"This was different, necessary! They would have destroyed themselves! We'd have lost everything!"
"In the event humanity don't destroy themselves, what happens if the Germans or the Communists win? What becomes of the people of Beach City and their families? What becomes of us if an oppressive government takes over? It'll be just like living under Homeworld again. We've already fought one rebellion to free this planet from tyranny. Are we really going to stand by and let human despots destroy all that we have fought to achieve?"
— Pearl, making her case to Rose Quartz
Pearl in WWII
(also on Archive of Our Own) is an ongoing Steven Universe Fan Fic by pinheadh78.
In the turbulent, formative years of the modern era, Pearl saw the world descending into madness. With her friends unwilling to meddle in human affairs, she decided to take matters into her own hands and join the fight for the soul of mankind. But no matter how just, all war has its price. Even for her.
This Work Contains Examples Of:
- Anti-Villain: Hauptsturmführer (later Sturmbannführer) Aldebert Fischer. Despite being an SS officer, he's a genial and well-meaning man who's unwilling to let anything stand between him and completing his mission.
- Anyone Can Die: Firmly established with Adelajda's sudden death in Chapter 8, and continued with the losses of Darren, George, and Waldemar.
- Boom, Headshot!: Having been mistaken for Aldebert while both prepare to depart from Tobruk by sea, Waldemar takes a sniper bullet to the head. The bullet takes half his skull away, and he spills his brains all over his friend.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: On a trip to Chicago, Garnet is incapacitated by the unshielded radiation spewing from the world's first nuclear reactor. Rose promptly attempts to heal her.Rose: More tears! Burnt cookies! Spilled milk! Pogroms!
- Chase Fight: The squad's encounter with Wilhelm, the psychotic SS officer. He chases them through the streets of Leuven, dodging crossfire and collapsing buildings as German forces advance through the town.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Pearl first picks up the habit after their transport nearly crashes in a severe storm while en route to Poland. It soon becomes her go-to vice in times of stress.
- Code Name: Pearl's squad are referred to by the radio callsign "Brimstone" throughout the course of the war.
- Determinator: Aldebert, as best summed up in Chapter 28:"No one could prevent him from accomplishing his mission. Not reckless associates, nor enemy bombing raids. Not incompetent superiors, nor even alien warriors possessed with inhuman abilities. Even in Tobruk, with Waldemar's brains soaking through his uniform as his friend's life leaked out onto the bare concrete, all his enemies were unable to stop him."
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Invoked. Rose insists that the upcoming war is a human conflict and should solely be resolved by humans. Pearl's only allowed to fight on the condition that she act human, and is forced to give up her Gem weaponry, special powers, and access to warp pads. It doesn't stick.
- Eagle Squadron: Pearl attempts to join a human military in order to fight the Germans. She's rebuffed by the US Army, but does manage to secure a place with the British, under whose flag she fights for the duration of the war.
- Captain Patryk in Chapter 20 serves as a more typical example, as a Polish pilot flying with the RAF after the fall of his homeland.
- Elites Are More Glamorous: Pearl joins up with the British Commandos, serving with them for three years, before she and the members of her squad are inducted into the nascent Special Air Service.
- Hate Sink: Sergeant Alojzy, a smarmy, skeevy Polish soldier who tries to hit on Pearl. As it turns out, he's also a traitor who's collaborating with Germans in preparation for the upcoming invasion. Presumably, few mourn his death when German infiltrator Alfred Naujocks puts a bullet in him to cover his tracks.
- Heroic BSoD: Pearl has one when Adelajda gets hit, exposing herself to German fire in the process. She only snaps out of it after James rugby-tackles her to the ground.
- Historical Domain Character: Many, many, many of them, most prominently German scientist Ernst Schafer, Polish resistance leader Ignaczy Oziewicz, and noted lunatic
John "Mad Jack" Churchill. Christopher Lee even makes a cameo as a young SAS trooper on a desert sortie. - Hold the Line: Several times, the Commando team is tasked with fighting defensive and delaying actions, including the battles of Bzura, Leuven, and Cassel.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Between Pearl, an eons-old alien warrior, and the members of her squad, all young men in their twenties.
- Live-Action Escort Mission: In "1,030 miles", the commandos are assigned to escort several dozen Polish dignitaries on a perilous train ride to safety.
- Mayfly–December Romance: In the story, Pearl and James develop feelings for one another and even get into a relationship.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Pearl loves pie (particularly apple). It's quite literally the only thing she eats.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Nearly eight decades on from the war,, Pearl still bears deep mental scars, being constantly afflicted by panic attacks and traumatic flashbacks. Over the course of the fic, we see her gradually begin to heal from the psychological damage.
- Shown Their Work: The fic is meticulously researched, and demonstrates it. Any historical references that don't make it into the text are usually explained in the end-of-chapter notes.
- Small Girl, Big Gun: In Chapter 19, Pearl, visually a stick-thin woman of average height, packs a .55cal Boys Antitank Rifle (which, as the name suggests, is designed to take out armored vehicles and is usually operated by a crew of three). Justified, as she's really an alien warrior with superhuman strength.
- Sociopathic Soldier: SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Wilhelm, a maniacal associate of Aldebert who takes sadistic glee in bombing a train full of Polish civilians.
- Vehicular Turnabout: In Chapter 13, the squad manage to capture a functioning Panzer IV tank and use it to lay waste to a German motor pool outside the town of Bzura.
