Doodle Doodle

doodle doodle

the diamonds & duty

one of my favorite highlights of the post-”a single pale rose” SU fandom, has been seeing everyone slowly let go of this cliché supervillain persona they’d built up for yellow diamond.

it’s 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 isn’t “better” 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.

rebecca said they’re equals and opposites. i’d argue their flaws are, too.

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 it’s not out of some selfish desire for power. yellow wants to “fix” things. she doesn’t verbally say she cares, but her focus is on actions, not words.

nothing makes it more clear than right after “what’s the use of feeling blue?”. blue’s focus is on her feelings, and yellow’s 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 what’s logical. this is a big part of peridot’s character, and i’d argue being transferred into that sector has affected jasper, too.

which brings us to “reunited”, aka my favorite of their interactions to date.

i love this moment. they’re such a team. none of that cliché secret hatred between female antagonist-types. there really isn’t a “bad guy” 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. she’s basically trying to “fix” her way out of it.

in terms of interpersonal and coping skills, they’re both broken af. but yellow’s rudeness towards blue (calling her hysterical, rolling her eyes at her constant wallowing) isn’t selfish. she’s been trying her damnest to make blue feel better for literal ages, and she feels a sense of duty to her leaderless gems.

in doing so, she hopes to make herself feel okay with things, too.

“how miserable. i knew pink couldn’t handle her own colony. but, i gave in. and now, i’m to blame for her fate.”

the subject of pink diamond is just as fraught for yellow as it is for blue. she may express it in a way that isn’t so stereotypically sympathetic, but she loved her. she always did. it’s 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 pink’s fate, but for keeping everything running. it’s her fault, as a leader, whenever things go wrong.

that’s the thing about yellow’s vision of leadership - it’s never been about what she wants. she’s just always had this role, and believes it’s her duty. she has to fix everything, even if she’s miserable. it’s comparable to mayor dewey in “dewey wins” - 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.

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.

when garnet’s 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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maskedtako

3 months ago