“Message Received” accomplished something I almost didn’t believe could possibly be managed with such grace. I’m really geeking out over this episode!
There’s always been the worry that Peridot’s ‘redemption arc’ might feel too forced or rushed. She makes for a great, entertaining villain, but I think it’s been generally accepted that since she’s in Steven Universe, redemption was at least highly plausible.
And while I wouldn’t call this total redemption, it is about as effective. The best part of it is that Peridot came to this on her own terms! In ways that totally line up with her motivations as a character!
I love how the episode is framed from the beginning to make it sound like Peridot was definitely deciding to ‘’’betray’’’ Steven and the others – that she hadn’t learned anything, she was too loyal to her diamond and Homeworld, had only been distracted by their bonding. Once you re-watch the episode, though, you can see how she’s actually viewing things, what she actually means.
Peridot has indeed changed her mind about Earth, in that she does think it’s worth protecting. But not due to sentiment or emotional attachment – at least, not wholly. Peridot believes Earth and it’s resources can be valuable to Homeworld. She honestly doesn’t think the Crystal Gems can ultimately save and protect Earth, but Peridot believes her ‘rational and reasonable’ Yellow Diamond, a gem she obviously reveres and is devoted to, can solve all their problems properly. Yellow Diamond, with her immense reach and power (and even moreso, her logical mind) can do what the Crystal Gems simply cannot.
There’s a reason they’re in charge. They’re objectively better than us! …Especially my diamond, Yellow Diamond. The most perfect, the most reasonable, rational, efficient decider ever to exist in the universe!
Peridot believes her objective leader will understand the logic behind Peridot’s suggestions, be reasoned with, and in this way Peridot can still save Earth, the Crystal Gems, and Steven.
Alright, look. I have a plan – allow me to explain? …I’ve figured it out! You simple clods keep trying to protect the Earth, but you cant do anything right! I let myself get carried away too… But don’t you see? None of that matters! All that matters is that I’m of use to Yellow Diamond! This planet can be of use to Yellow Diamond! I must contact her to reveal what I’ve discovered!
The following lines, with Steven accusing the diamonds of only wanting to hallow out/destroy earth and Peridot agreeing, saying “Yes! That’s the point!” definitely add makes what she’s saying sound bad, but now I think it was more of a “Yes, you’re right, but that’s why I have to contact her, to tell her there are options!”
Then we have the little fight and chase, littered with moments where Peridot accuses the others of ‘not knowing what they’re doing’ and ‘being bested by logic’. Then she struggles with Steven:
You don’t get it either! This [caring, hoping, wanting] is your whole problem! Your emotions rule out reason! I will do what has to be done!
Peridot isn’t implying that ‘what has to be done’ is for Earth to be destroyed. She’s saying the Crystal Gems/Steven’s way of doing things are just wrong, they don’t work, and that she knows the real, logical solution to their problem, even if they don’t like it.
Then she speaks to Yellow Diamond. She sort of explains what happens (purposefully omitting the bit about the Crystal Gems still existing, despite YD specifically asking who crashed her ship.) Then Peridot does what made me realize where the direction of this was actually leading: when YD says she’ll send a ship to pick up Peridot, to take her off of Earth and save her from the Cluster, Peridot continues on to suggest they stop the Cluster completely.
But Yellow Diamond ‘[doesn’t] care about potential and resources’. She just wants Earth to DIE, and she wants her geo-weapon.
And… that’s not very logical. That’s not reasonable, or objective. It’s not what Peridot expects. She doesn’t expect her Diamond to act this way. She doesn’t expect her to be wrong.
This is what’s so brilliant about this episode, I think – Peridot stays aggressively true to her character throughout the entire thing. Peridot formed her own opinion about Earth and what should be done, and she came to the conclusion through logic and reason. She thinks, surely, her Diamond will agree! But when Yellow Diamond clearly doesn’t care, doesn’t even bother to consider the benefits, is only interested in doing things how she wants…
Peridot can’t accept it. Because she has come to a logical conclusion, and that means Yellow Diamond is wrong.
It’s such an amazing turn, and I absolutely adore it! Peridot isn’t swayed simply by the efforts of Steven trying to be friendly. Another way things could’ve gone is if Yellow Diamond forced Peridot to stay on Earth, or threatened her in a way that made Peridot want to stay. But no, instead Peridot chooses to stand against Yellow Diamond for the simple fact that, based on Peridot’s logic, Yellow Diamond is acting illogically, unreasonably, and is wrong about the Earth.
I won’t do it!! I can tell you with certainty that there are things on this planet worth protecting!”
I have no idea why I decided to write this, but I did it anyways. Just a heads up, there is some triggering content in this story, so please feel free to avoid it. It’s also long as fuck for no good reason. At any rate, this is a sort of eruri Soulmate!AU that I thought up at like 4 in the morning, so enjoy.
“It was you.”
Levi ignored the blond in front of him. There was no anger
or accusation in the other man’s tone, so there was no need for Levi to expend
any more energy getting rid of him. Levi hastily swiped his unoccupied hand
across his chin, muttering darkly about blood and uncleanliness. His other hand
was still pressed against his left side, trying to staunch the flow of blood
there.
The blond man, tired of being ignored, hastily dropped his
groceries and knelt down before Levi, wincing slightly. Levi would’ve reached
for his gun, but he’d carelessly chunked it after the fight had ended. The
blond man rolled up his sleeve, revealing a multitude of horizontal white
scars. Levi’s eyes widened.
They all were too perfectly even to be anyone else’s
handiwork. Levi always had had a streak for perfection…
It can’t be…
“See?” The blond pressed, a mixture of hope and desperation
in his deep voice.
“It’s too damn dark, I can’t see that.”
The sun might have been setting, but Levi could see that one
oddly shaped scar on the other’s arm. He had that exact same one, and he
remembered everything.
Erwin grinned and bore his way through dinner that night. His
father was prattling on and on about the probability of an individual having
more than one soul mate, but Erwin had long since tuned him out. He was aware
of the concept of soul mates—everyone
was—but he’d hardly given the idea any thought. His mind was much more occupied.
His arm was on fire.
And his legs were too. He must’ve been quite the spectacle walking back home
from school, just rubbing and scratching everywhere. Erwin was lucky he’d
maintained his lonely kid status throughout his childhood. Teachers and students
alike ogled from a distance as the gangly and awkward fifteen-year-old Erwin
Smith staggered home.
Now dinner was in front of him, and he’d barely made a dent
in it. His father’s educational tirade could only go on so long before he
noticed Erwin’s sudden lack of appetite.
“What’s wrong, son? I thought spaghetti and meatballs was
your favorite? And why are you wearing your coat? Are you cold?”
“I think I might’ve caught something.” Erwin held in another
cringe as pain raked across his arm again. God only knew what lay underneath
his coat, but if the pain he was in was indicative of anything, it probably
wasn’t pretty.
“Well, then, you need to go lay down for a while. I’ll come
in and check on you later.”
Erwin acquiesced with a nod and a low “Yes, sir.” His father
said he’d take care of clean up. Erwin migrated slowly to his room, a feeling
of dizziness swarming his body as he stood. He opened the door and slowly
approached his bed. Once seated on the edge of the bed, he slowly and delicately
removed his coat, wincing through the entire procedure.
Scars littered his
entire arm. There was no blood, thankfully, but each slash was equally
spaced from each other. Erwin rolled up his pants and saw even more angry, red scars
sporadically marring both of his legs.
Whoever my soul mate
is…they must be hurting a lot…
Erwin’s soul mate had clearly harmed themselves, and the
damage had subsequently affected Erwin. Logically speaking, if Erwin did the
same…
Erwin abruptly got off his bed and moved to his desk. He
flicked on his desk light and went to work searching for something. He rustled
pages of notes and drawings, pushed heavy textbooks to the ground, and
scattered pencils and pens until he found his desired object: a pair of
scissors.
Erwin sighed, resigning himself to his decision. He honestly
didn’t want to resort to this, but maybe this was the only way he could send a
message to his soul mate, wherever they were…
Erwin braced himself and made the first cut.
Levi checked his pistol for the fourth time. Still loaded.
Well, it’d need to be if he was to do what he needed to do. He continued to
stalk through the dark alleyways; he’d find them eventually…or they’d find him. At this point, it
was either him or them anyway, and he had nothing to lose. If Kenny could see
him now…
Would he be proud or
would he say I’m shit for doing this? Levi thought on this for another few
minutes—it was a much nicer thought to have on his mind—before deciding it ultimately
didn’t matter what the old fart thought. It appeared that he found them anyways, inadvertently stumbling
upon their nest while lost in thought.
All eyes peered at the lone stranger in their camp, and
within seconds, all guns were drawn.
Almost thirty years
old and I’m still eating mac n’ cheese from a box.
Erwin sighed and tossed the box into the cart. Damn it, if
he was old enough to live in a decently sized apartment, have a
well-paying job, and all the while go to college, then he could reward himself
with some mac n’ cheese every once in a while.
Dad would be proud…He
chuckled at the fond memory of his father. Bless the old man’s soul, he didn’t
live to see Erwin grow from awkward teenager to flourishing young man. He’d
died peacefully, though, claiming that his own soul mate was waiting on him.
Speaking of which…Erwin
slowly rolled up his sleeve, peering at the odd self-inflicted scar he made on
his arm. His soul mate’s scars—white and faded—lingered just inches above his
own. Erwin was almost happy to note that the message he sent all those years
ago seemed to have successfully reached its recipient. Years had past since anything too drastic
happened to his soul mate, and there were no new scars on his arms or legs as
of late.
But every once in a while he’d get phantom pangs of pain. Of
crippling loneliness. The pain racked his entire body, and the worst of it would
cause him to pass out or come very close to it. The loneliness was slightly
more bearable, but some days, Erwin could barely function with its presence
pressing on him.
But if these bursts of pain and isolation were this painful
for him, Erwin loathed imagining how painful they were for his soul mate. He’d
never wanted to meet someone so badly.
Erwin turned down another aisle, searching for laundry
detergent, when he felt…tension. The
feeling was nothing short of electrifying, as if millions of gallons of
adrenaline were flooding his veins all at once. His heart thudded soundly in
his ears, his stomach plummeted, and he had half a mind to go sprinting through
the store. Erwin was on high alert now.
What’s going on…?
Erwin clutched at his chest, hoping the heart racing inside would calm down
soon. Here he was making a spectacle of himself again in public; maybe not so
much had changed since adolescence.
Then an agonizing wave of pain tore through Erwin’s left
side, just below his ribcage. Erwin instantly crumbled over his cart. The pain
was unbelievably unbearable, as if someone had caught him in the side with a
searing brand. Tears sprung to his eyes, and he stifled the scream climbing up
his throat. Even doubled over, the pain didn’t subside.
Please, help…But
who could he call out to? No one was around to help him, and he was doubtful
anyone would try. He desperately clutched the sides of his cart—if only to
minimize the pain—and his entire body trembled with effort. His body and mind
shrieked at him, but somehow, Erwin managed to right himself. The endeavor took
patience, and a lot of heavy breathing, but luckily no one ventured down the
aisle.
He had to leave. Now.
He’d paid for his scant amount of groceries at the front,
all the while desperately hoping the lady bagging them all wouldn’t notice how
horribly he was hiding his pain. Luckily, she was content to ignore Erwin’s
pain, and Erwin left the store, a paper sack in his right hand and blinding
pain biting into his left side.
Levi groaned in pain, a stream of swears fell from his lips
as he slid down the wall. All odds had been incredibly stacked against him, but
he was still alive. Levi cast a disparaging glance back at their bodies. All
eight. All bloody. All dead. All gone.
“Serves you right, fuckfaces,” he spit. Blood and spittle
dribbled past bruised lips. His ass finally met the cold concrete below, and
Levi grunted as the sudden impact jostled his new injuries.
Fuck…Levi might’ve
soundly kicked their asses, but they did no go quietly into the night. He’d
dodged and danced his way around every bullet, and then the one asshole with
mediocre aim caught him in his left side with two bullets. Levi saved that one
for last, putting a bullet directly between his eyes as he begged and cried and
squealed for mercy. But mercy was a thing of the past…
Eight of them…for two
of mine…
A drive-by. The ultimate case of wrong place, wrong time. It
was just random misfortune that the two of them were walking the streets that
night, and neither of them had heard the car approaching. From what Levi had
heard on the streets, Farlan had tried to jump in front of Isabel and draw his weapon
first, but in the end, his heroics did nothing to save either of their lives.
Levi would’ve been perfectly content to bleed out in that
alleyway, but then this big, blond fool came up to him talking utter nonsense
out of his ass.
Well, it wasn’t
exactly nonsense, was it?
Levi peered down at his own arm. There it was: that
mysterious heart-shaped scar was on his forearm too, mere inches below his own
self-inflicted scars. Carved there by someone who’d had no experience with a
knife, let alone anything sharp. He’d wondered what kind of bullshit was going
on when each jagged cut randomly appeared on his arm. Kenny had told him that the
idea of soul mates was nothing more than a crock of steaming horseshit, and
Levi was more than willing to accept his deadbeat uncle’s views on that matter.
And yet…
“It was you…” the man repeated, awestruck. He then seemed to
take notice of Levi’s injuries; concerned blue eyes flickered to Levi’s
bleeding left side. “Please…”
“Levi.” He supplied shortly.
“Levi, come back to my apartment. I’ve got plenty of food
and aid there. I can help you if you let me.” The blond extended his hand for
Levi to take, but Levi remained unconvinced.
He let his head loll to the side as he thought about this
whole bizarre situation.
There’s no way…Soul
mates are just bullshit. Made up by lonely pieces of shit with no hope and too
much time on their damn hands. But, why?
Levi remembered then. He remembered when Kenny would waste
his money on cheap booze, women, and cigarettes instead of food, and yet Levi
would never feel hungry. He remembered when winter would wrap its icy grip
around their sad excuse of a house, and yet Levi would never feel cold. He
remembered when Kenny would beat and harass and demean him in a drunken rage,
and yet Levi could still feel love.
Warmth, fullness, love: no one in Levi’s life had ever
supplied such luxuries…
Maybe Kenny was wrong…The promise of possible food, shelter,
and help was something a lowlife like him was willing to entertain. Levi considered his options, considered his
chances, and he chose.
It’s not like I have
anything to lose…“Okay…”
“Smith. Erwin Smith.”
“Okay, Erwin Smith.
I’ve made my choice…I’ll trust you. For now at least. Fuckin’ help get me up.”
Erwin helped Levi to his two feet, letting Levi put as much
weight on him as he needed. Erwin made sure to avoid Levi’s wounds. He’d have
to clean and patch them up when they got back. Erwin scooped up his dropped bag
of groceries with his unoccupied hand.
Hey @freepattillo … I’m your secret santa! I heard you liked Freezerburn, so here you go. Sorry about the lateness, I hope you like it. Very lately Christmas themed, too.
synnatra 