#just some analysis

And this scene brings up two things that stick with me: the first being that this confirms Gwi-Ma had no idea Rumi was half demon until that moment (otherwise he would have mentioned it at any point before this). Why is this important? Because moments before this, Jinu discovered Rumi was half demon. And without any visual cue that Gwi-Ma was watching the bath house fight, we see that one demon learning about Rumi's patterns meant Gwi-Ma learned about them. So if that's all it took for Gwi-Ma to learn about Rumi, then that means that up until that point, Rumi had managed to keep her patterns hidden. Every single fight she'd been in before, nothing slipped. Even before she became a Hunter: she - and by extension, Celine - managed to keep her secret. And this may also imply that Rumi's father either didn't know about Rumi at all, or he was somehow able to sever his tie to Gwi-Ma before meeting Miyeong/learning she was pregnant. Because all it took was Jinu realizing what Rumi was for Gwi-Ma to know, and if he didn't know up until that point, then the demon who was her father probably also couldn't know. (I have a feeling this detail will likely get retconned or forgotten about, but we'll see.)

But the other thing I was thinking about is the implication that people can have patterns before making a deal with Gwi-Ma. If patterns (Gwi-Ma's mark) = shame, because that's something Rumi supposedly has, but she has them without Gwi-Ma even being aware of it, does that mean it's possible for someone's shame to be so great, the demon patterns start to form before Gwi-Ma notices? And maybe that becomes almost like a flag for him to find people more likely to make a deal with him. (Like a demon Air Tag or something.) And maybe that could tie into how quickly Gwi-Ma learned about the demon marks - most people wouldn't know what they were, so roaming demons would spot them faster and Gwi-Ma would then have another victim to dupe into a shitty deal. Rumi growing up a Hunter was taught to hide them, and whether or not Celine knew this was why, we can't argue that it at least worked. Gwi-Ma didn't know about Rumi until Jinu saw.

And given Jinu's jump in logic, it's safe to say Gwi-Ma would have thought of something similar, and if he had learned about Rumi earlier, likely would have tried way harder to get to her well before the movie even starts.

anyways traffic!impulse using self destruction and the destruction of others as a way to cope with his own frustration and resentment throughout the life series: a messy ramble-y post because I’m crazy.

most of this behavior really only starts after third life. his destructive behavior before then is usually outward and not with malicious intent. instead, he hurt others in third life because he was asked to. it was a part of a greater plan he was undoubtably loyal to and that would later get him killed and tarnish his reputation for seasons to come.

that’s why in last life, he’s much more open to antagonistic behavior (which he barely partook in before and only would if asked of). this mostly includes all the stealing he did that season, the numerous break ins, and of course, spawning the wither. this could also include his personal insistence on becoming the boogeyman and even planning it out in advance (which would later get him killed, his own hubris). he was itching for it to be his turn.

it’s such a huge shift from how he acted in third life, and why? personally, I think it’s because of all the strain and pressure put on him by others and their disdain towards him. specifically the rumors spread about him and the reluctance of others to believe and trust him after what he’d done the season prior. which for some people is justified, like ren and etho, but for others, like bdubs, is not. and this was shown to upset impulse a lot, given how it resulted in him being thrown under the bus, even by his own teammates.

but he’s supposed to be nice and considerate and smart to make up for all he’s done, right? that’s why he sticks with his alliance the whole time and makes a point to be loyal to them and them only. but that doesn’t stop the resentment and anger boiling, and he can only take so much before he has to let off some steam, and destructive behavior seems to be a means to do so.

it turns from him doing bad things because he’s asked to to him doing it because he wants to, to cope. which is why when all else fails and the southlands fall apart, despite him taking the measures to prevent it earlier on, he helps grian spawn the wither, even with the risks and deaths. and he insists on doing it at best’s base, because they ruined him. it gets him killed. he should’ve been smarter.

it gets worse in double life, specifically when homewrecking is proposed. while he’s not the one to bring it up or start the rumors, he soon grows comfortable enough to start talking smack himself. him and bdubs deliberately try to ruin the relationships of others, and they tell themselves it’s to steal away half of each pair for their own benefit, but maybe there’s more to it. maybe they ARE projecting, just like joel had said.

it doesn’t help that impulse is having his soulbound questioned and bdubs “needs” a clock and the horns won’t shut up. when they’re exposed, he takes his destruction to the deep dark. he throws snowballs, he spooks unsuspecting people, he yells into the dark when he finds out his voice can trigger the sensors. throughout the season, he makes multiple efforts to cause distress in the deep dark, malicious intent or not. and maybe it’s to cope with the fact that bdubs keeps sending him down there or etho won’t stop yapping about how bdubs doesn’t want him or how bdubs put a major target on their backs.

and this is when self destructive behavior really starts, too. impulse gives away valuable resources when he realistically could’ve not, he takes risks he absolutely doesn’t have to take (despite how much he values his and, by extension, bdubs’s life), when he’s linked to the fishing rod sequence of death, all he says to bdubs is that it was fun while it lasted. and then he loses their first life trying to get a music disc.

whether he means to or not, he’s slowly killing himself and his soulmate, too. and eventually, by the time he’s red, he just gives in. he starts blowing horn (surely there’s some symbolism there), he terrorizes those better off than him, he wants to cause problems. yet there’s always still some humanity in him that shines through, regardless of his destructive ways of coping.

but this isn’t about that. before the final fight, he even grabs the golden apple him and bdubs had been stashing away, saying if they can’t win, no one can. he would’ve ate it. he should’ve ate it. yet he didn’t, and he died by bdubs’s hand again. more resentment grows.

by limited life, it’s obvious he’s open to dabbling into more chaotic pastimes. bdubs’s ignorance and unwillingness to see his flaws and apologize only fuels the fire. when he’s chosen as the boogeyman, he has a time with it. but he still has the mind to know not to hurt his team, even refusing to use skizz’s accidental death to cleanse himself. but he bombs bread bridge freely, somehow even getting tango and skizz to help him. it’s almost concerning how much fun he has with it.

then of course there’s the complete destruction of bread bridge, which he happily takes part in. and tango’s boogey kill on bdubs, in which he lures bdubs to his demise (something he had been itching to do for seasons). he amasses a huge kill count over the season, his first time murdering anyone since third life.

most of his behavior this season turns more outward, and he grows more keen on sustaining himself the more faith his team puts in him. he is also shown to hold other alliances much less dear than ties, even if they benefit him. this results in the betrayal of many, most notably mean gills in the finale. he fights like hell, he gets his final revenge on bdubs and ends his season, and yet it still isn’t enough.

he begs martyn to kill him, because he’s alone, and he’s scared, and he did all he was asked to do. but they keep him around, despite his pleas. he’s given the illusion of free will, a chance to win, to be given a fair fight. martyn slaughters him in cold blood. a cruel betrayal.

secret life feels like a reset, and most scores are settled, and secret tasks heavily dictate how the sessions go. he isn’t given the chance to cause mass destruction like he could the season prior. he’s not sure if he wants to. most of his mistakes are honest, no self destructive or malicious intent, same with his tasks.

he’s with a team he can trust and confide in. they help him. they care about him. his first two deaths are consensual and willing, something’s he’s never known. the season is rough, but he’s happy. he tries to use his trap as he’s being chased, risky as it was, a final act of stubbornness.

Pulling at the strings of fate itself and defiantly pulling against its tide is the embodiment of Chaos itself, and it more than likely hints at the potential that they see within Fitzroy.

Chaos reaching out and lightly tapping a soldiers elbow so that a blow barely whiffs Argo’s chin. Them looking back and giving Fitzroy a wink before disappearing into the abyss.

Even in a gameplay perspective, Travis could mess around with it. The thundermen making a solid roll at the climax until it’s suddenly... not. Grey being able to bend the universe to his will as well because they share the same patron. The world cracking and splintering as the two powers clash.

“Fight the impulse to turn inward, to turn away from others. Your team is in grief and needs healing. It’s a process best not done alone.”

I feel that this conversation holds a lot of value and speaks volume about how Kory is Dick’s voice of reason. Notice after how Bruce said “it’s a process best not done alone” and Dick looks down and his expression says “hey i’ve heard that one before”

Kory told him in season 1 that “no one manages alone” and for Bruce to reflect those words to Dick even though Kory and Bruce has never had a proper conversation before, says a great deal about what Kory means to him whether or not he has realised it by now.

But Steven Universe is rarely a show that plays such straight games. It likes to talk up to the viewers, to go a little deeper. And I think similarly the Movie is going to deconstruct the concept of a Happy Ending in general. Especially after all the Disney Princess tropes we had in Diamond Days, and the apparent Storybook quality of the Movie (according to reviewers).

We all know the Disney happy ending. It’s the part at the end of the movie where the evil witch is dead, the princess is safe, the prince and her are getting married, the scene pans back out to a book that closes and the narrator says “And they lived happily ever after.” And that’s what Steven thinks he’s earned. The Gempire is reformed, the Gems are free, the Corruption is undone, he can go home and be a normal ordinary person and nothing bad will happen again.

But I think the Movie is going to tell us that Happy Endings aren’t that simple. That there is no storybook ending where everyone is happy and nothing bad ever happens again. Both in terms of Steven, who obviously has to defend the Earth again, but also Moviegem. I think Moviegem is going to be one of those Gems who are hurt by what Steven has done. That Steven’s happily ever after is mutually exclusive with Moviegem’s. And she won’t be caricatured as this former elite angry that she’s lost her status, either. I think the movie is really going to paint Moviegem as the Hero of Another Story, that what she’s doing is right by everyone’s standards. In that way, she becomes a much bigger threat to Steven’s worldview than White Diamond ever was, she’s the one character that Steven cannot help and the one character that will not back down.