#homeworld gem spotted in the crystal gem bar

[bispearlnets]

[keebee-art]

Finding someone new

Chapter 1

“ Calm down yellow!” Blue’s voice rang through the trial as she took yellow’s hand to prevent her from poofing everyone present . “This trial is meaningless and was a waste of time!” Yellow said irritated looking at the other diamond with a annoyed look on her face, this trial shouldn’t have even happened, rose quartz is right in front of them , she should just shatter her right now. Steven sweats in fear while the diamonds argued paying him no attention, ‘I have to get out of here!’ Steven thinks looking around for an escape, he can’t just sit there and wait for them to stop fighting. His eyes land on blue’s palanquin. ‘There!’ He looks back at the diamonds to see that they’re are still distracted,to which thankfully still are, he then runs from his spot and towards the palanquin. Once he reaches inside he can hear yellow and blue notice his disappearance. “Where do you think your going?!” He can here yellow’s voice getting closer and the stomps of her boots get louder and louder.

‘I need to leave now!’ He looks everywhere frantically and finds the hand button and quickly presses his hand onto it. The huge throne like structure clumsily wobbled about when Steven activated it. Yellow diamond used her hand, shooting a yellow bolt of what appeared to be lightning at the palanquin to stop it from moving but Steven used his clumsiness to narrowly avoid yellow’s attack. The palanquin then stepped back quickly going backwards and straight into a wall, destroying it, . ‘Hang in there!’ Steven says to himself as he and the palanquin fall through and drop down from the building he was just in for his ‘trial’ .

“There’s no escape or running here traitor, you’re on OUR world now”

He faintly heard yellow say as it trailed off during the end. Steven then looked around and saw the situation he’s in, ‘I need to get off now or something reallllyy bad is gonna happen!!’ He then looks at the opening of the palanquin and breathes in and out slowly. Hesitating on whether or not he should go along to what he’s currently thinking he should do,he thinks for a couple more seconds then makes his decision ‘it’s now or never!’ He takes a few steps back then runs straight towards the opening , with a determined look on his face he jumps off the palanquin, using his floating powers and his hands to grab a hold of a nearby bar tube that’s connected to other tubes. He then looks down to see the palanquin crash to the ground a minute later. He takes a breath of relief before getting up on the tube and on solid ground. He closes his eyes and sighs, ‘I escaped...’ he then reopens his eyes and looks around taking in the view of homeworld, wayyy different from the world he knew and lived on. ‘Now what?’ Right when he asked himself that question he can hear a low grumbling from behind him, he turns and notices two flying cone like objects flying towards him. He gasps he turns perfectly still ‘Maybe if I’m really still they won’t notice me, like that movie with the dinosaurs!’ But that thought was short lived as the cone like tech scanned his body finding his gem as it glowed pink, “Okay maybe not like dinosaurs!” He yelps as he dodged a beam from the gem destroying technologies,

“Runnn!” Steven says to himself running in a random path , the flying cones chase after him.

Steven starts to sweat, trying to go around corners to lose them but they were slowly creeping up behind him. Steven starts to panic, ‘what do I do? What do I do? I’m so scared, I don’t want to be alone..! Idontwanttodie’ his panic turns into hope as he sees a warp pad in the distance, bigger than the usual ones he’s seen on earth. ‘Yes! Thank you luck!’ He uses his powers and leaps towards to warp pad as a quicker way to create distance between him and the cones of death. He jumps on and spreads his arms out,

“Please , please warp me very far from here!” And just as the gem shattering robonoids were about to blast him the warp activated and he was floating in a warp tunnel by himself .

Steven sighs again in relief “this day has been stressful..” he just wanted to go home , eat a lot of food, go take a shower and get ready for bed. But...where is he going anyway??? That question gets finally answered as he successfully warped far from homeworld and into....

A unhealthy looking garden?

“P-pink? Is t-that really y-you..??”

‘Pink?’ Steven’s eyes wonder around to the voice and found a little pink gem standing in the middle of this worn,dead garden with feet covered in vines looking a bit unclean as her hands were clasped together in front of her.

He looked in her eyes that once was filled with hope and desperation only to quickly be replaced with disappointment and sadness. “O-oh hi, I'm Steven. I didn’t mean to barge in and bother you and your..garden. Are...are you okay?” Steven slowly gets off the warp pad and takes a few steps towards the pink gem, he didn’t know who she was but something pulled him into going a bit closer to her. Maybe it was the fact that she was all alone in this dead overgrown garden looking sad and possibly abandoned or the fact that the look in the gem’s eyes told him not to go. The pink gem let out a forced laugh, “I’m fine, I’m just playing a game with my best friend! A game, just a game, a fun game, and...and I’m winning!. I think.. I’m doing it right I know I am. once she comes back we can play even more games!, once..she comes back..” the pink gem’s face flashes with doubt but quickly masks it, but Steven saw it, he opens his mouth to say something but stops last second. What can he say? He was already invading her privacy by suddenly being here.

“I’m spinel, pink’s best friend!” The pink gem, whose name is spinel, introduces standing still not moving a muscle. Steven looked over her again, it looked like she has been standing there for a long time. “Pink?” Steven asks out loud

“Why pink diamond of course!”

Oh no... how long has she been standing there? Pink diamond has been gone for a while from what’s he heard. Steven started to feel sympathetic towards spinel. ‘Should I help her? Can I even help her?’ Steven started to gather his thoughts to find the right words to say to her, “I’m sorry for being here uninvited, I was running away from some..robots. Can you tell me where I am?” He asks her looking around at what he guessed was once a beautiful garden. Spinel quickly replied to his question “why pink and i’s garden! A place where pink can be happy and play with her best friend, me. I have a feeling she’s gonna come back soon!” She answers in an over enthusiastic tone, but her eyes didn’t match it, she looked tired, even when gems don’t need sleep. Steven started to think, he is currently on a small rock with a garden on it, not on homeworld. But he knew he’d have to go back to homeworld, the last time he checked the galaxy warp on earth is broken from when garnet smashed it so he can’t just warp there. And this place doesn’t have a ship, not like he could pilot it anyway. Homeworld guaranteed has ships, different kinds of ships. maybe some gem can help him out? Topaz is evidence that there could be good gems on homeworld, he could find her but that would probably be impossible.. Steven then realized he was still invading spinel’s garden without permission, “oh sorry, can I stay here for a little while? I don’t have anywhere to go..” Steven asks her while rubbing the back of his head, a little nervous she might say no. Spinel looked at him with slight surprise, “you want to stay...here?” Steven nodded, “if you don’t mind?” spinel could hardly contain her excitement, she’s been alone here for about 6,000 years with out any contact from a gem, but now, Steven is here and his presence alone made her feel better than before.

“I don’t mind! And I’m sure pink won’t mind if- when she comes back.” Steven let out the breath he didn’t even know he was holding in, “thanks” he walked up beside her and sat down, it became silent once again. Maybe spinel can pilot a ship? He was already planning on trying to help her, he just didn’t know how to tell her that her best friend has been..well...shattered..which he is beginning to doubt since the trial, but it made no sense at the same time. If it wasn’t rose who shattered her maybe it was the diamonds just trying to cover it up? But then why did they act like that during the trial? Could they have been acting? But that would have been unnecessary.. Steven gripped his head as it started to hurt from all the unanswered questions, he didn’t want to tell spinel what he was doubting, he wanted to know for sure, the rest of the crystal gems always hides stuff from him, stuff they think he wouldn’t understand, it’s just so frustrating. But for now he won’t think about it, for now he’ll try and come up with a plan to get spinel to leave with him and then from there how to make it home.

[steven-universe-renaissance]

Introduction

This is a Steven Universe Alternative Universe (AU). It tells the entire story of Steven Universe, episode by episode through fanfiction and illustrations. This is a story you can follow even if you have never watched Steven Universe (and if that is the case, you can skip this introduction and proceed directly to the story to avoid any spoilers). If you are indifferent to spoilers, you can keep reading below.

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In this AU the initial change to the premise of the show is very simple: When the Diamonds blasted the Earth to end the rebellion, Rose Quartz did not succeed in saving any of her rebel-comrades behind her shield. It all happened too fast, none were within reach, she was the single sole gem survivor on the surface of the planet. As far as she knew, she was the only uncorrupted gem on Earth for thousands of years, until Amethyst emerged. Once Rose found Amethyst in the Kindergarten, they were the only two uncorrupted gems on Earth for hundreds of years. Along came Greg Universe and, well, when a Rose and a Greg love each other very much… they make a Steven.

That was the original idea that wouldn’t let me go, and I wanted to see if it could be done and how much would need to be changed and how much the story would change. But as I worked on it, I realised that I could change whatever I wanted, so I changed all the parts of canon that I had “fridge logic” problems with. The result is a Steven AUniverse story exactly the same as the show, except completely different.

Now I know there are a million different AUs out there, so I want to provide some indications that you can use to decide whether this is your kind of thing, in the form of questions:

What is this AU like?

-The tone of this story attempts to match the show as closely as possible. There is no grimdark or gore or disturbed or anything like that. It is lighthearted with gravity and important themes, just like the show. There are “filler episodes” with townies and there are “plot heavy episodes” and they are mostly in the same order as they are in the show.

How’s it differ from the show?

-The most important aspect is that it’s more political than the show. (What does that even mean?) But the first thing you’ll notice when you read is that in practice I have had to change lots of details: some episodes needed to be revamped completely (because in canon they were about Garnet or Pearl), some plot-important things I changed just because I had “fridge logic” issue with the canon, etc. So in the end it’s very different, a different story told with some of the same characters and structure.

I imagine that doesn’t help very much to know things were changed if you don’t know what sort of things that includes. So below are some specific questions where the answers are slightly more spoilery, and if you want none spoiler with left beef, then please stop reading here and skip to the first episode.

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Will Pearl and Garnet appear in the story?

-Pearl and Garnet got corrupted by the Diamond blast along with all the other Crystal Gems bar Rose Quartz. So if they appear in the story, they will be corrupted monsters like everyone else. You might recognise them, you might not.

Is Amethyst still the same person?

-Amethyst’s character in the show is very much dependent on being the “youngest” or “worst” Crystal Gem in comparison to Pearl, Garnet and Rose. In this story Amethyst grew up looking up to Rose and having her pretty much all to herself except for Rose’s human love affairs (which Amethyst didn’t mind as she wasn’t in love with Rose herself), and so when Rose disappeared Amethyst felt like she had to take Rose’s place and fill those shoes. So in this story Amethyst is somewhat more responsible while still having her flaws, and her character arc has a different shape.

Was Rose still Pink Diamond?

-I hate to include this here because it’s incredibly spoilery, but I realise these characters are very important and dear to many people, so I will answer honestly: yes and no. I know that’s a total nonanswer, but if the Diamonds are really important to you as characters, this might not be the AU for you, for there will be some… let’s say “character assassination” here.

Was Rose still a bad person?

-Rose has the same flaws in this story as she does in canon. Whether having flaws makes her a bad person or a relatable character depends on each reader.

Will Peridot/Lapis/Jasper/Bismuth/townies/Diamonds/off colors/etc appear in the story?

-Yes, everyone is present and accounted for – though there will be some changes.

Will Spinel appear in the story?

-No, this AU only covers the story we see during the show Steven Universe, not the movie or the epilogue series. And I’m sorry to say but Spinel’s character doesn’t exist in this universe, the Homeworld in this story is not the kind that would create a ”best friend” gem.  Spinels would have some totally different role in this universe.

What about fusions?

Obviously most of the canon fusions include Pearl and/or Garnet, so they are naturally out of the question. But don’t worry. There will be many other Crystal Gems, so there will definitely be fusions besides Smoky Quartz and Stevonnie. The only possible canon fusion, who could happen in this story but won’t, is Malachite.

Are there OCs in the story?

Mostly no. Of course fusions we haven’t seen on screen in the show will be OCs, as well as the component gems of fusions we haven’t seen unfuse in the show, and a few corrupted gems we haven’t seen uncorrupted versions of on the show. Some characters (mainly the Diamonds) are also reimagined and changed so much that they could be considered totally different characters. But there are no gem or human characters that are completely outside of the show’s canon.

Could you give some examples of details that you changed in the story because of “fridge logic”?

-Example 1. In the episode “Frybo” Pearl says that Rose Quartz would put gem shards in (I assume human??) clothes to make them fight for her. But from the way gems talk about shattering and shards (they consider it horrifying etc), it sounds preposterous that the Crystal Gems would have done that. It also isn’t something that Amethyst would know, since she wasn’t around for the war. So the gem shards that make Frybo move are out of the question and that episode’s plot is revamped while keeping the central point (Peedee’s relationship with his dad) intact.

-Example 2. The Rubies getting sucked out the door of the Moon Base is so unscientific it hurts my brain. Space is a vacuum, not a vacuum cleaner; space does not suck. When you open a door into space all the air rushes out really quickly, and then everything is calm (I still don’t understand why the Moon Base would be pressurised in the first place if gems don’t need air?) Also it is established that gems adjust to gravity (Amethyst can’t float-jump on the Moon like Steven can) so the idea that all the Rubies flew off the Moon’s surface so easily is ridiculous. So that part is all totally changed.

-Those are two small examples that changed episode plots significantly. I have some really big fridge logic problems with some of the important parts in the world building in canon, so there are some really big overarching changes. For hardcore fans who know the show well, spotting changes and trying to figure out why there is a change there might make for a fun way to engage with the text. It is also something the readers can engage me, the writer, about. :) I’m very friendly and like to chat with new interesting people from anywhere in the world.

Have you changed anyone’s identity in the story?

-Not intentionally, nothing that has been stated in canon. I’m not super well-versed in the Steven Universe fandom, so it’s hard to say about fanon. I am vaguely aware that there are some very popular interpretations of various characters among the fandom, and I cannot guarantee that the same interpretation can be made based on this story, since I don’t fully understand what specific details those interpretations are based on. Therefore I may have changed a detail that was important to a particular interpretation. But it doesn’t mean I am against that interpretation or that I don’t think that interpretation is valid. So for example, if your interpretation of aromantic and asexual Peridot relies on Peridot never fusing with anyone, then I’m sorry, but I need fusions and I haven’t got that many gems: Peridot will be fusing. But it doesn’t mean that I think aroace Peridot is not valid.

What about ships?

-I don’t ship (it’s just, my brain doesn’t work like that), so there are no ships in particular in this story. But I am also not against shipping. So while there might be some changes to relationships between characters as demanded by the story (for example, I can’t afford to drop Lapis in the ocean for half a season to explore the Malachite dynamic, this story needs more gems earlier than canon does), I’m not intentionally sinking any ships in this story.