wrath-of-zirro:

She tried to SHATTER her own commander Rose / Steven, twice, just because they didn’t want to use a terrible weapon.

I’ve seen people try to defend her, but she was wrong. The Breaking Point wouldn’t have been used against “upper crust” gems (like Sapphire) let alone the Diamonds. It would have been used against grunt warrior gems in battle, gems who never in their lives ever got to make a single choice about anything but who just obeyed their orders, doing the thing they were created to do. Just like Rose or Bismuth or Peridot - before they were made to understand they have a choice.

Rose’s entire ideology was to give the gems that choice; a possibility and freedom to choose their own fate. Bismuth wanted to shatter them before ever offering them the same choice that had opened her own eyes and given her an identity and freedom from the HW.

She may be good at heart, and the core of her motive - freedom from oppression - is admirable, but she became an overly violent bloodthirsty extremist, and when her own dear liberator and commander Rose refused to use the brutal weapon she’d devised due to ethical reasons, she attacked her and apparently tried to shatter her - for disagreeing.

After Steven released her and she got a “second chance”, she, again, tried to shatter Steven’s gem / Rose Quartz, just for not seeing things her way.

I believe she’ll be unbubbled at some point and Steven will work his magic and bring her around - but Bismuth’s a great example of how fighting for a good cause can still twist into working against the very ideals you’re supposedly defending if you get too extreme about it, driving one into horrid deeds.

A great character illustrating an important point, but please let’s admit she deserves to be bubbled for now.

lkhandozat:

LOL I WAS REWATCHING BISMUTH AND APPARENTLY I MISSED SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT THE FIRST TIME

acebender:

I love how important stuff has always been there in Steven Universe

for example, Connie’s bracelet was already there in the first episode

And Bismuth also was already there in Lion 3: Straight to Video

The amusing part is that there’s legit some people who think that crewniverse is just browsing tumblr and stealing our theories when in reality, they’ve just been leaving enough clues for us to figure shit out.

tiny-floating-beluga:

anyway

eldritchgentleman:

silver-tongues-blog:

eldritchgentleman:

silver-tongues-blog:

eldritchgentleman:

silver-tongues-blog:

After all,

Remember who poofed lapis, who was a civilian during the war?

Bismuth wasn’t really evil, that’s the worst thing about her. She meant well, she wanted to improve the situation but made some really bad decisions.

She was a zealot and an extremist. She attacked civilians and created a weapon that would shatter gems. Someone like that would be court martialed in this day and age.

Yes but this day and age is one of nice, civilized warfare with conventions, rules and other stuff like that (which many countries like US for example selectively ignore anyway). What Crystal Gems were facing was not a clean little war but a fight for survival against a genocidal opponent, a fight to gain freedom from oppressive tyrants. More akin to fighting Nazis really.

Yes Bismuth was an extremist but her opponents were even worse. Remember the episode about how Ruby and Sapphire met? Ruby was to be shattered for fusing with Sapphire.

The real problem with this is… there is a problems of chosing between trying to protect both enemies and friends (seeing how the enemies are for the most part just fellow victims of tyranny) chosen by Rose and trying to end the war as quickly and effectively as possible by Bismuth. Seeing what Homeworld did, killing many of Bismuth’s friends, creating that abomination, Cluster, out of shards of millions of gems, can you really blame Bismuth for really wanting to end this war? Yes her hatred took control of her but she is still understandable.

Roses key ideal was that everyone deserves a second chance. Most of the crystal gems started out as homeworld gems who decided to join roses cause for one reason or another. Bismuth denies them that chance with the breaking point. By shattering them, they are never given the chance to be free. Thats why rose specifically asked for a sword that destroys their corporeal form but leaves their gem in tact. because she believes in change. Also, look where she hit lapis

She was aiming for lapis’s gem. She tried to shatter lapis, a civilian.

If bismuths ideals were put in place, peridot would have been shattered and the cluster would have been allowed to grow and destroy the earth.

I know and understand that but I also understand Bismuth. I’m not saying she was a shiny hero, I’m just saying that she wasn’t evil. Misguided, extremist, lost yes but not evil. Though she seemed to have been on the road to that.

Also is there even such a thing as a civilian among Gems? Everyone is created by Diamonds to serve them and their needs. If the Diamonds ordered all those “civilians” would be armed and sent off to battle.

The gems who are not created for battle are civilians. Pearls would be civilians. Lapis, who was there to just help the colony, not fight, was a civilian. hell, even Sapphire was a civilian and technically so was blue diamond on that mission because she was there for diplomacy, not to fight.

quartz soldiers and rubies are not civilians because they are there to fight.

eldritchgentleman:

silver-tongues-blog:

eldritchgentleman:

silver-tongues-blog:

After all,

Remember who poofed lapis, who was a civilian during the war?

Bismuth wasn’t really evil, that’s the worst thing about her. She meant well, she wanted to improve the situation but made some really bad decisions.

She was a zealot and an extremist. She attacked civilians and created a weapon that would shatter gems. Someone like that would be court martialed in this day and age.

Yes but this day and age is one of nice, civilized warfare with conventions, rules and other stuff like that (which many countries like US for example selectively ignore anyway). What Crystal Gems were facing was not a clean little war but a fight for survival against a genocidal opponent, a fight to gain freedom from oppressive tyrants. More akin to fighting Nazis really.

Yes Bismuth was an extremist but her opponents were even worse. Remember the episode about how Ruby and Sapphire met? Ruby was to be shattered for fusing with Sapphire.

The real problem with this is… there is a problems of chosing between trying to protect both enemies and friends (seeing how the enemies are for the most part just fellow victims of tyranny) chosen by Rose and trying to end the war as quickly and effectively as possible by Bismuth. Seeing what Homeworld did, killing many of Bismuth’s friends, creating that abomination, Cluster, out of shards of millions of gems, can you really blame Bismuth for really wanting to end this war? Yes her hatred took control of her but she is still understandable.

Roses key ideal was that everyone deserves a second chance. Most of the crystal gems started out as homeworld gems who decided to join roses cause for one reason or another. Bismuth denies them that chance with the breaking point. By shattering them, they are never given the chance to be free. Thats why rose specifically asked for a sword that destroys their corporeal form but leaves their gem in tact. because she believes in change. Also, look where she hit lapis

She was aiming for lapis’s gem. She tried to shatter lapis, a civilian.

If bismuths ideals were put in place, peridot would have been shattered and the cluster would have been allowed to grow and destroy the earth.

agray06:

I find it hilarious the way Tumblr is getting angry at Steven Universe for giving the oh-so-controversial moral of “It’s wrong to kill people, even if you’re fighting against oppression.” Do you really think Steven or Rose would be okay with murder? This show’s message has always been about peace. But this fandom is full of bratty teenagers who think that hurting other people will save the world. It really highlights how fucked up this website is, and how far removed this fandom is from the intended message of the show.

Not to mention that roses whole point was that people deserve a chance. If they went with bismuths ideals, peridot would have been shattered and the cluster would have hatched, killing everyone.

cteranodon:

Like alright. Of COURSE Bismuth has a really understandable position, but if you listen to everything she says in sequence, you should be able to tell why she’s wrong.

When she speaks so highly of Rose, she talks about how Rose showed her something she’d never even considered was possible – that NO gems realize are possible at first.

Bismuth can be an individual. She can go against her design. She can exercise free will. It’s awesome!

But when you get down to it, what Bismuth wants is to deny others that same chance.

She wants to destroy the gems on the ground oppressing herself and her peers. She overlooks the fact that very likely everyone she’d kill is just as much a victim of the Diamonds as she is.

And whether your approach is pacifistic or not, Rose’s ultimate weapon is far superior to Bismuth’s; Steven has proven time and again that he can turn gems against their homeworld even more efficiently than Rose could, giving them a better life and giving the Crystal Gems more support against an enemy that outnumbers and outguns them.

It’s a better strategy by every metric.