On Rubies (Part 4 of 4)

Here’s the last instalment of the Ruby Squad analyses from Hit the Diamond. In this one, I’ll have some character analysis on Navy and some character speculation on the Ruby Squad fusion (not to be confused with Giant Ruby from The Answer).

I’ll just keep the introduction brief, but I want to point out that like Doc, she has a unique uniform compared to the rest of her squad. Oxymoronic as that sounds, I think it’s worth noting that someone who isn’t of particular rank in the squad has a unique set of clothing. Partially the reason may be to expose her gem, but I find it very interesting that her inverted vest seems to suit her floaty personality. Her outfit gives the impression of being light and loose and it corresponds well with her behaviour. I find it the same way with Doc’s suspenders bringing to mind the “strongman” outfits, which showcase the chest area. Or more recently, the image of the corporate bosses who sit around without their coats in their suspenders.

It’s no sign that Homeworld is immediately now up for individuality and self-expression. To me it’s one of two things or both: Either those lower in the system are small fish enough to slip below the cracks or Homeworld authorities nowadays don’t try sweat the littlest details because it’s too much effort as compared to running their empire.

I’m assuming of course that the millennia since the Rebellion, there have been more colonies, more planets, more people to govern. As such, things are let go a little in lieu of more efficiency elsewhere.

But back to the character analysis:

5. Navy

The thing about Navy is that her gem is in the same place as one of our, if not main, protagonists: Steven. And Navy has elements of similar behaviour. When they first arrive on Earth, Navy remarks at how beautiful the planet is. And says the same about Neptune at the end of the episode: “What a lovely sounding planet!”

Navy is also the one to appear least “angry by default” as a mellowed down version of her squadmates. I’d hesitate to say that she’s a direct parallel to Steven. Rather, I want to attribute some of her character traits to her gem placement, which she does have in common with him.

I’d say that a naval gem in general would indicate someone who goes by their gut. So initial impressions are important when it comes to decision making and eventual interaction with someone or something new.

The thing about Earth is that it’s a pretty nice planet. In most Earth ecosystems there are no immediate threats that quite obviously and unavoidably will harm or kill someone. This is particularly true of the barn area where they’d landed. It’s a wide and clear field. That Navy starts out by saying, “What a lovely planet!” even though they were just smacked out of the sky by a giant hand shows that she’s sensing things are all right despite the bumpy start.

She feels out whether something is okay. Given her gem placement, I wouldn’t be too surprised if her gut feel is a bit more finely tuned than those of her teammates, in which case she would be invaluable to have around. It’s not a hundred percent accurate, and it might not be exactly as predicted, but her having a foreboding feeling in missions would vastly affect how her teammates approached the situation. That they didn’t go more cautiously, opting instead to immediately jump out of the ship, shows that she didn’t feel it was the case.

I feel Steven has the same value on the CG team. He often does have a gut feel for things like reading people, situations, and even corrupted gems. He’s still figuring out his powers, history, and himself and a lot of his solutions are new and haven’t been done before. Foreign invader in the form of a green alien with big hair? Let’s try listening instead of attacking the way we always do.

In fact, Cheeseburger Backpack as an episode is centred around Steven finding his own solutions to gem problems because he doesn’t have all the answers yet. And they work, as Amethyst says, “Two out of four times, that’s fifty percent!” Steven also has instinctual feelings about missions, like perceiving the pyramid they were trapped in was actually spinning them around, or more recently, that The Cluster was hurting. I mentioned before that this openness and perception was what allowed the Cluster to reach out to him at all.

Jumping off that, I find Navy is more open than her squadmates are to new experiences and knowledge. SU does a lot of things with aesthetic, and Navy, as mentioned above, is shown to have a top that opens outward. It isn’t plain exposure, but rather has a direction to it. I feel this is indicative of her personality as well. When the Rubies discovered their opponents were gems, the other Rubies were visibly upset and angry. Navy says, “What a turn of events!” which doesn’t seem too antagonistic.

Stomachs are used to digest things. Sometimes the expression is “to digest information.” I feel that Navy let’s these things process before actually making value judgements on them. She isn’t totally objective (no one is), but as much as she has her own standards and moral code, she doesn’t have knee-jerk reactions to things happening. During the baseball game, the Rubies start to lose at first.

While the other Rubies are visibly angry, and immediately so, Navy has a far-off look on her face with the classic “The Thinker” pose. Navy probably does experience a wide range of emotions, but she’s not one to just jump on those emotions. Rather, the stimuli first is processed or digested before she decides what to feel about something. This may account for her having a more toned down or mellow personality next to her teammates.

6. Ruby Squad Fusion

Following through with the way I analyse fusions, I’ll look at the relationship among the squad members. Despite their differing personalities, some things stick out. First, they’re very close with each other and have a lot of physical interaction.

One thing I’d like to point out is that they have no qualms getting very physically close to one another. It isn’t viewed as uncomfortable or an invasion of space. Doc is seen patting Ruby on the shoulder. They sit closely to each other on the bench. In the earlier scene where they reminisce about what happened “last mission” they’re closely leaning on each other as they laugh. Even Leggy, who is new, finds her space in the group.

In earlier analyses, I mention that part of the soldier training is probably a lot of physical contact, as they need to be unscrupulous about getting grabbed and shoved around if it means saving lives, including their own.

But I do think this sort of contact is still something they’d rather do with their own. Eyeball doesn’t react very gladly when Steven puts his hand on her after declaring her “out.” This is a good indicator that there are clear lines between them as a squad and everyone else.

The other thing about them is that they’re willing to let each other’s personalities shine through. The Ruby fusion speaks with different tones and facial expressions. Aside from that angry one up above (which could indicate Eyeball or Army’s impulsiveness dominating the group-think), there are also

(Doc’s critical stare)

And

(Navy’s “Why didn’t you say so?”)

They’re not trying to be the same Ruby the way we saw the Rubies behave in The Answer. There’s more going on in that fusion, more acceptance and room for difference than before.

To me this means ultimately that whether or not Homeworld is acknowledging these individual differences, on the ground, at precisely that individual level, gems are starting to take notice. And they not only permit that kind of personality to exist, but also encourage it. Doc is the leader of the squad, but we never see her wave her rank over her squadmates, even when Ruby and Leggy claim to have forgotten the mission, or even when they don’t manage to score points in the baseball game. In the same way we get to see distinct characteristics among the Rubies that allow analyses like these in the first place. This would probably have been unheard of at the time before the Rebellion.

So in the same way Homeworld has started to acknowledge fusion as a war tactic (because they were fighting fusions all the time), with Jasper saying “I respected your tactics,” at least at the individual level, there is now some acknowledgement of uniqueness and what that can offer as well, whether they realise it or not.

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