I’m reading fic and it just sort of occurred to me that like
idk there’s obviously always been a big power difference between Rose and Pearl but, like, technicalllyyyyy we never knew that Rose actually did literally own Pearl, and neither did the other Crystal Gems, until it was revealed that Rose was Pink Diamond but like,
this Pearl who is supposedly “free” now. She just chooses to follow around a big solider gem and keeps all of her secrets. she wants to be her most trusted companion, loyal to a fault. She throws herself in front of Rose Quartz constantly and puts Rose and Rose’s desires (masking them as her own) before anything else, and none of her friends bat an eye, ever? and i mean, i do know that Pearl is in love with Rose and of course she wants to be everything Rose wants, but it’s kinda hard to separate that from her being designed to provide anything Pink Diamond wants (as long as it is Respectable per Diamond’s standards, of course). i know there’s complexity to her feelings and i know her feelings of love, specifically, for Rose are real but... that power difference is and always will be yikes.
and i understand that the crystal gems were in war but, like, for people who are all on board with a revolution we aren’t shown them questioning the power structure within the movement they’re fighting, killing, and dying for, which is strange?
i mean, at the same time, i definitely don’t expect them to get too into that. it is a kid’s show and that’s super complicated. i’m just musing don’t get me wrong.
but i kinda wonder at the very least how we’re never given any indication that Garnet ever questioned Pearl’s relationship to Rose. I mean.... in We Need To Talk, she seems to be more sympathetic to Greg than anything, encouraging him to try to “fuse” with Rose and ultimately setting them on the course to a real relationship. Maybe she knows Steven is inevitable, maybe she just likes Greg as a person. Maybe she’s actually hoping this will force Pearl to move on (and, well, eventually it does), but..... idk. It’s something to think about.
