I just had a thought regarding Amethyst, Lapis, and gem-powered artifacts. When Amethyst got her gem cracked, her form started getting all wonky and all over the place and even her speech functions were damaged, however, Lapis emerged from her gem with mirror eyes and most of her functions still intact. In Ocean Gem, Pearl says, “We have to take care of them, subdue them, contain them. It’s the best we can do for them, for now.”
I just had a though like, for humans, it would seem really fucked up to use another person to power an an object, but what if being plugged into an artifact was one of the only ways a damaged gem could stay functioning until it could be repaired? The only other option would be putting the gem into stasis with bubbling, if the gem’s corrupted form could pose a risk to the earth. I think that gems are in a kind of unconscious state when they’re plugged into artifacts, but I think Steven may have prompted Lapis back into consciousness by getting some saliva on the mirror (I mean he was blowing raspberries while holding it) Lapis may have absorbed some of the mirror (resulting in her mirror eyes) and used it to stabilize her projected form.

Morning Glory–Affection

I have heard a call from the Robotfuckers… and I must answer.

—

Three days 4AN70 has been strapped down to that platform. True, all motor functions had been shut down from the neck down, but he had snapped at a lab intern taking notes. Things weren’t looking very promising on the front of ‘convince the assassin unit that killing humans is wrong.’

Genji found Mercy out on the observation deck of the laboratory in the night air. Her hair wasn’t up in its usual messy bun or feathery ponytail but wafting around her shoulders. Human eyes could maybe make out her hair silvery in the moonlight or the vague shape of her against the light of of the Watchpoint, but he could make out every detail of her. She looked exhausted. He had plugged into some of the security feeds only briefly that day to see her in even more long, drawn-out arguments with Jack and other Overwatch directors. There were a lot of doubts about keeping such a dangerous Omnic prototype on base–Genji at least displayed agreeableness and non-aggression. They could not say the same for Hanzo.

“When are they going to shut him down?” asked Genji.

“They aren’t going to shut him down–” Mercy started.

“He continues to hold the core programming to kill humans and revive the Kantō Omnium’s God AI,” said Genji, “In terms of the safety of this whole facility, the most optimal choice is immediate shutdown and disassembly.”

“The Omnic Crisis is over, Genji. Overwatch wouldn’t just destroy an omnic it doesn’t understand,” said Mercy.

“I don’t think he is misunderstood. He made his directives very clear,” said Genji.

“He didn’t kill McCree,” said Mercy, “The mission debrief stated that he ‘saw little to gain’ from killing McCree. That’s a start!”

“That’s not the same,” Genji sat next to her.

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