On Rubies (Part 3 of 4)

This is the third instalment of my Rubies analysis and another set of character analyses. If you’re interested in the first two parts, the links are down below at the end of the post!

So the first two Rubies I talked about from the squad have motives that are rather clear. They seem to carry a lot of authority and cause the audience to feel intimidation. I mentioned though, that from what we’ve seen, these two characters, Doc and Eyeball, do feel responsible and have a close relationship with their squad-mates, because despite their domineering presence, their teammates feel safe and comfortable around them. Enough to joke around, enough to look to them for cover.

In this post, I’ll be looking at another two members of the squad, Army and Leggy. Like Eyeball, they’re wearing what I’m assuming is the standard Ruby uniform. Their suits look very similar to Peridot’s and Jasper’s uniforms, which makes me think that V-necks with yellow diamonds are the thing to wear now on Homeworld, probably by assignment.

One thing I’ve pointed out but would like to expound on now is the differences in their uniforms. Together with Eyeball, they have little variations in their outfits that for me, would say something about them as well.

For instance, Eyeball has the longest shorts, followed by Army, and then Leggy. Leggy’s would be the shortest to accommodate her gem, but even in the concept art, details such as the size of the diamonds on their chests are not the same.

Source: Rebecca Sugar

There wouldn’t be a practical reason for this deviation. But as mentioned in my last post, Eyeball is more wary and sceptical of her environment. It might make sense for her to pick the longer pair of shorts in order to feel safer in a hostile and alien place. Considering that as a soldier she’d have to deal with scratches and scrapes, protective clothing may be one way for her to feel safe. Her diamond symbol is also the most prominent of the group. That could indicate that she is again, someone who wants to stay on the safe side, the side close to rules and authority.

Digressing a little, the diamond motif is actually pretty loosely incorporated into their clothing. Doc’s yellow diamond is split in half; Navy’s as well (as I assume the other yellow triangle is on the back of her vest, serving as a collar. The other three squad members have their diamonds displayed in the same position but in varying sizes. These are small signs of individuality within a uniform. Additionally, it may give us some insight into how Yellow Diamond as a ruler governs. She’s very distant. She’s not the one making sure each and every one of her gems bear her image in all its veracity and completeness. She’s distant in the sense that everyone has to know who’s in charge, but their likelihood with getting to interact with YD personally in their lifetimes is pretty low. This has a twofold effect of both making YD seem more powerful (because you have no idea what she is, think of the giant floating head in Wizard of Oz) but at the same time takes away from that ideal because she doesn’t feel like a looming supervisor (you have looming supervisors to thank for that ominous feeling instead).

Because if YD were more about prioritising people showing off the yellow diamond sign and being perfectly uniform, she’d take away from what she really wants to do: Work. When we see her, she’s busy at work, even opting to take the call with one hand or hands-free. She has someone screen her calls for her to ascertain whether even being the one to answer the call is worth her time, on the Diamond Line no less. YD is looking like someone less concerned with the perks of leadership and more a person who has worked so hard for her people that she’s lost sight of being one of them. More on her in the future, but I think that these uniforms make a pretty neat point.

With that point made, though, let’s get into the individuals.

3. Army

Army’s gem is rather close to her shoulder on the left arm (not to be mistaken for the Ruby in The Answer with her gem on the shoulder of her right arm). From what we’ve seen, Army is the Ruby most readily expressing her emotions. Although we have a very intense Eyeball, the latter is pretty cryptic about her reactions. On the other hand, we can clearly tell Army is angry when Ruby purposely strikes out. She follows it up by criticising her and doing a “better” job of it herself. Later on, she’s ecstatic that Ruby makes the home-run and flexes in triumph.

These indicate that Army is more emotional (as in, reacts with emotion). She has flashes of really strong emotion that dominate how she acts but these come just as quickly as they are intense. She’s the type to be really angry with you if you mess up, but after she lets out that anger it’s done and she doesn’t keep holding it against you, which is exactly what she does with Ruby.

I imagine scenarios in which Army would smack talk the living daylights out of someone for, say, knocking down her things and that person would cry. But tomorrow she’d see that person and exchange pleasantries as though nothing happened. Or she’d be incredibly up and excited for something one moment, but one sad thought turns her into a miserable pile of Army as though she’d never been happy in her life.

To me this is someone who just has to let out her emotional reserves and then after that she’s good to go. She’s not one to keep things from people, particularly what she thinks of them and how she’s feeling. The catch here is that she’s not one to use words in these cases. Instead, she’s more likely to act on her emotions without knowing it at times, in a way we’d call impulsive. This could lead her to outbursts that her teammates would deem inappropriate in context.

Her gem placement may have something to do with this. Because it’s on her arm, which to me is closely linked to strength and action. She’s not the type to explain her motivations and actions to others, and even herself. When she feels something is off, she has to act on it. When she feels things are great, she has to act on that too. So her responses tend to come off as rather exaggerated, because that’s what she’s feeling right now.

The other thing about Army, which is also seen in the concept art, is her salute during Doc’s briefing before the Rubies go out to search. Army just throws herself one hundred percent into what they’re doing. She commits. As mentioned above, she’s the type to go into action. Words don’t carry as much weight with her. So when she says she’s loyal to her squad, she acts on that and shows it. For instance, when Doc says there should be five of them, Army says “Five Rubies!” And during the game, Army took a pretty active role for herself and volunteered to officiate a little. It’s Army’s going “STRIKE ONE! STRIKE TWO! STRIKE THREE!” during the match. She’s not the leader of the mission, and she wasn’t delegated any of this responsibility, but she just leaps into that role.

For me this shows that Army can’t just sit still and watch passively as things unfold. She wants to play a part in making sure that things go her way, or at least that they go smoothly. For me it goes back to actions. Emotions alone mean nothing. You have to act on them for them to make any sense. Words alone mean nothing. You have to show people that you mean what you say. So she wants to win this match; she says she’s loyal to her teammates. She’ll go the extra mile to prove this is true.

Of all the Rubies, she reacts the most violently to the idea that Ruby might not be one of them. And I think deception hits her the hardest because of how earnest she is with her actions. When their opponents are revealed to be gems, she says “We’ve been tricked!” while the others react in shock. Because she’s consistent with emotions, words, and actions. For all her mood swings and outbursts, at least she’s completely honest about how she’s feeling in that moment.

4. Leggy

Leggy has been referred to as the “newbie” of the group. It’s her first mission. Additionally, she’s also a relatively younger gem. She doesn’t know a lot about what’s going on. This for me supports the idea that Homeworld probably doesn’t brief them as extensively as we thought before missions. In fact, I wouldn’t put it too far past them to have this kind of on-the-job training as the responsibility of the Ruby Squad.

This emphasises the team culture on Homeworld. I mentioned before that Jasper’s very physical mode of interaction with others probably stems from her soldier training. In this context, it’s looking more likely. If gems are trained through their squad members, then bonds between and among gems would be very strong. Cooperation and teamwork would be highly valued.

Look at how Doc treats Leggy at the end of the episode. She grabs her up and then pulls her towards the ship. Doc doesn’t ask before such an abrupt action, but Leggy doesn’t take it as harming her. In fact, this moment could be interpreted as Doc looking out for her squad mate. Not to say that all their gruff actions can be chalked up to this kind of training. There are clearly instances when soldier characters have violated personal space, boundaries, and consent in their actions. (Looking at Jasper and Lapis’ interactions in The Return, with Lapis who rather clearly did not want to be touched and Garnet patting Peridot on the back in It Could’ve been Great) Whether or not that was their intention, because they’re socialised in a lot of physical contact, they may come across as abrasive or brash.

Back to Leggy, she isn’t completely sure what to do once they get there, “Wait, so we just walk around?” She also isn’t completely sure what they’re doing there in the first place, “What are we doing here?” But she’s thrust into the situation and expected to pick up as they go. It’s a very hands-on approach to training.

It’s seen though that she’s briefed or more general things about missions. She knows her position in the Ruby fusion, which leads me to believe they’ve practiced fusing before. But the overall sense is that she isn’t as invested in the mission and in her duties in general as the others. When it’s time to leave, Leggy says, “But we just got here!”

Her presence for me, shows that loyalty is learned. Gems aren’t created immediately feeling things towards their Homeworld. In order to make them care about Homeworld and its cause, they have to be indoctrinated and taught things about Homeworld first. It’s all about socialisation and learning. This is Leggy, who, in a few years, may be as loyal to the cause as Army.

On to gem placement, having a gem on the leg may point to the leg being the foundation or the support pillar of the body. For me, it’s a very subtle way of saying that people like Leggy are the backbone of Homeworld. They start out as these individuals who don’t know about how things work. They’re taught the ways of their peers and assimilate into that group culture. Because you could have all the domineering leaders of the world but have their plans amount to nothing because there are no individuals to carry them out.

Leggy isn’t afraid of her senior squad members. We very clearly see Leggy hide behind Eyeball. Eyeball looks terrifying to Steven, who backs off when Eyeball starts growling at her. But Leggy feels safe with her.

The other trend we’ve seen is that Homeworld isn’t as hard on its people as we think. I’ve mentioned that in Message Received, Yellow Diamond already thinks Peridot single-handedly screwed up her mission, wasting both gems and resources. Yet YD is willing to trust her with her next assignment without a second thought. Similarly, when the Ruby squad finds Peridot, there’s no move made to attack her (and by extension the Crystal Gems), even after they find out that she’s the same Peridot who was on that mission and “Called Yellow Diamond a clod.”

The fact that a newbie like Leggy can outwardly reveal she doesn’t know what’s going on, means that she’s not afraid of her superiors. She trusts them to teach her and explain things she doesn’t understand or forgot. These individuals make up a civilisation, and one that has lasted as long as that of Homeworld’s must have understood by now that an environment of fear and cruelty only breeds resentment and rebellion.

One other thing about legs is that they move the individual to places. Having the gem on her leg might also indicate that there are still places she has to go, or that she has a long way to go. As a young and new gem, Leggy has everything ahead of her. She’s someone who still has a lot to learn and a has a lot of potential. Through her we know that gems aren’t born immediately aware of Homeworld’s laws and are not immediately dedicated to Homeworld. I think it’s also though her that there is potential for a new generation of Homeworld gems to be socialised differently and have a different take on Homeworld’s dogmatic systems.

If you liked this post and want to see the others:



Part 1- Origin, Roles of Rubies (Plus some thoughts on Homeworld)

Part 2- Doc and Eyeball

Part 3- Army and Leggy

Part 4- Navy and Ruby Squad Fusion