Notes:
Here's a much more light-hearted Stevidot Month 2019 entry! I honestly had so many ideas for the Video Game prompt, that this is not likely to be my only entry. Sim games especially inspired some great ideas, and this is just one of many.
The name of the game today is CityState. The AO3 version has a link to a video where this story is based from, but I can't do that here. So, merely look up the user GrayStillPlays and his video titled "I Built a City Of Lawless Anarchy and This Happened", and there you go. Doubles as a visual aid for anyone who's never seen this game before.
This is yet another post-Gem Ascension continuity and there's a ton of discussion that proves this in here. It's all relevant moments of looking back and reflecting on the events and the consequences that follow. This takes place over a month after GA, but not as far out as the birthday prompt (which was around 3 months). If you want to count the latter as canon to GA, that is.
So! Hope you all enjoy how Peridot plays out as LORD OF ALL HUMANS that ZIM could only dream of having!
"What'cha got goin' on here, Peridot? Found a new game you like?"
Peridot looked up from her screen to see her beloved, ever-chipper significant other standing to her left and peering at said screen. She couldn't help but smile along with Steven before addressing his question.
"Well, I assure you this game is completely relevant to our work," she explained. "I thought, well, since there's no way we can really convince the refugees we're not their new overlords ever since we revealed our Diamond aliases – and it will be even more impossible to get the Homeworld colonies to follow along once we contact them – that we're doomed to accept this role for the time being. Hence, I sought out simulation games were you are the authority over all other citizens."
"Oh yeah," Steven immediately understood. "Didn't I suggest Civilization a while back? You really have a talent for sim games, I noticed."
Peridot nodded to her boyfriend. "Oh, I fully intend to achieve every mode of victory on that. For now, I decided to start small, like what we've got now. So if I can conquer CityState, and rule properly under a Beach City-class settlement, I'll know I'm ready to run an entire country."
Her tone was a bit devious there by the end… Steven found that trait of Peridot's cute, but also a cause for concern. "I… guess I see what you're going for," he acknowledged. "I don't like being treated like the refugees' ruler, either. But there's no going back on what we did to cause it… I'm sure we'll find a better solution eventually."
Steven peered at the screen and scrutinized it; Peridot had actually constructed a full supercomputer over the past few weeks that could run games as well as multitask with her many "jobs" that became the gem's burden to bear since Homeworld's destruction. She still primarily used her tablet, but if she had ample amounts of time to burn at home, Steven would often find his girlfriend sitting here and making good use of her self-made technology.
It was hard for the hybrid to tell just by a glance how Peridot fared, but no buildings were burning and no riots were out on the streets. Everything seemed to be running normally… and Steven found that odd for Peridot. Her playstyle was far too aggressive for this to be accurate.
"It looks like you're doing okay," he commented. "Your income's kinda suffering, but your city's growing." Steven then noticed the name of the city and couldn't stop snickering. "O-oh, wow! Peri-dise?"
"Huh?" Peridot was confused, but quickly shifted to irritation as she found what Steven was laughing about. "Rrrrgh… Amethyst must have snuck in while I was retrieving a refreshment and checking my phone for messages," she realized. "Fine; I'll show her. She thinks I'll run my city into the ground… but I'll make it amazing!"
"What's your game plan, then?" Steven asked. "If you're doing this to figure out the best way to make a working system with all the refugees…"
Peridot looked to Steven and smirked. "Simple! My first experiment is to run a city where there are no rules and anyone can do whatever they want."
She briefly leaned in to kiss Steven following that. There was definitely a double-meaning behind her words.
"W-wait…" Steven breathed out after recovering from the pleasant shock of the kiss. "You're not saying…"
"If this becomes a success, there's a good chance we can let the refugees run wild and do whatever they please!" Peridot exclaimed. "And we won't have to manage anything… we'll have so much more time together that way, Steven."
She paused as a notification window popped up; Peridot was being prompted to handle the issue of gun control.
"Nyeheh… oh, government involvement in the possession of firearms. Well, that's easy enough to decide!" Peridot proudly confirmed her selection. "No control whatsoever; I'll leave that matter up to the people!"
Steven's eyes widened at the result for making that choice. "Why does the upper and middle class approve of that so much?!"
"You're asking the lower-caste alien this?" Peridot noted with great amusement. "Oh, let's see how they'll like it when I mandate that the government will not provide housing programs and let everyone fend for themselves…"
"Peridot, that's hor–" Steven couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Upper class approves of that, too?!"
Peridot smirked; she was enjoying this far too much. "Must be that small percentage of diamond in me that just gets the 1%, you know?"
Steven carefully watched the current capitalist oligarchy known as Peri-dise grow in spite of these executive decisions and carefully looked over the next prompt that popped up. "Oh, geez… gender equality? Peri, you gotta fund programs at least for tha–"
"They'll figure it out," Peridot interjected as she declined any government support for that endeavor. "You so easily forget, Steven, that gems are nonbinary, anyway."
Her eyes lit up as her country banner popped up onscreen to show the shift in the government system. What started as an oligarchy quickly became…
"Capitalist anarchy," Peridot recited the text with pure rapture in her tone. "Already got it! I am the greatest!"
"I can't believe that's what you're aiming for," a terrified Steven uttered. "You really think anarchy's the answer?!"
Peridot grinned at her city's progress. "I don't see the system collapsing just yet. I just need to erase these nasty little spots of settler clods driving down my property value…"
Steven looked saddened by the inhabited tiles of land being wiped out of existence for a mere $200.
"I'll admit I'm disappointed these massive oil reserves aren't generating the income I expected," Peridot thoughtfully admitted. "Does your country not seek out this resource and is more than willing to jump through every hoop to get it?"
"Well, yeah…" Steven had no interest in politics, but even he knew how bloodthirsty the USA was for oil. "Maybe give it time? You're still in the early development stage… maybe the anarchy stuff is canceling out your income somehow?"
Peridot's eyes narrowed at the screen as she diligently maintained the capitalist anarchy of Peri-dise while waiting for her next executive decision prompt. "I suppose we shall see… Steven, if you're so against the concept, I'd like to see you run a city and I'll gladly challenge you to prove me wrong."
"I'm thinking about it," Steven muttered. His eyes lit up when he saw a large prompt for the matter of border control – specifically the immigration policy.
"It's a good thing anarchy lines up perfectly with our situation," the technician pointed out with glee. "Because we are going full immigration! Everyone gets in! My capitalist anarchy has no time for that regulation nonsense! That matches up to our real-life scenario, does it not?"
Steven couldn't help but smile at the bizarre coincidence. "H-heh, I can definitely see it. Most of the country doesn't even know about all the new immigrants it just gained."
"Now, if only these immigrants could make themselves useful and up my revenue," Peridot groaned as she withdrew her first set of bonds. Seconds later, she paused as a new prompt appeared. "Oh, this might help… or make interesting incidents happen, at least. Nyeheheh…"
"The… the Drug War? Peri, please don't tell me–"
"HAH! The Great and Liberating Peridot says, legalize everything! At most, I will only emphasize your personal responsibility, so what you do is on you people!"
Steven facepalmed as Peridot confirmed the order. "I get the feeling you're venting out some of your old Homeworld stress…"
Peridot smugly grinned at her boyfriend. "Whatever gave you that idea? I guarantee I'll run this city better than the Diamond Authority could ever hope to! –oh wow, the Upper and Lower Class loves this motion?! Amazing!"
Steven stiffly nodded, but said nothing. His eyes were cast to the floor as he was reminded how bizarre it was, even after more than a month's passing, that there was no Diamond Authority anymore. White Diamond, Yellow, and Blue… they were all no more. If there was one thing Steven regretted about how their mission played out, it was that he ultimately couldn't save any of the Diamonds. Perhaps it was his inner Pink that felt this the hardest, even though Pink Diamond 2.0 was no more familiarized with his fellow Diamonds than his vulnerable hybrid form.
It wasn't for his lack of trying, Steven had to keep in mind. There was absolutely nothing they could do for Blue Diamond, who seemed fully prepared to sacrifice herself after being the only one to know the true nature of the Pink Diamond situation. Any interference from that conflict, or trying to stop White from devouring Yellow were matters that were completely out of the Crystal Gems' hands. Going out of their way to help would have only made themselves casualties as well. No one would be saved.
Once the visual of all his friends being pallified came to mind, during the first mission where no one was vaccinated, that was enough to knock Steven out of it.
He often thought back to when Peridot confronted him on that bridge while Blue Diamond sacrificed herself to aid the Crystal Gems' escape. The gem even younger than him possessed great wisdom and maturity when a situation called for it, and Steven being difficult in the face of terminating an enemy's life was very much a qualifying problem that forced Peridot to lay down some harsh, but honest facts about life.
Sometimes, it's kill or be killed. Bad things happen to good people with no rhyme or reason to it; nothing can stop that from happening. There are very tough choices to make in survival situations, which is going to force you to choose between your friends; and regardless of your choice, someone will be left to suffer.
Most notably… you can't save everyone.
Even Peridot had trouble coming to terms with that unfortunate truth.
"Ooh, Greenhouse Gas Standards. One thing your primitive planet desperately needs is to get out of the habit of being so codependent on your fossil fuels," Peridot mused. "Seriously, it's a finite resource that's nearly depleted; your world leaders are stupid idiots for not making proper plans for alternatives, Steven."
"So… that means you're gonna make sure your city doesn't contribute to that, right?" Steven asked, looking hopeful.
"Nope!" Peridot grinned and confirmed her action. "My government will have no involvement in reducing carbon emissions so that my people can continue to do whatever they want. If they desire to destroy their own planet's atmosphere with their antiquated modes of transportation, then who am I to stop them, right?"
Steven sighed; he should have figured this movement would yield horrifying results. "Peridot, your Peri-dise gets scarier by the minute… it's still growing."
"And despite your protests and complaints, my city's crime rate is extremely low," Peridot reported with glee and amusement. "No protests; no one's at each other's throats at all. In fact, their residences are looking much nicer. More and more of my population is upgrading to Middle and Upper Class; how about that?"
Steven scrutinized the appearance of Peri-dise and was shocked to find that Peridot, for once in her life, wasn't exaggerating. "How are you getting all these fancy, high-class neighborhoods, Peri?!"
"Perhaps there's some hidden potential in an anarchy that I've just stumbled upon," the gem postulated. "I honestly expected this entire settlement to crumble already by now, yet it's not only expanding, but flourishing. Really, the only problem is my inability to make a profit. A few more gold mines and oil fields should take care of that, though."
Another prompt came up. Steven looked tense about this one.
"Dot, I'm begging you, at least help the wildlife preservation," he pleaded. Steven so quickly forgot this was just a game. Peridot could only scoff at the request.
"The private benefactors can take care of it," she decided. "Look, Steven: see how quickly my Upper-Class population has grown? That's a sizable amount of benefactors; your precious endangered animals will be fine."
Steven was often so sweet and irresistible… now, it was a rare time where that compassion was becoming something of an annoyance for Peridot. She wondered how that would transition to real life when it came to running their own community.
"Your roads are looking really busy now," Steven quietly pointed out.
"Ah, good catch," Peridot commended him. "They are getting congested. Time to upgrade them; that should inspire the land around it to upgrade as well."
Steven patiently watched the Peri-dise grow and blossom all the more, while Peridot's financial reserves continued to plummet. She refused to tax anything, allowed anyone to become a taxi cab driver, put criminals in privately-owned prisons… and while browsing through her building options, she happened upon one she hadn't thought to try out yet.
"Oh my stars, I could build a beach? I mean, I live on one and I never thought about this until now?"
"Sounds like something that'd draw in tourists, and you're getting a lot of traffic right now," Steven pointed out. "Couldn't hurt to try, right?"
"Whatever could possibly help me make a profit, I must try," a resolved Peridot agreed. She planted a beach in a bay right at the heart of the sprawling metropolis. "Alright, loyal subjects! The Peri-dise Beach is open for your patronage! Praise me for my generous offering and letting you do whatever you want!"
"Who doesn't love a good beach?" Steven cheerfully asked her; he was finally getting into this a little.
Once Peridot made her rounds maintaining the roads, deleting the trashy settlements threatening to blight the beauty of her lawless city and observing the improvements made to the residences and businesses, she checked the beach again.
"Holy– full occupancy already?!" Peridot was bewildered. "Steven, this beach is–"
"That's a lot of money it's making you per month," Steven said as he gawked. "I didn't think it'd fill up so fast. Peri, you might need to lay down some more beaches so everyone can enjoy them…"
While Steven saw it that way, Peridot saw it entirely differently. She shot up from her chair and leaned over to give her beloved hybrid an enthusiasm-charged kiss. It didn't last too long, but Steven felt quite a lot of heartfelt compassion behind it; he certainly wasn't going to complain.
"You are absolutely correct," she excitedly told Steven while lacing her fingers together with his. "I have been going about building my economy all wrong; my city needs an overhaul!"
"So you're gonna establish some actual laws now, right?" Steven knew in his heart what the answer was going to be…
"Hah! Good one," Peridot mocked in jest as she returned to her seat. "You were absolutely right: Peri-dise needs more beaches. ALL the beaches."
"I said some more; I don't think you should line the entire city with beaches…" Steven wasn't surprised Peridot saw the more logical positives in giving citizens beaches.
Peridot was not deterred, however. "Steven, I believe we've seen that gold and oil is not the path to a lucrative future. I'm sorry, but your country's leaders are all stupid idiots who need to be deposed for chasing after such worthless resources. Your country doesn't need oil; it needs beaches! And– ooh, ski slopes! I have to give that a test run; it looks tourist-y."
She turned her attention to Steven after settling down her first ski slope and laying down more beaches in the bay. "I don't believe I've seen any examples of ski slopes in Earth's media…"
Peridot gazed at Steven with shining eyes full of curiosity and compassion that was all too familiar for the boy. This was the look he often saw when he and Peridot had the time and freedom to explore everything about Earth; Peridot would ask questions about absolutely everything she saw, down to the tiniest blades of grass under their feet and the stray pebbles they would come across while crossing barren dirt terrain. And every time, her boyfriend was more than happy to give her answers.
"Tell me about them, Steven."
No way could Steven say no to that face.
"It's a sport thing," he explained. "I think I'll make plans to take you and the others to one this winter; it kinda has to be snowing for the skiing thing to happen."
"Hm, a slope would imply dropping from a high elevation… and I see in the game I can only make them on terrain with mountains," Peridot noted as she observed her glorious anarchy. "I suppose terrain other than frozen H2O would generate too much friction and resist downward movement. Are my assessments relevant to a ski slope's purpose?"
Steven chuckled at his girlfriend; her grandiose verbiage was so interesting to listen to, even if he only barely understood what exactly she was saying. "Ah, that sounds about right, actually. There needs to be snow so you can make it all the way to the bottom. Skiing is… I'll have to demonstrate that so you can understand it better. You can use your power to just make snow appear on a hill anytime, right?"
"I believe that's a simple enough task," Peridot supposed. "Not at all complex to visualize… I suppose that's something we can try the next time we're able to squeeze a date into our schedule?"
Steven couldn't help but giggle a bit and blush at the mention of a date. These days they were harder and harder to properly schedule. It had the benefit of making them all the more meaningful when the pair could have one, but the wait between them was always agonizing. It didn't help that while working together – which they often did – they had to do their best to keep it professional in the face of the thousands of gems looking to them for answers to their endless questions.
"Yeah, we oughta decide when's the best time for the next one. Our schedules fill up really fast these days," Steven acknowledged with a tinge of sorrow and regret in his otherwise perky tone.
"That's why there's a part of me that really just wants an anarchist structure to our system if it really works out as well as it does in this game," Peridot admitted with a sigh. "If the government – i.e. us – doesn't get involved in anything and lets the gems do whatever they want and it all works out just fine that way, we could…"
"… Have more time together," Steven solemnly finished for her. "I already know it's not gonna happen, Peri. Not yet, anyway. Most of the gems are still stuck in denial that this is their life now; there's no way they can work this out without any help from us."
Peridot stifled a sniffle before turning back to her screen.
"Let me pretend… just a little bit longer, Steven."
The technician felt warm and protected when she felt her boyfriend's embrace from behind. It seemed they were on the same page now, at least.
"Sure thing. Let's see how your ski slope is doing."
"Uh…" Peridot gawked at the numbers on the screen. "We need more ski slopes. Every mountain needs to be a ski slope."
With the mass of beaches already set, Steven noticed Peridot was finally making a profit; she was no longer in the red. It looked like tourism was the answer, indeed.
Another prompt popped up while Peridot was decorating her ever-growing city with tourist traps.
"Labor laws, huh?" Peridot smirked at this; she was all too familiar with enforced labor.
"I feel like I need to read all of this," Steven realized; he knew when his girlfriend was having wicked thoughts dancing in her head. "Should our labor law regular more extensively work contracts and relationships between employees and employers…"
This all seemed so foreign to him. "Okay, I'm lost."
"The top option is the correct answer," Peridot said with confidence. "My people can do whatever they want with how they work as long as both parties sign a contract."
"That sounds fair enough, I guess…" Steven thought it sounded okay, at least.
"It doesn't say anything about having to sign the contract willfully," Peridot devilishly pointed out. "Corporations can elaborate their own contracts, so this can be a very good thing or very bad thing depending on who your employer is… coercion is a valid option."
"You're pretty familiar with bad employers," Steven acknowledged. "I'd like to hope you wouldn't wanna be anything like them."
Peridot stifled a laugh from that statement. "Well, that would be on the citizens, Steven. I have no hand in how they run their businesses, remember?"
"I wanna think for a city as nice as this, there's not too many bad people living in it…"
Of course, just as Steven said that, a new prompt appeared that made Peridot nearly die of laughter.
"Oh my stars, GYAHAAHA! No way, no how! I can actually let this happen!"
A massively blushing Steven shook his head. "Gaaah, Peri! Please don't–"
"Too late; my anarchy must be pure, and that means prostitution is legalized!"
And Peridot made it so to another round of wicked laughter. "Oh stars, Steven, look at that! The Upper Class is thrilled by that decision! Nyahahaha!"
Steven could hardly believe what he saw, and he wanted so badly to unsee it. "Just… put down more ski slopes and beaches, okay?"
"Oh, gladly! I'm almost out of debt!" Peridot readily agreed. It wasn't long before another prompt appeared. "Sales taxes on cars? Please. I'm already disregarding the environment; we might as well go all the way, right?"
"You are something else, Peri," Steven remarked. "You can make a selfless, noble decision like not taxing your people still sound like a Saturday morning cartoon villain's plan because it's also killing the environment."
Peridot's catlike smirk curled up even more when a small pop-up notification appeared at the bottom-right of her screen. "Well, I did just get an achievement called "Eco-Terrorist…"
"I, uh… think that has less to do with your law-making and more about your bulldozing resources down to make room for more roads and tourist traps," Steven nervously pointed out. "You've been getting rid of all the lakes on the map and you're taking out huge chunks of the ocean with new land tiles…"
"Pppft, since when has water been of any use to Peri-dise?" Peridot's tone indicated that was very much a rhetorical question. "There is no room for liquid in my perfect anarchy unless it's for a beach or a port. Do you not see how massive the buildings are getting in the heart of his fantastic city, Steven?! Screw these oil fields and gold mines; they are obsolete in Peridot's society!"
"And somehow your approval rate's staying as high as it is…" Steven couldn't help but notice. "What're you doing to your people's houses, now?"
Peridot loved being able to subvert Steven's worse expectations. "What, does my sweet significant other not approve of me upgrading the human residences to accommodate a larger capacity?"
Steven saw with the abrupt growth of these buildings Peridot had just altered that this was exactly what was going on. Tiles around the upgraded homes were also being improved.
"Oh my stars, they're making such elaborate hotels downtown without any dictation from my input!" Peridot exclaimed, sounding so proud of herself. "Bless my city's artificial intelligence; I had no idea these abstract buildings even existed in this game! And this government hasn't shifted into anything else since the upgrade to the capitalist anarchy, Steven!"
"This so goes against everything I learned about anarchy in practice on TV," Steven murmured as another legislation prompt came up. "Oh, they're wanting you to decide what your government's gonna do about basic stuff like electricity and water and trash."
"You know the answer to that by now," Peridot declared in a sing-song tone. "Nothing~! All utilities are privatized; do whatever you wish with them, my subjects!"
Steven squinted at the screen. "Huh, that's one of the few things that's actually gonna make you money to do," he noticed. "And holy–… wow, Middle and Upper Class are loving just about everything you do, Peri!"
"See what a difference a little trust and freedom makes when you grant that to your people?" Peridot pointed out. "Because I'm letting them do whatever they want, they completely trust me, see?"
"I don't think we've really been that overbearing on the refugees, though," Steven thought out loud. "I mean, right now we kinda have to be a little bit because they've got power in numbers and they'd easily wreck Beach City if they wanted to. And they need to know right from wrong when it comes to Earth; there's no way we can just let them decide what that is."
That drew out a tired sigh from the hybrid's girlfriend. "Steven, we can't teach them forever. Eventually they'll have to be set free and decide what they want for themselves. So many of them don't even know what that's like… just like I didn't. We'd be no better than the Diamonds just keeping them caged in, and you know we don't have nearly enough room in any of our usual warping spots to accommodate for all of them. Down the line, we'll have to trust a lot of gems that they'll know what's best for them, and… they'll set off in the world to pave their own path in this new era."
That was a surprisingly mature thing for Peridot to say… her suppressed enthusiasm was indicative that she was being real with Steven at this moment.
"You don't think they're gonna end up more like you did?" Steven inquired, fully curious. "I can't imagine you ever wanting to leave us and find your place somewhere on the other side of the Earth."
"That's because my scenario's a bit different since you only had me to rehabilitate back then," Peridot tiredly said as if this detail really didn't need to be made apparent. "We can't give all the gems the exact same personal learning experience I had; it's just not feasible. Even if we could, they're not going to behave the exact same way as me. The differences between my behavior and Lapis' should've made that obvious for you."
"Oh… right." Steven kept forgetting Lapis and Peridot were brought under the Crystal Gems' wing in very similar circumstances, and both were carefully handled by Steven and his friends when it came to showing them a new way of life. The passive Lapis was so used to isolation that it took her a long time to adjust to accepting life as a Crystal Gem and distanced herself from most of the others besides Steven. Meanwhile, the aggressive and more openly antagonistic Peridot was drawn to all of the Crystal Gems in one way or another, including Steven. Even when she elected to live in the barn after the Cluster was dealt with, Peridot was never far away, frequently remained in contact with her new friends, and very quickly turned to them for support when she was abandoned.
Obviously, a gem's nature when first arriving on Earth wasn't reflective of who they truly were inside. Any one of them could come out of this rehabilitation becoming the complete opposite of who they started out as. That was equally exciting as it was a terrifying prospect for the Crystal Gems.
"I know it's easier to just assume that since so many of them are fellow Peridots," the technician stated; her tone gentle and understanding. "But it's quite evident that any gem's potential for change is great. We won't be able to know ahead of time if each refugee can become honest, moral citizens or if they could inadvertently become cruel and sadistic criminals. We'll be sure to poof and imprison any that pose a threat to your people, Steven. I just hope we can catch them all before anyone gets hurt… and it's stupid it hope for that. We're not perfect, you know? It's inevitable we'll screw up somewhere."
Peridot blushed when she felt Steven lean over to peck her cheek.
"That's human nature for you," Steven admitted. "But even if we screw up, you know better about letting that fear take over your life, right? I feel like this is something you probably taught me not too long ago, heh…"
"Probably," Peridot wistfully agreed. "As time goes by, we end up teaching each other the same lessons we learned from each other. I just wish the refugees would be more open to hearing out the rest of our friends; most of the time they know better than us anyway because they just have so much more life experiences than we do. But since they're not Diamonds, all these gems elect to sooner listen to a couple of juveniles instead. Honestly, we should be living proof that the gems are far better off finding their own way through life instead of clinging to us in vain hoping we're going to fill in the void left by White, Yellow, and Blue. I don't know why this even surprises me… Homeworld Me wouldn't have accepted Yellow Diamond's death so easily, either. I couldn't possibly imagine how I would have handled myself upon being told the truth other than, well… badly. I can't even be mad at them being uncooperative because I was no better at first."
She looked pleadingly to Steven. "I really want them all to know their lives are their own now; they don't have to answer to Chartreuse and Pink 2.0 and in turn expect us to dictate their lives. It's not right, and… neither of us even want to be that." Peridot let out a hollow laugh at what she just said. "Back in the day, I would have jumped on an opportunity like this, you know? I was already ruling over my coworkers under my superiors' noses and totally got away with it. I wanted to be just like Yellow Diamond for the longest time… that's been sort of a running theme in my life as of late."
"Running theme?" Steven was curious to hear about this; then again, he always loved learning as much as he could about Peridot. That was his own personal reward for teaching her about life on Earth.
"I know you very much remember how desperate I was to get off Earth and return to Homeworld," the gem reminded him. "I resorted to kidnapping you, for stars' sake… I had exhausted all other options available to me. The moment you couldn't fix the warp pad, I felt like it was all over. Even if the Cluster hadn't been a factor back then, I wouldn't have been able to cope with just accepting I'd be stranded here forever. I had to fend for myself here long enough to know I didn't have a chance here alone. Then… not long after I finally accept Earth as my home and know Homeworld's not even worth returning to, I have to go back because you and your friends were in trouble."
Steven winced at the reminder. "Oh… yeah, I think you might've mentioned this. That's rough…"
"I proclaimed myself the leader of the Crystal Gems even though I knew very well I wasn't on multiple occasions," Peridot grumpily recalled. "Not even close. I was very insistent on being the Garnet of my Crystal Temp group with Lapis, Connie, and Pumpkin, you know? I really wanted to take charge and be revered…"
"And no one ever bought it back then," Steven said with a slight chuckle. "Then you get an opportunity to really lead the Crystal Gems, and…"
Peridot grumbled even louder. "By virtue of being the only realistic option since the majority of you were prisoners," she begrudgingly pointed out. "No one even contested it! I was so ready to fight them all and prove my superiority and they couldn't even let me have that! And of course, I couldn't just lead a simple "find a corrupted gem in the middle of nowhere on Earth" mission. Nope. I get to head the mission that ultimately ended the war, eliminated the Diamond Authority, and literally destroyed Homeworld! I was afforded no way to "ease in" to this position. I was dropped straight into the metaphorical deep end of the pool before I even learned how to swim!"
"But you didn't sink," Steven cheerfully pointed out. "You not only swam, but you saved everybody doing it!"
"Well, I failed to save myself," Peridot grumbled. "Which compelled you all to throw yourselves right back into the face of danger. I can't even be mad about that anymore… and just before you all returned, I was forced to ascend. I would have been so thrilled to be White Diamond's test subject before my mission here. She'd micromanage me and I wouldn't have even cared. Most gems don't dare to fantasize their lives as Diamonds… but none would deny an opportunity to become one, Steven. It's like how so many of you humans wish you could be A-List celebrities, or the many children even younger than you aspire to be fantasy-based monarchs or fictional heroic supernatural beings."
Steven nodded in understanding, now with much of his happiness diminished. "You think you want something so bad; more than anything in your whole life… then you realize that's not what you want at all. And once you've accepted that and moved on with your life, you get thrown into it, anyway."
"With the exception of being promoted to a more authoritative role, that's very much accurate," Peridot flatly confirmed. "The narrative of my life so far… I get what I want, but only when I don't want it anymore."
"When you put it like that, it does feel like life's just messing with you," Steven admitted. "But it's not all bad, right? You became a stronger gem from all of this. And you still want me, right?"
Peridot smirked and reached over to ruffle Steven's curly hair. "Yeah, I guess there's at least one thing I wanted a long time ago that hasn't changed at all since I first wanted it: your love. And if I had to choose only one to have this way out of my other desires and aspirations, I'd pick you every time. You're worth being stuck on a weird alien planet, locked into a co-leading position in your team, and eternally bound to the concept of being simultaneously the lowest and absolute highest type of gem in existence. Never believe even for a second you aren't worth all that to me, Steven."
Steven brought his girlfriend into an embrace and lightly laughed out in glee of hearing those words. "Well, if anyone told me a year ago the girl of my dreams would be this little super-smart and super-temperamental gem who tried to kill me and my friends the first few times we met, I'd sure never believe it! But hey, here we are. And I couldn't be happier for it."
With a pleased sigh, Peridot melted into her boyfriend's arms. "I certainly would have dismissed being told back then that some strange-looking meatbag would be my salvation and the very foundation of who I truly am. It's terrifying to think of the prospect of living for thousands of years as who I used to be, keeping my true self repressed for all that time. It probably would have completely diminished in a few years. You've not only given me this wonderful new life, but you saved my life in general. You didn't even have to do this for me… I could've remained in stasis in a bubble and been quickly forgotten."
"After you showed you who really were, there was no way I could've ignored you," Steven told her. "I bet it stung a lot, having to show me you really weren't the heartless soldier you made yourself out to be. But that ended up saving your life, Peri."
"Ahaha… yes, I suppose it's not always the worst thing in the world being dragged down to the lowest point of your life where you think it's all over," Peridot said with a hollow laugh. "I wouldn't wish that on any of the gems we're taking care of. But I'm sure they're inevitable… and perhaps that will show us who they truly are inside when they're driven to such extremes."
After rewarding his girlfriend with another kiss, Steven smiled brightly at her. "We're gonna be benevolent rulers while we still have to be, right? This time, we're really leaving no gem behind."
"What kind of question is that?" Peridot asked back with a playful laugh. "I know what's expected of us. I'd best turn my attention back to my amazing Peri-dise and make sure it'll continue to live up to its name. Because I'm really tempted to just spend the rest of my downtime doing stars-knows-what with you…"
Steven blushed at the very idea of that. "Yeah… I can do without that, knowing it's gonna end with one of the Crystal Gems scolding us for the PDA. It looks like the legislative branch is issuing you another thing to decide about."
"Indeed," Peridot confirmed. "Business and bureaucracy; lovely. So, my next call is to decide the extent of my control and surveillance of how private companies are managed."
"These options are kinda wordy," Steven pointed out. "It looks like you can't do absolutely nothing about it, so…"
Peridot smirked. "That's a simple matter, Steven. In that event, I just choose the method that involves me the least… even if it's a drain on my funds," she finished with a grumble. "Whatever; this flood of revenue from my tourist traps can't be impeded so easily. Best course of action for this: all companies must register with a standard form… and that's it. No renewals, no regulations, no amendments, no audits… I just certify them with a single form and let the companies take care of themselves."
"No inspections or anything?" Steven was aghast. "Geez, even the stores in Beach City have to meet FDA standards before they can sell anything edible…"
"I trust my subjects will run their businesses with competence," Peridot assured. "How else are they even getting hired? I suppose it's adorable that I can maintain the illusion that I'm running some kind of government by mandating these forms… I can live with the bare minimum of administrative duties. Besides, the Upper Class once again loves this decision."
After confirming the executive decision, Peridot's eyes widened at the map. "Wow, that's a lot of vehicles on the road."
"Might wanna upgrade 'em; they look super congested," Steven suggested.
"That might not be enough," Peridot countered. "How am I over maximum capacity on the roads?! What do you humans do when it gets this bad?!"
"There's some stuff below your road options," Steven pointed out. "Beach City never gets traffic like this, so I'm not exactly familiar with this next-level stuff… it looks like you'll have to put up monorails to make up for overflowing the capacity."
Peridot looked to Steven. "What are monorails?!" she asked urgently. "Are you talking about that painfully slow locomotive you and Amethyst took me on for a "scenic route"?"
"It's not that exactly," Steven pointed out. "It's a railway, but it's… uh, how to put it… er, they're like, elevated versions with only one rail to travel on. And unlike trains, they're super-fast. I think they're a lot more common in other countries, come to think of it."
"That would imply it's an improved method of travel, then," Peridot understood as she started putting monorails in all her roads. "Yes, it appears that is how this works…"
She snatched her tablet quickly to do a search on monorails just to get a better idea of what they looked like; the small pixelated graphics didn't leave much to the imagination. Steven leaned over to get a better look as well; he barely knew that monorails were.
"Interesting," Peridot remarked. "This looks somewhat like a prototype of Homeworld's transport tube system…"
The technician gasped just then; a brilliant idea hit her. "Steven! With all the gems we've saved, they can help improve your planet's technological evolution! We have more than enough Peridots that I'm certain won't mind designing and maintaining improved transportation systems, and we have plenty of gems who are capable of recreating the Homeworld design. We could bring one of the few good things about Homeworld to Earth!"
"That's super ambitious," Steven commended. "I think we need to make sure the gems are on the same page as us first, but once we're past that hurdle, you should totally pitch that idea to the others. I think having some structures that remind the gems of their old home will help them settle in better, you know? It's comforting to have something you're familiar with every day."
Peridot nodded in agreement and quickly kissed the boy. "I'm so glad I'm not just getting too ahead of myself, this time!"
Once more, another legislative prompt came up for Peridot to sign off on.
"Ah, an inquiry of how much the government should aid the homeless citizens…"
Steven frowned; he knew where this was going. "Aw, c'mon, Peridot. A little compassion won't hurt your anarchy…."
"No support! Either deal with it, or get employed!" Peridot showed zero remorse for this. "Steven, this is a society where everyone takes care of themselves and nothing is owned by the state, remember? That means absolutely every citizen is responsible for their own wellbeing, whether they're sitting on stacks of currency or have nary a cent to their name. This is what equality is, Steven."
"Man, nothing can turn you around once you've decided on a course," Steven remarked tiredly. "Then again, Peri-dise is still growing and now you're making money on top of that…"
While Peridot worked diligently installing monorails to every road and making sure to add a ski slope to every mountain and a beach to every shore tile, she was taken aback by the new buildings that were made independently in the heart of the metropolis.
"Steven, I've never seen buildings like these!" she exclaimed. "I'm not referring to the skyscrapers; those are on TV quite frequently. But this building… what is this? An apartment complex? A hotel? This design is even more prodigious than the establishments we saw when we vacationed in Japan. Spheres stacked on top of one another and topped off with a needle-like protrusion?"
"Maybe the AI overheard your idea and tried to think more like Homeworld when it came to designing big places," Steven teased.
Peridot just pouted at the concept. "Nyrrgh. I wouldn't even be surprised at this point. I can't even be mad; this establishment just gave nearly a thousand people a job. –And here's our next prompt."
"Should the government limit foreign investments," Steven recited. "Isn't this sort of like the immigration thing?"
"Just replace the people with our economy and the range of our imports and exports. I most certainly am not limiting this; open borders for all!" Peridot felt so good about herself; her city was flourishing in a way she never though would be possible while barely lifting a finger to govern her people. "I'm getting close to unlocking some very large new establishments, Steven… how fantastic is that?"
Steven smirked at the progress. "You're gonna rub this all over Amethyst's face, aren't you?"
"I wouldn't be me to not do that," Peridot deviously answered. "Besides, I'm conquering her challenge! It's an obligation– stars, legislation continues to throw these proposals at me more so than usual. So, the question posed to me is how or if I should regulate private educational institutions." She gave a pointed look to Steven. "In other words, schools."
"I'm staying out of this one," Steven nervously conceded. "I wonder what Connie would think of this…"
"Connie would be thanking me," Peridot said with full confidence. "I'm allowing private schools to freely operate with no institutionalizing of any kind. I've just made schools as independent as they possibly can be; the state will not oppress you, students!"
Steven could only imagine how Connie would react to Peridot running a surprisingly well-functioning anarchy. "I dunno how that decision is making you so much money, but…"
"Best not to question it," Peridot slyly interjected. "I'm keeping my hands off these establishments as much as possible and still get paid for it. Clearly, the youth must be taught how to be as productive as their predecessors. Do you not see how many of my subjects are of Middle or Upper-Class?"
"I'm more surprised how your decisions are making those classes so happy," Steven admitted. "Maybe it's just your Peri charm."
"Ppft. Flatterer." Peridot quickly grew annoyed again. "Well, we aren't without problems, of course. Even the monorails aren't enough to keep the road capacity from overflowing, Steven! What mode of transportation do we resort to from here?"
"Actually, I think you just need monorail stations," Steven suggested. "I saw them on your road menu earlier. I bet that'll give you more rail lines to work with and a longer reach."
Peridot smiled and immediately followed Steven's instructions, shamelessly spanning monorail stations over the roads. "Stars almighty, Steven, are you helping me run this anarchy you loathe so much?"
"Considering how well your whole city's doing right now, I can't hate it," Steven humbly admitted. "And it just seems right that we'd stick together running a community, right?"
Peridot's free hand found one of Steven's and held onto it tightly. "Since we started exposing the refugees to Earth's media, I've overheard several of them calling us their King and Queen. Is that not hilarious?"
Steven snorted out automatically at that statement, but kept Peridot's hand firmly in his grasp. "I-I really shouldn't be surprised, but wow… that hilarious and really awkward at the same time."
"They should understand this is by no means a monarchy, nor a totalitarian dictatorship," Peridot more somberly affirmed. "I'm fairly certain that will clash with your country's capitalist democracy, anyway. But we really need to find a way to shake them out of that mindset. I know it wouldn't work nearly as well as it is here in the game, but anarchy would at least invalidate their perceptions of who we are to them. I used to think I'd enjoy being worshipped by my fellow gems… I actively tried for that with my coworkers. But I'm not at all comfortable with this, Steven… now that it's actually happened."
"Add another to the story of your life list," Steven said with a sigh. He hugged Peridot, but not so intrusively so that he disrupted her game. "We just gotta be strong, Dot. It's kinda selfish, but I'm glad I have someone who understands exactly what I'm going through. This Pink Diamond thing that's making everyone see me as Pink Diamond and not Steven is still happening, and it's–"
"–Very fortunate for them that I'm learning to control my impulses, or else we'd be looking after a lot of poofed gems," Peridot finished for him. "Honestly, how can they not comprehend this?"
Steven looked thoughtfully to his frustrated girlfriend. "What name do they use more for you? Peridot, or Chartreuse Diamond?"
Peridot rolled her eyes. "You know the answer to that already. I think they're just too stuck in their ways to properly cope with the fact that they're at the mercy of an Era 2 Peridot and an organic hybrid. They have enough insanity and discord going on in their lives, and I suppose our true identities are just too much for them to accept so easily." Her tone darkened just then. "But mark my words: before they're acclimated to Earth fully, they will know you best as Steven. I'll make sure of it."
Her demeanor was a cause for concern, but Steven couldn't help but swoon over the gem's adamancy regarding his identity. Sometimes, it felt like she knew who Steven truly was better than Steven himself.
"Right… then I'll do my best to make sure the refugees learn to respect you as Peridot as much as they do for you as Chartreuse," Steven promised. "Your kind has been oppressed long enough, y'know? It's time they learned that without Peridot, there is no Chartreuse Diamond."
"What in stars' name did I do to deserve someone like you?" Peridot dreamily wondered out loud as she signed off on another prompt. "Merchants, sell whatever you want. My government has no time to inspect your stock when I could be using that time being with someone I love infinitely."
She continued to upgrade Middle-Class neighborhoods… then came a prompt she knew for sure would upset Steven.
"Try not to cry too much about this one; you keep forgetting my crime rate is next to nonexistent and everyone's caring for themselves rather well," Peridot forewarned before Steven could say a word. "Animals? You're not subject to any legislation. If my people have to fend for themselves, so do you."
"You're not giving animals the same rights as humans?" Steven sadly asked.
"What are you talking about?" Peridot inquired, quite annoyed. "I'm not mandating anything for anybody. If I'm not helping the homeless, why would I help your various species that can't make me money unless they're used for consumption? Keep survival of the fittest in mind as well, Steven."
Steven just sighed and shook his head. "You can still be such a savage sometimes, Peri…"
"I thought you said you loved that about me," Peridot pointed out. "I'm quite certain you said you were endeared to my savagery after my alignment change when you were helping us create the Diamond of Miracles."
"I… yeah, I did say that," Steven admitted with an awkward smile. "Just… y'know, pick your targets right."
The pair watched the houses granted upgrades rapidly grow into skyscrapers as Peri-dise continued to expand and flourish. At this point financially, Peridot was very well off and able to pay her bond debts and still have plenty of revenue left over.
"Did you ever think anarchy could be this marvelous, Steven?" Peridot asked her boyfriend. She sounded absolutely entranced with the community she created. "I mean… look at this. Every house has a pool either in the backyard or the roof of their mansion. Landscapes are immaculately sculpted! No crime, minimal poverty…"
"You'd think anarchy would just be people rioting in the streets, protesting without getting anything done and beating each other up, but no…" Steven was astounded with what he was seeing. "Your people are really working together."
"And accruing six-figure incomes while doing so," Peridot smugly added. "Because the government gets absolutely nothing." She smirked when the next prompt arrived. "National security surveillance, you propose? To that I say, what surveillance?"
She proudly confirmed the decision for there to be no government surveillance programs of any kind.
Following that, Peridot was granting upgrades to every working tile that was able to receive one. In a matter of seconds, the establishments she upgraded skyrocketed in height and development.
"These infernal water tiles… begone! You have no place in my glorious anarchy! No one loves you!"
"Why do you hate water so much, Peridot?" Steven asked as he watched several water tiles be converted to land.
"Because it isn't making me money, Steven," Peridot snidely replied. "Do you realize how many more businesses and tourist traps I could create in place of that worthless resource?! There's no capitalistic gain to be had in it, so why does it even exist?!"
Steven thought about that. "Don't you need water to have beaches and ports? Thought you said that earlier."
"Yeah, fine, I'll grant them a single water tile," Peridot conceded. "Purely for functional purposes and nothing more. But we need more businesses. And you can't build businesses over water, Steven! It's just a simple fact of life."
Steven held back a snort as something came to mind. "Good thing Lapis isn't watching you play this, then; I think she'd have a bit of an issue with you draining away all that water, y'know?"
Peridot thought about that… then smirked. "Thank you, Steven. You've just given me a secondary motive. Die, water! Die!"
"What's this about private security, now?"
"It's simple even for you to understand, Steven: your enforcers of the law are entirely owned by the people," Peridot explained. "Honestly, private companies seem to have more power and authority than I do at this point; the state is hardly running anything. If my lovely city was crawling with treacherous criminal scum, I'm sure this would be a terrible thing. But my crime rate has consistently been minimal this entire game, so odds are you optimally would want the police managed by the citizens themselves."
"I think I get it…." Steven wasn't entirely sure he got it, but decided to just roll with it. "Hey, you can build an amusement park, now!"
Peridot's catlike smirk returned with a vengeance. "Oh, so I can establish a better Funland, huh?"
"Pretty much," Steven affirmed. "You think you can outdo Mr. Smiley, huh?"
"In my capitalist anarchy, my Funland is superior by default!" Peridot announced as she established one on her map. "Because with all this freedom, naturally there are no height limits!"
Steven couldn't help but chuckle at this. "You're still sour about last time…"
Peridot quickly snagged her tablet and opened up a recording program. "Note to self: schedule a visit to Funland in the near future and show that charlatan that I am tall enough to ride now!"
"Peri-dise turned out to be one crazy-awesome city," Steven admitted. "There's helicopters flying around, people out in sailboats on what little water you haven't destroyed yet… and you keep unlocking crazier-looking buildings for people to live in!"
"And I'll happily put them in by the dozens," Peridot affirmed. "I have so much money now, I don't even care. Do you see my credit rating, Steven?" Her boyfriend nodded. "Tell me what that rating is."
"Triple A," Steven sighed out. "This is insane… you made a great functional city, everyone's happy and working together to make a better community, and somehow you're making money even though you're barely running anything!"
"All through the power of being able to do whatever we want," Peridot slyly added. "And you thought this would flop! Hah! Oh, stars, I should have made a bet with you on this…"
"This still isn't gonna happen in real life," Steven pointed out. "I just wanted to make sure we're clear on that."
"I know, I know, let me just bask in this victory a little longer…"
"Victory, huh?" a new but familiar voice butted into the conversation. "Didn't you say you were gonna make your Peri-dise an anarchist kinda thing, Dottie-P?"
"Amethyst," Peridot smugly acknowledged. "Oh please, come see what a capitalist anarchy can do for a settlement."
The quartz just chuckled to herself and leaned in to see what became of Peri-dise since she last left it. "Holy hell-in-a-handbasket! Peridot, what kinda hacking have you been up to since I left?!"
"She didn't hack anything," Steven assured. "I've been watching her pretty much the whole time and Peri's actually been playing the game."
Amethyst checked the bottom-left corner of the screen to see the government was still very much a capitalist anarchy. She knew Steven couldn't lie his way out of a wet paper bag, but it was still so hard to believe. "I… I don't get it. Peri, what kinda decisions have you been making?"
"Literally any option that limits my involvement in the citizen's affairs as much as possible," Peridot calmly but confidently answered. "But I found the secret to making a profit despite the state not being in control of anything; I'll let you figure it out when you have a go. Just know that citizens react surprisingly well when you give them freedom and trust they'll know to do what's best for them. I think it's worth a real-life application just to see how it goes when the time comes, but…"
The technician smiled mischievously to Steven. "I believe I've proved myself ready to run an entire country, wouldn't you agree?"
"Definitely." Steven was not about to dispute that. "I'll make sure to get a Civ game loaded up for you the next time we can play around. I think there's a wiki where you can look up the list of leaders and their special traits so you can decide which country you wanna play as once we're all set."
"Let me take care of loadin' it up," Amethyst offered. "I, uh, was kinda sent to be the buzzkill of your fun for the day. Steven, Pearl wants your spit services downstairs. She's totally sure she's got a corruption or pallid cure this time around. Dot, Big G said there's time for you to squeeze in one more teaching session today. She told me you're still on Phase 1 for some of the newbie groups, whatever that means."
"It means I need to catch them up with everyone else," Peridot groaned as she got up from her seat. "Well, I think I can power through it. Successfully running a lawless city with Steven by my side has filled me with some kind of powerful feeling."
"Hope you enjoyed that," Steven sincerely expressed. "Because next time, we're gonna play against each other. Wanna see who can be the first to be the top civilization in the world?"
Peridot smirked and nodded to her boyfriend. "Challenge accepted. I shall keep that in mind to get through the rest of the day."
She walked over to give Steven an affectionate peck on his forehead while her right hand lightly caressed his shirt where the gem in his navel hid beneath, making the young man shiver with pleasure.
"Thank you for being by my side as I ran my anarchist society, Steven," she said in her softest, most gentle tone. "I presume we'll meet again this evening?"
Steven grinned before pecking her cheek. "I'll always make time for you, Peri. Good luck out there."
"W-wow, thanks," Peridot said as shivers ran down her body. "I'm definitely going to need it to survive another hundred-plus clods."
After a brief embrace, Peridot looked to Amethyst and smirked. "Thank you for renaming my city; Peri-dise is rather apt for the community I created. I presume I'll see you later as well."
"The Squad doesn't stay apart for long," Amethyst assured. "Well, especially since two-thirds of it decided to hook up hard. Still gonna need another name; Shorty doesn't really work that well anymore now that you and Steven outgrew me."
"I have faith you'll figure it out; you have a way with names, clearly," Peridot assured her friend as she headed off to face another mass of refugee gems. "Until then… best of luck."
Once Peridot was no longer in sight, Amethyst looked to the paused screen to scrutinize every detail and was still in dismay that everything was legit with no signs of tampering.
"She's really something else, huh?" Steven sighed out dreamily. "I almost wanna believe she could make this kinda thing work out for all the gems."
"Hey, I'd be all for it. Anarchy for the wiiiin!"
"Aw, Amethyst! Not you, too!"