Part Two: The Solution! (Maybe!)
A few weeks ago…
STEVEN, GREG, ROSE QUARTZ, and CONNIE are walking over a grassy hill towards the filming area. Today, STEVEN is doing an indoor scene and excitedly discussing weekend sleepover plans with CONNIE.
STEVEN: "I hope we get to watch Dad and Garnet have a tennis match tomorrow!"
CONNIE: "She kicked his butt last time!"
GREG (annoyed, but jokingly): "Hey, don't count me out so soon, you two!"
ROSE QUARTZ (giggling): "Yes, we can do all that. But remember Steven, you still have two worksheets to finish before tomorrow."
STEVEN: "Yes, Mom..."
The two enter the building and walk down a long hallway with a shiny silver concrete-looking floor. As they go in further, the four see BISMUTH walk past them with YELLOW PEARL. YELLOW PEARL is walking hunched forward with her head in her hands and she is crying softly. Before any of them can ask what's up, LAPIS LAZULI runs up to them, breathing fast.
LAPIS LAZULI: "Our lineup, it's being pulled!"
ROSE QUARTZ (concerned): "What?"
GREG (concerned and slightly annoyed): "When was this decided?"
LAPIS LAZULI: "I don't know. I came here, and there's this post on the door telling us our shooting is cancelled 'indefinitely'. Blue and Yellow Pearl were told this and, and – (she looks uncomfortable) Blue…..went on a rampage."
GREG (now really concerned): "A rampage?"
ROSE QUARTZ (shocked): "BLUE PEARL? She's the last person I would've pegged for goin' on a rampage!"
As they're discussing this, STEVEN and CONNIE steal a peek inside the recording studio which is now a total wreck and BLUE PEARL is struggling within GARNET'S grip. She only weakens once JASPER comes and gives her some sort of sedative.
GREG: "I can't blame 'em, though. Their singing has improved so much and they were really looking forward to their big number…"
(Back in the present, everyone is feeling awkward due to talking about this episode in BLUE PEARL's presence. BLUE PEARL herself, though we can't see her eyes because of her hair, looks ashamed of herself.)
BLUE PEARL (rubbing her arm): "Yeah…Not one of my finer moments…"
AMETHYST: "Hey, you freaked out, it happens to the best of us."
YELLOW PEARL (crossly): "It's not fair, we've done all that hard work and now we might not even be able to SHOW it to everyone!"
RUBY TWIN #1: "I bet fans of Total Drama Island would go crazy if this was happening to THEM."
RUBY TWIN #2: "How could THEY had to sign a non-disclosure agreement and we DIDN'T?"
YELLOW DIAMOND: "We're not a game show..."
NAVY: "Do you remember hearing rumors about some of the scenes being censored?"
MRS. MAHESWARAN: "We don't have every much control over that. Although I did receive a letter from someone overseas telling me how disappointed they were that one scene wasn't in the episode. Hmm, I've forgotten which one it was, though..."
DOC: "Do you remember all that trip to the Grand Canyon we took?"
LEGGY: "And how you got scared while hang-gliding and Lapis had to come rescue us?" (LAPIS and a few others chuckle while DOC rolls her eyes.)
ARMY: "Has anyone got any pictures from the D.C. trip? We weren't able to go on that one."
PERIDOT (excited and getting phone ready): "Ooh, ooh, I have some!"
PERIDOT sets up phone and the pictures start scrolling: STEVEN looking at the Jefferson Memorial; AMETHYST and PEARL having slushie;, GARNET with a fan; a very zoomed-in photo of YELLOW DIAMOND 'touching' the top of the Washington Monument with BLUE DIAMOND looking on.
Then a video starts playing:
ROSE QUARTZ (filming with PERIDOT'S phone, to GREG): "Hey, honey! How's D.C. treating you?"
GREG (fanning himself): "Good, I didn't expect it to be so hot, though..."
ROSE QUARTZ: "Maybe we should go up to the Lincoln Memorial, I think the Diamonds are up there. They can lift us ov-"
She's cut off by the sound of Marine One flying passed and the camera zooms in on it and then out again. STEVEN, CONNIE, AMETHYST and PERIDOT race towards the L.M. Reflecting Pool waving their arms and calling 'Hi, Mr. President!' and other things excitedly.
Suddenly PERIDOT'S blaster turns on and fires but her arm is in the direction of the Reflecting Pool. The result is a HUGE splash of water, PERIDOT being knocked back on her butt, and everyone staring in shock. The video is dead quiet.
Upon the video ending, PERIDOT runs to collect her phone while those who hadn't seen that start laughing hysterically.
YELLOW PEARL (through breathes and laughing): "Oh. My. Gosh! Peridot, that was hilarious!"
PERIDOT (annoyed): "It was NOT hilarious when the Secret Service came to my door!" (All laughter immediately ceases.)
BLUE DIAMOND: "All that reminiscing reminds me of some other photos we took. (She takes out her phone and has it slide through some photos of cast members on set or just goofing off).
AMETHYST and HOLLY BLUE AGATE training with their whips while the other QUARTZS watch; JASPER and BISMUTH having an arm-wrestling contest; STEVEN in a nearly-completed Crystal Temple; GARNET, PEARL, and AMETHYST pretending they are an actual band in the recording room.
As photo slide continues, the room becomes steadily more quiet except for occasional comments or giggles. Various 'debut days' - welcoming parties given to newest characters, from fusions STEVONNIE and MALACHITE to ROSE QUARTZ'S 'video' and the debut of RUBY and SAPPHIRE OF GARNET'S fusion along with BIG RUBY (who is absent from the meeting). Also shown is the 'official' welcome for the DIAMONDS and their associated PEARLS.
But everyone becomes more down when pictures taken with fans start rolling on.
After the slide show ends, no one speaks for a minute.
LAPIS LAZULI (thoughtfully): "I wonder how they're taking all this news..."
BLUE PEARL (shakes head once): "Not real well, or at least the two fan letters I've gotten so far aren't."
RUBY, OF GARNET'S FUSION: "I remember after Episode 74 aired, I got SO many letters telling me how happy fans were to see that!"
PEARL (holding up a pile of opened letters): "I've had so many letters over the course of this series, I can barely keep up with responding to them. (A letter slips through the pile to the ground.) Oops, I must've forgotten this one...(She puts down the pile, picks it up and opens it. She scans through the letter, becoming noticeably quiet. She starts reading it aloud.)
"Dear Pearl,
I've never been good with introductions, so I'll start off by saying that my name is Emily and I'm 19 years old. About a year ago, I happened to stumble across a comic where Amethyst and Steven were trying to get you to project an image of yourself saying "Help me Obi Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope!" You were reluctant at first, your Gems isn't used for such trivial things, but eventually you gave in to Steven's begging. He thought it was hilarious and told you that you were his favorite. You smiled so big and before I even knew anything about you, you became my favorite too. There was something about you that absolutely captivated me. I think it was your eyes, bright and vibrant and animated. Or your voice, smooth and flawless like your namesake. I knew it was an SU comic and Steven referred to you as "Pearl" so I looked up SU episodes and watched the first one with your name in the synopsis. It happened to be "Space Race". By the end of it, I knew you'd stolen my heart and I was never getting it back. By the time I'd finished the series, I'd laughed more than I'd ever laughed, cried more than I'd every cried, and felt like I knew exactly who I was and that I could face any challenge the world threw it me. There aren't enough words - or rather there aren't the right words - to describe the kind of Gem you are. Your kind of resilience, strength, compassion and brilliance are not something anyone else could ever possess, not human or Gem or even a race far superior than both. And that's because you're extraordinary, Pearl. That's the closest I can come to the right word, but even that is a gross understatement. You taught me what true strength was. You taught me to never stop fighting and to never give up. I was born with a heart condition called PVC or premature ventricular contractions. There's no cure for them, the doctors tell me I just have to live with it. But I can't, because they're awful and debilitating and I used to spend a lot of my time laying in bed, sobbing, wishing that my existence would just end and I could finally be free. I was seriously considering committing suicide. But then I found Steven Universe. I found you. I learned that you fought and won a war despite every odd being against you. I learned that you were gay (I am too!), and you loved Rose so deeply and eternally it makes human love seem petty and superficial. I learned that you lost her to the one thing you had no way of protecting her from. I learned that despite the unimaginable grief and sorrow and anger and guilt you must've felt you still found a way to forgive Steven, Greg, Rose and most of all, yourself. I learned how much you truly loved Steven, that you would give your life for him. Because even though there was contempt and hatred in your heart the first time you looked at him, you soon realized he was just as small and helpless and lost without Rose as you were and you would do everything in your power to protect him. You picked yourself back up and soldiered on, because that's what you are. A courageous soldier. Not fearless, you've always been afraid, but instead of giving into it, you used it to your advantage. You faced the unknown with your head held high and that takes an extraordinary amount of courage.
And because of that, I stopped crying. I got out of bed. I got dressed, took a shower, cleaned my room. Little things, but they all added up to now. I have job, I have car, I have a life. And maybe the sensation of my heart spluttering out makes it difficult to do these things, but it never stops me for doing them. It never stops me from finding happiness and living the best life I possibly can. That's the kind of show Steven Universe is. Everyone who watches this show has a story just like mine. Everyone has a character or an episode or a line or a moment that's helped them embrace who they are and feel like they're not alone. Whether it's anxiety, loss, discovering your sexuality, overcoming your insecurities, finding your inner strength, etc. Steven Universe has touched on it in a very mature and serious way that most kids shows wouldn't even dare to. It's an incredible show with incredible characters, and I don't think there will ever be another show that could ever come close to it. So I think all that's really left to say is thank you, Pearl. Thank you for showing me how to be strong in the real way. You'll never know how much you mean to me. I'll always be here, comforting you and cheering you on from the other side of the screen.
Love, Emily"
PEARL sits down but otherwise doesn't change her position from holding the letter, her face is full of sadness and helplessness. STEVEN feels the same and also wants to ask his parents what some contents of the letter mean exactly. The others are also quiet, wondering what they should or even CAN do...
Suddenly SAPPHIRE jumps up with a shout of something unintelligible causing nearly everyone to scream and jump forward - GARNET falls over PEARL'S seat (which is directly in front of her), YELLOW PEARL practically ends up in a Scooby-Doo style position with BLUE PEARL, and AMETHYST and the eight RUBIES scatter out of the middle row in different directions.
For SAPPHIRE'S part, after jumping up, she runs blindly into the back wall and hits it hard enough to cause her to totter back several feet before falling on her back. LAPIS LAZULI, in one of the back seats, gets up to help, while RUBY, OF GARNET'S FUSION begins making her way there too.
RUBY, OF GARNET'S FUSION (shocked): "Oh, Sapphire-!"
***CUE CARD APPEARS: PLEASE STAND BY***
Ten minutes later...
To the cast's relief, SAPPHIRE returns and makes her way towards the center floor of the auditorium with RUBY, OF GARNET'S FUSION following behind her. Now that she is no longer mediating, SAPPHIRE is her normal calm, collective self again, the bloody tissue up her left (our right) nostril and slight bruise on her left (our right) cheek being the only evidence of her outburst.
BLUE DIAMOND has left her position as minute-taker (BLUE PEARL has taken her place) as they still go by their roles in the show.
BLUE DIAMOND: "Sapphire, you have no idea how relieved we are to see you without any serious injuries. I can tell by your outburst that you have seen something. Tell us: Where should we go from here?" (Everyone leans in to hear)
SAPPHIRE: "Over the course of this meeting, my mind was in a complete fog. As the discussion became more heated and then more dire, the 'fog' changed to dark thunder clouds with constant lightening - I couldn't see anything! Just when I couldn't take anymore, we begin talking about our fun times together - the clouds became less dark and the lightening started dying down. But the biggest breakthrough came when we discussed our fans. After Pearl finished reading her new letter, a big flash of light broke through the clouds and nearly blinded me. Then, my vision was over."
BLUE DIAMOND (after a pause): "What do you think this means?"
SAPPHIRE (a bit doubtful): "I must confess, I still do not know entirely what this vision means or how it will help us in our endeavor to stop these pervasive leaks. But, (more confidently) my vision became more clear when we started talking about our fans. I believe that they are the start of the solution."
Everyone looks at one another, wondering how they can utilize this in their quest...
The cast's long-awaited response is next! What will it be? What does it have to do with their fans? Staaaay tuned!
The cast and crew of 'Total Drama Island' really DID have to sign a non-disclosure agreement and not reveal the ultimate winner (see Wikipedia).
The cast's D.C. trip takes place in summer of 2016 and due to this, the U.S. President at the time would be Barack Obama. :D (The episode 'The Answer' also aired at the beginning of this year!)
*BIGGEST thanks to BwayEveryday, who I asked to write a 'letter' to her favorite character and talk about what said character and the show means to her! :D
