History Characters / StevenUniversePeridot

* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: She becomes obsessed with the ShowWithinAShow ''Camp Pining Hearts'', to the point of writing a 1,001 page essay detailing why the character she dislikes is the worst thing to happen to the show. In 24 hours.

* MadeOfIndestructium: In "The Kindergarten Kid", she suffers a number of AmusingInjuries and gets crushed by several heavy objects, yet her gemstone never breaks or even cracks.

* OverarchingVillain: In the first season, she was the one who sent the Red Eye to Earth, and she keeps trying to reactivate the kindergarten. At the end of the season, she's trapped on Earth with the Crystal Gems, becoming the main recurring villain at the beginning of season 2. Eventually, she's forced to form an uneasy truce with the Crystal Gems.

* DemotedToDragon: When she was introduced, she was the main antagonist carrying out Homeworld's goals... but then she shows up with Jasper, who's higher ranked than her, a better fighter, and a far more personal threat. She reclaims her position after Jasper is taken out by Lapis Lazuli, though.

* DragonInChief: She appears as a technician of some sort, but she's the one whom the Crystal Gems have the most conflict with before [[Recap/StevenUniverseS1E48TheReturn "The Return"]].

** During her confrontation with Yellow Diamond in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E28MessageReceived "Message Received"]], Peridot impulsively calls her boss a ''clod'' when she continually insists on destroying Earth with The Cluster. The result of this action ends up making her a traitor to Homeworld and forces her to become an official Crystal Gem.

* {{Adorkable}}: Oh so much!
** She makes a lot of ridiculous facial expressions and has a very UnevilLaugh. Once she's stuck on Earth her [[FishOutOfWater unfamiliarity]] leads to things like trying to escape through a toilet and quaking in fear of a rolled-up towel.
** [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E29LogDate7152 "Log Date 7 15 2"]] could also be called "Peridot is Adorkable", as we see her try on GoofyPrintUnderwear, imagines the other Gems being impressed by the paint can stilts Steven gave her, and become obsessed with the single episode of a teen drama Steven showed her to the point of creating charts and going on a rant about why her pairing is objectively best.
** The beginning of [[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E9TooShortToRide "Too Short to Ride"]] has Steven give Peridot a tablet Greg bought but decided he didn't want. Steven sells Peridot on the device, with Peridot lamenting it's too bad it isn't connected to her before getting an idea. She proceeds to duct tape some velcro to the back and wrap some around her wrist like a bracelet. Then she proceeds to overdramatically put the tablet onto her wrist and perform a series of silly poses, all the while making [[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud the appropriate sound effects vocally]].
*** The episode's main conflict is kick-started by Peridot trying to win an alien plush doll. As described by Peridot: "Its large head, swollen with thoughts. Those compassionate eyes... it understands." And when she wins the doll, it is made to look like a couple of lovers coming together (complete with LoveBubbles).
** [[CharacterBlog Peridot's Twitter account]] is a goldmine of Adorkable, from her plans for a day at the barn alone (which includes solo frisbee, running around with clothes on, and playing ''Camp Pining Hearts'' so loud the Diamonds can hear it before deciding against it) to her dealing with a surprise pizza delivery (she had to figure out the concept of money, [[LiteralMinded literally interpreted]] the phrase "it's on the house", and then spent 2 days running around the countryside holding the pizza (and presumably being bitten by a snake, stung by a bee, and hit by a car according to her tweets on the experience) simply because she didn't know what else to do except "Run with it.").
** Peridot's part in Ruby and Sapphire's wedding as the flower girl. She walks down the isle, throwing flowers ''at the guests'' while calling out "Flowers for you! Flowers for you! Flowers for you!" Once she reaches the end of the aisle, she curtsies to Steven and says "Wedding commander, all flowers have been deployed!"

** After her redemption, she becomes extremely {{Adorkable}}... [[spoiler:but turns out to have enough punch behind her metal manipulation powers to ''impale Jasper through the chest'' with a piece of scrap when properly motivated.]]

* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://soundcloud.com/lafusionesuntacticabarata/peridot "Peridot"]], a clinical- and artificial-sounding piece befitting her methodical nature. As of [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E21CatchAndRelease "Catch and Release"]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGu2ix1ZgzQ it's been remastered]] into a lighter, almost chiptune-esque piece befitting her new look and heightened NotSoStoic and {{Adorkable}} traits.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Peridot thinks very highly of Yellow Diamond, but after she dismisses Peridot's replacement plan for the Earth, she renounces Yellow Diamond.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Eventually proves she's this in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS2E28MessageReceived "Message Received"]], where her growing friendships with the Crystal Gems causes her to plead with Yellow Diamond to spare the local populace of Earth from being destroyed, proposing an alternative plan that would allow Gems and humans to coexist. When she is turned down, she promptly cements her loyalty to the Crystal Gems over Yellow Diamond [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu by calling her a Clod]] and joining the Gems.

* CostumeEvolution: Like most of the other Gems, Peridot only permanently changes her outfit when regenerating her HardLight physical form after being poofed; however, she (and Lapis Lazuli) go the longest period of time on the show without doing so. When she finally does in the season 5 finale, she ditches her v-neck shirt for one which reaches to the base of her throat, along with going from simple coloring on her toes to colored full boots and replacing her face-fitting visor to a wider, sharp-angled reminiscent of Garnet's. She also changes the yellow diamond insignias on her shirt and the knees of her pants to stars, signifying that she finally considers herself a full Crystal Gem.

* CostumeEvolution: Like most of the other Gems, Peridot only permanently changes her outfit when regenerating her HardLight physical form after being poofed; however, she (and Lapis Lazuli) go the longest period of time on the show without doing so. When she finally does in the season 5 finale, she switches from her standard unitard outfit to one which has visually distinct pants, trunks, and shirt, along with differently colored full boots and a wide, sharp-angled visor. She also has star insignias on her shirt and the knees of her pants, signifying that she finally considers herself a full Crystal Gem.

* {{Catchphrase}}:
** She seems fond of "clod" as an insult. Occasionally switched for "crystal clods". Phased out of her after her CharacterDevelopment.
** Thanks to Steven and her literal mind, she almost always shows gratitude by saying "Wow, Thanks."

* {{Asexuality}}: She was confirmed as aroace via WordOfGay (which was earlier implied by her only being interested in {{Fusion|Dance}} to better understand Garnet). She does, however, show an academic interest in {{shipping}} for her favourite TV show.

[[Characters/StevenUniverseCrystalGems Crystal Gems]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseStevenQuartzUniverse Steven Quartz Universe]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseGarnet Garnet]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseAmethyst Amethyst]] | [[Characters/StevenUniversePearl Pearl]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseRoseQuartz Rose Quartz]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseConnieMaheswaran Connie Maheswaran]] | '''Peridot''' | [[Characters/StevenUniverseLapisLazuli Lapis Lazuli]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseGemFusions Gem Fusions]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseHomeworldGems Homeworld Gems]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseDiamondAuthority Diamond Authority]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseYellowDiamond Yellow Diamond]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseBlueDiamond Blue Diamond]] | [[Characters/StevenUniversePinkDiamond Pink Diamond]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseWhiteDiamond White Diamond]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseYellowDiamondsCourt Yellow Diamond's Court]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseJasper Jasper]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseBlueDiamondsCourt Blue Diamond's Court]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseSpinel Spinel]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseOffColors Off Colors]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseGemMonsters Gem Monsters]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseLittleHomeworld Little Homeworld]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseHumans Humans]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseGregUniverse Greg Universe]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseLarsBarriga Lars Barriga]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseSadieMiller Sadie Miller]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseOther Other]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseS1E33GarnetsUniverse Garnet's Universe]]]]]]-]

* SunglassesAtNight: Peridot's first form has a green-shaded visor that she never took off. They look practically melded to her face and Peridot can't shapeshift without reforming, so it's possible she ''couldn't'' take them off. Her second form has TriangularShades she also wears constantly, though she can and does take them off once in "In Dreams".

* TechnicallyNakedShapeshifter: Like other gems, her clothes are part of her projected form. In a strange twist, since Peridot actually ''can't'' shapeshift except when replacing her body entirely, and her clothing is "melded to [her] body", it's implied [[ClingyCostume she cannot change out of her clothes]] (at least without damaging them). If she wants to wear something else, she has to [[DressedInLayer wear it on top of her regular clothes]]. This actually makes normal clothing a novelty to Peridot, as she's seen enjoying wearing boxer shorts and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial accidentally implies]] she stole some of Steven's clothes for herself.

* AmbiguousDisorder: Peridot, like Pearl, shows quirks often associated with autism: she shows a complete disinterest in anything she isn't obsessed with, quickly becomes obsessed with a television show to the point of pouring hours of time into it, has difficulty telling when something is appropriate or hurtful to say, does not know how to apologize or express her feelings, mimics behavior and phrases, and often makes repetitive gestures when she is upset or frustrated. This also ties into her alien motif, as "being on another planet" is a common metaphorical description of what autism feels like.

%% Spoilers from leaks are not allowed (promos, however, are okay). Until the episodes have aired, please only add them to the off-site roughdraft at the following link.
%% https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CtFuw0kHNMMIMdueGXXAmjWpITLBOG-J159_xV3Gf54/edit

* {{Asexuality}}: Maya Petersen, a storyboard artist for the show, has confirmed that Peridot is the show's aromantic and asexual representation, and only likes shipping in the anthropological sense.

* SunglassesAtNight: Peridot's first form has a green-shaded visor that she never took off. Given way they're practically melded to her face and that Peridot can't shapeshift without reforming, it's possible she ''couldn't'' take them off. Her second form has TriangularShades she also wears constantly, though she ''does'' take them off once in "In Dreams".

* GogglesDoNothing: See those yellowish safety goggles she wears in her physical form? Those don't do anything at all. In fact, Peridot actually wears real safety goggles over them when performing real experiments.

* TriangleShades: She gets these [[spoiler:when she reforms at some point between [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E24LegsFromHereToHomeworld "Legs From Here to Homeworld"]] and [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]].]]

* NoPronunciationGuide: Generally, "peridot" is pronounced with a silent or audible 't'. The show always uses the latter, probably because the harder sound fits her logical personality. Ronaldo tries to specific which in the ''Blog/KeepBeachCityWeird'' book, so presumably both pronunciations exist in-universe when not talking about the character.

[[Characters/StevenUniverseCrystalGems Crystal Gems]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseStevenQuartzUniverse Steven Quartz Universe]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseGarnet Garnet]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseAmethyst Amethyst]] | [[Characters/StevenUniversePearl Pearl]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseRoseQuartz Rose Quartz]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseConnieMaheswaran Connie Maheswaran]] | '''Peridot''' | [[Characters/StevenUniverseLapisLazuli Lapis Lazuli]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseGemFusions Gem Fusions]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseHomeworldGems Homeworld Gems]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseDiamondAuthority Diamond Authority]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseYellowDiamond Yellow Diamond]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseBlueDiamond Blue Diamond]] | [[Characters/StevenUniversePinkDiamond Pink Diamond]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseWhiteDiamond White Diamond]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseYellowDiamondsCourt Yellow Diamond's Court]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseJasper Jasper]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseBlueDiamondsCourt Blue Diamond's Court]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseSpinel Spinel]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseOffColors Off Colors]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseGemMonsters Gem Monsters]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseLittleHomeworld Little Homeworld]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseHumans Humans]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseGregUniverse Greg Universe]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseLarsBarriga Lars Barriga]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseSadieKillerAndTheSuspects Sadie Killer and the Suspects]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseOther Other]] | [[Characters/StevenUniverseS1E33GarnetsUniverse Garnet's Universe]]]]]]-]

* BreakoutCharacter: Introduced initially as a semi-regular villain, she's since become a regular character. It's pretty telling that she's the first member of the Crystal Gems (aside from [[TheHero Steven]]) to receive her own separate character page.