So one of the coolest, most intriguing parts of Steven Universe to me is the concept of fusion. I am a huge frickin nerd and I will spend hours just sitting here trying to comprehend what it must be like to experience being a fusion. 

For a long time though, there have been certain things that have had me stumped:

1) How could Pearl hide her intentions from Rose and Garnet during their respective fusions?

2) How could Jasper not realized Lapis was going to trap her while there were fused as Malachite?

3) Why was Alexandrite so quiet and (imo) uninteresting during fusion cuisine, despite being a fusion of so many gems? 

Before, I was under the assumption that when gems were in sync during a fusion, their minds “melded” and became one. However, the above scenarios wouldn’t make sense if that were the case. 

But then I realized, we’ve been blatantly told how fusion works. And during one of the most memorable episodes at that. 

“I am their conversation.” What if we take this statement as literally as possible? 

How about this: When gems are fused, each gem in the fusion is actually having a conversation with each other. In order to stay fused, the gems have to communicate, agree, compromise, debate and plan together. When this is done perfectly, their voices “sync up”, and the fusion’s amalgam personality arises. 

At the same time, whenever gems within a fusion have a difficult time communicating, the fusion’s personality dissolves and each gem speaks separately through the fusion’s mouth. 

The concept of fusion as conversation also perfectly explains how Pearl could hide information all the time during fusions, as well as how Lapis could fool Jasper while becoming Malachite. Because a fusion can only know what each gem discloses.

THIS ALSO MAKES ALEXANDRITE FRICKIN HILARIOUS. She wasn’t quiet and to herself because she lacked personality. She barely talked because Ruby, Sapphire, Amethyst, and Pearl were so awkward and had no idea what to say or do. But she had a stoic face because they all agreed they had to play it cool.

Viewing fusions as conversations just changed so much for me about this show, there’s a lot of little things I’ve noticed that I don’t want to get into cause this is already really long. Overall, it’s deepened my appreciate of the fact that fusions are metaphors for relationships. Remember what Garnet said to Stevonnie:

“You are not two people. You are not one person. You are an experience.”

Alright sit your butts down, ladies, gentlemen, and all other configurations of being. I’m about to tell you why this latest episode of Steven Universe turned Pearl from probably my least favorite character in the show to one of my favorite characters of anything.

So now that we know that Pearls are mass produced on Homeworld, we know that Pearls are also seen as nothing more than servants. And this fact has made me go from hating Pearl to loving her,

We don’t know how long Pearl was on homeworld, I assume a few thousand years. And she was in this demographic that was seen as inferior. And you know how that happens in the real world. She was looked down on. She wasn’t allowed to excel at anything. She was nothing more than a tool and if she DARES to be anything more than that, she’s a defective threat. This was her LIFE. 

And then she comes to earth, and serves under Rose Quartz. A woman who lets her be more than “just a pearl”. She learns sword fighting. She learns spear fighting. She learns all these things and does all these things that she previously wasn’t allowed to back on homeworld. And for once, she actually feels like she’s worth something. Like she’s proving to all those people who called her “just a pearl” that she’s MORE than a pearl.

And then it all goes to her head. 

She wins the war. She’s proven herself. And now she’s so high on self esteem, something she usually doesn’t have, that she becomes the very person who looked down on her.

She becomes the person who look down on others. 

“You’re a human. You’re a novelty. At best.”

“Humans just lead insignificant lives until their ultimate demise.” 

She’s so used to being looked down on that she absolutely MUST be on top. And thats why she learns so many things and does everything she can to better herself. So she can continue being “more than a pearl.”

And whenever she’s proven wrong, whenever she’s beaten, or threatened, thats when her defenses kick in. That feeling of being “just a pearl” starts flowing, and she’s so desperate to be “more than a pearl” that she gets mean. Rude. Condescending. 

Thats why she hated Greg so much at first. He was taking the one person who believed in her and hogging her all to himself. He was being more to Rose than Pearl was. And she was feeling like “just a pearl” again. So she does whatever she can to fix that. 

She instead comes off as an egotistical bitch.

Then Steven happens. He’s sure of something. He just KNOWS he saw something in the warps. But Pearl knows better. He was seeing things. And than he suddenly says those magic words.

“You’re wrong.”

Whats this?! Pearl thinks. This LITTLE BOY think he knows more than ME?! This is UNNACCEPTABLE.

And she does it again. She refuses to be looked down upon so much that she starts looking down on others herself, and she ABSOLUTELY needs to be right. She desperately tries to prove to Steven that she is “more than a pearl”.

Again. She come off as an egotistical bitch.

Then. Sardonyx. She finally fuses Sardonyx. And thats the breaking point for Pearl. Pearl may have done everything she can to prove she’s “more than a pearl”, but while fusing Sardonyx, she feels something else.

She feel POWERFUL.

She has POWER.

She has a thing that NO OTHER PEARL HAS.

And she gets SO addicted to that power that made her feel superior to ANYTHING, that she wants more. She wants to feel that again. She doesn’t want to feel like “just a pearl” ever again. And she thinks Sardonyx can do that.

And then. She’s caught. Garnet is mad. The one person she doesn’t look down to is outright pissed. And Pearl KNOWS it’s because she FUCKED UP. And now she feel like “just a pearl” more than she has in thousands of years. And when she finally admits it, that she’s “just a pearl”, Garnet shuts her down. Shows her that she’s more than that. She’s her own person.

And now.

Now we have the best part.

Peridot.

Peridot comes in and outright says it.

You’re “just a pearl”

And this sets her off. She’s on the defensive again, and now she’s determined to prove herself again.

But this time it’s different. 

I’m not “More than a pearl”

I’m not “just a pearl”

I am A PEARL.

SO LET ME SHOW YOU WHAT A PEARL CAN DO.

…but she lost the fight. Peridot gets her way, proved to the others that she’s “just a pearl”

And best of all, it doesn’t matter. Steven and the other still came to HER, thinking no less of her. 

And now I think she’s realized that it just doesn’t matter. 

She’s not “just a pearl”

She’s not “more than a pearl”

She’s not “a pearl.”

She’s Pearl. 

You can see the transitions between Stages 1, 2, and 3.

In Stage 1, you have no sense of self, no boundaries, no control. I.e. Servant Pearl.

In stage 2, you pursue identity, discovery, superiority. I.e. Egotistical Pearl.

In stage 3, you burden responsibility, order, and community. I.e. Emotionally stable Pearl.

Rose helped Pearl rise from Stage 1 to 2, and Rose’s trust and love for Pearl helped Pearl move up to Stage 3, but only partially. This partial Stage 3 is what we see in the beginning of the show, when Pearl did not suffer from any attacks against her sense of self worth.

Pearl still carried with her unresolved negative emotions about her origins and self value. When Rose was around, Pearl could feel her self worth be fulfilled by Rose’s acceptance. With Rose gone, Pearl had to subsist on the memories of Rose to keep her identity going.

But events throughout Steven Universe revealed Pearl’s hidden, unresolved insecurities. Pearl had yet to fully grieve Rose’s departure. Steven helped restart that grieving process in the episode “Rose’s Scabbard”.

So slowly, one by one, Pearl had to confront her deep insecurities, from discovering where true strength comes from, to coming to terms that Rose kept secrets from her, to accepting the consequences of abusing fusion and its resultant power, to finally shedding the chains of her origin and cementing her new identity on her accomplishments and honest effort.

Hopefully this will open up Pearl to taking strides in to Stage 4.

without a doubt my fav peridot caps of all time

bonus:

★ HELLO THERE FRIENDS, I HAVE MADE A GAME  ★

i saw a game jam for beginners on twitter, so i decided to go all in and make something! i’ve never used unity before…but the internet was very helpful

OH

OHHH

I GET WHY THE DIAMONDS LEAD

Ok so when a gem is broken they die right? Well diamonds are UNBREAKABLE. So they’re basically immortal, and the most beautiful, powerful, and rare gems.

The true power of Yellow Diamond