#or how lapis feels towards the crystal gems now since we never really got that arc

[partnersincrimesuau]

I feel like I really wanna get this off my chest. Look, I don’t hate Connie as a character. She’s perfectly fine and nice enough and I’m perfectly fine with Conniverse as a ship even if I REALLY don’t agree that it’s the best and ONLY true ship for Steven like everyone says it is and that Connie is Steven’s one true soulmate like everyone makes her out to be. With all that being said, I can’t help but feel like Connie became a HUGE Mary Sue ever since late season 2 of Steven Universe.

Okay, since this is gonna be a LOOOONG one, I'm gonna answer them all separately on the same post XDD Also I would advise you not to read this post if you're a Connie fan. There's no outright hate towards her (okay maybe a little bit...) but there sure ain't any love towards her either. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, remember!!! No hate to other users in the comments, please!!!

I agree with you on some people calling it the "only true ship for Steven"... people who say this about any franchise are people with no imagination XDDD (like, okay, I know that there are some characters from some franchises that I ship ONLY with one other character, but that doesn't mean it's the ONLY valid ship!!!) And also, YES. At first I was reluctant to answer this entire ask series, but I AGREE WITH YOU. Here we go, guys... welcome to the "Connie Is A Mary Sue Ask Series"!!!

2. Yes, a lot more good points! Now that you mention it, I have noticed that she is often "the right one" and is always very mature in what she says. And yeah, she's only a human teenager with a few what, weeks? months? (months at MOST) of experience with swordfighting... and is suddenly considered an expert? It's got me thinking - WHY did the writers make Connie a swordfighter? I mean yeah, it adds flavour to the story... but it still is a very Mary Sue kind of thing.

3. ARRGHHHH I KNOW!!! This is why those few episodes are some of my LEAST favourite episodes in the show - Connie just??? blames him??? She blames him for doing a righteous thing to save his friend, a friend who later gets killed in front of Steven, who is A FOURTEEN YEAR OLD, WHO IS STRANDED ON AN ALIEN PLANET BEING HUNTED BY KILLER ALIENS AND ROBOTS - and when he comes back she's like "We could have done that together wahhh" LIKE BRO!!! HE WAS LITERALLY TRYING TO PROTECT YOU!!!!! AJHDISDISHDI (sorry, I went off there. Carry on.)

4. (Sorry, i couldnt find a part 4 in my inbox...? either a tumblr glitch or a typo... it doesnt matter either way tho, im sure the rest of the ask series works without it ^^) OOOOOHHOHOHOHO ANOTHER GOOD THING TO MENTION!!! SHE NEVER APOLOGISES!!! Legit, Connie does this crappy thing and ruins Steven's life for a couple of weeks and then NEVER apologises about it. Does she have ANY idea how much of his PTSD was caused by her? I bet she doesn't. (Also just gonna quickly mention that Spinel did one crappy thing in one day and then immediately apologised for it, claiming that she knows it caused a lot of damage to their relationship from the beginning. Call me crazy, but I absolutely believe that what Connie did to Steven was WORSE than what Spinel did (specifically TO Steven tho - I mean, Connie didn't try to destroy a planet XDDD)

5. A thing I often say to friends and fans is that Connie was a good character before Season 4, and only before Season 4. "The New Crystal Gems" is a fun episode, and I love watching it, but I cannot STAND Connie at the end of it. Suddenly, Connie is the "mature adult" who orders around the "superpowered children"!!! And YES, i know, Lapis and Peridot were very childish in that episode - but tell me, why do you think they acted that way in that SPECIFIC episode? just to make Connie even more of a Mary Sue? Yep. Anon, you're on to something. (ALSO I KNOW, Lion!! how could you?! You're disrespecting the good name of your voice actor TnT)

6. THE LIST GOES ON, ANON!!! IT GOES ON!!!!!!! (Also ITS TRUE, the protagonist's girlfriend is the "only character who can talk to them"!!!! Writers, come on. The only time this trope works is in How To Train Your Dragon. It doesn't work in Steven Universe.)

7. I think you've basically cemented my dislike for Connie x Steven now. He deserves SO much better than her. And its true, she is "so perfect!!!" Maybe the writers should have paid more attention to Jamie's play. Maybe then they would have realised that Connie has no struggles by Season 5 and 6 and just dissolved into a very unlovable character. (Also can I just say, the first ask from this anon started with "I don't hate Connie, and I'm fine with Connverse..." and then escalated to this XDDD This is iconic, thank you so much)

8. YUP. YUP, YUP, YUP. SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW LARS DIED IN STEVEN'S ARMS WHILE HE WAS GONE, AND WE NEVER SEE HER FIND OUT??? If she KNEW, if she KNEW what he went through... gosh damn. Maybe she WOULD have been a better character in Season 5 if Steven just broke down crying about his trauma from that adventure in front of her, and she would have realised how much of an a**hole she had been about it. "Steven you left me behind and gave up to the enemy when you promised we'd be together forever!" "Connie, if I had taken you, you would have been killed. Lars didn't even make it out alive. I gave up to protect you! If I didn't, we wouldn't have been together ever again! But look, I'm back! I'm safe!" "Oh... I'm sorry. You're right." HEY CARTOON NETWORK CAN I BE A WRITER FOR-

And yeah, I think that's the last ask in this series. Thank you, my dear anon, for allowing me to sublimate all my hatred towards Connie in a post like this XDD And I'm sorry for anyone who actually decided to read all this. I hope that maybe some people will now see why I really dislike Connverse, and how in my opinion, it's ten times more toxic than Stevinel ever could be!!!

But of course, remember that everyone has different opinions. You are completely entitled to like Connie as a character, and I have nothing against that. Don't let my opinions override yours!! Love who you want and don't let anyone change that!!!

Thanks Anon, you clearly put a lot of thought in this ^^ I feel like I've just collaborated on a huge project with you, somehow?? XDDD (and i'M SO SORRY THIS IS SUCH A LATE RESPONSE!!!! All of these asks were from mid January - I'm the worst I know)

[kimquatz]

I've never thought about pearl n lapis till ur art and i've been blessed thank u so much 💙💙💙

YES, GOOD!!! they’re such a crackpairing at this point, but their potential/narrative as a relationship fascinate me so much??! my goal with my pearlapis fanart at this point is to shed the LIGHT of what COULD BE!!!! 😤😤

[mimik-u]

Fragments III, 1-100

300 drabbles about Steven Universe/Future, 100 words each! These are the first 100 prompts and writer’s choices that have been fulfilled.

Asterisks are placed next to my personal favorites that I’ve written.

Baggage* — Steven meets his new therapist!

Eternity —How about a Bellow interaction you've always wanted to see in canon but didn't get to?

Foe —Jasper is simultaneously satisfied and yet left deeply empty inside by her self-isolation on Earth, and doesn't understand how to even begin to process this dichotomy. (So she doesn’t.)

Letter — Young Greg's POV when he wrote those letters to his parents Steven found on Mr. Universe episode.

Sword —Connie interacting with someone she doesn't usually talk to by herself (ex Jasper, Bismuth, Lapis, etc.).

Reconciliation — Idk about you but I wanna see more Mega Pearl. The others have not met Mega Pearl.

Marks —How about... Spinel, and the tiny, everyday baby steps towards healing?

Tangled — Peridot finds out/is told about PD/RQ? (And is confirmed in her guess that Pearl is fancy...?)

Challenge* — How is Steven’s TubeTube channel doing?

Bruises — Priyanka tends to Connie's wounds after training sessions with Pearl. [Writer’s Choice]

Rest* — Yellow Diamond gets to relax. (She's the one who most expresses regret and real understanding. Let her take a nap! She deserves it!)

Barbecue* — Post-movie, during cleanup, Steven and Lars talk and plan the BBQ we got a glimpse at during the final song.

Ghost — Yellowtail and Greg talk about fatherhood and how it can be ruined (mentioning Marty and Greg's father subtly).

UNO* — Date between Pearls (platonic or otherwise).

Height — The pebbles!!! They're so small???? Where are they? *Sobs, points at the Heaven and Earth Beetles.*

Embrace — Steven gets a well-deserved cuddle pile from family and friends.

Constructs — Bismuth and Peridot have a lot more in common than they think.

Horns — Amethyst makes an unexpected new friend at Little Homeschool. (Whichever other character you feel would fit best!)

Garden — Pre-show scene. While having a funny chat, Greg mentions something that reminds Rose about her abandoning Spinel, which makes her regret more of her choices.

Advice — Garnet can tell when Stevonnie has a lot on their mind. [Writer’s Choice.]

Hum — Yellow and her relationship with music.

Love* — Pearl considering her romantic feelings towards someone and thinking about how she's finally moving on from Rose. (Doesn't mean she'll ever forget her.)

Kid — A glimpse into “Sadie Killer.” Maybe when they played their first show, while Steven was still in the band. Celebrating afterward or a discussion on why Steven didn't stay IN the band?

Troubleshooting* — Integration of gem communication networks and Earth Internet and phone lines and the resulting inevitable disaster.

Fairytale — Connie gets a tour of Little Homeworld.

Hope — Jasper finally starting to let her guard down and realize her self worth.

Song* — As for prompts... Steg? Like, him in general, just being himself. It's a bummer we only got to see him in the movie.

Mistakes* — Steven talking to someone (not a therapist, just another character) about his trauma?

Forgiveness — The Topaz fusion reconnects with the Crystal Gems at Little Homeschool and apologizes for her role in the kidnapping all those years ago.

Visions — Sapphire and Ruby reflect on the events of "Together Forever." [Writer’s Choice]

Reunited — Maybe a scene where Yellow comes home from a long escapade and is reunited with a worried Spinel?

Beginnings — After CYM, Lapis and Peridot discuss where to live since the barn is destroyed.

Pet* — White Diamond happily announces one day that she has decided to take in a small creature (of your choosing) as a pet.

Together — What were Doc, Army, Navy, and Leggy doing during Future?

Desert — Steven meeting Lion from Lion's perspective. I dunno, I think it could be neat.

Freedom — For a post-CYM/SU:F prompt, what do you think about the exact moment it hit either Blue or Yellow Pearl that they were completely free to follow their whims?

Apologies — Greg apologizes to Steven due to the incident in “Mr. Universe” and both have the talk they should've had in that episode.

Change — Blue and Yellow Zircon's relationship has improved even if they are now rivals in the new democratic Homeworld. This last tiny bit is related to the “Homeworld Bound” episode.

Hug — Bellow cuddling. Yellow has no idea what to do, but Blue is loving it.

Valentine* — Steven gives Peridot a Valentine's Day gift. [Writer’s Choice]

Spite — Aquamarine and Eyeball are distraught at knowing they won't be rewarded for their actions because their worst enemy, Steven Universe, has been labeled a hero and royalty by the Diamonds.

Reevaluation — How about more Peedee and Steven friendship? Like, Peedee noticing Steven’s change in demeanor the farther along the show we get?

Camp — Connie kicking ass at space camp.

Family — The night after the events of the movie, Steven gets some quality family time.

Homestretch — Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth spend time together while preparing Little Homeworld.

Enough — We know what Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck are gonna do for their futures, but what's Kiki been up to? Is she gonna take over the pizzeria?

Spillage — Vidalia and Amethyst catch up after Steven's monster episode.

Reformation — White Diamond has learned how to be so extremely empathetic to the point that she literally becomes another person, but has she really begun to understand others?

Comment* — Sardonyx makes some Internet videos.

Unicorn — While traveling through California, Steven encounters two fishermen arguing about unicorns. [SU/GF crossover.] [Writer’s Choice]

Worry — Andy and Greg stay in touch.

Homerun* — I hopal for Opal—perhaps she will attempt some baseball.

Skydancer — Post-CYM, Pearl getting to “truly” take Steven out for a joy ride through the cosmos in a properly operational ship of her design.

Mercy* — The shattering-is-wrong discussion between Rose and Bismuth that led to Bis being bubbled.

Happy — Smoky Quartz hasn't made a self deprecating joke in a while—is it Steven's therapy?

Electric* — Yellow’s gloves—I feel like they’re covering something up, maybe.

Cake — Fusion Cuisine 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Belonging — The Rose Quartz sisters visit again.

Transcendence — Fluorite offers someone wise caterpillar grandma advice.

March — Connie and Steven reflect on changes in life after the pandemic. Not canon compliant. [Writer’s Choice.]

Understanding — Onion be doing Onion things.

Ocean* — Andy and Steven post-”I Am My Monster”? I love their relationship, lol.

Ignorance* — Does Lapis even realize Bismuth was probably the one who poofed her?

Reflection — Did I already say more Mega Pearl? ‘Cause there can never be enough Mega Pearl.

Possibility* — Yellow deciding she should try putting shattered gems back together. (She probably broke the most.)

Storyboard — Peridot’s budding career as a storyboarder.

Fall — Lapis and Steven talk about trauma and recovery. Pre-The Future.

Limbo — How the dismantled gempire has affected the lives of noble gems like Emerald, Holly Blue Agate, and others.

Now — Garnet reminds herself to live in the present.

Grief* — Alexandrite forms for the first time. [Writer’s Choice]

Inauguration — Wait, did Connie's parents ever meet Stevonnie?

Please — Did Kevin ever learn anything? Naaaaaah....unless...

Friend — General prompt? A sequel/prequel to this, please [White D’s panther].

Treatment — Greg starting to learn more about gem stuff to be more involved in Steven's life if something ugly happens.

Numbers — Pearl, please do something with all those phone numbers in your head.

Generations — Rose continues to discover the wonders of Earth, even after all this time. (No angst allowed in this one, just pure wonder.)

Survival — The Off-Colors used to have more members in the past.

Acting — How did Rainbow 2.0 even get invited to babysit Onion?

Kindness* — Former Mayor Dewey coming to terms with his new position in town.

Play — The Gems and Greg try to capture Steven's first moments on a bike. [Writer’s Choice]

Documentary — Ronaldo makes a real actually informative documentary about Little Homeworld.

Rain — Blue Diamond still cries sometimes.

Zoophobia — Also, I saw Z and my immediate thought was "Zoophobia.”

Echo* — Why does the tiny floating whale have Rose's voice before Steven ever heard it in the tape?

Sketch — Steven and Connie discover an anime character/mythological figure who bears an awfully similar resemblance to Obsidian.

Unironically — Why does Buck wanna be a doctor?

Club — How did Bismuth, Lapis, and Peri become such tight friends?

Nostalgia — Greg considers a comeback tour.

Pressure* — The creation of the Diamonds, maybe?

Coping — Amethyst and Pearl grapple with Rose's pregnancy. [Writer’s Choice]

Theatre — Sugilite, meet Rainbow 2.0.

Dadhood* — Whatever happened to Mrs. Fryman? IS there a Mrs. Fryman, or was it only a passing on-and-off thing that resulted in kids?

Lingering — Jasper finally lets Malachite go.

Human — Steven talks to his therapist about his mom, the feelings of before and the now. (It was left open-ended—his relationship with his mother.)

Words — Kofi is proud of his daughters.

Quest — [Letter prompt] Quest.

Picture — Sour Cream and Steven talking about absent parents and bad parenting. Post-The Future.

Bittersweet* — Shep finally gets to meet the notorious Lars.

Gemini — Spinel discovers memes and we're all doomed.

Weird — When he's younger, Steven doesn't quite know how to label the Gems.

[c-atm]

Hometown and City

Hometown & City

"I should really get a car." HB muttered to herself as she jogged towards LHW R&D. A look of determination and concern as she did. Peridot text was usually long winded speeches of how great she was because of their current achievement in whatever project they were working on, but there were exceptions when Peridot words were straight to the point..or even cryptic. Usually, when something was about to go down. She looked down at her phone again, at Peri's text…

P-dottie: Something's coming through. Assault spheres on standy. Get here now.

There was definitely something going down tonight. Part of her thought she should call Lion back with the younger duo and she mentally kicked herself for it. 

"Come on, Maheswaran. We don't even know if the thing is an enemy...Don't ruin their fun for a possibility" 

Demon hunters or whatever they may be, they were still teens, her 'younger siblings' and they still deserve to have a time out to enjoy themselves. 

"Still.. better safe than sorry."  

She smirked as she turned the phone to her home screen. The background which was once a picture of Mister in costume during their empire excursion, her new save screen; were replaced by a picture of Witchy, Dapper, and Mister each snoring on her couch after a long winded night of gaming. She happened to walk in on them after returning from R&D and almost giggled at the sight.

Dapper and Mister slept in almost the exact same  position ; head tipped back, eyes closed, mouth slightly opened, controllers on the table. 

The difference?

Mister hands being in the playing position while Dappers right hand rested on the waist of Witchy intertwined with her own hand. Witchy was curled up, using Dapper thigh as a head pillow. Her feet were lightly pressed against Mister's leg. 

She remembered she changed into her houseware before snuggling next to Mister, only for him to wake up and sit her on his lap, holding her around her midsection, before welcoming her home, leaning her head on the crook of his neck and falling back to sleep after kissing her temple. Such a homey feeling  it was.

She shook her head to focus on the task at hand, pressing the diamond Icon bring up the insignia the diamonds, she pressed on the pink diamond at the top of the screen. The diamond communicator app, only available to phones jailbroken or made by Little Homeworld R&D or Homeworld R&D.

She waited for his phone to ring as she continued her way about to turn on to the street LHWR&D stayed, when she saw Garnet and Pearl chasing someone little gem in a cloak out of the building, weapons drawn.

"Come back here!" Pearl ordered to no avail. 

"No, I didn't do anything!"

The lilith gem, in annoyance, readied her spear before launching a concentrated blast of energy, with all intentions of poofing the gem.

The gem looked as the blast got closer before her reflexes kicked in, leaping out of the way in the last moment. Grimacing as the blast licked her arm, a glancing blow. She growled but turned to run only to  feel her legs slipped from under her and land on her back. She didn't even get to grimace when she felt a weight on her chest. Opening her eyes to see Connie and the gems glaring down at her, the human straddling her stomach and her blade in her face. A steady cold eyes meeting her own.

"That's enough, stand dow-"

"Bi..Big sis."

Connie stopped when she heard whimpering from the gem. Removing the hood of her cloak, the three crystal gems gasp at the oh-so familiar purple face staring back at them.

"Amethyst?" Connie glanced at the purple on black eyes, the purple circular marking on her cheeks and the horns on her head...Things that place Dapper in her head. "You're a demon… You're Dapper's and Witchy's Amethyst."

Connie climbed to her feet almost instantly sheathing her blade. She held out a hand to the demoness and an apologetic and shameful smile on her face. " We have some things to discuss."

"Like, why'd you're so much taller, scarier and filled out?" The demoness looked up at her as she took her hand.

"Among other things.." Connie joked as she helped Amethyst up, just as she was about to introduce herself two things happened. Steven returned her call finally, and….

"Well, little witch. Sorry, I guess you aren't so  little now huh?.. How long have you been here?" The four turned to a figure on the roof of the R&D building perring down. 

He was a fine dressed gentleman, admittedly. Nice white and red checkered collar shirt, white jeans, black heeled pointed toe flats. He also had reptilian green teeth, yellow beady eyes, tan skin and was boney; near skeletal. The way he looked at Connie put her on edge.

He spoke in a slick and almost adoringly voice. "You look like you aged a bit, but for me..not even a half-hour passed since we met…"  Anger slipped in his voice as he grabbed his collar revealing his third degree burnt collarbone, and slashed throat. " Lucky me, that spell casted us away before you finished the job.."

'Good going you two.' Connie thought in pride as  she arched an eyebrow at the supposed demon. "Maybe you should have stayed in your hole then." 

"So spunky even now, even without your partner. Where is your little demon?  Did he get lost in the streams of time? Maybe crying over your grave in the future as we speak."  

Connie did not like this person at all. His conceit reminded her too much of Kevin of the past. Before she could say anything, Garnet interjected, taking a step forward, her fist tight.

"Who are you? What's your business here?!"

"You golems are so aggressive.." He shrugged  playfully " You know when I finally to this.." He paused to take a deep almost euphoric breath of air. "Realm...The other golems asked me the same thing with weapons towards me. All I said was the truth, I was here to kill a half-demon and his witch harlot..and they attacked."

He smirked as he took a pouch from his pocket opening it upside down as the uncracked but dimmed gems of Peridot, Bismuth, Amethyst  and Lapis, fell towards the street. Garnet caught them giving the two a reassuring smile, before turning to the demon with rage.

"Though they were so grateful to help me recover a bit.. Draining their essence in all, though inorganic energy are never as good as demon or human magical energies. It always leaves me empty...Help me out huh?"

The demoness Amethyst kept her eyes on the demon growling standing behind Connie's leg, only to be surprised by the human's palm on her head comforting her as she kept her eyes on the opponent in front of her, sword in hand.

"Don't worry." Connie looked back at the knee high demoness.  " We got this."

"Confident aren't we.. That's fine." The demon crouched low growling as he did. Black wisps of magic seeped off his body and surrounded Crystal Gems.  "I'll just break your confidence with your body."

While HB was fighting within her hometown, A pink portal was opening up on top of an Empire city roof and through it came the laughter of two teens, who slid out of and almost off it, on a pink lion; Dapper and Witchy. In Witchy's hand was a giant strawberry and on Dapper's back was a couple of Homeworld style sais. 

Woah Boy!" Dapper exclaimed as He wrapped his  hands around his lady's waist keeping her close, as they nearly tipped over. "I'm starting to think Bro was right and you do need parking practice."

Lion responded with an annoyed stare. only for it to turn to a pleased mewling as Witch scratched his head.

"Lion's perfect as he is. Don't listen to those jealous Steven's" She praised as she kissed the jungle cat head.

Dapper just shook his head with a smirk as he climbed down. He walked to the edge of the roof and sat down taking a look at the city below. A bit of a serene look on his face. Wordlessly, he held his hand towards his lady, asking for her company.

"Sheesh." Witchy gave her partner a gentle smile as she joined him, strawberry in her left hand. "You're  so starved for my attention, Steven." Witchy teased as she took a bite of the strawberry, humming in sweet surprise as the juice shot down her throat.  She blushed as she heard him chuckle giving him a small glare.

"What?" 

Dapper shook his head before wiping her  strawberry covered lips with his thumb. "You're a mess, my lady." He slurped up the residue from his thumb with a smirk. "Almost as sweet as you."

Face a beautiful maroon half pout, Witchy wrapped her right arm around Dapper and leaned her head on his shoulders. "I swear. Is every Steven a flirt, tasked with making every Connie a flustered mess."

"I'm sure it's the reverse a good amount of the time as well... if bro and sis is an example of the norm." Dapper chuckled. "Maybe it's an undeniable truth of existence."

Witchy looked up, intrigued but also smugly."What, that you were put on earth to raise my blood pressure?"

"I was put on earth to make your heart race, my lady." Dapper joked flirtatiously, getting a half hearted groan from Witchy. "Jokes aside..I'm starting to think for every 'Steven', there's a 'Connie'."

"Really now?" A relaxed smile graced her face. "It's almost like you're saying our lives are intertwined.. Like we're fated to be with each other or something like soulmates?"

"You jest but there's an older version of us who's the embodiment of 'honeymoon' phase."

"Despite not being 'together'."Witchy added with a knowing smirk.

Dapper nodded in agreement a chuckle of his own before settling to a smile. " Then there's us…"

"Please don't say we're soulmates." Witchy bemoaned.

"But we are!" Dapper announced as he took a bite of the strawberry. "Mmm! That's dang good"

"Hey, get your own, greedy demon." Witchy ordered as she pulled the berry away.

"You're so mean, my lady. Just one more bite." Dapper reached towards the fruit.

 Witchy leaned back trying to keep the fruit away. "Oh, yeah right! I know what a bite from you is like."

"You do, don't you."Dapper stated as he leaned closer to her, his smile falling to a sly grin and his attention on her alone.

Blushing as she was, she didn't back down, deciding  to take a page from HB's book. She cupped his chin and gave him a small coaxing smile. "Of course, I do. I have your mark to prove it, 'soulmate'. "

She chuckled when she saw Dapper, blushed and turned away. "That was smooth, my lady." He looked back at her teasing grin.

"You're adorable when you're flustered. It actually feels good to be on the other side." Witchy impishly poked the demon nose as she giggled.

"Oh role reversal is it?" Dapper gave his lady a dangerous smile as his fingers went to her sides. "then I guess I get to punish you as you would do me."

"Steven, don't you daaaaAhahahaha."

Witchy squirmed and laughed as she succumbed to his tickling. She kicked  and tried to block his careful claws, but it was to no avail. 

"Such a beautiful laugh, my lady. Maybe it's a traif of being a Connie. " Dapper half-joked, he really did love his lady's laugh and preferred it over HB's

"Ahhhhaha,,Like schmaltzy...haha! flirting..Is a Steven trait." Witchy said between laughing and catching her breath.

"You like it!" Dapper stated as he tickled more vigorously getting more laughter from the Witchy.. "Give..Give...Give."

"Nooohahaha! We...Connie's...dohahahaha...don't  falter!" 

"Neither do us Steven's! I guess we're at an impasse, then."

"Wait..I'll give you the..Hahaha..Behahah. The berry!"

Dapper paused for a moment."Tempting…"

Witchy used this moment to catch her breath and try to slip from under him  when he stroked her sides with his claws. 

"But I rather, your laughter." 

"Nohahaha! Wait Lion help!" 

Lion looked at the two antic before walking over and nuzzling Witchy neck as if he was trying to tickle her as well making her laugh even more.

"Nohoho! I've been forsaken, betrayed, and cheated!" Witchy yelled through their affectionate assault. "Ok ok! ..I can't breath...You got it!"

"What was that?" 

"You win!"

Dapper looked at Lion for a moment before grinning at the beast and pressing his skull to him. He rolled over laying next to the tired and still giggling Witchy.

"Connie's never falter huh?"

"You had help." She laughed again, getting a lick from Lion. She turned to the pink cat with  a side smirk. "How are you going to betray your aunt?"

Lion yawned before going to the center of the roof to give them privacy.

The two layed there looking up, hands instinctively  interlocked.

"I'm going to miss this world. It's so fun and peaceful. It's relaxing."

Dapper looked over at his lady, her face was reflective as she stared up at the night sky, stars in her black eyes..

"I mean..it's been awhile since we felt like...Teens..No hunts or anything..It's nice."

"But…"

"I'm ready. I want to go back." Witchy said with conviction. "I miss our world. Miss studying with our Pearl and Garnet, walking around our city with AAmethyst. Miss our garden, our living room, our kitchen. My bedroom..I miss our home."

Dapper watched as his lady wiped her eyes to keep from crying. 

She gave a strained chuckled before continuing  "Strange, I miss our adventurous and comparatively dangerous lives?"

Dapper shook his head. "No I feel the same." 

If you asked Dapper about his opinion on the matter of worlds,  he'd tell you he'd rather be wherever his lady was..Truthly he could see them settling and getting caught in the go with the flow aura of Beach City and Little Homeworld...But it wasn't their world to enjoy.

They didn't put in the work or battle the enemies their older counterparts did and still are if what Mister and HB stated about the peace being 'relative'. They themselves didn't see the relative part of the peace, but there's a reason for LHWR&D and for Mister to still engage in ambassador duties

Still his main concern was staring at him  looking for him to continue. He gave his lady hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm in the same mind as you...but I think part of me wishes you wanted to stay here. Would be easier to keep you safe here."

"So you want to slack on your responsibilities?" She teased the demon turning to him.

"Perish the thought, my lady." Dapper retorted with. grin before facing her. Stroking her chin with the back of his hand. "Just mean I could focus more on making you happy than keeping you safe."

Witchy blushed bright as she looked down " You do both, Steven.  No matter what world we're in. I only feel this safe and happy knowing you're with me." She looked up into his demon eyes and only felt affection from and for them. 

"I'm grateful for it. For entering a contract..for being best friends..for having such a loving and loveable dapper demon as a 'soulmate'." 

"Only for you, my lady." 

It was inevitable. The pull of affection, the city light below them and the natural ones above. The serene silence and their shy and excited smile. They instinctively moved closer. their breath brushing against each other. 

"My lady?"

"Please."

He nodded feeling nervous as he moved in eyes closed lips a thread apart from his lady's…

"Guys!"

The two broke apart as if they were burned  and looked toward Mister..Who was half way out of Lion's mane.. Before either could say anything Mister interrupted..

"Connie's fighting a demon."

That's all they needed to hear.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 12: Eye in the Sky (originally published April 5, 2021)

AN: Now here's a chapter I'm sure you all will find interesting. Out of everything I've heard people declare to be super underutilized in Steven Universe Future, a lot of them say Nephrite shouldn't have been borderline erased from existence. Okay, I'm being a little dramatic there, but you get my point. In fact, none of the other corrupted Gems get anything important to do after Guidance. Well, I plan on changing that right now!

Synopsis: Nephrite needs help coping with corruption trauma, so Steven sets up a therapy group for formerly corrupted Gems.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite, Nephrite's crew

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli, Zuli

Featuring Auli'I Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Kimiko Glenn as Blue Chalcedony

Tara Platt as Heaven and Earth Beetles

Tara Strong as Grossular Diopside

Phillipa Soo as Chrysocolla

Anika Noni Rose as Watermelon Tourmaline

And Aimee Carrero as Moonstone

--

Steven took a deep breath in as his Dondai Supremo wheeled into Little Homeworld while "I'm Looking Forward" played on his radio. "It's just a quick visit, Steven." He muttered to himself. "No need to get so uncomfortable, everyone is just fine."

As Steven stepped out of his car and looked around the Gem village, he found many of its residents minding their business. In particular, he found Cherry Quartz at Lapis's sculpturing class, partnered up with Zuli for an assignment.

"Oh, hey Steven." Cherry greeted Steven and motioned him over to check out the clay pumpkin she and Zuli were working on. "Lapis gave us an assignment to mold a vegetable out of clay, so Zuli and I chose a pumpkin. You like what we got so far?"

"Actually, I think pumpkins are fruits." Steven stated while observing the in-progress gourd model.

"Are you sure?" Zuli wondered, picking up the sculpture she and the Quartz were making. "Then why are they put next to carrots, tomatoes, lettuce, and other foods?"

"That's a pretty loaded question," Lapis said as she turned to the quizzical trio. "Pumpkins do have seeds inside of them like a fruit, but the nutrition is when they're most like-"

"Hi, Steven!" Nephrite interrupted Lapis to greet Steven.

"Hi there Nephrite, been a while since we talked." Steven said to Nephrite. "How are things with you and your crew?"

"Everything's been going good." Nephrite answered while stretching her arms. "Hey, sorry to interrupt you guys, but I came here because I got a little problem in Peridot's class."

"Oh, anything to help you guys." Steven stated, and then he turned to Lapis's students. "Sorry to leave so soon, but I got other things to do."

"It's alright Steven, I think we can manage." Cherry Quartz said before getting back to the pumpkin.

"Alright Nephrite, what are we dealing with?" Steven asked the former Centipeedle mother as they walked over to the greenhouse.

--

Inside the greenhouse, a small group of Gems was huddled around Peridot as she info-dumped about azaleas.

"Although the azalea is very beautiful, it can be very dangerous to humans as well." Peridot explained to her pupils. "The leaves and nectar contain grayanotoxins that can mix with honey to create mad honey, hello Steven, and can cause many symptoms, particularly those related to the heart."

As Peridot continued rambling, Nephrite brought Steven over to a sunflower in a pot that had a little bug-like creature skittering around the soil and stem. "See, that's what I'm talking about." Nephrite said. "Is this little bug bad for my sunflower in any way?"

Steven examined the critter as Nephrite held the pot to his face, allowing him a better look at it. "No, it's nothing to be scared of." He assured Nephrite. "And that's not a bug, it's an anthropod. A centipede to be exact."

Although Steven meant well, the reveal of the creature's name brought chills down Nephrite's spine. She began breathing rapidly, trembling uncontrollably as she dropped the flowerpot in fright and finally, letting out a loud shriek as she dropped to her knees, catching the attention of the rest of the class.

"Is something the matter?" Peridot asked gently while trying to console the formerly corrupted Gem.

"I was just telling her about the little guy that crawled into his sunflower, and then she started having a panic attack!" Steven exclaimed, almost just as lost as everyone else is.

"Maybe she doesn't like that thing." Teal Zircon guessed when she spotted the offending centipede and let it crawl onto her hand. "Aw, look at the little guy. Hey, Steven, you said it was a centipede, ri-"

"DON'T!" Nephrite yelled at TZ. "Don't ever say that word again!"

"Teal, can you stop being so insensitive towards others?" Steven scolded the Zircon.

"Sorry Steven, this was kinda my fault." Teal said remorsefully. "Hey, no hard feelings Nephrite?"

However, Nephrite was still too panicked to respond. She had gone from screaming like crazy to cradling her legs to her chest in front of the other Gems though, but Steven still felt worried for the one-eyed green Gem.

"You are aware that she was a corrupted Gem much like all of you, correct?" Steven said to the other Gems in the class, and they silently nodded before Steven turned to TZ.

"Nephrite, in particular, felt really lost when the Diamonds corrupted most of the Gems unlucky enough to remain on Earth, since she was separated from her crew." He explained. "Thankfully, I was able to reunite them all, but was unable to heal them until I got help from the Diamonds." That was when he got an idea. "That's it!"

--

"Thank you all for coming!" Steven announced to a group of formerly corrupted Gems sitting in a circle of folding chairs. "Now, it's come to my attention that at least one of you is still reeling from having been corrupted for thousands of years. This is a term I call PCSD, or post-corruption stress disorder." He began explaining. "It's kinda like PTSD, but I'm sure you get why it's so different."

Teal Zircon raised her hand, wanting to ask a question.

"Yes TZ?" Steven asked.

"So, where did you get the idea from exactly?" TZ asked Steven. "I mean, you could've just had a one-to-one sesh with Nephrite and you'd kinda get the same effect."

"Well, there are groups like this on TV shows I've heard of." Steven answered. "One guy would sit down with other people suffering the same problem as him, and they'd all take turns telling their stories in the hopes that they would get help. Now, anyone want to go first?"

"Us, us!" the Heaven Beetle exclaimed. "Hello, we're the Heaven and Earth Beetles."

"And we were corrupted." The Earth Beetle added.

"Hi, Heaven and Earth Beetles." The other ex-monsters greeted monotonously.

"See, you're already getting the hang of it!" Steven exclaimed happily. "Now, tell us your story you two."

"Unlike all of you guys, I think our corruption ran the deepest." The Heaven Beetle declared sadly.

"I'm pretty sure we even forgot what kinds of Gems we were." The Earth Beetle added before she took a look at her gem. "I mean, we certainly aren't Diamonds, but what could we be?"

"I think I may have a decent idea of what you could be." Teal Zircon answered before she used her monocle to project a holographic image of Gems that looked similar to the Beetles. "I think you might be Cubic Zirconias. You may be little, but you got a big influence over Homeworld."

"Though I'm curious," Steven responded. "why exactly did you ditch those guys for us when you live such a charmed life?"

"Well, those charmed lives were so drab." The Earth Beetle said. "Would it be oh so wrong to have a little excitement in your lives?"

"That is a good point." TZ muttered, prompting the other Gems seated to applaud the pair of Cubic Zirconias for opening up.

"Thanks you two for coming clean." Steven thanked the tiny twosome. "Now, who wants to go next?"

"I'll go." Orange Spodumene replied as she stood up. "Hello everyone, I'm Orange Spodumene and I was corrupted."

"Hi Orange Spodumene." The Gems greeted Orange Spodumene.

"Back in the old days, I went on many deep-sea adventures to collect life forms in places that no other Gem would dare to go!" Orange Spodumene began telling her story. "You all should've been there, the ocean life was beautiful. One of my favorite adventures was when I collected coral so that there'd be room for this Sea Shrine where tons of time things are stored. I'd be so happy to show you all my collection someday!"

"I never knew you were so into coral." Steven said to the deep sea Gem.

"I don't think you ever asked." Orange Spodumene replied before she continued. "Anyways, I didn't get the message to flee back to Homeworld and hid in the ocean when they pointed right at Earth. I thought that I would be safe from the Diamonds since the ocean is so dark and they couldn't see me, but I thought wrong. For the next couple thousand years, I just kept roaming around the ocean floor until I found Steven and then got bubbled."

"I'll go now." Watermelon Tourmaline said as she got up from her seat. "Hey, I'm Watermelon Tourmaline, and I was corrupted."

"Hi Watermelon Tourmaline." The other Gems said just as monotonously as before.

"Now, you may be wondering, weren't you a single Gem once upon a time? Why are you a fusion all of the sudden?" Watermelon Tourmaline asked rhetorically. "Well, I'm a different Watermelon Tourmaline than the one the Crystal Gems beat. I still find it super weird that there's two of me, but we learned to get along and even smash watermelons from time to time."

"Hey." The other Watermelon Tourmaline waved from her chair.

"Anyways, my components were brought together because Homeworld believed that fusing two Gems of the same type would give them an edge on the battlefield." The primary Watermelon Tourmaline continued speaking. "However, all they got was a big bouncy ball, so they just tossed me out. Didn't stop me from "bouncing back" though!"

The Gems began laughing at the Tourmaline's pun before Chrysocolla stood up. But even among the chucking, Nephrite refused to speak up.

"Hello, I am Chrysocolla." Chrysocolla introduced herself. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Chrysocolla."

"I once used my whips to uproot trees, but when I was that silly Slinker, I used them to be a real pain in the neck for the Crystal Gems." Chrysocolla explained. "But now, I can use my powers to not annoy others, but instead just have fun with them."

"Anything else you'd like to share with the group?" Steven asked Chrysocolla.

"I also have a bit of a fondness for history too." The former Slinker answered. "Particularly that one guy. What was his name again, Anderson Harold? Alexei Hammer?"

"You're probably thinking of Alexander Hamilton." Steven chuckled. "Hey Nephrite, you want to go next?" Nephrite just curled up on her chair and shook her head, much to Steven's disappointment. "Never mind." He muttered. "Uh, Grossular Diopside, how about you?"

"Gladly!" the little Gem exclaimed and stood up on her chair. "Hi, I'm Grossular Diopside, and I was corrupted!"

"Hi, Grossular Diopside."

"I had just emerged in the Alpha Kindergarten when the corrupting light hit, and I just wandered around with no idea what to do." Grossular explained. "But now that I'm here, I don't care what I was originally made for! All I want to do now is just enjoy life here on Earth."

"Hello, I am Blue Chalcedony." Blue Chalcedony said robotically. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Blue Chalcedony."

"I was heavily involved with helping to create new Kindergartens with my drills." Blue Chalcedony said, turning her hand into a drill as an example. "My drills were top of the line, so much that they impossibly kick reason to the curb, which was why Rose recruited me into the Crystal Gems."

"Howdy, I'm Moonstone." Moonstone said last. "And I was corrupted."

"Hi, Moonstone."

"My type of Gem was specifically made for stealth operations." Moonstone revealed. "Heck, we even got more than one weapon for the jobs we got!" As a demonstration, Moonstone began altering various parts of her body into various tools she would've used for her infiltration missions, to everyone's amazement. All except one.

"Hey, I don't think Nephrite over there has said anything yet." Moonstone realized as she gazed at the one-eyed Gem, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat before sadly getting up.

"I'm sorry." Nephrite apologized and began to leave. "I can see you all moved on, but I just can't."

"Nephrite, wait!" Steven cried as she ran after her before turning back to the group. "Uh, you guys go on without us!"

As Steven left, Snowflake Obsidian and Larimar turned to Teal Zircon, who was all too eager to tell her story. "Howdy, I'm Teal Zircon, and I was corrupted!"

"Hi, Teal Zircon."

--

Nephrite strolled sadly back to where it all began at Peridot's greenhouse and gazed down at the flowerpot she had dropped to the ground earlier that day. As it turned out, the centipede that started this whole mess was still there, and she wasn't happy to see it. "This is all your fault." She said angrily to the anthropod and raised a foot, ready to squish it, when someone stopped her in her tracks.

"Nephy!" Steven exclaimed, racing up to Nephrite and hugging her while shooing the centipede away. "I only wanted to help you! But why did you just run away like that?"

"Steven, I'm thankful for the kindness," Nephrite replied. "but sometimes, there are things you can never recover from in seconds flat. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, kinda." Steven admitted. "If it makes you feel any better, I brought along some friends who could help you."

"Captain?" another Nephrite asked for her leader as she and six other Nephrites entered the greenhouse with concern.

"We heard what happened from Steven." Another one of the Nephrites revealed. "How come you never told us about this PC-whatever you were suffering from?"

"Well for one, Steven just made that term up." Nephrite answered. "And second of all, he set up this support group for other corrupted Gems, but I just couldn't bring myself to talk about my experiences no matter how much the other members of the group wanted me to."

"Well don't worry cap, we were here for you back in the Rebellion and we'll be sticking by you now!" a third Nephrite cheered, bringing a smile to their leader's face as she shed a few tears of joy.

"Thanks you guys." Nephrite said as she joined her teammates in a big group hug. "I think I'm ready now."

"That's the spirit." Steven declared and he took Nephrite's hand and led her out of the greenhouse. "Come on, let's get going. I don't know how long TZ can keep talking."

--

"And that was the story of how I realized Jasper would soon become my best friend!" Teal Zircon finished a story for her fellow Gems, and there was much clapping as Steven returned with the Nephrites alongside him. "Oh hey Steven, hey Nephrite! You guys should've seen it, I was telling them all about that fight with Jasper and-"

"I think that's enough TZ." Steven chuckled. "After all, Nephrite's finally ready to talk."

"Oh yeah, I'd love to hear your story." Teal said happily. "No hard feelings about that centipede Nephy?"

"Water under the bridge." Nephrite sighed wistfully. "But still, it pays to be a bit more sensitive of others." With that, she took her seat again and finally began to speak for the other formerly corrupted Gems. "Hello, my name's Nephrite, and I was corrupted."

"Hi, Nephrite."

Nephrite turned to Steven and her fellow Nephrites, who watched on happily. "My crew and I were sent down to Earth to fight for Homeworld in the Gem War. We fought with all our might, but when we were called back home because the Diamonds were about to launch their final attack, our team got separated. I was so scared about what was going on, but then we all got turned into monsters."

The other Gems gasped as Nephrite continued. "When I first met Steven, it wasn't on the best of terms. I think he threw some kind of container at me to poof me."

"That's true." Steven revealed jokingly.

"Anyways, the next times we met were a lot friendlier." Nephrite's story became on its way to a happy ending. "The third time around, he even almost healed me! But it didn't last long, though because of that, I was able to reunite with my crew. They were waiting for me in our old ship this whole time, and I'm pretty sure you know the rest."

The rest of the group aww'd while Nephrite sat down, and she gave her thanks to Steven with an earnest smile. Steven returned it in kind.

--

Sorry this chapter was a bit short compared to the rest, but I feel I did what I wanted to do. And speaking of which, next chapter we move onto Bismuth Casual, which will feature the grand return of a certain "mystery girl" that fans have been begging to see again.

[arisunakayama]

Can We Just Talk? Human!Spinel X Fem!Reader (College!Au) Pt. 2

Walking through the door that led you into your next class, you had reached your seat before the bell had rung. You set your textbook and notebook down, plopping into your seat before letting out a long exhale while you began to slouch into your seat.

'What a great way to start class...' You thought to yourself before a voice right beside your seat had called out your name, catching your attention.

"Hey, (Y/n). You good? You look like something had spooked you on your way to class." Steven asked, his body twisted slightly to look at you as an eyebrow was raised.

"Yeah yeah... I just... Ran into an old friend. It's nothing bad don't worry about it. I just..." You trail off, becoming quieter as you sigh once more.

"Are you sure Hon? It looks like you and your 'old friend's' run in didn't go well." A voice pipe up from the row behind you and Steven.

Turning around you see a familiar face with rainbow color dreads. Bismuth was leaning over her desk looking down at you as her eyebrows were furrowed together.

Bismuth was someone who seemed to stand out to you a lot. Maybe it was because of her beautiful rainbow dreads that had her real hair color fading from the roots and down to her ends into the colorful dye that was in put into her hair. She kept it out of her face with a purple bandanna. Sometimes she'd put it up in a ponytail just so that they'd stay in place whenever she was working on her project in her Wood Shop Class.

She also seemed to have a really soft heart for her friends. You remembered the time she reacted when she had seen her friends once again after coming to the same college as you and the Crystal Gems.

"It didn't... But, no one got hurt at least." You smile sheepishly, laughing nervously before the smile on your lips turned into a frown. "We just had a little argument, that's all..."

"Y'know (Y/n), you're going to have to talk to her again someday right? I mean, you do live on the same dorm floor as 'she' does. It's not good for the both of you to be acting like this with one another." Bismuth crossed her arms, her words getting to you making you look to the side with guilt welling up in your chest.

As much as you didn't want to admit it, she was right. You had to talk to her one day, whether you liked it or not. It wasn't fair to how you were treating Spinel after all that's happened to her. And you acting the way you were with her wasn't helping with getting over her past trauma.

Yet every time you try to even talk to her, you'd freeze up or your words get stuck in your throat. But what made you stop trying to talk to her was the aching feeling in your chest whenever you'd see Spinel and Peep together. Even if you tried so hard to not assume what was going on between them, the ache in your chest along with an overwhelming emotion would stop you from.

You close your eyes for a second before looking at both Steven and Bismuth with a half smile and said that same lie you always tell them.

"Guys, I'm fine, really!" You knew they weren't convinced. Their eyes giving you that look that you've always seen them give you. The look of pity as you lie through your teeth over and over again. But the lie was enough for them to stop pushing for more.

◕✿◕✿◕✿◕✿◕✿◕✿◕✿◕

As class had flew by leading you into the next break time, lunch, you had sat down at a table with your friends that consisted of Garnet, Pearl, Peridot and Lapis.

Peridot was currently sitting by Lapis as she scrolled through her phone, looking for anything new in her feed. Her lime green eyes flickering back and forth from whatever she was looking at on the screen.

She was pretty smart honestly despite being glued to the screen of her electronics. But despite all of that, Peridot could be sweet. It even went with Lapis.

Lapis was actually pretty untrusting with you the first few months of you being in her group. If anything, she didn't really let you in until after maybe a month ago. But once she let you into her little circle of friends, she also became pretty sweet towards you. You still gave her space though due to what happened between her and Jasper...

"So (Y/n), I heard from Steven that you had an encounter from Spinel again." Peridot piped up making you internally curse at her for bringing up what happened.

"What? Did she do anything to you?" Pearl looked at you. The concern in her eyes as her eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We pretty much had talk which was... Cut short." You sit up straight while you scratched the back of your neck, mumbling the last part.

"(Y/n)... " Garnet had taken off her sunglasses, her Ruby ans Sapphire eyes looking straight into you (e/c) eyes. "You're going to have to talk to her at some point. You do know this right?"

You did know this and you honestly didn't want it to come to that. At least right now that is. It took you a moment to look back at Garnet.

"Yeah... I know..." You sighed.

"Okay averting this topic, what's everyone doing after school?" Lapis piped in, her head resting on her hand as she looked at everyone.

“Steven had asked me and Garnet for help on some homework he had. So we’re going to help him after school.” Pearl smiled. The both of them, along with Amethyst, had known Steven for quite some time actually along with his mother, Rose. They’ve always viewed him as their kid or as their little sibling when it came to raising Steven with his father, Greg Universe.

"I might just go back to the dorm since there's nothing really to do honestly..." You hummed and you closed your eyes for a few seconds. “Just probably go and watch some YouTube or go look at some stuff on Tumblr.”

"Just hang out in our dorm then." Peridot said, not looking up from her phone as she continued to scroll through her feed.

"You sure? I don't want to interrupt anything that'll go on between you and Lapis here." You grinned as both Lapis and Peridot glared at you, their face flushing before Lapis punched you in the arm.

"Ow ow! Okay I'm sorry!" You laughed, rubbing your arm while Pearl and Garnet chuckled.

"You're not coming into our dorm anymore..."

"No! No! Lapis I'm sorry!" You cry, laughing even harder than before making her roll her eyes and push you away while she snickered.

“Excuse me... (Y/n). Could I talk to you?” A familiar voice piped up from behind.

You had twisted your body to see who had called you only for your eyes to meet familiar pink one. Peep had smiled down at you softly as she cocked her head to the side. Your eyes wide a you felt your throat closing up a bit.

“O-Oh... H-Hi, Peep...” You muttered out, giving her a nervous chuckle as you had made yourself small. “What did you need to talk about..?”

“It’s better if I talk to you in private, considering it’s between you and you know who...” 

‘Fuck.... How did I know that she was going to talk about her...’ You mentally screamed in your head. A soft whine had escaped from your mouth as you looked away.

“...Sure um...” You look back at your friends “I’ll be right back in a bit. If not then I’ll see you guys after school.” The four had all looked at each other before looking back you, their heads nodding as they gave you a look telling you to be careful. After that, you had gotten up from your seat and looked back at Peep who motioned you to follow her. Which you did.

The both of you had ended up in an empty classroom, you entering through the door before closing it behind you with a soft click. You look back at Peep.

“So, what did you want to talk about... With me and Spinel..?” 

“How come you keep avoiding Spinel? She keeps wondering what she did that made you drift away from us... From her?” Peep had frowned. Her eyes staring into yours hoping that you’d give her a straight answer. But instead you just stared at her, your (e/c) eyes staring straight into her light pink ones. A sigh had escaped through your mouth before you took a step towards her, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder as you never left your stare on her eyes.

Might as well tell her some of the truth of why you left.

“Peep... As much as I hate to admit this, I’m a terrible communicator. You know this... But, I left because I felt like I was a third wheel between you and Spinel. I felt as if I was being left out whenever I’d hangout with you guys...” You weren’t entirely wrong. You gave her a sheepish smile only for it to fall into a frown as you looked to the side, guilty for not being able to talk to them like you should’ve. For leaving them confused.

“I’m a terrible friend, aren’t I? Especially for leaving without saying a thing to you guys. Especially to Spinel considering what happened to her between her and Rose...” You hung your head low as Peep looked at you with wide eyes.

“Why didn’t you just tell us?” A voice had come from the doorway, startling both you and Peep. You turn your head towards the doorway and paled seeing the one person you were currently trying to avoid.

It was Spinel.

[solavillain]

Pas de Deux Ch. 2: Your New Best Friend

+pairing: Spinel x fem!Reader +genre: Drama, romance, angst, slow burn, enemies to friends to lovers +warnings: None (for now) +word count: 3K +Chapter 2 / ?  previous || next

Read on AO3!

Eventually, all the Gems emerge, just as off and different as Pearl had been. Garnet hasn’t even reformed, and Ruby is patrolling back and forth near Sapphire, glaring at anyone who got near. Amethyst can only mimic people, and her hair was shorter; her limbs seeming almost like doll joints.

“Steven, what is going on with them?” You ask, worry plain on your face. You had never seen any of the Gems poof, but you knew they didn’t usually come back like...this.

He doesn’t seem to hear you, his gaze focused on the newest Gem, who Pearl had called “Spinel” a few moments ago. She was entirely different from when she had first arrived. Her pigtails were now heart-shaped buns on the top of her head, her clothes were a white and light pink combination rather than the black and deep pink they were when she had landed. And perhaps the biggest change was that her heart shaped gem was no longer upside down. This was certainly strange, as you had never heard about gem positioning changing in between reforming. You’d have to ask Pearl...

“Oh, right,” you think sadly, “she doesn’t have any clue who I am right now.” You turn your attention to Steven and Spinel, tuning back in to their conversation.

“You!” Steven exclaims, rushing over to her and shaking her gently. “What have you done to us?”

Spinel giggles lightly and pokes him on the nose. “Boop! Hee hee, now it’s your turn!”  

She wraps her arms around Steven at least five times, lifts him into the air, and starts to shake him up and down vigorously with a rather vacant look in her eyes.

“Ah! Hey, uh...Spinel?” You say, gingerly placing a hand on her shoulder. “He doesn’t look like he’s enjoying that too much, hmm? Maybe you could put him down?”  

Spinel directs her gaze to the boy in her stretched arms, a worried look briefly flashing over her features before the vacancy returns.   “Okay!” She exclaims cheerfully, and lets Steven fall out of her grip. He falls to the floor unceremoniously, landing on his face.

You move to check on Steven, who seems much weaker than usual. Before you can say anything, Spinel walks up between the two of you and points at the others.

“Hey look! There’s more Gems!” You blink in surprise, wondering how she’s only just noticing them for the first time.   “Well, if she’s really somehow supposed to be Steven’s best friend, maybe it’s a bit like Pearl’s sudden devotion to Greg...”

You turn your attention to your group of friends, your heart sinking with every second you gaze at them. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Amethyst was going to take you to Little Homeworld tonight, you were finally going to spend some time with the “New Crystal Gems” as Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot had taken to calling themselves. You had been so excited...how did this get so twisted? “Oh,” you think snidely, “right. Her.”

The pink Gem standing on your left was now bouncing in place, a small grin plastered across her features. You have to work to stop returning her smile; her happiness seems almost infectious. You can almost forget that she caused all this mess in the first place with her bubbly persona brightening up the room every time she speaks “Let’s ask ‘em to play!” Spinel exclaims, referring to the Crystal Gems.

Steven turns to her, confusion plain on his face, “Wait, you mean you don’t remember?”

“Remember what?”

“Oh boy,” you sigh.   Steven looks between Spinel and the Gems, and groans in frustration, “Just...everyone follow me!” He leads everyone to the base of Lighthouse Park, the Injector still perched smack dab in the center, the sickly pink liquid still bubbling occasionally.  

“Wowee!” Spinel exclaims, “That thing sure is big! You wanna climb it, or something?” She looks to you and Steven, and dances happily in place.   You shake your head with a small smile. “No, Spinel. This Injector is...you brought it here. You said something about it hurting Steven’s human half...” You trail off and look at Steven, who’s standing to your left in between you and Spinel. “You really don’t remember bringing this, attacking us?”

Spinel squints at you and Steven, and one of her spindly arms twists on its way up to scratch her head. “Uh, I did what now?”

You and Steven sigh in unison, exchanging a glance of concern. If she really doesn’t remember, and the Gems are out of commission, this was looking pretty bad. Who knew what that stuff was going to do to Beach City? To the Earth? And as far as you knew, the Cluster was still in the planet’s core, albeit bubbled by Steven. But still, that hadn’t stopped it from activating when the Diamonds had come during Garnet’s wedding. You hadn’t been around for that, as it had been May and you had still been finishing up your college finals, but from the story the Gems had told you , it had certainly been an epic fight. If the Cluster had partially formed from the Diamonds arriving on the surface, who’s to know what would happen if something was injected down to the core?

You turn to Greg, trying to keep thinking positively for Steven’s sake. Greg seems too preoccupied with Pearl right now, or at the very least, trying to get Pearl to stop staring at him.   Suddenly, Lion walks down from the hill, and you smile; Lion always cheers Steven up when he’s feeling down.

“How about you Lion, what do you think of all this?” Steven asks his companion, giving the animal a hug. After a moment, he pulls away, a confused look on his face. “Ugh, what now...” he mumbles, and pulls out Spinel’s weapon from earlier. “Please please please...”

He pushes the retracted scythe against Lion’s mane and lets go, the weapon falling to the sand with a soft thud. You look between him and Lion in concern- you've seen Steven actually jump into Lion before, and store assortments of random objects for later. If he can’t access that power, then...

“What? I can’t store things in Lion’s mane now?! That’s like the easiest thing I do!” Steven exclaims, interrupting your worried thoughts. His shoulders sag for a moment, and he picks up the weapon.  

“Y/n, Dad, what do I do? I’ve got no Gems to help me...except...” He turns towards Little Homeworld, and realization flashes across his face.  

“Oh, duh!” He exclaims, slapping his forehead lightly. “Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot! C’mon guys, let’s go figure out how to fix this!”

You start to follow Steven and Spinel, the latter of whom was bounding after Steven with carefree laughter. You turn after a few steps, as does Steven, realizing you don’t hear anyone else following.

“Uh, guys? Greg?” You ask, taking a couple steps back towards the other group.

“Oh, Um-Greg! Allow me!” Pearl insists, stopping Greg before he could follow you and Steven. She materializes an umbrella from her gem and holds it out over Greg.   “Uh...” He starts, holding out his hands in protest. Amethyst suddenly shape-shifts into Greg, which momentarily confuses Pearl; she switches the umbrella back and forth between the two versions of Steven’s dad.  

“R-Ruby? Sapphire?” Steven calls out, sounding more worried by the second.

“She’s not going anywhere with you!” Ruby yells, taking up a defensive stance in front of Sapphire. “I...do see us following him to the country-side,” Sapphire remarks, and begins to walk towards Steven, nodding to you as she passes.

“Never mind! We’re going...” Ruby says reluctantly, and rushes ahead to Sapphire, who has already surpassed the group.

“Wait! Don’t leave me alone with these two!” Greg calls out, glancing worriedly at Pearl and Amethyst, who still hasn’t shifted back to her regular form.

“Steven, do you want me to stay with them?” You ask, trying to be as much help as you possibly can be. Spinel's face darkens and she moves closer to you, but avoids looking directly at you. “What’s that about...” You think, glancing to the pink Gem.

“Dad can handle Pearl and Amethyst. They’re harmless, and he knows them, so he’ll be fine. I just...Kinda want another human around while we figure everything out, especially since Connie can’t be here.”

Your gaze softens, and you remember that Steven really is just a teenager. An extraordinary teenager who has done countless good deeds for the Earth and for the universe as a whole, but a teenager nonetheless. You can’t imagine how off-putting it must be to not be able to control his powers anymore, and to have no idea how to solve the mess Spinel has caused.

“Yeah, dude, I have your back,” you say with a reassuring pat to Steven’s shoulder. “Lead the way! I was supposed to see Bismuth and the others tonight anyway, so I’m all set for however long this ends up taking.”

The group opts to make the trek to Little Homeworld, foregoing the warp for now. Steven said that part was still under construction, and though he’d used it earlier today, he didn’t know if it had been installed yet. He didn’t want your whole group to walk off the warp pad and fall 50 feet. That was fine with you- you'd only warped a couple times, when Pearl wanted to explain some Gem battles or train you in the Sky Arena. You still hadn’t quite gotten the hang of it, and it always took you a couple minutes after warping to feel regular again. You wanted to have all your wits about you for today, and with the Injector looming above the town doing who knows what to the Earth, you definitely need a clear head.

After the slightly long walk to the town, Steven found the three “New Crystal Gems” on top of one of the buildings still under construction. Bismuth was always hard at work, and you really admired her work ethic with everything she does, even if she can get a bit intense about it sometimes.

Steven leads your group over to a small lift on the side of the building, and you all make the slow ascent. You glance over at Steven, who’s doing his best to not look utterly defeated.

“Hey dude, you all right?” You ask softly.

“Yeah, I... well, no, honestly I’m not, Y/n,” Steven answers honestly. “I’m so worried about the Gems, and I’m even more worried about that thing,” he gestures to the Injector, “and I just want this to be over so I can get back to my happily ever after. Everything was going so well...”  

“Hey, it’s okay not to be all right,” you say sympathetically, “I’m worried as hell too. And I can't even really do anything to help...”

“You’re helping right now,” Steven says with a kind smile.  

You return his smile as the lift reaches the top. The three Gems don’t seem to notice your group immediately; they’re gazing out over Little Homeworld, lost in conversation.  

Steven calls out to get their attention, "Bismuth, Lapis, Peridot! Guys, I’m really glad to see you.”  

The group turns, and Peridot’s face lights up. “Steven! And Y/n, too, hi! Look, now Little Homeworld is 91.4% complete!” Steven gives her a weak smile, “That’s...great Peridot, really. But I think you guys should take a look at something...”

He gestures back towards Beach City and the Injector with a grim look on his face. You walk to the side of the building with them as Peridot pulls out binoculars from a box and stares at the Injector.

“She rode in on that?!” Peridot exclaims, lowering the binoculars and looking at you and Steven in disbelief.

“Yeah...she said my human half wouldn’t stand a chance against her Injector,” Steven replies.

“What does that mean?” Lapis asks, exchanging a look with Peridot as Bismuth walks back towards Ruby and Sappire. “No idea,” Steven replies, “but if it’s something that will hurt my human half, then it can’t be good for Y/n, or the rest of Beach City either...”

“Why don’t we just ask her?” Peridot asks, looking around for Spinel.

You look around as well- you haven’t seen her since you got to the top of the building; where could she be? Did she remember something and run off to attack Pearl and Amethyst? You start to panic, until she pops up from behind Steven yelling, “Surprise!”

You roll your eyes, fighting back a small smile. She definitely hasn’t remembered anything yet, and in this form she’s still rather endearing. If a bit annoying...

“Here she is...my new best friend, Spinel,” Steven says with a sigh, presenting the Gem to the others.

“A pleasure to meet you all,” Spinel says with a flourish and a bow. She glances up at you staring at her and giggles and winks.  

“What...?”

Before you can think too much about it, Bismuth interrupts your thoughts. “I thought you said she was just trying to kill you?”

“Wow, quick turn around,” Lapis says with a mischievous look in her eye.

“No kidding! It took me months to stop trying to kill Steven,” Peridot remarks.

“Eh, for me it was a day, day and a half,” Bismuth jokes, grinning at her friends.

“I’m still on the fence,” Lapis says, which causes the group to burst into laughter. You giggle along, momentarily forgetting the dire situation. You had a feeling that once this was all over, you were really going to love getting to know this group. They seemed like such great friends, and it felt like you and Amethyst would blend in easily whenever you all got together.

“All right, let's see this thing she hit you with,” Peridot says, turning to you and Steven with a determined look on her features. You step aside, moving next to Spinel so Steven and Peridot can have some space to examine the weapon.

“Psst! Hey, you! What’s goin’ on?” Spinel asks in a loud whisper, tugging on your arm.

You look down to your left. She’s shorter in this form, and though you’re about average height, she’s still a couple inches shorter than you, her heart-shaped buns just reaching the middle of your face.  

You give her a small smile and reply, “Well, you don’t remember, I guess, but you brought that weapon they’re examining, so we’re trying to figure out what it is and what it did to everyone.” You gesture towards Ruby and Sapphire. “Those two don’t normally...look or act like this, and we want to get everyone back to normal so we can help save Beach City. We don’t know what the Injector you brought does...but we want to stop it before anything bad happens.”

Spinel stares up at you, intently listening to every word. “Ooh, I get it! Ok, I’ll help too!” She exclaims, standing up straighter and puffing her chest out slightly. You giggle, finding her posturing rather cute. She may still not have any clue what was going on, but at least she’s trying.

Spinel grins, glancing at you from the side, not moving from her important helpful position.   “She seems happy that she made me laugh,” you think fondly, returning her smile.  

Just then, Bismuth snatches the scythe from Peridot, who had been holding it up to her eye. You jump in surprise, turning your attention back to the conversation.

“Be careful with that!” She warns, “It’s a rejuvenator.”

Pressing on the button, Bismuth displays the weapon for everyone, carefully holding it out at arm's length. You flash back to a few hours ago, when the innocent Gem to your left had been attacking your friends and causing them to forget you. You furrow your brow at the thought, your heart feeling sad again. You can’t allow yourself to get so caught up in Spinel’s games that you forget what she’s done, even if she’s forgotten herself.

Bismuth continues her explanation. “Homeworld used to use these things on Gems that started steppin’ outta line. One hit with this...you’re back to how they made you,” she finishes, gazing down at Ruby and Sapphire sadly.

“What are you looking at,” Ruby says, holding out a protective hand in front of her Sapphire.

Your eyes widen as Bismuth’s explanation sinks in- the Gems, your friends...they really were reset. They had no idea who you were, where they were, and-  

“Oh, Steven,” you say kindly, placing a tentative hand on his shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

“Oh my stars, I touched it!”

You turn to Peridot at her outburst, a disbelieving look on her face.

“I could have lost all my character development!”  

You snort, trying to hold in laughter. Peridot was definitely funny as hell, whether she tried to be or not. Suddenly, a thought strikes you.

“Wait...how did you survive being hit by the rejuvenator, Steven? I know you’re only half Gem, but still...”

He furrows his brow, but then a look of realization comes over him. “I...I think I didn’t,” he answers, “My human half kept me from poofing, but- but my Gem half, it took the hit! She sent me back; it’s like I’m a kid again! I can barely control my powers...how do we reverse this?” Steven looks frantically between you and the New Crystal Gems, searching for answers. Bismuth holds out the retracted weapon and places it back in Steven’s hand. You meet his eyes, trying to reassure him with a look. But you don’t have any answers for him. You wrap your arms around your middle, trying to hold it together for him. For everyone. You know you can’t do much, not to the extent that a Gem or even Connie can do, but you can at least be emotionally strong for your friends.  

“You’re the one with healing powers...” Lapis says softly, “If anyone can fix this, it’s you.”

“I can’t believe this...for the first time in years, everyone’s in danger, everybody needs me! And I’m useless!” Steven glances worriedly at the Injector, and then at Spinel, who hasn’t left your side since she made you laugh.  

He turns towards Bismuth and asks, “What do we do?” “I’m sorry, Steven...I don’t know.”

You turn to Bismuth in shock. Even she doesn’t know? And she knew what the weapon was...but has no way to fix it.  

Things were looking grim.

[starscheme]

With All My Heart

Chapter Twenty-One: The Last Obstacle?

A few hours had passed since Sodalite was healed. Once Garnet had reformed, the blue Gem spent nearly half an hour apologizing. It seemed even without taking in a Gems negative feeling, she was a rather anxious Gem.  Since she had come here looking for Pink, Steven had to explain what happened to his mother. It took little while, but eventually Sodalite understood and told them how she had gotten to earth.

Sodalite explained that she had escaped Homeworld before she was supposed to be shattered. When she heard about Pinks Colony, she tried to make her way to Earth, certain that Pink would protect her from Blue. Or at the very least, let her hide on Earth. Unfortunately, her ship malfunctioned and exploded somewhere in space. She floated aimlessly among the stars, her Gem broken from the explosion, until she met a girl that promised to help her. The girl pointed the way to Earth and vanished.

“So…this girl just happened to show up and help you before completely disappearing?” asked Garnet.

Sodalite nodded her head, “Yes. …At times I wondered if I had imagined her. I can’t even recall what she looked like. I just remember that she called herself Mara.”

“Mara…” Garnet repeated. “…well, we can look into that later. For now, we can get you a place to stay here on Earth.”

“I…I can’t stay with him?” Sodalite asked meekly as she pointed to Lars. Since he was the first person that didn’t frighten her, she had grown attached rather quickly.

Lars flinched a bit, “Ah, well I’m sure you’d feel more comfortable in your own home, right?”

“Come on. We can figure this all out on the way to Little Homeworld.” Garnet stated as she gently shooed Lars and Sodalite towards the door. “I’m sure you two have something to talk about. See you later,” added Garnet before she left the house with the other two.

Alone in the house again, Steven and Spinel stood in the middle of the living room, still reeling a bit from everything that had happened. It all started and ended so quickly and it was because of Sodalite that they all had been emotional and irrational. Spinel couldn’t help but worry that Steven might regret some of the choices he made while affected by Sodalite.

“…I guess…things should be calming down now, right?” Spinel asked, trying to break the silence.

“I hope so, but our lives are never that calm anyway,” Steven replied with a smile. He felt much more like himself now that all those awful feelings had been lifted from the air. “Garnet was right though, you and I need to have a talk before the others get back.”

Spinel didn’t like the sound of that. That’s usually what Pearl said when she had bad news or was about to scold her. Still, it’s not like she could run away from whatever he wanted to tell her. “O…Okay…” she mumbled sheepishly as she braced herself.

“We need to decide how to tell the others about us…” Steven began with a blush.

Spinel’s breathe hitched a bit, surprised by what he said. Tell the others? “…you mean…?”

“Well…I mean…I know we never really talked about making anything official,” Steven continued awkwardly. “…I wanted to wait and talk about it after we spoke to Pearl and the others…and I still need to speak with Connie. Just to clear the air you know? …and when my Dad gets back I’m sure he’ll be surprised…”

“S-So, you still want to be with me?! Like—like regular humans do?” Spinel asked with a hopeful smile.

Steven stared at Spinel with a blank expression for a moment. “Y…yeah. Did you think--? Seriously? After all this, you still think I’m gonna just change my mind and decide I don’t want you?”

Spinel shrunk a little, “…I was just…worried…” she admitted. “I still feel like I’m gonna wake up and find out I dreamed all this…”

Steven stepped  up to her and took Spinel’s hands before he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Well, if it does turn out to be dream, I’m pretty happy that you’re in it with me.”

Her cheeks burned terribly, “that’s so cheesy,” Spinel giggled.

“Well, you know me,” Steven laughed lightly. “…I hope Pearl won’t be too against this. I’m sure she will have something to say about it when we talk to her.”

“…She said she was worried I would get hurt,” began Spinel, “but I wonder if that’s really all it is.”

“It doesn’t matter if she disapproves or not. It will certainly make things awkward, but I’m sure in time she will come around. I just want to make things clear with them so that they all know exactly how our relationship will change. …and I…still want you to sleep in my bed, but I’m sure they won’t be too keen on that.”

“Why not? I’ve slept in your bed a lot of times.”

“Well…just because we’ll be alone in bed…and I might have trouble controlling myself—you know we can talk about all that stuff later on!” Steven backtracked quickly. They had a lot of stuff they needed to discuss, but most of it could wait until later. For now, just clearing the air with a few people was going to be difficult enough.

“I’m sure Lars will be happy that everything will be settled. We’ve troubled him a lot the past few days.” Spinel commented, still feeling guilty for putting their friend through so much because of her rash actions.

“You know…” began Steven irately, grabbing her waist and pulling her forward to hold her flush against his chest. “This is the second time you’ve mentioned his name when we’re close like this. Are you doing this on purpose?”

The moment he pulled her close, Spinel felt her heart skip a beat. “N-no. I just…thought he might be angry and I felt guilty.”

“I’m sure he’s not mad. He was trying to help, but if it makes you feel better, we can apologize to him again later on.” Steven smiled. Spinel often seemed irresponsible, but she cared so much about people. “In the meantime, do you want to rest a bit? It’s been such a long couple of days.”

As usual, Spinel wasn’t tired, but she was sure that Steven needed a nap after everything that happened. Nodding her head, she allowed Steven to lead her by the hand up to his bedroom. Steven really must have been tired, it wasn’t long after they laid down on the bed that he fell asleep while hugging Spinel close. She smiled while she looked at his sleeping face. All of this must have really worn him out. It was easy to forget how drained his human half could get. Still, she wasn’t lying to Steven before. There was a big part of her that worried this was all some dream. Even so, Spinel closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, finding it hard to stay awake when she was so comfortable.

While Steven and Spinel slept, the other Crystal Gems finally made their way home. Pearl took part in finding Sodalite a place to stay after tearing her away from Lars with some difficulty. Garnet and Amethyst healed the broken Gems and explained to them what had happened. Peridot was over the moon to have Lapis back to normal, though equally annoyed that her robonoids hadn’t found Garnet before this all got out of hand. As they were about to enter the house, Garnet stopped Pearl to speak with her.

“Now, remember what I told you,��� Garnet began quietly.

“I know…” Pearl sighed, “…I’ll…keep an open mind, but—“

“—Just let them talk,” continued Garnet, “it might be difficult for you, but let them say their piece before you voice your concerns. Steven is growing fast and this is all new to Spinel. It’s going to be confusing enough for them, we shouldn’t pile on.”

Pearl knew Garnet was right, but this was hard for her. Spinel was like her little sister and Steven like a son. She always assumed he would fall in love with a Human and live a relatively normal human life with her. Also, what if one of them hurt the other? Two people that were very important to her would be upset. She didn’t like those odds at all. “I’ll do my best,” replied Pearl.

With that, they stepped inside the house. Pearl had expected for Spinel and Steven to be waiting for them, but when she didn’t see either of them, she couldn’t help feeling anxious. Had they gone to Rose’s room in the temple again? Just to make sure, Pearl walked up the stairs to Steven’s bedroom, and was surprised to find Spinel and Steven in bed asleep. Though she walked up to the bed with the intent of waking Spinel to make her leave, when she looked down at the two, Pearl lost her will to interfere. Steven looked so content while he held Spinel close and as she slept, Spinel’s gem was glowing lightly. Sighing in defeat, Pearl grabbed an extra blanket and placed it gently over the two. She still had her concerns about this, but for now, she would let them sleep and hope that their dreams were pleasant ones.

 When morning finally came, Spinel woke up in bed alone, a little disappointed that Steven had left with without waking her. Without Steven here, there wasn’t much point staying in his room. Ascending the stairs, she found herself a little confused to see the others Gems sitting at attention on the couch while Steven stood in front of them.

“Ah, I was just about to wake you,” Steven remarked before holding out his hand for her.

It was then that Spinel knew what was going on. They were going to talk about this so soon? She wasn’t so worried about Garnet or Amethyst, but she already knew that Pearl didn’t like this. With a deep breath, Spinel stepped over and took his hand, facing the others along with him. This was terribly awkward. It felt a lot like she was asking their permission to be with Steven and wasn’t sure what to do if they refused.

“…Well, um…I’m sure this isn’t a big surprise to you guys…” began Steven as he cleared his throat. After all, Pearl had caught them a couple of times in an intimate situation, Garnet could see the future, and Amethyst just seemed like she had expected this to happen. “…but um, I wanted to make it clear that...I…have feelings for Spinel and we—“

“—I LOVE STEVEN!” Spinel shouted nervously, finding herself panicking more than she thought she would.

Steven flinched a bit, surprised by her outburst. Perhaps they should have gone over what to say. “…y-yes…and I…love Spinel too,” he added, hoping Spinel would be less anxious about this as they went on. “Just to be clear, we’re not asking permission to be together or anything. …I wanted to tell you all because you’re important to me and…obviously since it’s Spinel and she’s been with you all for a long time…and we all live together…it just seemed like the right thing to do. …so…that’s…what we wanted to say.” He finished awkwardly. He’d played this out in his head, but facing them and talking about Spinel like this felt like strange. Surely telling his Dad would be a lot easier.

Amethyst smiled and shrugged her shoulders, “well, whatever you guys want to do, I’m cool with it.”

“Have you two really thought about this?” asked Pearl, her expression revealing that she was holding a lot back.

“What’s there to think about?” replied Steven, preparing himself for an argument. He knew how attached to Pearl Spinel was and she really took her words to heart. He didn’t want anything Pearl said to make Spinel doubt this or feel guilty.

“Lots of things,” insisted Pearl as she stood from her seat. “Spinel, you were MADE to care and love for your best friend, are you sure you’re not just confusing those feelings because you’ve never been in love before? And Steven, human feelings are meant to change, what if you fall for someone else? Or find you would rather be with a human girl? If you’re with a Gem, you surely won’t have a normal relationship like other humans. Not to mention, even if you won’t age as fast humans, you are still aging and Spinel won’t age at all. What if--?”

Garnet had stood and placed her hand on Pearls shoulder to stop her. Even with her warning not to pile too much stress on them, Pearl couldn’t seem to help it.

Steven glanced at Spinel and frowned when he saw her troubled expression. Sure enough, she looked like she was being berated by her older sister. “No, we haven’t talked about those things, because they are all just negative ‘what ifs.’ Starting a relationship…why would anyone constantly bring up the things that might go wrong? Spinel and I can’t see the future, but I’m not planning on any of that to happen. I don’t doubt that Spinel is being honest about her feelings and I’m certainly not planning on leaving Spinel on a whim, I’d like to think my feelings are stronger than that.”

“…B-but you two are so young, do you even really know what it means to devote yourself to someone? Saying you are in love…this could just be a crush or—“

“It’s not just some crush,” Steven insisted, gripping Spinel’s hand gently. “I’d know if it were. …I’ve known Spinel all my life, but I’m not a little kid anymore. Growing up…she’s been my best friend and I think…now that I’m older and understand what it means to love someone…romantically, my feelings for her started to change without me really knowing it.”

“Me too…” Spinel began finally. “…Steven’s always been my friend. It’s true that I...was made to be Pinks best friend and I was sure that meant I was made to be Steven’s friend too, but…this feeling is so big…I can’t be confusing it for something else. …and if I was confusing this feeling…wouldn’t I have been confused with Pink too? It’s not like this feeling happened overnight. In the last year or so…this feeling has just been building and getting stronger. So much so…it almost hurts.”

Steven blushed as Spinel spoke, mostly glad that she hadn’t let Pearls words question her feelings. Pearl appeared as if she had more to say, but Garnet stepped in front of her with a calm smile. “Pearl isn’t wrong. Because of how different you two are, there is a lot to consider, but that doesn’t mean this is doomed to fail or that your feelings aren’t real. Ultimately, the most important thing is that you two are happy.”

“O-of course we want you two to be happy,” added Pearl with a nervous smile. She didn’t want them to think she was trying to pry them apart; she was just concerned and honestly a little scared. Though she would prefer this never happened, Pearl didn’t want them to hate her if she was too against it. “…I’m just worried about you both…”  

After a little while of Spinel and Steven trying to reassure Pearl that everything would be okay, she seemed to finally concede defeat, at least for now. Still, it was clear that this was going to be an uphill battle with her. Even when the talk was over and Steven said they were going to take a walk, they were lucky Garnet was there to keep Pearl from tagging along. She seemed horribly reluctant to leave them alone together.

Once he and Spinel were outside walking along the sand, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. He figured Pearl would be difficult, but the talk was more exhausting than he anticipated. “…that…took longer than I thought.” He said finally.

“It would have been really short if it were just Amethyst and Garnet. …Pearl really seems like she doesn’t want us together…” replied Spinel, her pigtails drooping lightly.

“It doesn’t matter,” he added quickly, “like I said, we weren’t asking for permission. No matter what they ended up saying…I was prepared to stand my ground.”

Spinel nodded. Though initially she had been afraid that Pearl would disapprove, when it felt like she was about to, Spinel only felt more determined. “I don’t want Pearl to be upset with me, but...I nearly shattered at the thought of being without you. …so I know for sure that these feelings are real.”

Being forced to recall that incident, Steven felt a pit form in his stomach. She didn’t want to be without him and when he thought she was going to shatter, he couldn’t imagine a life without her either. He was just glad he didn’t have to lose her to realize how he felt about her. After all that happened, he wasn’t about to let a few disapprovals make him miss out on being happy with his best friend. Of course he didn’t know how the future would play out, but he wasn’t planning on making Spinel unhappy. He had the opportunity to make her happier than she had ever been and he wouldn’t let that pass him by. “I’m sure Pearl will come around. In the meantime, you and I will be together…and that’s all I need.”

Spinel blushed, unable to hide her joy as her Gem began to glow softly. “…that’s all I need too.”

Steven stopped walking, glad to see Spinel’s sweet smile. He truly loved her smile. Taking her hand, he leaned forward to kiss her lips, but was interrupted when they heard Pearl calling for them frantically from the house. With an irritated sigh, Steven pulled back and looked back at the house. “…I’m going to talk to Pearl about some…boundaries. Let’s head back before she comes after us.” He relented, turning to walk back, already prepared to argue with Pearl about some privacy issues that were already frustrating him.

Spinel laughed softly as she watched him walk off, but before she was able to take a step forward and follow after him, she was distracted by a strange flash of bright light that forced her to cover her eyes for a moment.

“Spinel? Are you coming?” Steven called back, waiting for her just a little up ahead.

Though she felt lightheaded at first, with a quick shake of her head, everything was back to normal. She was sure the sun had just gotten in her eyes and thought nothing more of it as she ran over to join Steven. No matter what obstacles they faced now, none of that would matter so long as she could be with him. Together with him, they could handle anything that came their way, couldn’t they?

 A/N: As of this Chapter, With All My Heart has ended. I’m so grateful for everyone’s support and interest in this story. Thank you all for sticking with Steven and Spinel while they sorted out their feelings. The Sequel, “Only You,” will be out tomorrow with its first Chapter and I hope you will all like that story just as much, if not more. :)

Short Summary of Only You:

It’s been a few months since Spinel and Steven made everything official and Steven is planning a big surprise for his Gem Girlfriend on their anniversary. However, when Steven notices a troubling change in Spinel, he goes to the other Gems for help. What they discover will change their futures and threaten to destroy Steven and Spinel’s relationship forever. What should have been a day to celebrate their love becomes a race against the clock. What’s happened to Spinel? Will Steven be able to help her before everything falls apart?

[captainillogical]

Devil’s Ballroom ch.1

A year after the events from the earth’s final attack, Little Homeworld is finally complete, and there’s a new jazz bar where gems and humans mingle and drink. - As you’re typing back a reply, someone pulls the stool out next to you and takes a seat. You see a sliver of pink out of the corner of your eye as you try not to actually Look. Oh god. It’s her. God can’t help us now.

Spinel/Reader

collab with my lovely wife @firstofficertightpants

Beach City was a small, lovely town, where pretty much everyone knew each other from the inner city to the boardwalk. You've lived your whole life there, and you loved it. It was home. It was also a really strange town, and you're pretty sure the world almost ended like six times in the last 4 years. Although honestly, you never had to worry about that much, since Beach City was also home to the Crystal Gems, and that Steven Universe who just always managed to save the day. So you’re told. Steven was a fun kid, and grew to be one of your good friends (he’s so insistent on being everyone’s friend. It’s very charming and you love him for it), but you’ve mostly spent your time at work this summer.

One of the easiest jobs to get is Funland, since that always tired Mr. Smiley is chewing through people constantly as the pay is shit, the hours are long, and it’s so hot. Like Mr. Smiley says, "Funland is funderstaffed". You feel like he says that to mock you a bit, since there’s just the two of you here. You really only cared to work there on your off season to help dad out with bills, and to see your best friends. Except THIS summer you guess, since all (2) of your best friends had to go out of town for summer either because of family get togethers or romantic getaways. Those bitches. And you were finally of drinking age this summer. You weren't about to let that get you down, or ruin any plans you’ve made yourself in the next upcoming weeks though.

You’re on the last forty minutes of your shift doing the work of four people. Emptying tills around the food court, cleaning tables, emptying trash cans, and jesus christ this task list seems longer today. It feels ever so fucking slow. And warm. You’re melting, you feel disgusting, and you just want a shower. Thank god it’s payday and you have the next two days off, because you seriously wanted to go out and unwind. See, there’s this newly renovated piano bar you’ve wanted to go to for weeks here locally in town, and you had planned on going with your friends.. but. You know what? Screw waiting on them. You’re going tonight. And besides, who knows! Maybe you’ll meet some new people and make a friend, or show your best friends that you can finally get a girlfriend!! Haha.. or at least get drunk enough to ignore the growing loneliness you’ve been feeling as of late, and desperately trying to ignore.

Funland never truly got busy, so you quickly closed the food court that had been dead for hours down. The last 15 or so minutes you spent sitting at the ring toss booth, and very thankful for the protection from the beating sun on your face. 

"YOOOOO (Y/N)!!!" You hear a familiar voice shout from your left. You put down your phone (obviously looking at memes) and lean over the counter just in time to see Amethyst, accompanied by Steven, jogging over to your booth. 

"Oh, thank god. Finally some human interaction." You responded to the purple gem as they reached your booth. Steven smacked down some tickets for the game and grinned.

"Just spending some time away from the temple". He says, and you nodded as you handed him two stacks of rings. He joyfully pulled them towards himself as Amethyst snickered. 

"He means to say his A/C broke, and Pearl got tired of hearing him groan about it so she kicked us out." The short gem elbowed Steven playfully. 

“Us? Why’d she kick you out too?” You say, giving Amethyst a pointed look. “That’s because Amethyst brought up like 7 of the junk fridges from her room to try to create some sort of.. open fridge cold air whirlwind right in the middle of the living room. It didn’t work as intended at all, though. I’m pretty sure those fridges were really old, or something, because 3 of them caught on fire and now we have scorch marks all over the floor. Anyway, Pearl was pretty mad about it. Sooooo, now we’re here!” Steven says while laughing, and attempting to toss the rings onto the obviously not rigged bottles. 

"So anyway," Amethyst turns to you and leans her elbow on the counter. "Any big plans for tonight?" She steals half the stack of rings from Steven and starts chucking them in the most violent way possible without actually breaking anything. She somehow gets 3 perfect.

 “Ughhh, yeah actually. I sort of convinced myself I’d go out and drink tonight.” You say with a tired grin. “I’ve been kinda daydreaming about not being here all day, and I’ve been wanting to try that one place.. the uh.. piano bar. That new one.”

“Isn’t that the place Bismuth helped fix up, and now bartends at?” Steven says to Amethyst. “She said this place was 1930’s themed with a stage, a spotlight, a piano and everything! It sounds like fun and I want to go.. a lot of the gems from Little Homeworld hang out there. Bis says I’m too young.” “Yeah,” You say, “You’re what, 17? You’re still just a baby, dude. If you want, I can try convincing Bismuth to let you in sometime just to sing.” You say to him and wink. Amethyst bursts out laughing. “You can try!! Bis won’t even let Peridot in!” She laughs. “She says her maturity ain’t the right fit. Whatever that means. She lets Lapis work there sometimes though when she wants, and Peri is still mad about it.”     You watch Steven miss every single shot. How can this kid be the person who saved the planet? His aim is terrible. Amethyst also misses the rest of her shots. 

“Have you guys actually ever won anything here?” You say out loud. “Only when Amethyst cheats.” Steven says. “And anyway, I really want some food. Amethyst. Pizza?”

“Duuuuuuuude. I could eat at least 10 pizzas right now. PLEASE.” She slaps her hand down on your booth. “Y/N. Go out tonight. Have some fun for the both of us, because it’s my turn to clean the kitchen, and if I skip out again Pearl WILL make me do my own laundry.”

“Wooooow, jeez, it must be so terrible to be self-sustaining and clean your own shit,” You’re smiling while chiding her, “and yeah, I will. Maybe next time come with me?” “And leave me all alone!?” Steven whines while starting to walking away. “Go hang out with Connie, you turd. At least you HAVE a girlfriend!” You reply. “You’ll find one eventually Y/N!! Maybe tonight!!” He yells back while waving before they both disappear from your field of vision.

“I really fucking doubt that.” You say to yourself, alone.

You busy yourself cleaning up, and walk over to the main building to clock out. You check your phone, and it looks like the group chat pinged. It’s Harper. FINALLY. Harper has been MIA for the last week. Well, not missing, per se, but she’s been on a roadtrip with her girlfriend of 6 months and didn’t invite you..or your other best friend, Alex. And yeah, you would’ve had to decline because your dad needs you to pick up some slack while he’s out on business, but.. STILL. Shit kinda hurts. But it seems like she finally got service and remembered you guys exist. It’s actually just a selfie with her and her girlfriend with a mountain in the background. She captioned it “I wanted to dive right into mt st helens but she wouldn’t let me get close enough.” You grin and decide to reply with, “Maybe next time Leah won’t let you pussy out”. Honestly, you really didn't mind being the 'single' friend most of the time, but sometimes you wished you could finally meet someone. Then you could also be sending cute couple pictures to your idiot friends, and finally feel like maybe you’re worth someone’s time.

Alex just responds to the chat with 14 flame emojis in succession. Before you can send any knife emojis back, your phone lights up with a call from your father. You answer on the second ring.

“Hey dad. What’s up?” “HEY KIDDO!!” Jesus. Your dad is enthusiastic and as loud as ever. “HOW ARE YOU TODAY, my sweet, dear offspring?”

“I’m chill. Getting off work. You?” You smile to yourself while grabbing the rest of your things to leave for home.

“Just got out of like, my fifth meeting today. It’s awful. I think they’re trying to kill me over here? I’m pretty sure they only paid for the plane ticket because they’re going to reap my organs after they LITERALLY bore me to death. I’m 100% sure my presence isn’t even needed for any of this.” He rants into the phone.

“Dad. You’re the lead project planner. You have to be there. It’s like.. your entire job.” You laugh into the phone. “I thought my entire job was so sit there and look pretty?” “Really? You think they’d choose you for that when they have Brian? Dad, come on. You know how beautiful he is.” You hear your dad sigh wistfully. “Yeah, that gorgeous bastard. Anyway. I’m real sorry in advance, but they’re extending my stay for another couple of days, and instead of being back tomorrow, I’ll be back next thursday.” He says, sounding apologetic.

“Oh, okay. That sucks.” You try not to sound disappointed. “Kiddo I’m sorry! If I could come home tonight I would get on that plane in a heartbeat. I hate this as much as you do.”

“I know. And it’s alright. I’m going out tonight anyway, and I’ll hold down the fort until next week yeah?” “You know you’re my favorite kid, right?” He says. “Dad, I’m your only kid.” You scoff into the phone. “That YOU know of! Love you!” and he hangs up. You roll your eyes, stuff your phone into your pocket, and head out.

Your house wasn't very far from Funland, meaning you could walk home alone safely even at night. Not that Beach City was ever an unsafe town.. if you conveniently happen to forget the aliens trying to destroy the town several times. 

Within minutes you were unlocking your front door, toeing off your work shoes, and heading up into your room. You drop all your shit onto the floor, and flop on your bed. You wonder to yourself, should you be putting more effort into your appearance tonight? Steven did say it was 1930’s themed.. you don’t have very many dressy clothes. You feel like the only color you look good in is black, so you get up and open up your closet. Flowery dress.. God no. Overalls? Noooooo. You swipe through too many sweaters, honestly. There’s a couple decent things in here to put an okay outfit together, or.. wait. Ha! There. That cute black dress you wore 2 years ago for your aunt’s funeral. It’s the best you’ve got, you admit to yourself. And you even still have those black flats! Look, like basically zero effort involved.

You head to the bathroom with your things for tonight and take a shower. It feels nice to scrub off the layer of sweat and grime that come specifically from working at Funland. Oh and, not having to smell like carpet deodorizer and stale caramel popcorn is always a plus. Once out of the shower, you dry off and get into your clothes. You style your hair in your favorite way, and just put on a small bit of makeup. You know, small efforts help to feel less like a paper bag. You look nice for once, you admit to yourself. 

You head downstairs, stuffing your phone and wallet into a small shoulder purse. Grabbing your keys, you put your shoes on, say goodbye to your cat, and walk out the door, making sure to lock it behind you. With your keys safely stored in your bag, you headed into town. The bar was roughly ten to fifteen minutes away, so you decided to hoof it. No need to waste money on a taxi when you had two perfectly toned legs, ya’ll.

[nelvana]

In which there is one last break

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which the dreams are nightmares Previous: In which there are no anomalies

    “They… are still here.” Ceebee was the first to speak up after Primal Palkia had left, ending the battle without a true winner. “They’re deeper in the cave, like Dialga is.”

    “Should we go right after them, then?” Tsuki questioned, shaking out her fur, sending some dirt scattering. “They are… primal now, right? We… should deal with that as soon as we can.”

    “M-Maybe we should take a break first,” Edgar suggested, slowly creeping back out from the shadows to join the others.

    “I agree with Edgar. We’re in no condition to go right back to fighting them,” Damien responded.

    Tsuki sighed, “that is true, but we should not stay long. We do not want them to be causing more damage now that they’ve fully turned primal.”

    “Of course,” Alex agreed, then after waiting a few moments to see if anyone else would say anything, he darted over to his partner. “Nel! You evolved! That was amazing!” he exclaimed.

    Nelvana gave him a shaky smile, “wow you’re shorter than me now, this is so weird.”

    Alex laughed, “you’ve been taller than me before!” he pointed out.

    “Not like this!” Nelvana replied, “this… is actually really trippy, I… I didn’t realize I was evolving until it happened, I- oomph!”

    She was cut off as a warm bundle of feathers barreled into her. Unlike Alex, who had stopped at a respectable distance to give his partner some space, Keahi had sprinted from across the room to dive in and give her a hug. Once realizing what hit her and who it was, Nelvana reached out to return the hug, picking up the torchic to properly wrap her arms around zim.

    “Nel! I was so worried when you took that hit and didn’t come back right away but then you did come back except we couldn’t say anything to each other because of the battle, but now you’re evolved and-“

    “I love you too, Keahi,” Nelvana hummed, cutting off her partner’s rambles.

    Taking a moment to catch zir breath, Keahi leaned up to bump zir head against Nelvana’s, the two taking this small moment together to relax themselves again.

    “How do you feel?” Keahi asked.

    “I… I’ll need to get back to you on that one, I’m still processing everything,” Nelvana admitted with a weak chuckle. “This is probably the strangest day of my life. And that’s… saying a lot.”

    “Hey, how about everyone sit down over here, a bit further away from all that damage, and we can talk things through?” Damien suggested, gesturing over to an area deeper into the cave.

    Nelvana smiled at him, “yeah, that’s probably for the best,” she agreed, and then looked back down at the torchic in her arms. “You’re so tiny now!”

    Keahi giggled, “you just got really tall! Hey, can I sit on your head? You must have a nice view from up there.”

    Complying to her partner’s request as they walked over with the rest of the group to sit down, Nelvana placed Keahi atop her head, the torchic fitting in the space between her ears perfectly now. Keahi giggled again, letting out some “oohs” and “ahhs” despite there not really being much to look at, even at that height.

    Sitting down in a circle together, everyone took this time to breath for a couple minutes and check how they felt once adrenaline wore off. Keahi hopped off of Nelvana’s head, but only to settle zirself onto her lap instead. Alex and Damien sat down beside each other, emptying out their bags to sort through the remaining supplies. As Alex shook out his bag, there was the clatter of stones tumbling onto the floor; Giratina’s rock, a fire gem, and that stone from Lapis Cave. Damien eyed the blue crystal momentarily, peeking over at the similar one he still carried around in his own back. Alex chuckled at the latter item before scooping it up and stuffing it back in the bag, but his hand hovered over the fire gem.

    “Oh hey, I almost forgot, Keahi, I’ve been hanging onto the fire gem Ceebee gave you for your birthday. Do you want it now?” Alex commented, picking up the small crystal.

    “I guess so!” Keahi decided, “There will probably be a time I’ll want to use flamethrower for the range again. Better at least get one boost out of it.”

    “Can’t think of a scenario you’ll need it more for anyway,” Tsuki added with a yawn, “there isn’t really anyone that will be stronger than Primal Palkia, I figure.”

    “Well, you never know, but I could always get another fire gem for if something like that comes up,” Keahi responded.

    Meanwhile, as Alex handed the fire gem over to Keahi, Damien leaned over to pick up the other stone, brushing off some of the dirt with one thumb as he turned it over a couple times in his hands.

    “Hey, Giratina, we have a moment to be able to talk again,” he said.

    “…the battle’s over?” Giratina’s voice faded in, sounding mildly hesitant.

    “Sort of,” Alex answered, turning his focus back to sorting through the rest of the items.

    “…I see. I can… sense Palkia still from here,” Giratina murmured, “are you all okay? I can sense that you’re all here… Oh, Nelvana! Did you evolve?”

    Nelvana let out a mix of a chuckle and a sigh, “yeah, I did. Happened right at the end of the fight.”

    “Well, congratulations! I can tell that is… difficult to pull off in these current times. We’ll need all the extra strength we can get, know that…” Giratina paused. “I am sensing that correctly, right? Palkia is… primal now.”

    “Unfortunately, yes. We were unable to defeat them before it happened, and they ran off right afterwards,” Ceebee told them.

    “Why did they leave though?” Edgar questioned quietly, “I thought they were still going to fight us, but they just… went further into the cave, like Ceebee said.”

    “Now that they’re primal, their instinct is to stay that way. Survival is now the top priority. They must have felt threatened by you all, and didn’t think they would be able to win the fight in that moment,” Giratina explained, “they also instinctively want to be at the center of their home, like how Dialga always stayed at Temporal Tower, Palkia now hides here.”

    “They felt threatened, huh? We might stand more of a chance than we thought,” Alex commented, grinning slightly.

    “Yes! Please, do not lose hope! I still have the upmost faith that you will be able to defeat them, even if they are primal now. You went into that fight without the chance to recover after a mystery dungeon. Now you have that chance. Recover, and go out to rematch Palkia,” Giratina responded.

    “That’s the plan!” Keahi chirped, “thanks for the encouragement!”

    “No problem. I only wish I could do more to help,” Giratina replied, “if you have anything to ask me, just let me know. In the meantime… I do not wish to disturb your break. I will check to see if there is… anything I can do from here to assist you more. Perhaps with the fabric of space tearing more, I may find an opening to provide more assistance. We’ll see. Best of luck to you either way.”

    With that, Giratina’s presence faded from the rock once more. Letting out a sigh, Damien set the rock back down on the ground, closer towards the middle of the seated circle everyone was forming together before turning back to help Alex with inventory.

    Keahi leaned back while still sitting on Nelvana’s lap, zir back touching her chest and zir head feathers grazing the marowak’s chin. Zie quietly fumbled with the fire gem for a few moments, furrowing zir brows as zie thought of something, and then looked up at zir partner, opening zir beak to speak and break the growing silence in the group.

    “What did it feel like, to evolve?” zie asked her.

    “It…” Nelvana paused, furrowing her brows as she did her best to recall the short moment. “I felt like a had a lot of energy, like when you use an attack, except just all over me.”

    “Did it hurt?” Edgar chimed in.

    Nelvana quickly shook her head, “no, it didn’t hurt. It felt more like… kinda like being stretched? But it didn’t hurt, and I could still feel myself getting stronger. I feel… kind of lightheaded though now, actually.”

    “That’s normal,” Alex reassured her, “here you should probably have something to eat. Your body both burned through a lot of energy, and created new energy for yourself,” he explained, passing the marowak an apple to eat.

    “Is that why you went to sleep right after evolving, despite talking about how energized you felt?” Nelvana asked him as she accepted the food, without thinking.

    “Yeah! That’s pretty… much… Wait.” Alex looked up at Nelvana properly, eyes wide as a smile grew on his face. “I forgot you don’t have amnesia anymore,” he whispered to himself.

    “I… Yeah, I don’t,” Nelvana murmured back, taking a bite out of the apple to give herself an excuse not to say anything else at the moment.

    Alex paused, his smile fading, “do you not want to talk about that right now? We don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

    “I just… I do but I don’t,” Nelvana sighed, “let’s just… not for now, and I’ll bring it up later when I’m ready, okay? Maybe when I’m done eating this apple.”

    He nodded back, “got it.”

    “Evolution is still a safe topic, let’s stick with that. Hey, Damien, how did you evolve?” Nelvana said, shifting the subject back to what they had been talking about before.

    “Oh, uh… nothing special, really,” Damien mumbled, “I didn’t like… being a gastly, so I did everything I could to evolve into a haunter. Then I evolved right away into a Gengar, since I got a link cable in advance as a gastly,” he explained, “makes me feel the most like myself to actually have arms and legs.”

    “Hey, speaking of having hands, maybe I’ll be able to evolve after this! Or during our next fight with Palkia!” Keahi chirped, “that would be cool! Do you think I’d be taller, or shorter than you, Nel?”

    “Well, I was taller than you even as a cubone, so I’m going to guess that you’ll still be shorter than me when you’re a combusken,” Nelvana answered, “Alex is a bit taller than most of the combuskens at your home, and I’ll taller than him right now too,” she added.

    “Excuse me, apologies for interrupting…” Tsuki spoke up, “do we still have some water packed? I’m quite thirsty,” she requested, looking over at the pair with the two bags.

    “Oh, yeah! That’s one thing we really aren’t low on,” Damien responded, “here, everyone should probably have some water while we’re taking a break, actually. Stay hydrated and all that jazz.”

    Pausing from their previous conversation, they passed out some water bottles to everyone to drink. Fortunately, between restocking back at the guild, and being restored to an earlier state from Dialga before, not much water had been used, like Damien said, so they were able to drink as much as they wanted now. And though they had less food readily available than water, after Dusknoir pointed out that they likely wouldn’t have another break like this until everything was over, they decided to lighten the bags a bit and dish out the remainder of the food to everyone to fill themselves up before what would, hopefully, be the final confrontation.

    “…hey, Alex? Do you think you would have been shorter or taller than me, when you were a treecko compared to when I was a cubone?” Nelvana suddenly asked after the lull of conversation during everyone eating.

    Alex blinked over at her, “oh… I dunno! It feels like ages ago since I was a treecko… I came up to about your knee then, but we can’t exactly use that to compare now.”

    “What did Alex look like as a treecko?” Keahi blurted out, then stiffening slightly and looking up at zir partner to make sure it was okay to ask that now, still uncertain if Nelvana was ready to talk about what she remembered now that she didn’t have amnesia.

    Despite Keahi’s worries, Nelvana smiled back to zim. Truthfully, she still felt uncertain treading this conversation territory, but she knew now that she would need to address it sooner rather than later. She was just thankful that for now they could stick to some easier topics relating to that.

    “He was this tiny boy, with big eyes,” Nelvana began, her voice squeaking as her tone turned to teasing her partner. “You see how sharp he is now? He was rounder before, rounder shapes. He had a rounder face, round little hands, and-“

    “No, stop!” Alex howled, though he couldn’t stop himself from laughing either. “My image is being ruined! Betrayed by my own sister!”

    Keahi laughed, “you’re reminding me of my mom when she gets an excuse to talk about what her kids were like when they were young!”

    “Isn’t that why you asked?” Nelvana responded, sporting a wide grin on her face. “I did my best to tease him as much as I could, did I do well?”

    “…” Keahi grinned back, “yeah.”

    Alex let out a mock gasp, “I knew it from the start, you’re both conspiring against me.”

    “Aww, now I wish I got to see you as a treecko!” Ceebee chimed in, leaning forward and placing her chin into the palms of her hands. “I bet you were adorable.”

    “Alright, alright, the joke has worn out its welcome now…” Alex announced, raising his hands up slightly in front of himself.

    “Fine.” Keahi stuck her tongue out at him playfully, but seemed otherwise willing to drop the subject. “What about you, Nel? What did you look like as a human?”

    “Oh! Well, I… hm, I’m not sure how to describe that, since most of you know what the average human looks like,” Nelvana responded, starting out ready to answer the question before trailing off towards the end, furrowing her brows.

    “You’ve tried drawing yourself before!” Keahi offered, “I have a vague idea ‘cause of that.”

    “Think kind of like… a sawk for the build, except without the blue skin and robes of course, they have hair on their heads…” Alex described.

    “That’s a terrible description,” Nelvana snorted.

    “Bet you can’t do any better.”

    “Too bad we can’t draw that here. The ground is too firm, Nel couldn’t even use her club for that,” Damien commented.

    “I’m not sure how well I can use my club to draw anymore anyway,” Nelvana replied, picking up her club which she had set down by her side to hold it out in front of her to examine more with a small frown.

    “I think we all have a vague idea, with Nel’s old drawings and Alex’s description,” Tsuki said, “if you wish to still go on with your own description of yourself; I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

    “If not, we can wait!” Edgar added, “I’m sure stuff like this will be easier to draw when we get home anyway!”

    “Ah, alright, well let’s see… I still had blue eyes then, and my hair, which was brown, a bit darker than my fur here, was cut pretty short. Some humans grow their hair out longer, but not that often, at least in the dead timeline; it got tangled in everything,” Nelvana told them, “I had pretty light colored skin, kinda light peachy color… And I was pretty tall.”

    “And by ‘pretty tall’, she means nearly six feet tall!” Ceebee exclaimed, “Alex would sit on her shoulder when we were just casually walking around.”

    “Wait no, before anyone comments about how tall that is, how tall were you exactly?” Damien demanded, jolting up from where he was still sitting.

    “Oh, uh…” Nelvana’s face scrunched up as she thought. “Jeez, I dunno. Not like I got many chances to measure myself.”

    “I’d put your human height around five feet ten inches,” Ceebee decided, “I think you were done growing before we went back in time too, so that should be fairly accurate.”

    “Dammit!” Damien snapped, tossing his hands into the air. “I would have been shorter than you.”

    Nelvana laughed, “how tall were you?”

    “I wanna say five feet six inches,” Damien sighed, “I might have had another growth spurt in me, since I can’t tell off the top of my head if that was my height when I was thirteen or when I was fully grown.”

    “You could ask Gardevoir when we get back,” Tsuki suggested, “she might remember.”

    “Maybe… Don’t wanna get my hopes up though,” Damien murmured, turning back to focus on the remainder of his work with Alex.

    “How are you two doing over there, anyway?” Keahi asked, turning over to the bag holding duo. “What’s our inventory looking like?”

    “Are you ready for us to return our water bottles as well?” Tsuki chimed in, one paw curled around the now empty bottle she had drunken from.

    “Oh, yeah, go ahead and pass them over, they won’t be in the way,” Alex responded, waving towards the others to encourage them to give back the items.

    Taking a quick moment before addressing Keahi’s questions, everyone tossed, rolled, or passed over their water bottles; of which nearly all were now emptied. Edgar was one who passed his over, and as he passed by the center of the circle, he floated down to pick up Giratina’s rock as well, sensing them nearing the end of their break, and likely not needing to speak to Giratina if they weren’t going to in this moment. Passing both items over to the grovyle, Edgar silently floated back over to where he had been laying down before beside Tsuki.

    “Alright, so we’re looking at a slight oran shortage… We still have enough reviver seeds because of how many we got in the guild, those should last just fine. And then all other berries and seeds we have not really used at all, we haven’t suffered from any status effects in these fights,” Alex told everyone, waving a hand over the items laying out on the ground. “We’ll split all the items between us, any odd number extras going to Damien. I’ll hang onto Giratina again… and I think that’s it?”

    “That’s the important details, yeah,” Damien agreed, nodding.

    “So… does that mean we will be going after Palkia next?” Tsuki asked, sitting up and looking over the rest of the group.

    “Well, we still need to put this back away but otherwise…” Alex answered, trailing off as he too looked up at everyone else. “…if everyone is ready now, I don’t see any reason we should sit back any longer.”

    “If everyone is ready,” Damien repeated.

    Keahi nodded, “yeah! I think I’m okay to go to the fight, as ready as I’ll ever be at least, but if anyone isn’t, don’t be afraid to speak up! We can wait a few more minutes to make sure that everyone will be prepared and comfortable enough to head back out,” zie hummed.

    There were some nods and quiet responses of confirmation and agreement before the conversation faded out only having the sounds of Alex and Damien picking up various items and organizing them in the bags to break any silence. Edgar bobbed up and down in place for a couple moments before going to offer to help the pair, and when told “thanks, but we can handle it,” he settled for hovering over them to watch instead. Every so often Alex would relay a packing tip to Damien, but the rest of the group didn’t say much in these last moments.

    Or, at least it seemed it would be that way. Nelvana sat in the silence, her mind running in circles as she stewed with a choice. This would be a chance to address something, but it was challenging to form the words in her mouth and then actually have them spoken aloud. She reached for her club again, which she had set down not long earlier to toss Alex her and Keahi’s water bottles before. Rubbing over the now nearly smooth bone with a thumb as she thought, which soon just turned to her gripping the item tightly. Keahi, still sitting in her lap, frowned as zie watched this, zir feather’s ruffled as Nelvana hunched over zim.

    “Are you alright?” Keahi whispered, placing a wing on zir partner’s arm.

    “I…” Nelvana swallowed her breath. “No, there’s… something I need to talk about,” she said, her voice growing louder and clearer as she sat up again, drawing attention back to her.

    “What is it?” Ceebee asked earnestly.

    Nelvana paused for a couple moments, rolling the words over in her mouth one last time.

    “When Palkia… broke that part of the curse, I didn’t just remember my past before getting amnesia,” Nelvana began, rolling the club over in her hands now, staring at it to focus on what she was saying instead of on the others around her. “I remember what happened after we were erased from time, too.”

    Alex glanced up from his work, a mix of emotion flickering in his eyes, “are you saying that as a good thing, or a bad thing…?” he questioned.

    “I don’t know. Maybe both,” Nelvana answered, “what… happened in general wasn’t that bad. We were in… some part of the spirit realm, obviously not one I’ve been in before. We met up, and found that everyone else from our time was there too. In some sort of, uh, limbo, I guess,” she explained.

    “Like a lobby?” Damien asked, biting his lip as he hoped his input would be more helpful than not.

    “Sure,” Nelvana responded, “and we decided to wander a bit while we waited for Gardevoir or someone helping Gardevoir to come find us. You know, say some final goodbyes to old friends and whatnot while we had the chance.”

    “Did you have your memories back when you were in that moment?” Tsuki asked.

    “No, but it was the thought that counted. Alex and Ceebee would remember, and could fill me in about who it was we were about to talk to,” Nelvana answered.

    “You did mention before that you were good at recognizing familiar people, even with amnesia,” Alex added.

    “Yeah, that too.” Nelvana paused. “We… We didn’t find my family there, though.”

    As she went to look up, to stop staring just at her own weapon, she saw Dusknoir tense from across her. Whether he had pieced together that she knew what happened to her family or not, it was evident by this strangely obvious display from him that he knew what happened. Out of the corner of Nelvana’s eye, she saw the light from Edgar’s eye darken, though she didn’t think much of it; if he knew, it wouldn’t surprise her that much, and she wouldn’t blame him for not telling her before.

    “Dusknoir, why did you kill my family?”

    Her question, though her voice was quiet, spoke louder than any yell in this moment, the intensity of such a question paired with the already generally silent room made these words pierce true and clear.

    Dusknoir tensed more, eye widening at the question being so suddenly and bluntly stated to him, nailing him onto the spot like a wooden plank onto the flooring of a house. Instantly Nelvana’s words, drew everyone to stare at Dusknoir as well, waiting impatiently for his answer. Despite this, he appeared far too stunned to say anything right away, so Nelvana went on.

    “We didn’t find my family there, but we found you. You told me that you killed them, trying to use that fact as a leverage against me.” It was becoming a struggle to keep her own words steady by this point, but she pushed on. “So, now I ask, why? Just because they’re related to me? They didn’t do anything against you, or your cause!”

    The long, tense seconds drew on without any response from Dusknoir. Nelvana was gripping her club so tightly now that her hands shook, but she kept her gaze trained on the ghost-type, waiting for him to say something, anything.

    “I…”

    Dusknoir almost seemed to choke as he tried to speak, his body shuddering. He turned to look away, breaking any previous eye contact with Nelvana to face the ground instead, eye closed tightly. He shook again, and then blinked his eye open suddenly as, to everyone’s surprise, inky black tears dripped out of his eye, slowly trailing down his face. Reaching up a hand, he gingerly touched one of the tears, leaving a dark, wet mark on his finger.

    “I can cry…?” he whispered, the astonishment clear in his voice.

    He paused for a couple more moments, staring at his hand with a wide eye as he cried for the first time; at least, the first time in an incredibly long time. Suddenly though, his gaze narrowed, and he closed his hand into a fist, lifting it up to wipe away the rest of the tears with the back of his hand. Dusknoir rose to his full height, looking back down at Nelvana, who still stared back up at him.

    “No, that… isn’t right of me. This is not my loss, my grief, my right to cry, it is yours,” Dusknoir said, “Nelvana, I killed your family for no reason at all. I grew desperate and frustrated after Cee- Celebi escaped my clutches, and I sought for any way to get back at you all. That is no excuse though. How I felt was no excuse for any such actions. What I did was an absolutely horrible thing, and I am deeply sorry that I did that. You are right, they did nothing to earn such a punishment, to rob them of… the choice of where to go, whatever choice there is, after being erased from time.”

    Nelvana blinked, though did her best to hide her surprise at such a response as she narrowed her eyes back at him again. Again, he seemed in every way to being honest, and yet she couldn’t help but have her doubts.

    “Really? You’re really sorry?” she questioned, unable to keep the bite back from her voice.

    He nodded, “yes, I am. And it is alright if you do not believe me. At the end of the day… I did terrible things to you, to all… to all of you. I wanted to save myself so badly that I harmed so many lives, and there is truly nothing I can do to make up for that. But I would still like to try. I have seen now why you fought so hard to bring this timeline back to life, why you still fight now, even at the risk of your own lives. This is a time worth fighting for, and really… I don’t deserve to be a part of it. So, I truly wish to do whatever I can to make up for the harm I did in the other timeline, and make it so I do deserve to be here,” he told them, “so, yes, I am really sorry. And not just to you, Nelvana, but to Grovyle and Celebi as well. I am sorry. You have every right to hate me, but if there is anything I can do to help more, I will do my best to complete it.”

    Dusknoir bowed his head slightly to them, silently signifying that he was done with what he had to say. He remained standing up, though he bobbed in place for a moment as if considering sitting back down again. There still seemed to be some tears welled up in his eye, but they didn’t drip out again.

    Silence returned as it was now the others’ turn to figure out how to respond. Ceebee had her arms crossed over her chest, mouth closed in a pencil thin line as she fluttered in place in the air. Alex’s lips curled back into a snarl, crouched close to a more quadruped stance as he still sharply glared at Dusknoir. Nelvana still gripped her club tightly, finding herself staring back down at it again as she mulled this over. Eventually, she let out a sigh, releasing her grip on the bone slightly and sitting back up straight again.

    “You are right about one thing; I don’t think I can forgive you. And I think I safely speak for Alex and Ceebee when I say that they cannot either,” Nelvana began, “however… I am going to have to give you the benefit of the doubt, and hope that you are telling the truth about how you feel now. Frankly… I’m still processing everything that I was forced to remember all of a sudden. But that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t think it would do any of us any good for me to hate you over something that cannot be changed. I don’t know how much I can trust you, but at least for now, we still need to cooperate. And it would probably hurt me more than help to be thinking about this endlessly and hating you at every moment. So, no, I do not forgive you for what you’ve done. But I’m willing to see what you can do to become better,” she told him.

    Dusknoir visibly relaxed, as if weights had been removed from his shoulders, “thank you.”

    Ceebee bit her lip, and then exhaled, turning to face Dusknoir, “I’ll think about it,” she said, “for now… you’re still just a temporary ally to me, and an enemy at the end of the day. I’ll want to really see change before I can believe in what you’re saying.”

    Dusknoir nodded to this, accepting such an answer without any complaints.

    Eyes turned to Alex next, who still didn’t seem to show any signs of giving his own answer yet. In fact, as he felt the stares on him, he sharply turned away from the group, from Dusknoir, and staring back down at the bags and the remaining unpacked items. Letting out a sharp hiss through his teeth, he grabbed the remaining items and shoved them back into his bag, slinging the satchel over his shoulder, all without turning to look at anyone else again.

    Time continued to drag on, until it became undeniably clear that Alex wasn’t going to give any sort of answer at all, which turned out to be the loudest answer of all. Nelvana’s gaze softened as she stared at the back of her brooding partner. She wasn’t sure where to go from here. It was important for her to speak and leave things dealt with for now, but what difference would it make for him if he were forced to speak up? He needed more time, she figured, and he gave her time to think before, so she was going to make sure to give him the same curtesy.

    “Is everything packed then, Alex and Damien?” Nelvana asked, abruptly changing subjects.

    Slowly, Alex turned to look back at his partner, his hardened expression fading into something more relieved at being released from having to respond to the previous conversation. Still, it was Damien who answered her first.

    “I think so. We should be all packed and ready for the fight now,” he answered.

    Alex nodded slowly, “yeah… So, if everyone is ready, we should go now.”

    “I’m ready now,” Nelvana replied, knowing that it was her that hadn’t been ready before, and thus now confirming that she was would be helpful.

    And, despite everything, everyone else was ready too. At least, as ready as they would be.

    Everyone standing up, Ceebee directed them onwards to Palkia, even though there were no diverging paths to possibly get someone lost. There was only one way forward, and they headed out.

First [ARC 1]: In which the human is transformed First [ARC 2]: In which a present is prepared Next: In which the dreams are nightmares Previous: In which there are no anomalies

[nexstage]

STARLESS

Peridot: Nowhere to fit

For someone like Peridot, problems of any kind could always be solved by cleverness and perseverance.

Something broke? She could fix it. A new building needed to be built? She knew how to start. Someone had a plan to improve Little Homeworld? She had the resources to make it true in a snap.

However, bringing Steven back after everyone was told that he left was a challenge Peridot never expected to face. It happened so quickly. Bismuth, her and Lapis were informed by the freaked out Crystal Gems that Steven was gone as his car and some clothes of his. Lapis immediately flew away to try to find him, she felt that her blue companion could understand Steven's reasons to leave on some level despite the absurdity behind the mess.

Bismuth stayed with Pearl, who was an emotional avalanche, and she, Garnet and Amethyst got some gems Steven had befriended to create a rescue group, just in case the kid was found in serious trouble. Still, none of their efforts were enough to find him. Not even Lapis', who returned somber and at the edge of an anxiety attack.

What stroke Peridot most was why Steven would do something like this. Quitting his teacher career on Little Homeschool wasn't a red flag for her as she knew that taking charge of everything sometimes was exhausting, so he needed a good vacation. Spending time in things he liked didn't seem bad either, as everyone had hobbies. But the root of the problem wasn't those activities; it was Steven's volatile and closed-off behavior.

The things he said about the Crystal Gems and himself: the reason to be needed, Amethyst being too mature to get why he felt like he felt, Pearl blaming herself for him to just pick the pieces, Garnet's almighty pieces of advice that didn't help at all. Yeah, there was too much baggage on those statements. Peridot, though, got a very weird but sounding conclusion about why he said what he said.

This pattern of behavior reminded her of her own struggles to adapt when she resigned to her fate to be stuck on Earth with their once-former-enemies. Back then, she was just like anyone else of her kin before Era 3: a Yellow Diamond-loyalist Peridot with duties to fulfill, too many problems in her way and too little time. Dealing with the fact that her limb enhancers had been rid of was annoying and frustrating, but the fact that she had to work with a bunch of rebellious off-colors that were supposed to be dead was another story.

Everything on Earth was so different, so confusing. A Pearl who could build machines and didn't receive orders from anyone, an overcooked Amethyst with a vulgar foreign language, a crossed-fusion who acted so freely and a hybrid of a gem and a human? Where was she, in a circus from another planet?

Whatever. She wanted to live, not be shattered by the Cluster, so if Peridot had to become an ally of those clods, so be it.

However, life got more difficult when she found out via communicator that her oh-so-logical Diamond wasn't that perfect as she thought but a flawed, emotional person.

After that, the flow of things and confusion took a hold on her life. Without Diamond's orders, a caste system, her limb enhancers and with the fact that her new home would be the same planet she despised and worked hard to destroy, what was Peridot going to do?

Everyone seemed so content and secure about their lives, even if it went out of the model set for them. Something she had trouble to grasp because, if no one told you what to do, what were you supposed to do then? There was no system, everyone acted so independently but with a teamwork spirit, it baffled her totally.

Peridot, at first, thought the Crystal Gems and especially Steven were utterly delusional. I mean, how could they go on so smoothly in the chaotic disorder they were so immersed to? It was as if they were mismatched pieces of a puzzle trying to fit with each other and not seeing it didn't work.

However, time showed her otherwise. Pearl could fit without being someone's possession, and her mechanical and technological knowledge wasn't product of copying from superior gems, but from her own hard work.

Amethyst felt at home, not because of the technicality of being made on the Prime Kindergarten on Earth, but because she was let to be herself and had people who cared for her.

Garnet didn't need to hide or feel self-conscious because she was in an environment where differences weren't deemed as something to punish but to celebrate.

And Steven, the one who Peridot owed the many opportunities to show her true self and her abilities, he was so carefree and accepting. He made her feel that the impossible was possible no matter if you thought you were powerless.

With his help, many gems learned that they didn't need to be pieces of some square-minded puzzle, but the complements of themselves and each other to create a whole, beautiful picture.

Now, sadly, the picture was in half because Steven was gone.

Steven, who was the sole cause that their lives had some meaning.

Steven, who taught her she could be more than a mindless, Diamond-loyalist Peridot and find her own powers and identity.

Steven, who established peace between Earth and Homeworld, and even created a place for gems who wanted to start again.

Steven, who gave them hopes to fit without being matched pieces.

But he started to see himself as a mismatched piece of an old puzzle who couldn't find a place to belong despite having so many people loving him. Ironic, right?

What did Steven see in all his success and the gems he helped that made him feel so out of place?

She never noticed something wrong on him until the news of his departure came, though the root of the issue was still elusive to her.

He should've been happy to accomplish things that were deemed impossible. He faced the Diamonds and changed their minds for star's sake!

It was so frustrating! She felt the answer was there, in all those comments towards the Crystal Gems and his very out-of-place behavior, but another factor needed to be found to see the full picture.

But what was it?

"Thinking about Steven again?" Lapis' voice got her by surprise and Peridot looked at her friend. Her blue eyes were darkened by sadness, tear tracks decorated her cheeks and her posture was resigned and depressed.

Instantly, Peridot took her hand to make her feel a bit better which Lapis appreciated "Yeah, a bit. No, a lot. It doesn't make sense! HE doesn't make sense at all! Why would he leave?! Why would he feel like this?! If it weren't for him, none of this -Little Homeworld, Little Homeschool, living in peace- wouldn't have happened. Why not enjoy it?!"

"Maybe he did enjoy it, but... But something else got in his way and now he doesn't know what to feel any more"

"How could you know?! He hadn't told anyone about this! Not even the same people who raised him since he was a baby!"

"I'm not saying I know with total certainty. I just feel it"

"Feeling doesn't help to bring him back!!" Peridot yelled enraged. Lapis flinched a bit but didn't say anything, just stared at her friend.

"Sorry, sorry. I got carried away"

"It's alright" Lapis places a hand on Peridot's shoulder to try to comfort her "I miss him too. I wish I could have known about how he felt before this happened"

"I have some ideas of why he left, but it will sound silly"

"It's ok, maybe we can understand better and use it to find him"

"It's not a clue to find Steven but a list of reasons why he did what he did. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong or just exaggerating, but I think he is struggling with the many things that have transpired around him which had never happened, you know? I mean, this is Steven we're talking about! He is the guy who helped us to adapt on Earth, encouraged us to be and do better, to feel at home on a foreign planet. Now though..."

"Roles have inverted. It's Steven now who felt like he can't belong here, like all the changes around him are just pushing him out of everyone's help"

"Which is absurd! He belongs here with all of us!"

"Remember how we used to despise Earth because it reminded us of all the trouble we went through?" Peridot nodded "Maybe Steven is remembering something nasty when seeing everyone living so well their lives, though what that's what I want to know"

"Me too. Besides, yeah, we have been attacked by Spinel, there are many gems unhappy with the changes made by him, but Steven had always been so optimistic. Why stop now? Why-why leave?" The pent-up emotions were so much for Peridot that some tears rolled down her cheeks. Lapis side-hugged her and sighed.

"Steven always fit everywhere he went" Peridot said with a shaky voice "I remember how he wanted us to be ourselves so we could adapt better, no rush. But, if what he said about Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst during that cactus incident is proof enough, then did he really felt like he never belonged or fit with all of us? With his own family and friends?"

"I don't know... Perhaps, it didn't last that long as he thought"

Peridot deflated even more. It was the biggest and most tragic irony.

[the-gay-in-the-way]

Hello Again

I’m back once more to drop off some random AU ideas and maybe even a fic chapter or two.

Maybe.

Don’t get too hopeful tho cus I can’t be trusted and I also have a lot on my plate now so I’m not always gonna have enough headspace to spare for fanfic.

Anyways.

I’ve recently binged the entirety of Steven Universe, movie and current Future episodes included, and I’ve got some ideas now.

And if I don’t write those ideas down and share them then I may very well explode.

So, we begin with this new AU I came up with.

It’s very similar to the original SU base plot: same world, same pink diamond/rose story, same diamonds on homeworld.

But we input the sides where some of the originals once were.

And we have them take the base gem roles as well.

Thomas is Steven.

Patton is Pearl.

Roman(Ruby) and Logan(Sapphire) are Garnet.

Virgil is Amethyst.

The exceptions to the original structure are these lads tho.

Remus is an Emerald who originally tries to get rid of the gems on orders from Yellow Diamond, but he switches over to their side because he comes to love Thomas and just how crazy his planet can be.

Deceit is a corrupted Pyrite/Fool’s Gold whom Thomas befriends, much like the situation with Steven and Centipeetle.

So that’s the baseline character stuff that you really need to know.

But there’s some specific stuff that I’ve thought about which I include after the cut because it does spoil a very large chunk of the special later on story stuff that would be in the fic if I ever write it.

It might not get a fic so I recommend reading this, but it’s up to you.

Right, so, I have included a fifth Diamond.

Also, White Diamond was shattered long before the entire situation with Earth ever happened.

Surprised?

Yeah, weird thing to change but it’s important to the new plot.

Speaking of that new plot.

With White Diamond out of the picture, things get a bit weird when it comes to the main storyline.

Thomas ends up just straight up meeting Blue Diamond while she’s visiting Earth.

Virgil, being the protective boi that he is, will immediately come to his rescue before Blue can do much more than just threaten Thomas and make him cry.

Virgil, like Lapis, has been thru so much shiz over his lifetime that he doesn’t really get effected by Blue’s powers as much and is able to fend her off and send her away.

It messes him up a bit tho.

He doesn’t understand why but he felt some very sudden feelings when he faced Blue Diamond.

Grief, Anger, Jealousy, and Affection.

It was very confusing.

But then Remus appears, sent by Yellow Diamond, and things get very busy so he’s not able to think about it much.

It’s a few random incidents that lead to Virgil realizing some things and suddenly regaining a bunch of lost memories.

He then attempts to run away from the Gems.

They catch him, of course.

And he tells them he can’t be one of them because of what he actually is.

He’s the very thing they’ve been fighting against.

He’s a Diamond.

After dropping this huge reveal, he manages to escape again.

Thomas manages to find him.

He asks Virgil to explain everything to him.

That he can’t help or understand if he doesn’t know what’s going on.

And he wants to help and understand him because they’re family and he loves him, regardless of what he is or who he was.

So Virgil leads him to a secret warp pad that he remembers without being able to recall how he knew of it in the first place.

They use it and end up in a garden in space, one that’s pretty similar to the one Spinel gets left on in the movie.

And Virgil’s story isn’t much different.

He tells Thomas about being created by White Diamond.

A brand new Diamond, meant to accompany the rest and assist in expanding the empire with them.

But he wasn’t perfect.

He was off-color.

A Purple Diamond with an imperfect cut.

A natural chip where there was meant to be a pointed edge.

He was flawed and imperfect.

And that made him unfit to be a Diamond.

But he’d been expensive to create.

And White felt slightly conflicted about destroying one of her own kind, even if they were flawed.

So she kept him hidden.

Created an entirely isolated garden for him to live in.

And visited him frequently to see how he was doing.

At first, at least.

Over time, the visits were less about making sure he was still there and more about wanting to spend time with the little Diamond.

(Side note: Virgil is big for a Quartz, like Jasper is, but since that’s the same size of his natural form he’s also quite small for a Diamond. Even smaller than Pink.)

White starts to think that she was, maybe, wrong about her feelings toward perfection.

Because Purple Diamond is still quite capable as a Diamond.

Even if he’s a bit small and chipped.

And she decides to bring him back home and introduce him to the others.

To see how they feel about him.

And to, maybe, just have him be a bit closer to her on a more regular basis.

But she needs to prepare some things first.

So she tells him to stay in the garden.

That they were going to play a game.

He had to stay exactly where he was and wait for her to come back.

When she returned, she’d give him a special prize for succeeding.

And, trusting her completely, he agreed to the game.

And stood there as he watched her drift away.

After that, he waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Until he received the message.

White Diamond had been shattered.

And in her place was a brand new Pink one.

A smaller Diamond, like him.

Taking a place among the Diamonds, whom he’d only ever heard about from White.

Like she belonged there.

Even while he hadn’t.

The betrayal felt immense, and almost overpowered the grief he felt about White being shattered.

It left his form cracked and altered.

And, when Pink Diamond suddenly arrived, he’d been a step away from using the warp himself for the very first time in his life.

But she stopped him and met him with a smile.

She told him that she’d found out about him from some of the files White had saved in her personal systems.

That she’d wanted to help him return home, since White had refused to let him in before.

And, wanting so desperately to believe her kind words, he’d followed her.

And she brought him to Earth.

The planet White had intended to give her once she was ready to start colonizing.

Pink brought Purple to this planet she was just starting to work on, and Rejuvenated him.

She took away his memories and forcefully altered his programming.

Then she left him in a hole she made within one of the kindergartens.

By the time he awakened, a slow process after having been altered so heavily, Pink had become Rose.

And Rose had come to realize a few things about herself.

Because Virgil didn’t know what exactly had led to him being left behind.

He only knew that White had eventually been shattered during those hundreds of years he’d been left alone.

But Rose had known the truth.

Because she’d been the cause of it.

After White left Purple, she’d gone about preparing things for his eventual arrival.

The others had noticed and had been excited about meeting a new Diamond that White was obviously creating.

She didn’t correct them, figuring that she could leave them to their excitement for the time being.

But, right when she was about to go and retrieve Purple, Pink was born.

And that suddenly took up a lot of her time.

A few hundred years passed with White doing her best to prioritize Pink’s growth.

She didn’t visit Purple again because she wanted to keep her promise of giving him a good prize for waiting for her.

So she needed to get everything prepared for him first.

By the time she completed that and was once again ready to retrieve Purple, Pink realized the truth.

There was another Diamond.

A small one like her.

One that White obviously adored.

One who’d been the only reason her own rooms had even been created.

A newer Diamond.

Who would be adored by the others.

Just as she was.

But then, where would she be?

Abandoned by those she cared about.

All because of this other Diamond who wasn’t even as perfect as she was.

Pink couldn’t stand it.

In a fearful and jealous rage, she attacked White.

And White, for the first time in a very long time, poofed.

She lost her form and her gem fell to the ground at Pink’s feet.

And Pink, upon realizing what she’d done, decided that it would be better if White never came back.

So she bubbled her and hid the bubble in a part of Homeworld she knew nobody would find.

And used some of the materials that had been used to create herself and Purple in the Diamond Kindergarten to create fake shards of Diamond.

And then, she showed the others.

She told them that another Diamond had been born.

A defective Purple one who immediately lashed out at White and shattered her.

Pink had managed to come in and shatter the Purple one right after, she was even able to show them those shards too.

And they believed her.

But they wouldn’t if Purple came back.

So she went and got rid of him.

Going so far as to rejuvenate and alter him so that he would never be able to even come close to the other Diamonds.

And then, she’d spent her time on Earth.

And she’d learned a lot.

And realized how horrible she’d been to someone who should’ve been a sibling to her.

It made it worse when he suddenly appeared out of the hole she put him in, confused and hollow and thinking he was just another quartz soldier.

So she took him in.

Accepted him into what was left of the Crystal Gems, hoping that this would at least partially make up for what she’d done to him.

And then things had followed their course and now Purple Diamond was Amethyst and Amethyst was Virgil.

And Virgil, after thousands of years, was finally remembering what he had been.

But now how he’d ended up elsewhere.

He couldn’t remember anything past receiving the message of White’s shattering.

Only what had happened before.

And that’s all I’m gonna give you guys, for now.

It really got into my head, this entire AU idea.

I seriously was gonna just exhaust myself with thinking about it if I didn’t write some of it out.

So I feel better now.

Hope ya’ll enjoyed this little AU idea ramble.

Might do something with it, might not.

But it was fun to think about.

[saltwatersweets]

Keeping it Together

Summary: Everything was better now, and Bismuth loved Earth for Earth, not for the cause she fought for. She loved the Gems working by her side, loved the Gems who had been there to repair the broken society that was Homeworld, and loved making things better. She loved today. Today had been perfect: sunshine, pretty clouds (that Lapis definitely had no part in causing, or so she said), and Little Homeworld was almost complete. Today had been perfect. So of course something had to screw it up.

Warnings: major character child death, blood, amputation (not mentioned, but is in the original au, soooo), slight gore, and swearing. I think that’s it, and for how dark this fic is, I’m surprised that’s all to be warned about. Still though, it’s dark, so read with caution!

A/N: a short fic for @spudinacup‘s “SU AU Gone Wrong”, you’ve probably heard of it by now. I just have,,, a lot of Feelings for this au and needed to write one of them out. 

Alternate titles: 1) author got the idea for some angsty words and wrote sixteen hundred words in two days. Somehow. Even though they procrastinate on Literally Everything Else. 2) author likes to italicize every other word.

Anyways, enjoy! Hopefully!

~========================~==========================~

Bismuth always had to be the one keeping it together.

It’s what she was made for, y’know? Building things, repairing things, making sure they don’t fall apart on an unstable foundation. It was her job, her duty for the Diamonds and the Empire.

And she found that she loved it.

Not the “doing it for the Diamonds” part; the diamonds could choke on their own perfection for all she cared. It was the building that entranced her; the idea of doing something she wanted to do. And she did a damn fine job of it (though she would never allow Steven - or Peridot for that matter - to hear that sort of language) if she said so herself. Little Homeworld was only a few months away from being complete, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t excited for the day the numbers were at 100%.

The last time she had felt this liberated was when Rose offered her a job to build weapons she wanted to build instead of what Homeworld wanted to build, and even then, looking back on it felt more bittersweet than anything. She still had a lot to unpack with Rose, but she found she had all the time she needed before she’d get on that airport.

(Humans were so weird with their phrases, but she learned to fit them into her vocabulary.)

Days were especially better when Steven or the other members of Main Four, as the remaining Crystal Gems had taken to calling the group, visited. Even if it happened at least once a week, there was no lying about the smiles that would be left on everyone’s faces. Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth’s certainly shined the brightest. Today, Amethyst had helped out a bit (well, she hadn’t eaten and painting supplies, which for her was helping out), and Steven said hi. A friend’s smile always gave her a smile. 

Yes, today had been a good day.

Lapis seemed especially excited about Little Homeworld’s completion status, which was nice. It was sometimes difficult to get her smile on worse days, but today she seemed happy and carefree. Peridot was smiling too, but then again, hers weren’t quite as rare.

Lapis’s smiles had gotten more and more frequent the last year, and all three were happy.

It had been such a good day.

So of course something had to mess it up.

Bismuth was outside when she first saw it. She had been bringing out a few newly made pots that would hopefully be used for flowers, and suddenly they had dropped from her arms and shattered on the ground. She didn’t bother picking up the pieces; didn’t even flinch when a few of the broken parts landed on her feet. There was no ignoring the clouds drifting apart and gathering as a large pink needle looking injector stopped by the lighthouse. Peridot saw it too, and breathed out,

“Holy smokes.”

Bismuth agreed.

She may have been primarily made of honor, but adrenaline was a pretty close second. Whatever that thing was doing on Earth, Lapis might be of help in stopping it, so she grabbed the blue Gem’s slim arm. The marine flinched for a second, but only for a second, and Peridot pointed at the injector. “What the heck is that thing?” The Era Two Gem all but screeched. “Is that an injector? It doesn’t look like the ones at the Kindergartens!” “Whatever it is, it’s a threat.” Lapis said, water appearing on her back in wings. “We’ve got to stop it; that’s where the Gems and Steven are.”

“Yeah! Crystal Temps are back together!” Peridot exclaimed, pumping her fist in the air, before her face grew a little sad. “Wait, Connie’s not here, and Pumpkin…”

She looked down for a second and her hand fell back to her side. A trash lid (she always seemed to be near those things) flew in front of her, and she hopped on it. She had really mastered her abilities now. 

“Let’s go.” Bismuth said. 

It was very lucky they had managed to install the warp today, or else they wouldn’t have gotten up there in time. The temple looked a little different from the last time Bismuth had seen it, but now was not the time for sight-seeing. Lapis had always been the fastest of the trio, and as soon as they warped to the Gems’ house, she flew out the door. Peridot was a few seconds behind, and the builder Gem sprinted right behind. 

All it took was a quick sprint up the hill.

The first thing Bismuth saw was a whole lot of red. It took her a minute to realize that the paint like substance was human blood.

The last time she had seen this much blood was thousands of years ago, back when humans had still fought in the Gem War. What the hell had happened here?

She got her answer. She almost wished she didn’t.

It would’ve been so easy to collapse on the ground, as Lapis and Peridot had evidently done, when she saw Steven (the one who had unintentionally and then intentionally set her free, the one who had forgiven her for all her mistakes, the one who had pretty much forgiven everyone for their mistakes, the one who had suffered so much for something as unfair as the Gemstone that had been enclosed in his navel, the one who didn’t deserve any of this bullshit) lying bloodied on the ground, motionless.

It would’ve been so easy to run away from the graphic scene, to rub at her eyes furiously to try and erase the image from her mind, to leave the others to bring the little meatball home and to think of something that could help then (maybe one of Rose’s fountains? They were still working, that could work).

It would have been so easy to stop the pink version of Steven from bringing down a magenta rejuvenator down on the heart-shaped Gem and smashing it to shards, to-

Wait.

What.

If she had veins, they would have been full of adrenaline. What else could explain the mad dash she made towards the- the- what could she call this being, who had no expression except for molten, bubbling fury? 

It was… surprisingly difficult to stop the weapon from smashing the Gem to pieces. She didn’t know why she was surprised; Steven was a Diamond after all, he was powerful. 

The pink hand trembled with force, and it took everything in her power to keep the handle raised. “What the HECK are you doing?” She yelled with force and fear, hand shaking on the rejuvenator. “We don’t shatter Gems… remember...?” 

His eyes gazed up at her. 

Stars, those eyes.

Every Gem knew the Diamond pupils when they saw them in their eyes.

She had never wanted to see them in Steven’s. 

He  dropped the weapon, and she instantly relaxed a bit. He remained tense, but at least one issue was solved.

Bismuth let out an unnecessary sigh of relief. “Thank goodness,” she breathed, clutching the weapon to her chest. She spared the pink Steven another look, and found pink eyes staring blankly at her, searching for… something.

He didn’t seem to find anything he was looking for.

She looked away.

Peridot had begun wailing now. Lapis was silent. 

He still stared, intense but blank. He seemed to be in shock, and she couldn’t blame him. A pat on his back was the best she could do.  “Let’s get you home.” Bismuth said, adrenaline vanished, voice barely more than a whisper at this point.

(And if Bismuth picked the boy up and cradled him like a baby in her arms and desperately wanted to break down in tears and hold him close to her chest, and wanted him to wrap his arms - both of them - around her too, then it was never the matter.)

(And if she couldn’t stop herself from feeling around a little frantically for a heartbeat (even though she knew in the deepest part of her coding that there would be nothing) and giving out a little gasp when she found none, and tried not to imagine his dying whimpers, or how much it must have hurt, or how he had been so alone, then it was never the matter.)

(And if she wanted to take the Gem she’d bubbled and smash it beneath her feet herself, until there was nothing left but dust, but it’s wrong and you’re past that and that’s not what Steven would want kept her from doing that, then it was never the matter.)

(And if she wanted to gently lay the child in her arms down (had it really been two years since they’d met in Lion’s mane? Some days it felt like it had been yesterday; some days it felt like she’d known him his whole life. After two whole years, though, he still felt as fragile and tiny and so, so very breakable in her arms as he always had.) and shake his Gem, desperately searching, begging, pleading him to just say something, to show some sort of emotion, please, Steven had healed so many people, so many broken lives, why couldn’t he heal himself, then it was never the matter.)

(And if she instead chose to carry him to Rose’s fountain with the notes of a millennia-old lullaby that had been sung during the times of the Gem War falling from her lips, and to brush his messy, curly hair out of his face, and to hold him even tighter to her chest, to her exposed gemstone, because it may be the last time she ever gets to hug him, then it was never the matter.)

Bismuth always had to be the one keeping it together.

[elven-ariaera]

I was watching Steven Universe pretty much since the beginning. I thought it was a cute show at first, but I also didn’t mind missing a few episodes here and there. With each new episode, I was becoming more engrossed in this wonderful world created by Rebecca Sugar and her crew. While I will be the first to admit that the show did have its problems and there were some elements I personally feel did not need to be added, I would still rank this show as one of my all-time favorites overall.

Now that the series has finally come to a conclusion (spoilers ahead if you’re not caught up), I thought now would be a good time to reflect on the series and take a look back at some of my favorite characters. To me, they were the heart of the show (along with all the Gem lore), and watching them grow throughout the series is definitely what kept me coming back. With that being said, here are my top 10 favorite Steven Universe characters.

Of course, before we begin, I must provide the disclaimer that this is, in fact, my personal opinion. There is no right or wrong best character (though there is a correct worst character, and we all know that’s Renaldo — Kidding. Sort of.) Whether you agree or disagree with my list or the order, perhaps I can at least offer a different perspective on these characters that I just find fascinating.

10) Yellow Diamond

Yellow was the first Diamond we were introduced to, and she clearly made a presence on the show. Her enormous stature and terrifying expressions were enough to show us that she was a force to be reckoned with. Her design and demeanor alone were enough to capture my attention, but there was more than just that as we saw more from this so-called tyrannical leader.

“What’s the Use of Feeling, Blue?” is one of, if not my absolute favorite songs from Steven Universe. Yes, I love the melody, but Yellow Diamond shows her true colors during this piece and it is evident. It’s clear that she’s affected by all the strife of the past, but to maintain power and appearance, she hides it all away. She grieves with aggression, taking it out on other planets and people, but deep down she’s hurting badly. It’s clear to hear near the end of the piece where she tries so hard to keep from breaking down.

9) Pink Diamond/ Rose Quartz

A lot of people started to hate Rose Quartz when her identity as Pink Diamond was revealed. I personally found it fascinating. Rose was by no means perfect; it’s made quite clear that she’s had quite the troubled past both by her own doing and the doings of the other Diamonds, and through it she’s done some pretty terrible things. I understand that. The thing is, though, she learned from it and eventually lead a whole rebellion to right her wrongs and allow Gems to have their freedom.

I think the main concern of why people only seem to hate her more and more is because in the beginning, we learned how ‘good’ she was and as we learned more about her, going further and further back, we see all of her biggest errors. If we play those events in reverse, we see her grow as a person. Her dynamic change is what makes her such a well-written character. The mystery, the reveals, how we learned about her bit by bit — it all built up to some very heavy drama, which for a television show, is a great thing.

I also believe that her transformation from a childish tyrant to a compassionate mother was a genuine one. I don’t doubt that she really wanted to have Steven more than anything. Even with all that we know about her now, looking back at that videotape she made for him, those feelings stand the same.

8) Amethyst

If you asked me my opinion on Amethyst when I first started the series, I would say that she was a fine character. She made me laugh, she had a fun personality; there was nothing wrong with her as a character, but I thought that she would only ever be comic relief. I never expected so much depth to be behind this goofy facade. Then “On the Run” premiered.

I never expected the episode to take such a turn. I always had a feeling a Pearl-Amethyst fight was coming with the way they constantly butted heads, but I never thought it would be for reasons like this. This was probably the first thing that really impacted me on an emotional level in this series. Amethyst’s face when she wails out “I never asked to be made!” still stands out in my mind to this day.

As the series progressed, Amethyst learns to love herself and embrace her faults, leading her to become, as Steven says, the most mature crystal gem. She has seriously come such a long way and I’m so glad that she was not simply comic relief. 

7) Greg Universe

I feel like a lot of us were expecting Greg to be a kind of absentee parent when this show first started, but he proved us wrong and has definitely shown us what kind of top tier dad he can be.

Is he perfect? No, but that’s okay. Yeah, he’s made his fair share of mistakes, but everything he’s ever done has only ever been for his son. The lengths he would go to keep Steven safe or to even push him to be his best self astounds me. There has been a lack of role model father figures in animation for a certain point, and ever since Steven Universe, I’ve definitely noticed an increase in them. While I’m not sure if he is the reason (probably not, but), I definitely think he’s an example to be followed for storytellers to come. 

I guess it comes with getting older, but I find myself feeling more sympathetic, interested, and entertained by the parents of the child protagonist rather than the protagonist themselves. Seeing Greg come to learn about the Gems from an outsider’s perspective rather than Steven’s somewhat knowledgable background, being partially raised by them and all. I think that so many of Greg’s flashback episodes are among my favorites of the series. 

6) Rainbow Quartz 2.0 & Sardonyx

I had to give a tie to these two fantastic fusions because I adore them both for the same reasons. They’re fun, flashy, and always a pleasure to see them on screen. Also, they both include Pearl, who’s quirks are evident in each fusion.

I was immediately drawn to Sardonyx’s larger-than-life (pun fully intended) personality. She’s bold and poised, but also knows to get a chuckle out of her audience — No, really, she plays up her act as if she were performing for an audience. She has a tendency to break the fourth wall, but in a more subtle way than Sunstone. Everything she does is simply entertaining and I just love it.

Rainbow Quartz 2.0 is similar in the sense of having a whimsical charm. Rainbow has a bit more tendency for being a caregiver than Sardonyx, but that only makes sense with both Pearl and Steven’s gentle natures being a key component in Rainbow’s makeup. Still, that doesn’t stop Rainbow for exerting a goofy attitude as well, which is so much fun to watch. A natural Mary Poppins! 

5) Spinel

A character that I thought would be a one-off movie villain has squirmed her way right into my heart. She is one of the most precious characters I have ever seen. Seriously, I was going into the movie with not many expectations for this new Gem, but man was I blown away with just how equally charming and threatening this character could be!

As a villain, she was terrifying and crazy. There was clear reasoning for her behavior, but even though we didn’t find out her motivation until about the halfway point, that hostility was clear and kept me wondering why. To find out she had been abandoned for so long was heart-crushing, especially after getting a glimpse of who she used to be. While I still like Pink/Rose as a character, this was something that I could not just let slide by.

She can still hold her own once she makes peace with what happened and moves on to befriend the other Diamonds. My heart skipped a beat when she reappeared for the series finale and she was as bubbly as ever. It’s so nice to see that she got her happily ever after too!

4) Peridot

The first of many characters with solid redemption arcs, and I think hers was the most effective and well thought out from a writing perspective. The Crewniverse were allowed to really take time with this one and so it felt genuine when Peridot finally decided to make up her mind and join the likes of the Crystal Gems. I truly think she had one of the best arcs in the series.

Aside from that, she’s also got such a strong personality. Gems made in Yellow Diamonds court have a tendency to be more on the snobby side, which she definitely is. Despite that, she still manages to be charming with her naiveté of Earth and its people. Even when she does have downright “unlikable” moments, such as her degrading mannerisms towards Pearl or the way she insulted Amethyst without even thinking, she eventually comes to the realization that what she did was wrong and makes it a priority to apologize in her own Peridot way.

Peridot is the product of what kindness can do to someone. Steven had no reason to keep caring for her the way he did, but in the end, it changed her. She kept her core personality traits, which I so appreciate as well, but she also didn’t revert back to her old ways either. She’s a changed Gem and had returned the favor by being a kind ambassador for Lapis, Bismuth, and I’m sure plenty of uncorrupted Gems once Little Homeworld had been completed.

3) White Diamond

White Diamond was exactly what I expected and what I wanted her to be. She has a radiant presence (quite literally) and exudes authority. As an antagonist, she was a worthy final opponent. While I would have loved the finale to be a few more episodes to get some more depth on the matter, what we did get, I loved.

From her first appearance, I knew White would be a threat like no other. While she certainly had unbelievable physical prowess, it was her manipulative brain-washing that had me both intrigued and terrified. Simply when we first saw Pink Pearl, who we assumed was White Pearl, you could tell something eerie was going on. Slowly, one-by-one, she took hold of all Steven’s allies — even the other Diamonds — and she proceeded to remove his gem. She had all the power. Of course, if anyone was going to stop her, it was Steven, but she put up one heck of a fight up ’til the very end.

A lot of people are iffy about how quickly she turned to Steven’s side, and I do understand that. Like I said, I wish there could have been a bit more time for that, but regardless I don’t mind what we received. I love how over the top White is, and how she’s trying so hard to be more compassionate but in the end, she’s still, so to say, living in her own head. Again, I love that these characters have a change of heart, but they still struggle with their past.

2) Blue Diamond

Throughout learning about the Diamonds, we are told by the Crystal Gems how heartless they were and what tyrannical rulers they could be. Granted, all these stories were true, and these actions should not be simply overlooked, but what we weren’t told is the tragedies they too have endured. After seeing the brash conqueror, Yellow Diamond, it was easy to label them as the clear “bad guys.” However, when we first meet Blue Diamond, she is weeping over a loved one.

Grief and sadness is something I easily relate to, so Blue was easy for me to sympathize with right from the start. Seeing how (for lack of better words) human she was made me think that perhaps there was another side to the Diamonds. Maybe they could be talked to instead of fought against. Seeing as Blue seemed like the most empathetic of the group, I was hoping that she would be the one they would turn to first, and she was.

Getting there wasn’t easy, and I’m glad it wasn’t — disregarding the last few episodes that needed to be a little bit squished to finish the story. Blue was the most emotional of the Diamonds, but she let them overtake her, deafening herself to hearing anything that might help her. Even Yellow Diamond, her closest confidant, could never fully restore her to a sound mind. This is an all too real problem, to let depression consume you, so to see that she was eventually able to be freed from this grief was truly satisfying.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Connie Maheswaran Connie is such an endearing character and the rock which Steven relied on. She was always the voice of reason and her love and dedication always shone above the rest.

Bismuth The only way to properly describe this character is strong. Strong personality, strong warriors, and strong beliefs. Though a little misguided, she believed in her cause and wanted to do what she could for her newfound family.

Padparadscha A precious angel of a Gem who needed much more screen time (along with Lars and the other Off-Colors.) Though her abilities were not so much helpful, she was still eager to do her part and help her friends. 

1) Pearl

So here’s the thing about Pearl: I loved her since the beginning. She was my favorite character from the start, being able to relate to her overly-protective behavior and somewhat neurotic antics all with a side of salt. I always admired how graceful she was and enjoyed the show most when she was on screen. Wonderfully brought to life by the voice work of Deedee Magno Hall, I was eager to see what would be in store for my favorite Crystal Gem. Little did I know how much she had been through and was about to endure throughout the course of the series.

The world-building and mystery of Steven Universe are some of its most fascinating elements, and so much of this is explored in Pearl’s overarching story. There was so much we didn’t know about the world of Gems and in turn, so much we didn’t know about Pearl. There was so much hidden within her, whether it be her history with Homeworld, Rose, or the alleged shattering of Pink Diamond, there was so much to be unveiled and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to learn more.

Pearl has been through so much suffering in her life, struggling to know where she belonged, and once she thought she knew what that was, she was ultimately denied it in the end. After grieving the loss of Rose Quartz, she took it as her new duty to be there for Steven as she once was her. Though she was technically a liberated Pearl, she was still binding herself to someone.

Throughout the series, we learn these secrets and see her as she still struggles to overcome these foreboding obstacles. It was so uplifting and such a victorious moment when she claimed “I do this for me!” in “Reunited.” I know she’s a fictional character, but I am so proud of how far she’s come and the independent individual she’s finally become. She doesn’t need someone else to serve or define who she is, no matter what her future entails, she is the master of herself. 

It’s rare that you find a show that has such an exceptional cast of characters where so many can resonate with you on a personal level. Each character in Steven Universe, whether we personally like them or not, has such depth and thought put into every one of them — and yes, that includes the townies. While I understand it’s not necessarily a show for everyone, I myself am glad I decided to give it a shot when it first aired. These characters have shown me so much in terms of both writing and personal growth, and I hope this little list of mine serves well as a love letter to thank all who worked on this show. Though it’s over now, these characters will always be in my heart.

I’m curious to know, who are your favorite characters from this show? Have any similar opinions? Different? Feel free to respectfully share your comments down below! 

Now that Steven Universe has finally come to a conclusion, I thought now would be a good time to reflect on the series and take a look back at some of my favorite characters. I was watching Steven Universe pretty much since the beginning. I thought it was a cute show at first, but I also didn’t mind missing a few episodes here and there.

[ya-boy-mycroft]

WARNING SPOILERS FOR ENDING OF STEVEN UNIVERSE

Change Your Mind Alternate Ending

I wasn’t happy with the ending of that Steven Universe episode, so I’m going to rewrite it myself to satisfy my need for White Diamond to be evil since she is a Space Hitler Rock Queen That We Do Not Stan. Steven Universe does not in any way belong to me, I am simply an angry fan that is creative. This will take place right as Steven fuses back with himself for context. Now let’s get to this!

“I’ve alway been me…” Steven looked up in tears at White Diamond. She was startled that Steven was not his mom. Rose, Pink or whatever was gone for good. White’s shock quickly formed a sly smile that formed on all of the gray faces that he once knew.

“Oh dear, I guess you killed Pink. You will have to be shattered for that.” White said while standing up. She and all of Steven’s friends stood there smiling.

“Steven what does she mean by ‘Shattered’? Connie whispered in fear. She was in danger and it was all Steven’s fault. “They’re going to kill me.”

Steven looked to Connie, his best friend, in fear. He had so much to do with her. They’re greatest moments flashed before his eyes; the Jungle Moon, all their training, sleepovers, the time they got stuck in the snow, the race, their fusion, their first meeting. She meant the world to him and he got her in danger. He shouldn’t have let her come with.

“I won’t let them,” She exclaimed, “I’ll protect you! I’m your knight and you’re my shield!”

She stood ready to fight three diamonds and all the Crystal Gems. She looked to Steven, letting him know she’d fight to the death. She was so young. Steven thought back to the first time he nearly killed her and it dawned on him; He’ll bubble her to keep her safe.

“Connie…” Steven looked to her with tears and a smile, “I’m sorry.”

“Steven?!” Connie banged on the walls of the pink bubble trying to break it. “Steven what are you doing?!”

Steven put his hand on the bubble, touching Connie’s hand through the magical shield. He cried as he pushed her away, thinking of how much she meant to him. Connie rolled away in tears as Steven was left with the Gray Gems. He looked to them all, remembering the good times and bad times. He thought of how Amethyst helped him through so much. How she made him laugh even when there was nothing funny and things were really rough, how they were imperfect gems trying to make it in a world where they had to fit everyone’s standards perfectly. Most of all he thought of how she was like the big sister he never had and that it was all gone now. He cried thinking about it. She was hurt and broken just like him and she still didn’t dump her problems on him without knowing he could handle it. She pushed him out of danger and there was nothing he could do to save her right now. That beam was meant for him and she pushed him out of the way.

Steven turned to face White Diamond. That smile was still on her face. That smile told a thousand gems that they would die. Those gems had friends and families too. They had Amethysts. They had Pearls. They had Garnets. They were shattered just like Steven was going to be. He couldn’t let that happen.

“I am not afraid of you!” Steven shouted. “I have traveled space alone, I have faced Yellow and Blue, I just got my gem ripped out of me for pete’s sake! You do not scare me. I am a Crystal Gem and nothing scares me!” There was a moment of silence. Steven stared White Diamond down as she stared back unchanged. Her smile twitched. She opened her mouth letting out a laughter that echoed through the Gray Gems she enslaved. Steven stood back. He looked over to Garnet.

She was always there for Steven. She saw his future and tried to make it safe like a good parent. She was twice the gem anyone else was, pun intended. He thought of all the times she protected him from his future, the time they escaped the ship together, how whenever she split up she always got back together again. Most of all though, he thought of how she made time for his childish adventures. She supported his fun times no matter how silly they were. Now she is being controlled by White Diamond laughing at how he was about to be shattered. That made him mad.

“You’re not shattering me. Not until I get my friends back.”

Steven looked up at White and ran towards her. He lept at her, but White and Blue blocked him. They were much bigger and stronger than him, but they didn’t scare him. Blue was soft and kind underneath her grief and Yellow never questioned authority even if it meant hurting others. They were just as clueless as any other gem, only with more power.

“Oh Starlight, you really think you can take all of us down?” All the gems said in unison.

Yellow and Blue slapped Steven down. A hand landed on Steven’s shoulder as he lay in a crater. He slowly blinked his eyes open and saw Pearl. Flashes of her being there for Pink Diamond raced through Steven’s thoughts, her being there for Rose Quartz as well. Her being there as Pink Diamond met her first human, her being there as Rose Quartz decided to have a baby, and her being there for Steven’s birth. Pearl was the one constant in all of Steven and his mother’s life. She made him feel safe and loved. No matter what happened, Pearl would be there for him. She would protect him. But now...

Steven reached out for Pearl in tears. The gray smile faded from her face. Steven looked to White, but nothing shifted on her face.

“St… Ste… Ste…” Pearl glitched. She lurched her hand back. “Ste… Stestestestesteste”

Steven looked at his one constant friend. She was slowly returning to him. It started in her feet, the colour slowly returning to her. He looked back to White as her smile shifted into a frown.

“What is the meaning of this?” White and all her minions shouted.

“Ste… Stev… Steven. Steven. Steven! Steven!” Pearl was back.

Pearl knelt down to Steven’s level, hugging him.

“How?!” White Diamond shouted, “How did you do this?”

All the Gray Gems moved in on the two, but Steven didn’t even notice. All he cared about was that Pearl was back. She was back and nothing could stop them now.

“I love you,” Steven whispered to Pearl, “Pearl.”

A pink glow emanated around the two. They were in tears, not paying attention to anything around them as they embraced. Two lifelong friends together again. The pink glow stopped the gems around them.

“Oh Steven,” Pearl cried softly, “I am never going to leave you again.” The glow shone throughout the room. It was so bright and warm. The gems looked almost amazed by it as it slowly turned them back into their real selves. Garnet first, causing her to fall onto her knees slamming the ground with her fist. Then Amethyst, who fell backwards smiling. White was staring at this all happening. Steven looked up from his embrace and saw his friends were back.

“Guys?” Steven and Pearl stood up hand in hand, running towards their friends. “Guys! Guys, you’re back!”

Steven and Pearl laughed out in joy as they saw their family was back together. They all embraced joyfully. Not one had a dry eye in that hug.

“Are you done?” White Diamond asked, unimpressed. Blue and Yellow were still attached to her, along with that poor broken pearl. “You all will have to be shattered. I thought maybe I could have let your little pets live, as long as they were under my control.” White stood up and moved closer to the family gathering, “But seeing as you all insist on being so difficult, you leave me no choice.”

“Don’t you see?” Steven stood up and took a breath. He started singing, “If you’re evil and you’re on the rise,”

“You can count on the four of us taking you down.” Pearl joined in

“Cause we’re good and Evil never beats us,” Garnet continued.

“We’ll win the fight and then go out for Pizza!” Amethyst finished.

They stood together, looking at the Diamonds as unafraid as they were before.

“We”

White shot a beam at them, but Steven reflected it with his shield.

“Are the”

Yellow ran towards them, trying to break their forms apart but Garnet held her back. Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot flew in. Bismuth helped Garnet hold Yellow Diamond back as Peridot and Lapis flew towards a speeding Amethyst.

“Crystal”

Amethyst and Blue Diamond collided. Blue tried her power, but Lapis, being immune, was able to fight back.

“Gems”

Pearl and Steven ran towards White. Peridot asked what she could do to help, and Steven told her to protect Connie. Get Connie out of the battle and make sure she is safe. Peridot nodded, promising to be back.

“We’ll always save the day.”

Connie flew away, knowing it was for the best that she didn’t fight. Pearl was stopped by Broken Pearl, leaving Steven to fight White

“And if you think we can’t”

Garnet and Bismuth push Yellow down together.

“We’ll always find a way.”

Amethyst and Lapis knock down Blue.

“That’s why the people of this world,”

Pearl wins against Broken pearl.

“Believe in.”

Steven and his friends stand together as Peridot flies back, saying that Connie was safe and wished them luck.

“Garnet”

Garnet leaps up, making her giant fists.

“Amethyst”

Amethyst created her whip, but this time it was stronger, more electric.

“And Pearl.”

Pearl looks up with her spear in hand, then over to Steven.

“And Steven.”

Steven creates his shield. A look of determination was on everyone. Bismuth, Lapis and Peridot looked to the 4 gems with hope as they all prepared to fight White.

“You really think you can stop me?” White mocked. “It was cute how you took down the Diamonds and my pearl, but did you really think it would be that easy? I wanted you to win against them. I thought you all deserved some amount of this ‘joy’ you are all obsessed with before you are all shattered.”

Yellow, Blue and Broken Pearl all stood up. They were laughing just like White. They seemed unphased by it all.

“But I am curious,” White reached out and took Steven. Everyone screamed and shouted, trying to get him back but to no avail. “How did you get them back?”

“What?” Steven stood in the giant palm of White’s hand.

“Oh Starlight, you know what I am saying. How did you break my control over them?” White gestured towards his friends. “It was the only impressive thing you did since arriving here.”

Steven looked down towards his friends and clutched at his gem. He looked back to White knowing his answer.

“Love.” Steven answered joyfully, “I thought about how I loved my friends and it all came back. Memories of good times, bad times, and scary times. I thought of how I missed them and how angry it made me feel that you did that to them, and how much I wanted them all back.”

White stared for a few seconds. She blinked in disbelief and laughed.

“That is absolutely ridiculous.” White laughed. But only White laughed. Yellow, Blue and Broken Pearl just stood there in the same disbelief that White was in before. Slowly they started returning. Steven fell down on one knee as it happened, flashes of his mother’s old life came to him. Memories that weren’t Steven’s flooded in. Walking through a courtroom, playing silly games of tag, creating Pebbles to keep Pink company while they were away, singing, having fun. Steven saw the caring side of Yellow and Blue from his mother’s perspective. He smiled at them. They were just large children like him. And Broken Pearl was his friend. She gave his mom ideas for different creatures, ran around with her while the Diamonds were away, told her stories and so much more. Pearl and Broken Pearl were his mother’s best friends and it made Steven cry.

“Love is more powerful than anything.” Steven shouted. “It heals, it destroys, it frees people and it can hurt people. But most importantly, it leads people. It leads them to do what they want. Love makes people alive. You cannot control love, no matter how hard you try.”

“You fool.” White laughed. “Love is going to kill you.”

White balled up her hand in a fist, seemingly crushing Steven. The Crystal Gems looked up in shock and screamed. White laughed as she opens her fist to find Steven in a bubble. He was fine.

“Love is what makes me me, what fuses Garnet together, what Inspires Pearl to fight, what keeps Amethyst going. Love brought Bismuth back to Bismuth, helped Peridot become strong and convinced Lapis to defend her friends. Love made Blue Diamond grieve for thousands of years, Yellow to hesitate. Love makes us real and alive.”

“Love is useless.” White shouted. “It makes gems weak and flawed.”

“It made them beautiful.” Steven looked down to his friends as they helped the Diamonds and Broken Pearl up. They stood ready to fight for Love. “It makes us stronger.”

“It makes you weak.”

White Diamond shot more beams at them, but Steven kept reflecting them with his shield. While White was distracted by Steven, Garnet and Bismuth ran towards White’s legs for a knockout punch. Yellow and Blue stopped them.

“It’s not that easy. You need to be as strong or stronger than one of us.” Yellow warned.

Bismuth and Garnet nodded at each-other and danced. They swirled into each other, fusing together to make Spectrolite. A beautiful and powerful rainbow gem.

(Author’s Note: I just looked up a fancy colourful gem Idk what their actual fusion would be named, I just figured there needed to be more fusions and stuff for Bismuth and her gang to do.)

“Do you really think more fusion is necessary?” Blue sighed. “You are made strong enough.”

“Can it Blue Eyes, I gots to take down big white.” Spectrolite responded. “Why don’tchu fuse with Yellow there? Yous would make a powerful fusion.”

(Author’s Note: Sorry, she’s stereotypically Boston. They all have a different voice I thought she could be sassy and boston-y. I really just wanted a different ending where there was an actual battle and Bismuth fought in it.)

I never finished, lemme know if you want me to tho. I just had this sitting for a while and wanted to share it.

[fictionalnormalcy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1xYrCg0CVE

*rubs hands

All right, I have entered analysis mode. For this post, of the new Steven Universe Future trailer that was released. Now I would just to alert ahead of time, that these upcoming theories expressed are not entirely mine. I bet a lot of us have this on our mind. I am just giving my two cents on this. I have provided a link to the trailer above should you like some insight before reading ahead into the analysis. It is a mere thirty seconds, but man it’s a lot of mind-blowing images packed into the video. There are spoilers ahead, you have been warned.

SPOILERS, TURN BACK NOW IF NOT SEEN

Now, we all remember how the movie ended right? Steven has come to the realization that he will always have work to do, but has also acknowledged that for now he’ll enjoy his happily ever after. When we were given the first teaser trailer, we see that Steven has changed his shirt once again to the same one his dad wore in the flashback episodes. He can now drive, and Little Homeworld has been completed. Then we’re given a single glance of the hardships to come. 

There are so many theories that came out of this image. It’s one that leaves you purely shocked. That fact that every single being had glowing eyes. Jasper is still nefarious, even after two years have passed. White Diamond seems to be coming undone. There are two new Lapis Lazulis to be introduced to. A new fusion with the wings of an Aquamarine and the distinct hair of a Ruby. A strange cactus creature that has four heads, all in the shape of Steven. And what was believed to be the source of it all, is the mysterious gigantic caterpillar in the back, which has the odd shape of Steven’s nose. 

One of the biggest theories I came upon was the corrupted Steven theory. A factor I found most supporting to the theory was a comic I saw for Goretober. Featuring Jasper and Steven. A confrontation where she tells him something similar to what we saw in this current trailer, where she’ll never see Steven as her diamond. Jasper forcibly fuses with Steven, and because there are permanent marks of corruption, he’s affected as well. Which is how he turns into the caterpillar, and is believed to put those other beings under his control as well. 

The cactus is, a little strange, to be frank. The simplest explanation seems to be that Steven somehow licks or bites into a cactus, and it turns into the creature. The Watermelon Stevens and Pumpkin are proof enough. I just don’t know what would make Steven use his powers on a prickly cactus of all things.

I included this image, as reference for what is seen in the newly released trailer. 

We’re introduced to another storyline. There is a new gem, which appears to be a Rose Quartz that was once corrupted. Steven is showing her around, and from the looks of it, giving her a tour of Little Homeworld to see if she would want to stay. Telling her how everyone is free to be who they want to be. But then, it seems to change. We start hearing the faint echoes of his voice, everything seems to descend into chaos. We���re reintroduced to characters that I bet a lot of us wondered where they were during the course of the movie. So we are getting some clarification. The Amethysts and Jaspers have come to Earth, Yellow Pearl posing as a model with Vidalia teaching an art class. Pink Pearl’s eye continues to be cracked, and her outfit still displaying the color of her Diamond. 

The first trailer, gave us the illusion that things were going to be sunshine and rainbows, with the single still portraying the conflict to come. As for this second trailer, I would have to say that there’s a lot more going on that is going to leave us fans emotionally wrecked. 

Oh, and I just want to give a big thanks to Kimberly Brooks for providing such a fantastic voice for Jasper. I am fangirling about this because I think of the other character she voiced, Princess Allura from the reboot of DreamWorks Voltron, and I am very impressed at the drastic change in voice. Okay, moving on.

Of the beings we saw in the single image shown above, only Jasper and the fusion are included in the new trailer. We only get the fusion of Aquamarine and Eyeball for a few seconds, but they seem to be in the temple. Jasper, however, is best expressed as the largest conflict in this trailer. I feel that they included these three gems because the SU Crew would like us to see who still has a bone to pick with Steven and the rest of the Crystal Gems. But I think what really caught my attention the most, that seemed to fuel most of the dramatic parts we saw in the trailer, was what was happening to Steven. And let me just say, from the little we were given, I can make a vague guess as to why Zach Callison says this in an interview: “I hate to do this but the hardest scene I’ve done I did a few weeks ago and I can’t talk about it for quite a while.” I can bet that we’ll be seeing it in the epilogue series.

Jasper, from what we can guess, hasn’t been living in Little Homeworld or in Beach City. Nor has she returned to Homeworld. From what I can perceive, she took some time to herself, and has finally returned. In Battle of Heart and Mind, we see that she clearly needs some time to take in the new things that were uncovered. The biggest being that Steven had Pink Diamond’s gem. And judging from how she returned, Jasper is still as bitter as ever. She still harbors resentment toward Steven, but we don’t see if she wishes to enact revenge or strike at Steven in a different way.

The best we can tell, is that she does want to pick a fight with Steven. And only him. That looks like her foot pushing down on him when he goes fully pink.

There’s a screenshot someone made of Pearl stepping in front of Pink Pearl, defending her from someone. That someone is believed to be Steven. Following on that theory, it leads me to think that it may have been Pink Diamond’s fault that Pink Pearl’s eye was irreversibly damaged. Her cracked eye may not have come from an event that occurred while she was under White Diamond’s control. When we saw her in the Diamond Days episodes, I was under the impression that she had hurt herself while under White’s control, and that White had never allowed her to heal. But judging from how two years have passed and her eyes still continues in that condition, I have to accept that it’s permanent.

There’s another scene where we see Pink Pearl staring at Pink Diamond wistfully. I have a statement to make. Pearl had a crush on Rose Quartz. Pink Pearl had a crush on Pink Diamond. I’ll leave it at that.

I am most psyched, about the fact that Steven turns pink. I feel like it’s further fuel to the corrupted Steven theory, but the trailer provided a more frightening aspect. The trailer as a whole, just seemed to show Steven, unraveling. I mean, why would he suddenly turn off the video his mother made for him with a panicked look on his face. I don’t quite get the vibe that he’s trying to hide it from someone. The echoes of his voice, especially that “Soon we’ll be able to put the past behind us,” the way it kept repeating in the glitched out manner... I really think he’s saying that to reassure himself. Only one more struggle to go through.

A lot of people are suggesting that Steven is getting angry enough that Pink Steven is taking over. I actually, do not think that’s the case.

He looks wholeheartedly Steven. Pink Steven in Battle of Heart and Mind had an empty look and glasslike eyes. What I do agree on, is the rage. Now, Steven being the cinnamon roll that he is, it was quite an awakening when we saw what he was capable of when angry. I want to say that the first sign we see that he can spiral out of control was when he started having Diamond dreams and confronted the gems about it. They weren’t necessarily afraid of him in that aspect, but his outburst of how he hated them keeping secrets from him made everyone squirm in their seats.

But going Pink? This takes it to a whole new level. I can see where the Gem Steven taking over comes from. When we see that piece of Steven, it seemed relatively emotionless.

The anger it portrayed expresses how much unbridled power Steven holds. I mean, when he gets legitimately angry there is damage. When Pink Steven went off, with that single shouted phrase he incapacitated WD and all of the hypnotized gems. Almost knocking over Human Steven and Connie as all. The only emotion that Gem Steven Can seem to express, is anger. 

I’m going to steer a little off track, but I swear this will relate to the trailer analysis later. So we were given a foreshadow in the episode where the gems meet Steven for the first time around Christmas. Where they wind up kidnapping him because they didn’t know how to handle a gem-human hybrid. Amethyst says that it was just Rose shapeshifting, which she had done. Pearl thinks Rose is trapped inside, and comes very close to pulling out Steven’s gem. The closest anyone got was Garnet. Saying it was fusion, and it was. Since Steven is half human half gem, there are literally two separate beings combined to make the Steven Universe we know and love.

We see as much when we see that Steven’s human half cannot survive if not supported by the gem half. It reminds me of the crystal shards, and like Garnet says, are pieces of a gem struggling to find the rest of themselves. The shards express one emotion. Desperation. We see Human Steven displaying this as he tries to crawl to his gem half even when he can’t even stand on his own two feet. He’s a fusion, and as seen through most, there are a variety of those emotions running through the combined being. If you pay attention to most fusions, whether when they’re solid or just short of coming undone, you can perceive who is communicating based on the dialogue exchanged. Garnet when saying that they must forgive Pearl. Stevonnie when saying they had to beat Kevin. Malachite when saying they were pathetic. Alexandrite when saying for the two of them to cut it out. You start to get a distinct voice of who is influencing the fusion. 

Perhaps there’s a chance, that when Steven turns Pink, it’s the only aspect that Gem Steven can express. It’s the only opportunity for it to express its own control over the fusion. This theory is fragile at best. It still does leave you wondering why only now is Gem Steven starting to express itself by having the fusion turn completely pink. 

These two images, made me think of a separate theory. Still somewhat involved with Steven going full on Pink. There was also another image where we see Pink Pearl with a blank look in her eye and the crack spreading across her hair and face. 

You know, I feel there’s a reason that they have Steven wearing black. It’s because he’s going to become the darkest we’ve ever seen him. There are THREE instances in the 30 second trailer alone, that show us Steven doesn’t just turn Pink once. And we certainly aren’t given the impression that this is just some new power Steven unfolded. This seems to say, that Steven has finally been pushed to the limit. You have entered him into a vengeful state, and he can be considered a threat to others. 

And honest to gods, I do not think Jasper is the sole cause of this release of unrelenting rage.

After this split second image, we do get to see that Steven has regret for what he seemingly just did, cracking a screen of some sort. His hands are cupped over his mouth and there are tears in his eyes. It’s a direct parallel to what his mother did when he had the Diamond dream as Stevonnie. 

It could suggest that at first he isn’t control of when he turns Pink, but soon enough he accepts the rage, and unleashes it. 

Lot of drama coming. Man, Steven Universe has come a long way.