peridot has a surprisingly emotional reaction to garnet teasingly calling her a clod, and at first i didn’t get why. i brushed it aside as a funny moment.
however, when i thought about it… of course peridot is emotional. garnet just showed her, in terms peridot can understand, how much she likes her.
peridot obviously has trouble with reading other people’s emotions, knowing how they feel about her, and how to make her own feelings known.
she has a lot of strategies to cope with this, some of which are obvious, like the tape recorder, some of which are not. one of the little things that i don’t think all the crystal gems have picked up on - she mimics their speech.
the most obvious example is steven - where she has this now-infamous expression of gratitude from:
she also picked up “cool” from him, and the tongue-out gesture all the way back in friend ship. steven was the first person she trusted among the crystal gems, and for a while, her only ally.
and he’s not the only example! remember how in barn mates, peridot said stuff like “holy smokes”, “i got yo numbah”, ect? i think we can be pretty sure that was amethyst’s influence. they’ve been hanging out more, and it’s pretty clear peridot considers her the “best” of the crystal gems.
again, this tells us that peridot parrots the people she likes! this is a very subtle, maybe not entirely conscious decision. again, i don’t think most of the other crystal gems have picked it up.
however… i think garnet gets it. ever since log date, she’s been making a conscious decision of trying to understand peridot.
of course, this isn’t one-sided! garnet says it herself, peridot made an effort to understand her. i think garnet wants to do the same.
in log date, we also saw she’s getting pretty good at understanding peridot’s needs; putting her relationship in terms she can understand (”i’m percy and pierre”), helping her calm down, and telling steven the tape recorder is important to peridot, so he should return it.
so when garnet uses peridot’s word, “clod”, she’s giving her what she needs - reassurance that garnet really does care about her, and has been paying attention to her. she’s doing exactly what peridot does to the people she likes - mimicking her words.
because peridot was worried, peridot was scared, and garnet wants her to know she cares. peridot might struggle to understand others, but she gets it when they make the effort to understand her, and express love like she would.
Adelia obediently faced away from him, though when she heard the revolting noise of his shoulder popping back into place, she grinned sadistically, the scream accompanying it being music to her ears. She felt the euphoria wash over her as she imagined his expression of extreme pain, smiling cheerfully. However, when he then turned back to her, his voice cut off abruptly.
She raised an eyebrow, wondering what his issue was. She ran her fingers through her hair, which was draped over her shoulder. She then froze, looking to her hair. Her back… her back was exposed at this moment, wasn’t it? But even so… then she realized, and such a revelation hit her like a train. Her eyes widened and she suddenly whirled around, pressing her back against the alley wall. She felt the cold, moist shirt against her skin, and it felt positively disgusting to her.
By the look on his face, she knew what he saw. For the first time in a long time, she was truly caught off-guard; such a feeling made her sick to her stomach. That feeling of vulnerability, of having no control over the situation. It sent a piercing pain to her heart.
Sonny didn’t know what to think. He had seen whatever the heck those things were and he honestly had no idea where or what they had come from. He knew one thing and one thing only. She didn’t want him to see them. Seeing her genuinely scared for once really kicked his protective elder brother gear into hyper-drive. It didn’t matter what they were, it didn’t matter how they got there, it didn’t even matter that she had kept it a secret. What did matter was that she was scared and embarrassed and didn’t want anyone to see. And so, instead of asking a million questions like any normal person would do, Sonny followed his family’s number one rule. Don’t ask no questions. Gently slipping his own gray wife-beater tank top over his greasy head, he walked towards her gently without saying a word. His rippling chiseled abdomen gleamed a handsome bronze in the moonlight as he swaggered over to her soothingly. He then worked quickly, in case she may decide to resist him. Forgetting about his arm, he gently tied the two straps around the fron of her neck and draped the rest of his shirt down her back like a weird sort of make-shift cape that covered the back of her shirt entirely. He didn’t say a word, just smiled at her sympathetically. He knew all too well how hard it was to keep secrets, and he was eager to help out someone who didn’t want something to be known. HIs toned pecks were rather cold in the night, and he slightly tried to cover up a shiver that attacked his now naked torso. He stared into her frightened eyes, telepathically letting her know that everything was ok.
Adelia was shocked. Stunned in silence as he draped the shirt over her to cover her back. He didn’t prod her with questions; he didn’t even say anything. Everything she knew to be true was crumbling before her very eyes. Who was this man? Why did he act so differently. Her eyes narrowed, trying to analyze his thoughts. Why wasn’t he asking her anything, and what did he want from her? Nothing added up, and this unsettled her.
She gaped at him, not sure how to react. Should she say anything at all?
Her fear suddenly melted away to give way for curiosity.
“You’re different… than anyone I’ve ever met.” she gasped breathlessly. “And that’s kind of terrifying….”
Sonny shrugged off her question casually, he actually got it a lot. “Ya know somethin’…..” His voice wasn’t profound or wise or even insightful, it was just him saying what was on his mind. “…people always think they know. They always think that they know what you’re gonna be like.” Gently taking her small hand in his larger one, he tugged her towards the apartments, eager to get out of the cold city winds. “But people ain’t always how they seem to be….people change, people grow, people learn. Its what makes us people. If you got somethin’ that you don’t want me to know, then good. I don’t wanna hear it and I’ll fight to the death with anyone who wants to steal it from ya.” He smiled at her in slight humiliation at sounding so sappy as they walked. “Stealing is only ok if you steal from the people who can afford it….remember that.” He stared ahead, not a doubt in his mind. He crunched Adelia’s hand tightly in his. He wanted to protect her, no matter how dark her past was or what had gone on around her back. He was just fine not knowing. Although maybe one day she would tell him, confide in him, and that would be just as great. Who knows, maybe one day he would even confide in her for his troubles, but for now, all he wanted to do was hold her hand. Take her home and make sure she got to bed. It was just like Nero and all the women he had ever helped off the streets. He just wanted to give people a second chance. That’s all anyone ever deserved.
Adelia walked alongside him, a lot on her mind as she weighed the situation in her mind. Nothing made sense to her at the moment. Everything seemed a giant illusion, and she was falling victim to it. She looked down, trying to regain control as she walked hand in hand with him. She needed rest, and some time to herself.
Though until then, she would continue to observe her big brother, for he posed a stunning juxtaposition to everything she knew, and the unknown sent a chill down her spine.
