You know what I wish was explored more? What Pink Diamond was supposed to be. Well, yeah, she's a Diamond, she was made to lead. But was she though?
Let's take a look at Era 1. The Gempire was steadily growing, any rebellions were quickly squashed by a few troops, everything was prosperous. Why did the Diamonds need a third Diamond? The obvious answer is that their Gempire was growing too big for the three of them. But what about Era 2? At least 2 of the 3 Diamonds were phoning it in, and besides the "lack of resources" (we never find out what exactly those resources were, unless it was Pink's "essence"), Homeworld was just fine with 3 Diamonds. So what was the point of creating Pink?
One theory, supplied by Pink's drawings in Familiar, is that a special comet or shooting star was required to make a new Diamond, and maybe the other Diamonds didn't want to miss this chance. And that probably is the canon answer. But fuck that I'm making my own theory.
Let's look at Pink's design. Most people see her as some kind of jester or clown, as do I. Another idea I had is that she's an elf, like Santa's elves. Jesters and clowns exist to make people happy, but that seems more like Spinel's deal, right? She was made to make Pink happy. That's why I'm going with this elf thing.
So, if Pink is also based off of Santa's elves, and elves are often known as Santa's little helpers. And that's what Pink was supposed to be. Pink wasn't supposed to be like Blue, Yellow, and White. She wasn't supposed to have planets and armies. She was supposed to help the other Diamonds whenever they got overwelmed. Oh, Yellow accidentally scheduled two meetings on the same day? Just have Pink step in for one. Blue doesn't have the time to have a ball with her court? Pink can do it. I think Pink may have been intended as the Diamond's assistant. Respected as a Diamond, unlike the Diamond's Pearls, but also in the Diamond's inner circle, so she always knew what to do.
You may be asking, "Hey Opal, neat theory you just thought up on a whim, but canon doesn't have a ton of evidence to possibly back this." It kind of does though.
We know that Gems often share some traits with their Diamonds. We don't see many "pink" Gems, but we do see the Rose Quartzes. And what do they do? Well in canon we're not 100% sure, but The Rose Quartz was a healer, and her shield was a defensive weapon. Both things that would help other Gems. And the Zoo Rose Quartzes were made to help humans.
Amethyst also shares this trait, often checking in on Steven, abheit in a very 'chill' way. In "What's Your Problem?", Amethyst spends the episode trying to help Steven with his feelings about Rose/Pink. In "Guidance", Amethyst seems to have found her calling helping other Gems find their calling.
But you might be saying, "Yeah, Pink and Rose loved helping people, but that's a personality trait that doesn't really have to do with why she was created." Ok yeah you might be right but this is my crack theory.
And that's why we have Steven. Yes, Steven has always loved helping people, but isn't it interesting that in Future, when his Diamond side is starting to appear, he "needs to be needed"? That in "Guidance", he's desperate to help Gems? In "Graduation", when he wants to help Sadie and Lars with their relationship? In "Everything's Fine", where he's trying to help everyone? Why is Steven specifically latching onto that personality trait? I think it's because helping is in his gem's programming. And we can see that when Steven turns pink, it seems like his Gem is taking over. Not necessarily CYM pink Steven, and certainly not Pink or Rose, but the basic programming of the Pink Diamond gemstone.
As we see with the other Diamonds, emotional outbursts seem rather common. They have trouble controlling their emotions in general, with Blue tearing up, Yellow being easy to anger, White losing her patience, and seemingly, Pink also being quick to anger, as seen in "Jungle Moon" and "Volleyball". The Diamonds are also made to be leaders, a trait Rose and Steven couldn't shake either. So if