Pearl

Pearl is a perfectionist who is knowledgeable on a plethora of topics that value organization. Pearl has a penchant for symmetry (going so far as to impale M.C. Bear Bear to maintain the symmetry of a pile of appliances and school supplies) and very high attention to detail. Despite her perfectionism and occasional bragging, Pearl suffers from low self-esteem. In "Friend Ship", she admits she is very dependent on others to validate her, which loops into a strong inferiority complex. According to Amethyst in "Reformed", she needs everyone's constant approval to feel secure. Without anyone to tell her what to do or to depend on her, Pearl feels lost without meaning or value. Pearl admits she often feels extremely weak and/or useless when compared to others who appear better than her, going so far as to describe herself as ineffective on her own; always in need of a leader she can follow, thinking she has very little power to affect others, partly because her low self-esteem leads her to believe she lacks the relevance to be influential. Her self-deprecating tendencies stem from the Homeworld caste values, where Pearls are viewed as property rather than Gems. This has led her to take drastic actions to prove herself — though, thanks to Garnet's encouragement in "Friend Ship", she has started to take initiatives instead of letting other's words define Pearl herself. It appears Pearl has taken this to her heart, as she asserted herself against Peridot when she treated Pearl in a degrading tone. Pearl even goes as far as physically punching Peridot to show that she is an individual, not a piece of property. In the past, her low self-esteem is explained in detail by Garnet that she was willing to risk her life to protect Rose to prove her worth, which goes as far as nearly making Connie into an exact low-esteem replica of her during sword training if not for Steven's intervention. Pearl is easily flustered and overwhelmed when confronted by the unknown.