what if she didn’t want to? What if she had become attached to them the same way she became attached to Earth? Became attached to humans, enough to make a zoo to preserve them just in case?

Consider how little it took, by the same vein, for even Blue Diamond to become attached to them, simply because they were hers? (’But they were hers. Yellow, she made them. This is all we have left of her’) And how devastated Blue Diamond was at the loss of Pink Diamond? After literal millennia, she still mourns. For a species for which change is a no-no and rare, death must be a hard, shattering thing. Even Yellow Diamond gets emotional when she thinks about it too much (’don’t you know I miss her too? she says in her song,(episode ‘that will be all’) and visibly leans forward as if hurting when she finishes). For a Diamond that sings about the uselessness of feeling, and has a reputation for rationality, she clearly feels a lot.

So Pink Diamond may have been reluctant to shatter them, and in so doing, allowed the rebellion on Earth to fester and grow into uncontrollable proportions.

What an embarrassment. What an incredible failure, after how many millennia, or even millions of years of empire and expansion. A failure that may very well also damage the reputation of the Diamonds as supreme leaders. Of their empire’s power, and purpose.

And that’s the thing about empires, they depend on their ability to expand, and do so with the confidence of their participants, on every level of society.

If the gems on any level start to doubt, or foster some kind of resistance to the empire’s expansion, then things fall apart fast. Our own history shows us that quite clearly.

And Earth seems singularly able to inspire it, even in gems. Crystal Gem Rose Quartz was also very adept at it, convincing a variety of gems to defect to her rebellion.

So...what if it inspired rebellion in the Rose Quartzes, even if only one, and Pink Diamond refused to shatter her? And it spread?

And dynamic, energetic, possibly curious Pink Diamond, how would she react to her specially made gems being so defiant? So different?

Possibly reluctant to shatter them, having succeeded in making gems that can adapt to Earth’s strangeness. This attachment may have been her ultimate undoing.

And after failure after failure to end the rebellion, one that threatened the very authority of the Diamonds, the legitimacy of their empire, tolerating the rebels, the world that produced them, and a Diamond that refuses to handle the problem appropriately?

The final straw was possibly Pink Diamond’s refusal to shatter the offending gems. Because by then, she was attached to them.  And permanent death is so very disturbing to gems.

What if Pink Diamond refused to shatter them, and started supporting the rebellion herself, maybe incognito, to save them?

And then Pink Diamond herself became a threat to the established order of the other Diamonds ?

Imagine, a Diamond defecting from their empire! What’s next? Mass uprisings?

What kind of effects would this have on the rest of their empire? Would other gems flock to this rebel Diamond? Start a civil war? Create a rival empire?

Then maybe, White and/or Yellow Diamond saw no other solution to their rebellion problem, one that might spread to their other worlds, then to end it at its source?

Even if they succeeded in shattering all the rebel gems, if Pink Diamond survived, she could foster a new rebellion and continue making her own gems ad infinitum?! It would never end! And their empire would eventually fall from the strain of trying to keep it together and failing...

Blue Zircon might have gotten too close to the truth during The Trial. She found the hole in the cover up.

Homeworld, possibly in the form of White/Yellow Diamond, gems with supreme authority, shattered Pink Diamond, and blamed it on Rose Quartz in order to make the best of a disastrous situation, and exonerate themselves, to preserve their authority...

Because a single failed state and a murdered Diamond is bad, but still preserves the illusion of the Diamond’s power.

But a rebellious Diamond with the ability to make her own army or empire independent from that of the Great Diamond Authority? The gem equivalent of secession?

A never ending civil war. No empire survives that.

And why not tell Blue Diamond? Because her emotionality might have led her to side with Pink Diamond. She was, after all, clearly very attached to her. To the point of wanting to preserve the Rose Quartzes in bubbles, gems even she believes are responsible for shattering her,and maintaining the human zoo. And if it did make her side with her, there would be two, not just one, rebel Diamonds.

Keep this information from her however, and she then becomes an ally in wanting the rebels destroyed in revenge for Pink Diamond’s ‘murder’.

Homeworld had the means, motive and opportunity in the form of other Diamonds to shatter Pink Diamond with, a desperate need to end a growing rebellion, and a chance to do so and make themselves look ‘good’ by blaming it on the rebellious Rose Quartz.

The fact that the official story told by the Diamonds doesn’t hold up when examined, as can be seen brilliantly deduced by Blue Zircon in ‘the Trial’, is the big gapping plot hole that the Diamonds guilty of Pink’s shattering simply cannot allow to be questioned. And what better way to prevent questioning than by using their own Supreme Authority to do it with?

And by wiping out the rebels on Earth in a single blow to silence any possible disagreement to the Official Story, shown to us in the episode ‘Monster Reunion’, as Centipeedle attempts to communicate to Steven how she became corrupted by a ‘white light’. (why white? White Diamond? What are the extent of her abilities? We just don’t know...)

Who did this? Homeworld. She points to the Diamonds. They corrupted her, like so many others. It did its job too. Centipeedle can barely bring herself to stay calm, much less communicate for any length of time.

The dead (or corrupted/shattered) can’t talk. The truth about Pink Diamond’s shattering, and who actually did it, was intended to die with them.

So.... who shattered Pink Diamond?

Who has abilities unknown to us?

Who would be able to shapeshift into a facsimile of Rose Quartz, and not be betrayed by their color?

(maybe someone who has no color at all)

Who would be powerful enough to do so?

(AND WHERE (WHO?)WAS HER PEARL?....)

[readbookywooks]

12. Staying quietly in bed is harder after that. I want to be doing something, finding out more about District 13 or helping in the cause to bring down the Capitol. Instead I sit around stuffing myself with cheese buns and watching Peeta sketch. Haymitch stops by occasionally to bring me news from town, which is always bad. More people being punished or dropping from starvation. Winter has begun to withdraw by the time my foot is deemed usable. My mother gives me exercises to do and lets me walk on my own a bit. I go to sleep one night, determined to go into town the next morning, but I awake to find Venia, Octavia, and Flavius grinning down at me. "Surprise!" they squeal. "We're here early!" After I took that lash in the face, Haymitch got their visit pushed back several months so I could heal up. I wasn't expecting them for another three weeks. But I try to act delighted that my bridal photo shoot is here at last. My mother hung up all the dresses, so they're ready to go, but to be honest, I haven't even tried one on. After the usual histrionics about the deteriorated state of my beauty, they get right down to business. Their biggest concern is my face, although I think my mother did a pretty remarkable job healing it. There's just a pale pink strip across my cheekbone. The whipping's not common knowledge, so I tell them I slipped on the ice and cut it. And then I realize that's my same excuse for hurting my foot, which is going to make walking in high heels a problem. But Flavius, Octavia, and Venia aren't the suspicious types, so I'm safe there. Since I only have to look hairless for a few hours instead of several weeks, I get to be shaved instead of waxed. I still have to soak in a tub of something, but it isn't vile, and we're on to my hair and makeup before I know it. The team, as usual, is full of news, which I usually do my best to tune out. But then Octavia makes a comment that catches my attention. It's a passing remark, really, about how she couldn't get shrimp for a party, but it tugs at me. "Why couldn't you get shrimp? Is it out of season?" I ask. "Oh, Katniss, we haven't been able to get any seafood for weeks!" says Octavia. "You know, because the weather's been so bad in District Four." My mind starts buzzing. No seafood. For weeks. From District 4. The barely concealed rage in the crowd during the Victory Tour. And suddenly I am absolutely sure that District 4 has revolted. I begin to question them casually about what other hardships this winter has brought them. They are not used to want, so any little disruption in supply makes an impact on them. By the time I'm ready to be dressed, their complaints about the difficulty of getting different products - from crabmeat to music chips to ribbons - has given me a sense of which districts might actually be rebelling. Seafood from District 4. Electronic gadgets from District 3. And, of course, fabrics from District 8. The thought of such widespread rebellion has me quivering with fear and excitement. I want to ask them more, but Cinna appears to give me a hug and check my makeup. His attention goes right to the scar on my cheek. Somehow I don't think he believes the slipping-on-the-ice story, but he doesn't question it. He simply adjusts the powder on my face, and what little you can see of the lash mark vanishes. Downstairs, the living room has been cleared and lit for the photo shoot. Effie's having a fine time ordering everybody around, keeping us all on schedule. It's probably a good thing, because there are six gowns and each one requires its own headpiece, shoes, jewelry, hair, makeup, setting, and lighting. Creamy lace and pink roses and ringlets. Ivory satin and gold tattoos and greenery. A sheath of diamonds and jeweled veil and moonlight. Heavy white silk and sleeves that fall from my wrist to the floor, and pearls. The moment one shot has been approved, we move right into preparing for the next. I feel like dough, being kneaded and reshaped again and again. My mother manages to feed me bits of food and sips of tea while they work on me, but by the time the shoot is over, I'm starving and exhausted. I'm hoping to spend some time with Cinna now, but Effie whisks everybody out the door and I have to make do with the promise of a phone call. Evening has fallen and my foot hurts from all the crazy shoes, so I abandon any thoughts of going into town. Instead I go upstairs and wash away the layers of makeup and conditioners and dyes and then go down to dry my hair by the fire. Prim, who came home from school in time to see the last two dresses, chatters on about them with my mother. They both seem overly happy about the photo shoot. When I fall into bed, I realize it's because they think it means I'm safe. That the Capitol has overlooked my interference with the whipping since no one is going to go to such trouble and expense for someone they plan on killing, anyway. Right. In my nightmare, I'm dressed in the silk bridal gown, but it's torn and muddy. The long sleeves keep getting caught on thorns and branches as I run through the woods. The pack of muttation tributes draws closer and closer until it overcomes me with hot breath and dripping fangs and I scream myself awake. It's too close to dawn to bother trying to get back to sleep. Besides, today I really have to get out and talk to someone. Gale will be unreachable in the mines. But I need Haymitch or Peeta or somebody to share the burden of all that has happened to me since I went to the lake. Fleeing outlaws, electrified fences, an independent District 13, shortages in the Capitol. Everything. I eat breakfast with my mother and Prim and head out in search of a confidant. The air's warm with hopeful hints of spring in it. Spring would be a good time for an uprising, I think. Everyone feels less vulnerable once winter passes. Peeta's not home. I guess he's already gone into town. I'm surprised to see Haymitch moving around his kitchen so early, though. I walk into his house without knocking. I can hear Hazelle upstairs, sweeping the floors of the now-spotless house. Haymitch isn't flat-out drunk, but he doesn't look too steady, either. I guess the rumors about Ripper being back in business are true. I'm thinking maybe I better let him just go to bed, when he suggests a walk to town. Haymitch and I can speak in a kind of shorthand now. In a few minutes I've updated him and he's told me about rumors of uprisings in Districts 7 and 11 as well. If my hunches are right, this would mean almost half the districts have at least attempted to rebel. "Do you still think it won't work here?" I ask. "Not yet. Those other districts, they're much larger. Even if half the people cower in their homes, the rebels stand a chance. Here in Twelve, it's got to be all of us or nothing," he says. I hadn't thought of that. How we lack strength of numbers. "But maybe at some point?" I insist. "Maybe. But we're small, we're weak, and we don't develop nuclear weapons," says Haymitch with a touch of sarcasm. He didn't get too excited over my District 13 story. "What do you think they'll do, Haymitch? To the districts that are rebelling?" I ask. "Well, you've heard what they did in Eight. You've seen what they did here, and that was without provocation," says Haymitch. "If things really do get out of hand, I think they'd have no problem killing off another district, same as they did Thirteen. Make an example of it, you know?" "So you think Thirteen was really destroyed? I mean, Bonnie and Twill were right about the footage of the mocking-jay," I say. "Okay, but what does that prove? Nothing, really. There are plenty of reasons they could be using old footage. Probably it looks more impressive. And it's a lot simpler, isn't it? To just press a few buttons in the editing room than to fly all the way out there and film it?" he says. "The idea that Thirteen has somehow rebounded and the Capitol is ignoring it? That sounds like the kind of rumor desperate people cling to." "I know. I was just hoping," I say. "Exactly. Because you're desperate," says Haymitch. I don't argue because, of course, he's right. Prim comes home from school bubbling over with excitement. The teachers announced there was mandatory programming tonight. "I think it's going to be your photo shoot!" "It can't be, Prim. They only did the pictures yesterday," I tell her. "Well, that's what somebody heard," she says. I'm hoping she's wrong. I haven't had time to prepare Gale for any of this. Since the whipping, I only see him when he comes to the house for my mother to check how he's healing. He's often scheduled seven days a week in the mine. In the few minutes of privacy we've had, with me walking him back to town, I gather that the rumblings of an uprising in 12 have been subdued by Thread's crackdown. He knows I'm not going to run. But he must also know that if we don't revolt in 12, I'm destined to be Peeta's bride. Seeing me lounging around in gorgeous gowns on his television ... what can he do with that? When we gather around the television at seven-thirty, I discover that Prim is right. Sure enough, there's Caesar Flickerman, speaking before a standing-room-only crowd in front of the Training Center, talking to an appreciative crowd about my upcoming nuptials. He introduces Cinna, who became an overnight star with his costumes for me in the Games, and after a minute of good-natured chitchat, we're directed to turn our attention to a giant screen. I see now how they could photograph me yesterday and present the special tonight. Initially, Cinna designed two dozen wedding gowns. Since then, there's been the process of narrowing down the designs, creating the dresses, and choosing the accessories. Apparently, in the Capitol, there were opportunities to vote for your favorites at each stage. This is all culminating with shots of me in the final six dresses, which I'm sure took no time at all to insert in the show. Each shot is met with a huge reaction from the crowd. People screaming and cheering for their favorites, booing the ones they don't like. Having voted, and probably bet on the winner, people are very invested in my wedding gown. It's bizarre to watch when I think how I never even bothered to try one on before the cameras arrived. Caesar announces that interested parties must cast their final vote by noon on the following day. "Let's get Katniss Everdeen to her wedding in style!" he hollers to the crowd. I'm about to shut off the television, but then Caesar is telling us to stay tuned for the other big event of the evening. "That's right, this year will be the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Hunger Games, and that means it's time for our third Quarter Quell!" "What will they do?" asks Prim. "It isn't for months yet. We turn to our mother, whose expression is solemn and distant, as if she's remembering something. "It must be the reading of the card." The anthem plays, and my throat tightens with revulsion as President Snow takes the stage. He's followed by a young boy dressed in a white suit, holding a simple wooden box. The anthem ends, and President Snow begins to speak, to remind us all of the Dark Days from which the Hunger Games were born. When the laws for the Games were laid out, they dictated that every twenty-five years the anniversary would be marked by a Quarter Quell. It would call for a glorified version of the Games to make fresh the memory of those killed by the districts' rebellion. These words could not be more pointed, since I suspect several districts are rebelling right now. President Snow goes on to tell us what happened in the previous Quarter Quells. "On the twenty-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that their children were dying because of their choice to initiate violence, every district was made to hold an election and vote on the tributes who would represent it." I wonder how that would have felt. Picking the kids who had to go. It is worse, I think, to be turned over by your own neighbors than have your name drawn from the reaping ball. "On the fiftieth anniversary," the president continues, "as a reminder that two rebels died for each Capitol citizen, every district was required to send twice as many tributes." I imagine facing a field of forty-seven instead of twenty-three. Worse odds, less hope, and ultimately more dead kids. That was the year Haymitch won... . "I had a friend who went that year," says my mother quietly. "Maysilee Donner. Her parents owned the sweetshop. They gave me her songbird after. A canary." Prim and I exchange a look. It's the first we've ever heard of Maysilee Donner. Maybe because my mother knew we would want to know how she died. "And now we honor our third Quarter Quell," says the president. The little boy in white steps forward, holding out the box as he opens the lid. We can see the tidy, upright rows of yellowed envelopes. Whoever devised the Quarter Quell system had prepared for centuries of Hunger Games. The president removes an envelope clearly marked with a 75. He runs his finger under the flap and pulls out a small square of paper. Without hesitation, he reads, "On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors." My mother gives a faint shriek and Prim buries her face in her hands, but I feel more like the people I see in the crowd on television. Slightly baffled. What does it mean? Existing pool of victors? Then I get it, what it means. At least, for me. District 12 only has three existing victors to choose from. Two male. One female ... I am going back into the arena.