one of my favorite highlights of the post-âa single pale roseâ SU fandom, has been seeing everyone slowly let go of this clichĂ© supervillain persona theyâd built up for yellow diamond.Â
itâs not actually that uncommon to be angry and frustrated in the face of trauma. both yellow and blue take it out on others, and on themselves, in different ways. blue completely loses sight of her work - she focuses entirely on her own feelings. yellow explicitly calls this out, which i thought was a nice commentary on how sadness isnât âbetterâ than anger, or automatically more sympathetic. yellow channels her anger into a twisted sort of productivity, while blue completely neglects being a leader at all.Â
rebecca said theyâre equals and opposites. iâd argue their flaws are, too.Â
yellow is rigid, blue is drooping. yellow is the rock blue needs to lean on, and she knows it. she essentially steers the ship, while blue has given up⊠but itâs not out of some selfish desire for power. yellow wants to âfixâ things. she doesnât verbally say she cares, but her focus is on actions, not words.Â
nothing makes it more clear than right after âwhatâs the use of feeling blue?â. blueâs focus is on her feelings, and yellowâs asking what she can do about it. blue is sad about earth specimen dying out? that gives yellow focus. it gives her something to do: abducting humans for the zoo. her goal - and the goal of the entire yellow sector - is to fix everything. taking action in accordance to whatâs logical. this is a big part of peridotâs character, and iâd argue being transferred into that sector has affected jasper, too.Â
which brings us to âreunitedâ, aka my favorite of their interactions to date.
i love this moment. theyâre such a team. none of that clichĂ© secret hatred between female antagonist-types. there really isnât a âbad guyâ in the relationship between them. yellow criticizes blue for being too emotional, but her ultimate goal is to get her out of her depression by any means necessary. sheâs basically trying to âfixâ her way out of it. Â
in terms of interpersonal and coping skills, theyâre both broken af. but yellowâs rudeness towards blue (calling her hysterical, rolling her eyes at her constant wallowing) isnât selfish. sheâs been trying her damnest to make blue feel better for literal ages, and she feels a sense of duty to her leaderless gems.Â
in doing so, she hopes to make herself feel okay with things, too.
âhow miserable. i knew pink couldnât handle her own colony. but, i gave in. and now, iâm to blame for her fate.â
the subject of pink diamond is just as fraught for yellow as it is for blue. she may express it in a way that isnât so stereotypically sympathetic, but she loved her. she always did. itâs no wonder she was offended during the trial- zircon accused her of being exactly what yellow thinks of herself: the gem responsible. not just for pinkâs fate, but for keeping everything running. itâs her fault, as a leader, whenever things go wrong.Â
thatâs the thing about yellowâs vision of leadership - itâs never been about what she wants. sheâs just always had this role, and believes itâs her duty. she has to fix everything, even if sheâs miserable. itâs comparable to mayor dewey in âdewey winsâ - he works himself to the bone during the campaign, but when presented with a better alternative for the city, he gives in and steps down. dewey was fine with not being in charge. even if he liked some aspects of the job, the greater good mattered more.Â
what he wanted, was to keep things running smoothly. what he needed was to step down, leaving the city in good hands with someone who would change not only the leadership itself, but the very notion of its hierarchy.
someone who believes in working together in a communal, non-hierarchical way, rather than strict roles that stifle self-expression.
like bismuth said⊠someone is making the others believe in the future.Â
when garnetâs not there, the crystal gems may not have a traditional leader - but they still have their heart. maybe the other diamonds can believe in him, too.
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titsay
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