All the little bootleg versions of Ruby had their eyes and ears glued to the television.
They could all still remember that horrible, that terrible, that awful, that no-good-at-all day like it was yesterday. That day their dream of Battling for Dream Island was unfairly taken away from them by that *one* with delusional dreams. It was all they ever wanted. It was all they ever *needed*. That show was the greatest thing to ever grace their puny lives since Loser. 20 objects, 1 island. So much action, adventure, intrigue, and drama! So many possibilities for success and fame! So much to do! So much to see! For so many months it felt like such a distant, far-off dream to get a chance to taste the action for yourself, giving yourself a rush better than anything a stash of sugar could possibly give you. But then, miracle of miracles, the hapless peoples of the world were given a chance to join the game! Oh, joy! Oh, glorious wonder!
But that's the thing, though. There's just *A* chance to get in; they may have not known it yet, but this was their one and only opportunity to finally make their dreams come true and join the Battle for Dream Island. If they couldn't snag it, that was that. They would forever be doomed to a life of irrelevance and misery. One chance to get anything and everything you could ever possibly want, and if you don't take it, then all you'll have for the rest of your life is regret. They *needed* this. They needed it *badly*. And they'd all do it together; either they all got in, or none of them did.
Because if there's one thing that's *absolutely* worse than not getting in, it's not getting in but knowing someone that did. The pain would be unimaginable. That would be the one achievement that they could never top. The one improbability they'd never get a second chance to seize. You didn't even have to *win* Dream Island to get all the prestige that comes with Battling for it. Every single one of the 20 (+1!) contestants had now made a name for themselves just by merely existing for a single episode, their names and faces forever etched upon the memories of countless viewers.
Except for Needle.
And so, when the moment they'd all been waiting for finally arrived, when the Announcer suddenly descended into their humble underground dwelling, like an angel from up above coming to take the blessed, they all *immediately* surrounded him and demanded he take them all, wanting him to please please please can they join the game please *please*.
But then... That *one*, that... thing. The one that did nothing but eat sugar and partake in all sorts of shenanigans, *that* one ruined the plan. Ruby suddenly burst through the crowd of more deserving and talented gems, demanding that he please please please let *HER* join the game please please. Just Ruby, and Ruby alone. She was more than willing to abandon the only family she'd ever known, the only one that was willing to accept her, just for a shot at joining the Battle for Dream Island. How *dare* she? She does absolutely nothing but be a menace to herself and to others, having absolutely no redeeming qualities besides her luster (turns out a sugar-only diet works wonders), and yet *she* gets to be the one with all the screentime?
She ended up getting rightfully given the boot by the mysterious viewers, ending her career short before things got any worse, but the damage was already done; *Ruby* was the single one of them that got all the fame and fortune. Just her. Not Sapphire, nor Emerald, nor Turquoise, nor Amethyst, nor Obsidian, nor Diamond, nor Amber, nor Variscite, nor Ivory, nor Jade, nor Feldspar, nor Jasper, nor Gold, nor Opal, nor Axinite, nor Pyrite, nor Coral, nor Topaz, nor Benitoite, nor Glass, nor Garnet, nor Aquamarine, nor Iolite, nor Dioptase, nor Fluorite, nor Pearl, nor Hematite, nor Quartz, nor Malachite, nor Peridot, nor Lapis Lazuli, nor Kornerupine, nor Chrysoberyl, nor Ammolite, and *especially* not Poo. Just Ruby. Only Ruby.
How could they possibly live with the shame? How can they live being known as only the one with a *far* more successful relative? If Ruby was the one that got a chance at stardom, then what chance did the cruel and indifferent universe have at giving *them* a shot? It was too much to bear. Ever since that fateful day, they've been unable to take even one step outside of their home; they did their assignments in their Gem School dorms, then retreated back to their cave under the cover of night. They feared that they'd die of pure shame the moment someone else laid their eyes upon them. All they had was each other. Each other, and the rocks. Each other, the rocks, and their inanimate cousins. Each other, the rocks, their inanimate cousins, and their singular television; a device in which they hoped to see Ruby's *inevitable* downfall. It was just a matter of time, right?
