Pearl

**Pearl** is a Crystal Gem, and an original Gem who appears in *Steven Universe*.

## Appearance

Pearl has a slender, thin build, pale cream-colored skin, sky-blue eyes, a pointed nose and thin lips. She is quite tall for a non-fusion Gem; towering over Amethyst, Ruby, Sapphire, and Peridot alike. She is a near equal height (with hair) to Garnet's chin. Her hair has a peach-pink color and resembles a pixie-cut in the front, while in the back, her hair leads to a point. Pearl is usually drawn without eyelashes or pupils, although they have been seen in some (or a select few) close-ups. Pearl's gem is located on the middle of her forehead and has no facets.

## Personality

Pearl is a perfectionist with a sizable amount of knowledge on a plethora of topics and values organization. Pearl has a penchant for symmetry (going so far as to impale M.C. Bear Bear to maintain the symmetry of a pile of appliances and school supplies) and a high attention to details.

Despite her perfectionism and occasional bragging, Pearl suffers from low self-confidence and self-esteem. In "Friend Ship", she admits she is very dependent on others to validate her, which loops into a strong inferiority complex. According to Amethyst in "Reformed", she needs everyone's constant approval to feel secure. Without anyone to tell her what to do or to depend on her, Pearl feels lost and without meaning or value. Pearl admits she often feels extremely weak and/or useless when compared to others who appear better than her, going so far as to describe herself as ineffective on her own; always in need of a leader she can follow. Her self-destructive behavior stems from the Homeworld caste values, where pearls are viewed as property rather than Gems. This has led her to take drastic actions in order to prove herself — though, thanks to Garnet's encouragement in "Friend Ship", she has started to take initiative instead of letting others' words define Pearl herself. It appears Pearl has taken this to heart, as she asserted herself against Peridot after she degraded her, even going as far as physically punching Peridot to show that she was an individual, not a piece of property.

Pearl is easily flustered and overwhelmed when confronted by the unknown or when her plans fail, which can lead to her judgement being clouded or cause her to act on impulse instead of rational thinking. Her inner turmoil over her love for Rose (and her subsequent absence) has made Pearl lash out at Steven more than once. Her fierce desire to feel "strong" and have more victories as a Crystal Gem even caused her to betray Garnet's trust and basic principles so they could keep forming Sardonyx. When realizing how much she hurt others, Pearl will apologize and try as hard as she can to set things right, working hard in order to counteract the damage she may have inflicted.

Out of all the Crystal Gems, Pearl is the most poorly adjusted to life on Earth, being unaware of human social conventions and culture, such as jokes, games, arcades, food, and birthday parties. Pearl has expressed a great desire to leave Earth in "Space Race", going so far as to risk her and Steven's lives. Pearl also has a pessimistic view of humanity, as evidenced by her statement in "Keep Beach City Weird".

In spite of her pessimistic perspective of humans, Pearl is extremely dedicated to her cause in protecting humanity more or less out of her love, loyalty, and admiration for Rose Quartz. She does, however, find certain aspects of Earth rather amazing. Regardless of her poor understanding of human society, she was able to pay for the Cookie Cats Amethyst and Garnet stole in "Gem Glow", drive Greg's van in "Ocean Gem", and repair it in "House Guest". She also watches the New Year's Eve fireworks show in "Maximum Capacity".

In "Back to the Barn", it is revealed that Pearls are not created to fight, but respond to orders. However, Pearl trained to fight with Rose. Peridot also describes her kind, Pearls, as accessories that are meant to be put on display as status symbols and to perform menial tasks, although Pearl's appearance fits this standard.

## Abilities

Pearl possesses standard Gem abilities, bubbling, shapeshifting, fusion, regeneration, agelessness, and superhuman strength/durability.

### Fusions

* When fused with Amethyst, they form Opal.
* When fused with Sapphire, they form Blue Lace Agate.
* When fused with Ruby, they form Coral.
* When fused with Rose Quartz, they form Rainbow Quartz.
* When fused with Peridot, they form Chrysoprase.
* When fused with Lapis Lazuli, they form Larimar.
* When fused with Jasper, they form Bone.
* When fused with Holly Blue Agate, they form Fluorite.
* When fused with Ruby and Sapphire, they form Sardonyx.
* When fused with Ruby, Sapphire, and Amethyst, they form Alexandrite.

### Skillset

* **Spear Proficiency:** Through her many years of training, Pearl is able to summon her weapon, a pearlescent spear. Pearl is very skilled in the art of spear-wielding and goes in tandem with her pattern of fighting that involves formal (ballet) dancing. She moves gracefully and swiftly, attacking with grace and poise. She stays calm and collected during melee battles, duels, and skirmishes. Pearl also has great skill in throwing her spear. This was proven in Giant Woman, and Beach Party.
* **Dual Wielding:** Pearl is capable of wielding dual spears in battle, implying she is ambidextrous.
* **Energy Projection**: Pearl can fire arrow-like blasts of energy from the tip of her spear. This can be done as rapid-fire, or charged to unleash a more powerful blast. In Attack the Light, this ability is named "Fireball".
* **Swordsmanship:** Pearl possesses expert knowledge and skill with a sword. For one on one dueling Pearl's preferred weapon is a standard Training Sword. Pearl's parry's are tight and minimalist, her offense is a pattern that is specific to the environment. This pattern consists of lunges, thrusts, and horizontal slashes.
* **Engineering**: On multiple occasions, Pearl has demonstrated a high level of skill in mechanical engineering, ranging from reverse-engineering Flask Robonoids to constructing a combat-ready robot on short notice, and constructing a rocket in an attempt to leave Earth, proving herself able to compete with an "expert" mechanic such as Peridot.

### Unique Abilities

* **Holographic Projection**: Pearl can project holographic images from her gemstone, which she uses mainly as a visual aid when lecturing Steven. While most of the holograms seem to be intangible, some, like Holo-Pearl, are able to interact with solid matter. Furthermore, the holograms can function without Pearl's presence up to two weeks, implying that her holograms can live independently. In "Chille Tid", it is shown Pearl's dreams are projected as holograms as she sleeps. In the show she has only been shown to be capable of creating independent (i.e not being continuously projected by her Gemstone) holograms of herself, Holo-Pearls. In the official flash game "Sword Dancers" she is shown to be capable of creating independent holo-clones of Connie as well (see Holo-Connie). However, the games (much like the comics) are of questionable canon so it is unknown if she is capable of this outside of the game.
* **Self-Duplication**: Aside from Holo-Pearls, which are projected through her gem, Pearl can also replicate herself several times into hologram-esque clones of herself, as seen in "Beach Party".
* **Psammokinesis:** Pearl is shown manipulating a small amount of sand to create figurines in "Giant Woman". It is currently unknown how much sand she can control at one time. This ability has only been shown once so far.
* **Levitation:** Pearl temporarily levitates to battle Sugilite in "Coach Steven". She shares this ability with the other two remaining Crystal Gems.
* **Nephelokinesis:** In "Sworn to the Sword", Pearl is able to channel clouds in the direction of her choice, able to gather clouds surrounding the arena around her to create a fine mist, reducing visibility and able to quickly dissipate.
* **Gem-tech Interfacing:** While not to the extent of Peridot, she was first shown in "Jail Break" and later shown in "Friend Ship", able to interface and control Gem technology such as the Gem Warship and, to a greater extent, Peridot's escape pod. When she interfaces with Gem-tech, her eyes become overlapped with what looks like programming code.
* **Water Walking:** Pearl can walk on water, an ability she shares with Opal, Lion, and Lapis Lazuli.
* **Flashlight Projection:** Pearl can use her gem to light up dark places. She shares this ability with Garnet and Peridot.

## Gemology

Gemstone Information

* A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a clam, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers.
* Pearls being considered lesser Gems could be based off the fact that pearls are not "real" gemstones, but are instead organic, being formed by mollusks.

As organic gemstones, pearls belong to the same group as ammolite, coral, ivory, jet and amber. These are all formed as a result of biological processes.

* Pearl is the official birthstone for the month of June as adopted by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912. It is also the birthstone for the Sun Signs of Gemini and Cancer.
* Pearls are also given on the third and thirteenth anniversaries.
* Pearl is the national gemstone of the Philippines.
* The name "pearl" is said to have originated from the Middle English word "perle", which in turn came from the Latin word "perna", meaning "leg", thought to be due to the ham-leg shape of the bivalve mollusc.
* Pearls vary in color from white to those with a hint of color, often pink, to brown or black. Each coloration will depend on the type of mollusk and the water where the mollusk lived.
* Pearls come in white, off-white, cream, golden, peach, pink, black, silver, lavender, and blue.
* Some pearls exhibit iridescence, which is known as orient. Orient can be predominantly one color such as green or pink, or consist of a rainbow of colors in weak, moderate, or strong appearances.

The colors of pearls also have sometimes been associated with certain qualities: black or gold with wealth, blue with love, pink with success.

* Pearls have been harvested and cultivated primarily for use in jewelry, but in the past were also used to adorn clothing.
* They have also been crushed and used in cosmetics, medicines and paint formulations.
* Pearls are thought to give wisdom through experience, to quicken the laws of karma and to cement engagements and love relationships. They are thought to keep children safe.
* Pearls are quite "soft" and range between 2.5 and 4.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness.
* Because the nacre is organic, pearls are very sensitive to extreme heat, acids, dryness, and humidity.
* Although pearls are relatively soft, they are extremely compact, which makes them durable and resistant to being crushed.