#WE DONT KNOW WHY SHE LEFT SPINEL BUT I DONT THINK SHE DID IT OUT OF MALICE. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gronjon44 · 5 years ago

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SO I WATCHED THE STEVEN UNIVERSW FINALE

And since it's over, I'd like to give my final thoughts on most of the series, even Jasper now that I've seen how they ended her "arc".

I'm gonna list this in order of main characters, so this is concise.

Jasper-

I'm gonna get this out of the way now. Jasper was treated like actual shit and even I can see it. She got some redemption at the end I liked how they turned her into this trainer to help Steven deal with his anger. BUT I was hoping it would evolve and help Steven get through to her and make her open up. But instead she was shattered, turned into a Diamonds herald again, and then dismisses right at the end. I will respect Rebrccas decisions, but Jasper deserved much more then to be an emotional pin cushion for her poke into and never fix.

Garnet-

Garnet went though significant changes. She was very guarded in the begining, showing trust only between the gems really. But when she was split by Jasper she was forced to open up when Steven realized who she was. This opened the door to have her be more vulnerable, and strengthen her bond with Steven. And this went on throughout the series and I like how she was the first to initiate the hug that fixed Steven-Zilla (that's what I call him)

Amythest/Pearl-

I'm gonna lump these two together cause they kinda parallel each other, and you could fit Garnet with them you wanted to. Both Pearl and Amethyst were still caught up in the idea of Rose, and Amethyst never really knew Rose before so she always associated Rose as she was when she was born, Crystal Gem and a friend. She was also extremely immature, and I think that fed into Steven's immaturity, so she had to progressively get more adult and accept things were changing.

And Pearl was honestly a parallel of that, while also being an opposite. She did not relax, she was strict, she was secretive, and she had known Rose longest, as well as when she was still Pink. So she was caught up the most in the Gem Wars History. She had to open up the most and to learn to "live and let die" essentially. Or at least that's how I see it.

Peridot-

Peridot went through some of the most drastic changes. She was basically Spock from Star Trek, all logic and science, but more evil sociopath. But when Jasper was defeated, Peridot was left to her own devices and became a sort of Skeletor, plotting what she could do to defeat Steven and please Yellow. And it took her losing the status she wss given to figure out herself and be her own person (in her case litterally when her arms and legs were destroyed) She was able to separate herself from homeworld, and it took a long while for her to really become her own person.

Bismuth-

Bismuth wss someone I originally didnt care for at first glance. I understood her importance and wss ok with it. But when she first showed up I was fine with it. But when she was revealed to basically be a radical gem and Rose had to bubble her, I was hooked. And while her acceptance of Steven not only being Rose but also being Pink just seemed to quickly solved for me, I'll let it be.

Lapis-

Lapis is an anti hero who should not have just been accepted as fast as she was. I used to love Lapis and Lapidot, still kinda do.l, but looking at it now and what they did to Jasper as part of that, I cant ignore it. Yeah she grew as a person but it wasnt done properly. She almost killed Steven 3 times, broke Jasper emotionally with being a fusion for so long, and she never actually owned up to her faults I think. And her sudden reintroduction in the final battle of Homeworld and how she just, magically decided to be a better person felt forced. Just my own thoughts.

Diamonds-

Yellow remind me of the Dictator from the actual film Dictator , wanting to be better but treating it as face value. She is doing good but at litteral face value with changing a gems physical form. Blue to me is the same way, only trying to fix their in the moment emotional state. Honestly I think White was doing the most she could to help fix everything, since she was most at fault. She was letting herself become vulnerable to other gems to help them go through their problems and see themselves as they are, hopefully becoming better people. White in such a short time was doing more to help other gems then Yellow or blue.

Spinel-

Spinel got done dirty frankly. I love her inclusion in the end and I love her character, flaws and all, but they felt abandoned in the end. I'm assuming that Steven Universe Future takes place some months after the events of the film. MONTHS. The type of trauma and abandonment issues Spinel dealt with dont go away in sheer months, especially when it comes to 600 years worth of abandonment. And when she was with the diamonds she just seemed fine, devoid of any issues. She was hesitant to go with the Diamonds hell she openly denied Steven's immediate friendship offer and said "I need time to figure this out, and I cant do it here." I can't just accept that Spinel got through that as fast as she did, not without some underlying issues left over from her past. You cant change my mind on that sorry.

Greg-

Omg Greg my boi, I wanna give him a hug and hot chocolate. The idea he had a ruff childhood and felt he needed to leave how he did, and how his parents never actually responded to his letters, its heartbreaking and it shows why he raised Steven how he did. He had too many lmits and he wanted Steven to have none of those limits. And him being half Gem complicated it, making Greg unsure about hospitals, about traditional schools, it's why he just let the Gems take over as his "mother(s)" because he knew they could help. Of course that caused issues that cant be ignored. But it just shows you why he is the way he is. And it hurts it really does.

Everyone else-

No real comment on anyone else, Lars and Ssdie are both league's ahead of who they started as. The Off Colors are still a delight I wouldve loved more inclusion of them though, Onion and his family eh never cared much for them accept the mom cause she was awesome, no real thoughts.

Connie-

Connie is, a whole new person from who she once was. I think she, without Steven, wouldve become what Greg could've been. But Steven helped her, out of everyone, become something even better then who she was. And it even helped her parents become more open to both Steven as a person, and Connie as a growing person. I have no beef with her character development, she was done amazingly well.

And finally,

Steven -

Steven is... how should I put this, a mixed bag for me. While he most certainly grew as a person, mastered his powers and most of his responsibilities, I cannot say I like how he was treated this final season. Yes Steven Universe: Future was focused him moving on from the past, inevitable change, and learning things he never knew about before. Things felt too fast for him in that season, even if time was passing longer for him, it felt too short. His downfall from grace felt to sudden, his progression to becoming a sort of "Surogate Pink" was too jarring (still fun to watch I love the idea of it)

His training with Jasper even, yeah they played it out like he changed so fast, but THREE DAYS? In one episode? No I wouldve preferred he spend a month or so with Jasper, they show they're relationship, Jasper gets actual time to develop and become a character that we wanted her to become. Hell you could've still shattered her, and it wouldve made her becoming a diamonds herald again more heart breaking, and they could've spent time on helping her get over that mindset.

All in all, Steven's character development was fun, but left much to be desired.

All in all, while the series as a whole was enjoyable, it was by no means perfect. It had many ups, plenty of downs, and I think it's a good example what to do and what not to do when writing an growing narrative. Rebecca Sugar rushed Steven Universe: Future too fast, she left many ends open ended and unanswered, and I give the final season a 6 out of 10.

This is all personal preference so hey let me know if you disagree.

#steven universe #corrupted steven theory #pink steven #suf steven #steven universe pink steven #steven universe little graduation #steven universe lion #steven universe final season #steven universe future #su garnet #su greg #su amythest #su peridot #su lapis #su pearl #su bismuth #su spinel #stevenel #su stevenel

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captainillogical · 5 years ago

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Devil’s Ballroom Ch.7

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

ya’ll im sorry lmao

You spend the rest of your evening doing exactly none of the errands that you needed to deal with today. Instead, you're laying on your couch and texting your friends.

Y/N: I'm so tornnnn.

Y/N: Do I say something about the cheek smooch?

Y/N: Should I leave it be?

Y/N: Because she's texting like nothing happened.

Y/N: What if I'm reading too much into it??

Y/N: What if that's just how she shows friendship affection???

Y/N: I might make it so fucking awkward if I assume something!

Y/N: This entire ordeal is mortifying!!!

Y/N: I want nothing more than to dig a big hole and lie in it forever.

Y/N: I might be low-key having a panic attack about this rn but what's new.

Harper: Y/N. chill. you're way overreacting to this.

Harper: even if it meant nothing, she still likes you as a friend right?

Harper: i think it would take a lot for her to like.. not wanna stay friends lol.

Alex: im just saying you could probably kiss her and she'd be ok with it

Alex: cheek kisses are pretty forward

Harper: don't listen to him. all of his relationships ended in failure.

Alex: wow

Alex: im seriously hurt

Harper: am I wrong?

Alex: no..

Harper: my point exactly.

Harper: i’m not saying you have nothing to lose or anything.

Harper: because i myself had to tread very carefully with leah..

Harper: but i think you should just see where it goes and not like

Harper: put too much emphasis on this incase it was nothing.

Y/N: Yeah see now you have me worried it WAS nothing!!

Alex: oh my goooooooddddddddddddddd

Alex: the both of you approach women so.. pathetically

Alex: take a risk

Alex: live a little

Alex: what is seriously the worst that could happen

Alex: she kills you??

Alex: lmao

Alex: its funny cuz of.. you know

Harper: i can’t wait to be home and smothering him with a pillow instead of affection.

Y/N: You and me both.

Y/N: Try being the only one available to play games with him.

Alex: both of you fucking love me okay

Alex: alsooooooo i get to be home the day after tomorrow

Alex: the alex is back, babieeeeee

Y/N: Harper please come home I’m BEGGING you.

Harper: sorry you gotta deal with him alone for another month lmao.

Y/N: Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

Alex: can i get a fucking crumb of love here please

You swipe over to the couple of messages Spinel has left you in the past couple of minutes while you were talking to your friends.

Spinel: It’s another stupid ball, I just found out.

Spinel: I told her that I’m sitting this one out this time.

Spinel: She has so many others that would absolutely love to help her, and yet, still absolutely insists that I must be there.

Spinel: I don’t want to go back to homeworld right now, and not for this.

Y/N: And you put your foot down? Hell yeah, dude.

Y/N: Planning a ball for a bunch of gems sounds like a chore anyway.

Spinel: oh, it is, believe me.

Spinel: And they need everything to be PERFECT.

Spinel: Which isn’t realistic anymore now that they don’t expect any of the gems to stay in line with their gem class nowadays.

Spinel: The last ball they threw almost 4 months ago was utterly chaotic.

Y/N: For thousands of years y'all as a race never pushed to deviate from the norm, and now that you guys are allowed to? I’d go batshit with it too.

Y/N: Being stifled in everyday life, and finally you’re free?

Y/N: Fuck, I’d go around fusing with anyone!

Spinel: That is precisely what too many of them did.

Y/N: Lmao. I wish I could’ve seen that.

You tab back over to your group chat for a moment to see what they’re talking about.

Harper: see? they’re everywhere.

Harper: i wasn’t expecting the campsite to have so many.

Alex: you could have built an army and instead you took pictures

Alex: do you know how easy it is to lure chipmunks?

Alex: oh that lil guy on the bottom right is so fucking chunky i love him

Harper: that’s the one that got the closest when i fed them. :3

Alex: oh i fuckin BET

Alex: you dont get that chubby in the wild without takin a few risks

Alex: if u know what i mean ;)

Harper: i hate whatever you just implied.

Y/N: It’s not a conversation with Alex unless you roll your eyes at least 3 times.

Alex: hey i thought it was 4 times

Alex: dont insult me

Alex: anyway, y/n

Alex: are you workin the day i come back

Y/N: Yeah I’m actually scheduled a double.

Alex: scheduled

Y/N: Yes.

Alex: a double

Y/N: Yes.

Alex: he can’t SCHEDULE you a DOUBLE

Y/N: He can if he asks me ahead of time as a favor.

Alex: that fuckin bastard

Alex: always ruining my plans

Harper: you’re still mad at him for firing you last summer, huh.

Alex: OF COURSE I AM

Y/N: Bro you stole like $300 of cotton candy sugar that summer.

Y/N: It’s only fair.

Y/N: Besides, I’m only doing this because he said he’d give me a long weekend for it.

Alex: kay well

Alex: i guess i’ll just go bug you at work and wait for you to get off that day :'(

Y/N: Get me written up again, I swear to god.

Your phone chimes several times, and you swipe down to see messages from both Spinel and Steven. You check Spinel's first.

Spinel: Do me a favor and ignore any messages Steven has sent you.

Y/N: What are you, my boss?

Spinel: I MEAN IT

You quickly switch over to Steven's texts.

Steven: I was going to ask you if your date with Spinel went okay, but I'm assuming it went fine considering she hasn't really stopped talking about you.

Ohhhh my god, this is wild. You reply to him.

Y/N: It wasn't a date as far as I know.

Y/N: I had fun.

Y/N: She's telling me to not read your messages, lmao.

Y/N: Also what do you mean she hasn't stopped talking about me??

Steven: She’s been lying on my floor for the last hour basically gushing about you.

Steven: But you didn’t hear that from me!

Steven: :D

Y/N: Haha thanks, kid.

You switch back over to text Spinel, and get up off the couch to make yourself some tea. Pulling out your kettle, you turn the stove on and grab some raspberry flavored abomination tea bag that your dad loves more than any of the other good tea flavors.

Y/N: Sooooo.

Spinel: You talked to him, didn’t you.

Y/N: Hahaha noooo. :)

Spinel: The fuck did he say?

Y/N: Absolutely nothing.

Spinel: Seriously? I was sure he’d reveal something embarrassing.

Y/N: Nope! You should probably get off his floor eventually, though.

Your kettle goes off and you grab a clean mug, and pour the boiling water into it along with the tea packet. You look down at your phone, and grin.

Spinel: goddammit.

You let the bag steep for a little bit, and add in a small amount of sugar. Walking up to your bedroom you take a snap of Jellybean half lounging, half falling off the stairs and send it to Spinel. She replies with a couple heart emojis, and you wonder if Steven was the one to show her the proper use of them. You set your cup of tea down on your desk, and turn your computer on. It’s evening now, and it’s much too late to do anything left with the rest of your day productivity-wise, so you settle in on playing more minecraft. Your thoughts wander quite a bit, and you find yourself stuck on thinking about Spinel. Naturally. You wonder about a lot of things she’s learned while staying on earth, from things like - does she pay rent? Does she have a job? Does she know what taxes are? Does she know what a relationship with a human looks like? She said she watched a movie, but didn’t exactly elaborate. You don’t know what human-norms she’s been exposed to. You can’t even concentrate enough to mine any of this redstone for Alex, and you nearly die in-game when the thought of ‘does she know what sex is?’ pops into your mind. You grab your phone and shoot Spinel another message.

Y/N: Quick question.

Y/N: If you don’t mind me asking.

It takes her a few minutes to reply.

Spinel: Sure?

Y/N: Do you know how humans are made?

Spinel: w

Spinel: Yes?

Spinel: Steven told me about it a few weeks ago actually.

Spinel: Why are you asking?

Y/N: No reason! Just curious is all.

Spinel: Hm.

Yeah you’re not too confident that she actually knows, and you’re too chickenshit to elaborate right now. You’ll enlighten her later. You spend the rest of the night browsing memes on your phone, and texting your friends and Spinel on occasion. Before you know it, your eyes drift close with your phone in hand.

You wake up when your alarm goes off for your morning shift, and curse at yourself for not charging it last night. It’s at a solid 32%, which isn’t really enough to go about your day, but you’ll have to make do. You get ready for a hopefully not shitty day, lock up the house, and head in to work.

It’s a complete shitshow when you come in, and you turn your phone off to save battery and concentrate on dealing with more than an average amount of tourists. You find Mr. Smiley sleeping in the breakroom/office/supply closet, and have half a mind to lock him in there from the outside for the rest of your shift. It’s pretty busy, and messy, and it isn’t until you’re there for several exhausting hours that you finally have enough time for a break. You turn your phone on, and instantly you’re flooded with messages from several different people. Ugh.

A couple from your dad - just checking in, really. Group chat too as usual, but none of it seems overly important. One from Spinel, and several from Steven. You open up Spinel’s message first.

Spinel: Do you think we could talk about a couple of things later?

Vague, and a little concerning. You text back an apology for getting back to her so late, and open the messages from Steven.

Steven: Hey are you busy?

Steven: I’m dealing with a bit of a situation right now, and could use your help.

Steven: Spinel locked herself in my bathroom, and she won’t come out.

Steven: She refuses to answer to anyone, and several of us have tried.

Steven: I’m just really worried about her, and you guys seemed to bond, so I was hoping..

Steven: That maybe you could come over?

Steven: Thanks regardless.

You check the timestamp, and that was over an hour ago. Jesus christ.

Y/N: Steven I’m so sorry, my phone was off and I’m at work, give me a few and I’ll be right over, okay?

Y/N: I’ll be quick.

He replies almost immediately with a “please” and you pocket your phone. You try not to worry too hard about Spinel as you rush over to grab your things, and knock on Mr. Smiley’s office/broom closet door. He opens it groggily, clearly just waking up.

“Yeah?” he slowly blinks at you.

“I gotta leave early. Emergency.” You stare at him, trying to not be pissed at his lack of work ethic.

“Are you for real? You’ve got another 3 hours left.” He says and crosses his arms, and you glare at him.

“I’ve been working my ass off while you’ve been sleeping this whole time, AND I’m covering your ass tomorrow so you can go meet your old friend! So the LEAST you can do is let me go early when I have an emergency!!!” You almost yell out at him, and he holds his hands up in defense.

“Okay, okay! Fine. Only because you’re a good worker.” He says, and has the gall to look at least a little ashamed of himself.

“Damn right I am.” You spin around and head out of the building, practically running.

You almost trip and bite it several times on the way over to Steven’s place, but you’re more worried about Spinel. You’ve only been to his place twice, but once you’re there you run up the stairs and open the door without knocking. You’re greeted by the only two people in the living room, Pearl, and Steven.

“Oh, she’s here!” Pearl says and nudges Steven, who looks up from typing on his phone.

“Y/N! Thank god you’re here.” He says with furrowed eyebrows.

“What happened?” You say and shut the door, and cross the room over to him.

“I’m not sure! We were just working on something together for Amethyst, and she got a call from Blue and Yellow. She’s been ignoring them lately, and they’ve been bothering me in turn because of that, so I asked her to take the call just see what they want.” He runs his hand through his brown curls, and just for a moment, you see that 12 year old him in again. The obvious stress masks just how young he really is, and you feel bad that he can’t live life like a normal kid. “She went outside to take the call, and was out there for quite a while. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but I did hear some yelling. And just when I was going over to make sure they were alright, she comes back in tears, eyes spiraling like months ago, and nearly knocks Pearl over rushing into the bathroom.”

“And nothing since?” You inquire, fidgeting with your hands.

“No,” He says, frustratedly. “I’ve been trying to reach the diamonds to see what this is all about, but I’ve only been getting the pearls. I don’t know what to do. She hasn’t been like this in months. What were they talking about to make her this upset?”

“Maybe I can find out. You said she’s in your bathroom?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, the one right over here.” He says and points to it.

“Is it locked?” You ask.

“No,” Pearl glances towards the bathroom door and crosses her arms. “The lock has been broken on it for a while, since Peridot joined us actually. Both Garnet and I tried opening it, but I think once Spinel hears someone trying to come in she blocks the door.”

Hm.

“I’m gonna try something, but you guys are gonna wanna stay away.” You say to the two of them. “I don’t want to overwhelm her with more than one person.”

“Let us know if we can do anything?” Steven makes to pass by you and gives your arm a light squeeze. “And thanks for coming to help.”

“Anytime, dude.” You give him a half smile, and walk over to his bathroom. You turn to take a look back at the other two, and they’re already in the kitchen discussing something in soft tones. You move to knock at the door, make two light taps against the frame, and wait for an answer.

A couple seconds pass, and nothing. Not even any movement. Nervously, you knock again, a little louder this time, and wait for a good ten seconds.

Still nothing.

You take a deep breath, reach out to grab the door handle, and very slowly and quietly open the bathroom door. You see nothing but absolute darkness, and step in. You feel around the wall to your right and flip a switch just as you close the door behind you with an audible click. The room instantly floods with the dark red light of the heat lamp, and before you can even think about finding another light source, you find yourself slammed up against the wall and let out a surprised yelp. You open your eyes to see Spinel’s face inches from yours, pupils wild, her hands splayed against your shoulders.

“U-um,” Your voice cracks a little. “Hey.”

You watch her eyes take a second to find yours, and almost instantly, she lets you go, arms trembling.

“W.. what are YOU DOING HERE!?” She cries, large tears pouring down her face, eyebrows raised in confusion, mouth trembling. Her hair is in loose pigtails, strands untamed around her face, cheeks stained with tear tracks. She looks like a mess, and your heart breaks, just a little. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt y-”

“I’m fine.” You cut her off. “I should have said who it was outside the door, I’m sorry. And um.. Steven texted me while I was at work, and told me what was going on so I rushed over..” You trail off as you watch Spinel’s entire body shake, and she covers her face with both of her hands.

“I can’t believe I just did that.” You hear her wavering voice, muffled behind her fists, and she lets out a choked sob. “Maybe they were right. M-maybe I’m not meant to-” She quickly moves her hands down to look at the floor with wide, vulnerable eyes, and struggles to form the rest of her words. You hear her breathing pick up pace, and you’re starting to realize she’s hyperventilating.

“Spinel, look at me.” Her eyes shoot up to yours, lips trembling. “I need you to breathe.” You do what your friends have always done with you, and gently grab both of her hands and hold them with yours, thumbs stroking her palms in slow circles. She freezes up instantly, and you’re about to panic, because while a familiar touch helps ground you, you register that maybe it’ll make it worse for her. But before you can pull your hands away, her hands relax ever so slightly, and she lets out a shaky breath. “Good. Just like that.” You motion for her to follow your breathing inverals, and she copies you, hands still shaking in yours.

It’s been a while since you’ve had to deal with something like this, but you’re thankful for having similar life experiences. After a solid minute or two of this her breathing is back to a normal pace, but she’s still crying, and now not meeting your eyes. Almost like she’s avoiding them.

“Look, I.. I don’t know what happened with you and the diamonds, but you can talk to me about it if you’d like. No pressure, though.” You give her hands a small squeeze, and she whimpers, looking up to meet your gaze. Tears are still actively streaming down her face, and you have no idea how to make any of this better. It physically hurts you to see her like this.

“C-can I not talk about it? I don’t think I’m ready..” She pulls a hand from yours, and wipes at her face. She just kind of smeared half of her face with wetness, and she looks miserable.

“You don’t have to talk about anything, Spinel.” You look at her, making sure she sees it in your eyes. You slowly let go of her other hand, and hold your arms out in a silent question instead. Her mouth opens slightly, the red glow of the light around her making her look extremely vulnerable and soft, and she looks at your open arms with a blank face for a moment before understanding. Almost instantaneously, she throws herself against you and wraps her arms around your shoulders, shoving her face into the cradle of your neck. You envelop your arms around her tightly, giving her sides a squeeze, and you feel her start to shake again.

She lets out an unsteady sigh, and hiccups out another small sob. You pull her to lean fully against you as you stand there, bracing your back against the bathroom door. She lets you maneuver her, and you rest the side of your face against her temple while she cries. You resign yourself to letting her cry on you until she’s done, if she needs to.

You feel her sniffle against your neck, and try not to mind that she’s getting your shirt soaked. You give her back a few gentle rubs, feeling her body quiver against yours as she’s trying to control her choked breathing. You’re not really counting the minutes, as right now you’re currently having way too many rampant thoughts about what the fuck the diamonds could’ve said to her. You’re mad as hell, honestly, and if you could say shit to them, you would in a heartbeat. You don’t want to make anything worse for her though, as much as you want to steal her phone and video call them to curse them out. It takes a few more minutes, but eventually her crying dies down, and you feel her breathing even out. Slowly, she dislodges her arms from twisting around you two, and you feel a sigh, her breath hot against your neck. You do your best to school your facial expression as you’re realize just how close you are to her, and she pulls her face from its resting position to look at you. She looks awful.

“U-um,” She lifts up her hand to attempt to wipe her face, failing to rub half the tears away. “I don’t really want to go out there yet..”

“You don’t have to.” You say, quietly. “I can leave if you’d like some quiet to yourself.” Her face looks panicked for a second, and she grabs your wrist.

“Please don’t leave me.” She says, voice wavering again. You try not to let your heart shatter at her tone.

“I won’t if you want me here.” You say, and sigh softly. “Here, hold on a second.”

She lets your wrist go as you move slightly over to the sink, turn the hot water on, and grab a clean hand towel from the counter. You soak it in water, and squeeze out all the excess. Towel in hand, you turn back to her, and she’s looking at you cautiously. You lift the towel slightly, motioning to her face.

“May I?” You ask, and she nods slightly.

Tenderly, you brush a couple strands of hair away from her face, grasp her chin with your left hand and pull her forward, gently pressing the towel to her cheek. She closes her eyes, and her shoulders sag a little as she lets you dab at her face, cleaning her of any tear stain marks. She sighs into your touch, and it strikes you that it would be so easy to just.. lean in and kiss her.

Your brain almost short circuits and you snap your thoughts back to reality. There’s a time and place for everything. This is not the time, nor the place.

Once you’re satisfied that she looks a lot better than before, you pull your hands away to toss the rag in the sink, and Spinel, for a brief moment, looks disappointed that you had stopped. Which.. kind of gives you an idea.

“Can I try something? Harper used to do this thing with me when I.. had similar breakdowns.” You ask her. She raises her eyebrow in response, clearly exhausted from crying so much. “Here.” You say, and take her hand and lead her over to the rim of the bathtub. You sit down on the edge, and motion for her to sit in front of you on the floor. She takes a seat in front of you, still confused, but obeys nonetheless. “Can I touch you?” You ask her, watching her face to make sure she’s alright.

She looks up at you, the red light in the room flooding the entirety of her face, making her hair darker, and the whites of her eyes a bit more dramatic.

“Yeah.” She says in reply, voice tired.

You reach out to her hair, and stop for a moment.

“Can I have you face the other direction, actually? Come over here.” You move to open your knees, making enough room for Spinel to turn around and lean against the bathtub. She’s close to you again.

“What are you..” She trails off as you start to take the hair ties out of her pigtails, one after the other. It takes a second, as it’s a bit tangled, but you manage to get both out, and let her hair fall down. You comb out her hair with your fingers, gently, and she sighs audibly while leaning into your touch. You run your short nails along her scalp, scratching and massaging as you smooth out her hair, attempting to pull all the tangles out.

“Touch used to calm me down, and Harper was really good at it, honestly.” You say while pulling out a particularly difficult tangle without hurting her. Her hair is long like this, and you like it. You wish you could grow your hair this long, but it’s kind of a pain to deal with, and the longest you’ve ever had yours wasn’t even to your mid back, you think to yourself. “Sometimes she’d give me shoulder and neck massages, but I preferred that she’d just play with my hair. There’s just something different about another person touching your hair.”

“I kind of get what you mean.” She says, tiredly.

“Can I braid your hair?” You lean closer to look at her face.

“Do what you want.” She says, looking fairly relaxed.

“Cool. Anyway, while Harper was good at that, Alex, on the other hand, was just terrible at any kind of physical comfort. He’s genuine, and he tries, but he’s an idiot. He’s a lot better at distractions, for the most part.” You run your fingers through her hair one more time, before starting to separate her hair into three parts for a french braid. “He’s funny, and comes from a large family, so he always has stories and jokes. Whenever I’d have a panic attack, those two were always so good about being there for me. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

You notice that Spinel‘s shoulders have lost most of the tension in them, and you’re secretly relieved. You keep talking to fill the quietness around you two, because you’ve always hated the quiet during moments like these. Your friends aren’t here, so it’s up to you to make up for it.

“It was kind of hard, at first though,” You say, and start looping the chunks of hair around your fingers, starting at the top of her head. “Because for a while there, back when I was 16 and dealing with the worst of my abandonment issues, I clung onto Harper like a baby koala. I had this super weird crush on her even though we had been friends since we were practically babies. I think I idolized her because she was just.. good to me.” You accidentally tug a little too hard on a strand of hair, wince and utter an apology while massaging the spot on her scalp. “I’m glad that didn’t ruin our friendship, but for a while there I really pushed my feelings onto her, which was kinda fucked up on my part.”

“Hm..” Spinel mumbles. “I kind of had a thing for Pink, I think. Which ended up screwing with me even more after what she did.” You stare at the back of her head and pause your hands for a second. Huh. Yeah, you had a hunch.

“If she were still alive, I’d punch her in the face for you, I hope you know.” You state, in full seriousness. This gets the first chuckle that you’ve heard from her today, and you’re secretly overjoyed.

“I’d pay to watch that.” She says, and you laugh out loud. You see her smile, just barely.

“So,” You continue, with both your hands and conversation. “A week or so after my 17th birthday, right after Harper talked to me about this guy at school that she liked, I confess to her. And not like a, ‘oh hey, you’re my best friend and I really like you’ kind of way, either. It was more like a, ‘have a mental breakdown over your best friend liking someone else and make them feel like shit about it on your walk home from school’ kind of confession.” Your hands reach the nape of her neck now, braid mostly done on her head, but you’ve got around another 20 inches of length before being finished.

“Harper avoided me for nearly a week after that. I was absolutely pathetic, and inconsolable. Alex was fed up with my shit after a few days, and nearly slapped me over it. He would’ve been in the right, doing so, honestly. I was a selfish asshole who only thought about her own feelings, and not about her best friends.” Your eyes drift to Spinel’s face, and her eyes are closed, eyebrows unfurrowed.

“Anyway,” You’re nearly done with the entire braid now. “She did end up forgiving me. Thankfully. I don’t know what I’d do if it were my fault that I’d split up our friend group.” You pick up the discarded hair tie from earlier, and tie it around the end of the braid.

“I’m all done, by the way.” You say to her. She opens her eyes tentatively, and she looks sleepy. You stand up, and stretch your back. She also gets up on wobbly legs, and turns to look at you.

“Um.” She’s avoiding your eyes. “Thank you. For this.” She’s twisting her hands together, nervously. You lean your face closer to get at eye-level with her.

“Anytime.. and for the record, you look really cute in a braid.” You say and smile, giving her a cheeky wink. You watch her entire face from the neck up turn bright red, and think that you could probably do this forever, and never get tired. She gives you a noncommittal grunt, halfheartedly smacks your arm and you grin at her.

You hear a quiet knock at the door, and look over to Spinel. She shrugs, so I guess it’s okay now.

“You can come in!” You say to the door. It opens slowly, and you see Steven peek his head in.

“Um.. are we okay?” He asks, clearly very worried about her.

“I’ll be okay.” She says, and you think that maybe she should lay down and sleep. You verbalize this immediately.

“Spinel. I think you should go take a nap.” You look at her, and she blinks at you. “I’m serious.”

“She’s kind of right.” Steven says in agreement with you. Spinel gives the both of you a shrug, and even that seems like it’s taking a lot out of her.

“Okay.” She says, and turns to walk out of the bathroom. Steven opens the door wider, and you can see Pearl in the kitchen leaning against the counter, trying to not seem like she’s intently watching all of you.

Spinel makes her way over to the couch and takes a seat, sitting up rigidly. You walk over to her to make sure she’s okay before you leave for home.

“You know you can text me, right? And if you need me, I’ll be available. I’ll leave my volume turned on.” She gives you a nod. “Oh, and.. take this,” You say, and pull off the pullover hoodie you’re wearing right now, and hand it over to her. “Alex used to let me wear his oversized sweaters, and they used to help me sleep, so..”

She tentatively reaches out, and takes it from your hands.

“Thanks.” She says, and gives you a small smile. With her hair pulled back like this she almost looks human, for a fleeting moment. You sometimes forget she’s a gem. You return the smile back at her, and turn around to leave.

After grabbing your bag that you set down earlier from beside the couch, you head over to the front door and open it. Shouldering the bag, you start to shut the door and see Steven behind you. He closes the door behind him, his face searching yours for something you don’t quite know.

“I don’t know what you did, but thank you.” He says, completely genuine.

“You don’t have to thank me. I’d do it for you, too, you know.” You say to him, and he smiles.

“That’s why I like you, Y/N. You’re sweet.”

“Yeahhhh, don’t tell anyone, though. You’ll ruin my reputation.” You smirk, giving him the side-eye. He laughs and pats your back.

“Ohhhhhh no! Whatever will you do!?” He rolls his eyes in jest. “Get home safe, okay?”

“No promises.” You reply, and jump down his steps, two at a time.

It doesn’t take you long to get home, and you’re pretty tired yourself. You make yourself busy by preparing dinner, cleaning the kitchen a little, and calling your dad for another check-in. Before you know it, it’s nearly 11, and you need to sleep for your double shift tomorrow that you almost forgot about. You’re laying in bed browsing social media before drifting off, and you receive a text from Spinel. You swipe down and open the message.

Spinel: Thanks again for today.

Spinel: I baked some new cookies with Steven, and would like to give you some tomorrow if that’s okay?

You smile to yourself. Ughhhhhhhh, you’re catching the feelings disease, and you swat the air around you like it somehow physically manifested around you.

Y/N: I work literally all day, but feel free to stop by and give them to me.

Y/N: Then I get to see a pretty familiar face to break up all the lame tourists.

Y/N: Cuz that sounds super nice. ;)

Spinel: I’ll see you tomorrow, then.

She didn’t react to your obvious teasing, but you won’t let that discourage you. You fall asleep thinking of the many different ways you can poke fun at her, and this time, you charge your phone.

You wake up the next morning feeling well-rested for once, and get ready for work. Alex has sent you a couple texts about when his flight will arrive, and when he’ll roughly come to meet you. Sometime around 4pm, apparently. You shoot Spinel a good morning text, and she replies almost instantly with the same, which makes you smile.

You head to work, texting your group chat about what happened yesterday with Spinel, and give them basically all the details. Alex makes fun of you for a bit, so you curse him out and pocket your phone as you clock in. Today’s going to suck, but you’ve got a few things to look forward to.

You make it a couple hours into your shift before you finally get a break, and Spinel texts you that she’ll drop by sometime in the afternoon once she’s done helping Bismuth with something. God you hope it’s not when Alex gets here, because you are so not fucking ready for that interaction. You eat your lunch and pray to any god out there that you could have one more day of peace.

You’re outside the main building repairing a couple parts on the carousel, ignoring the bulk of the tourists to focus on work. You don’t realize that quite a while has passed by, because someone walks up to you as you’ve got your head in a small door, and kicks you slightly on your ass. You jolt and bump your head against the opening, and you hear Alex burst out into laughter as you groan in pain.

God fucking dammit, this guy. You pull your head out to glare at him, screwdriver pointing at him threateningly.

“Do you want this up your ass? Because I can do that.” You say to him, and he laughs even harder. You roll your eyes at him.

“Don’t promise me with a good time, Y/N.” He says, and you stand up to smack him.

“I don’t think the pointy end would be a good time, idiot.” You deadpan stare at him. He grins.

“You don’t know what I’m into.” He shrugs, and flips his hair dramatically. You hate that he’s stupid and charming, and you love him so much.

“I know I haven’t seen you in 2 months, but like, I feel like you’ve grown taller?” You stare at him, a little mournfully. You’re the shortest one out of your friends, and you’re of average height. He also seems.. handsomer. You think he definitely got a lot more tan. He’s definitely grown into his looks, his dark curly hair and recently shaved face making him look older than you’re used to.

“I don’t think I did, but I think you’ve grown shorter.” He laughs obnoxiously, and you smack his arm again, which makes him laugh harder.

“You’re so mean to me, like all the time. Why do I love you?” You cross your arms and pout, because you know it gets a rise out of him.

“Youuuuuuu knowww, because I’m just so loveable and gorgeous and the smartest one in the group??” He flutters his eyelashes at you like he thinks he’s cute.

“Wow, you are none of these things.” You reply, smirking at him. He puts his hand over his heart in mock offense.

“Y/N, I’m offended. I’ve been here for like, five minutes, and I’ve received absolutely no affection from you. If I don’t get love, I will wilt and die. Do you want to be responsible for my death?” He opens his arms wide, and you roll your eyes dramatically, and stand there.

“We’re not doing this in public.” You say, standing your ground.

“Ohhh, YES we are, Y/N.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Prepare yourself for the onslaught.”

You take a couple steps back, prepared to run. He grabs your arms, wraps his around your torso, and picks you up, swinging you around.

“Nooooooooooooooooo!!” You cry. “Put me down you oaf!”

“No! I want love!” He all but shouts, and spins you around. He grabs your cheek with one hand and starts giving you big ‘ol smooches all over your face, and you’re giggling and trying to push him away, when you hear something drop and spill on the pavement a good twenty feet from you. You look up.

It’s Spinel.

Her face is twisted with heartbreak, and before you can even speak up, she bolts.

You look down, and see the cookies she made you scattered on the ground.

#spinel x reader #spinel #su #steven universe #spinel self insert #fic #my fic #devils ballroom #look. im not sorry yall. i promise next chapter youll get what u want LMFAO

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ccsthemovie2 · 4 years ago

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Character: Nakuru/Ruby Moon?

LONG POST AHEAD!!! clear card referenced/a page of the early cc manga shown but again i tried to keep it spoiler-light!

Why I like them:

sometimes ur 13 and see a cute girl in a manga and go AHHH HEART EEEEYES and thats just that. also i rly just love characters who are kinda annoying on purpose, and noticing that it seems she was left out of the loop of the end goal the whole time (thinking itd be good for eriol if yue died, and questioning why he bothers creating life or death situations if he’s not ever going thru w them...) combined with that I AM HERE!! I AM HERE!!!! energy sort of gives it depth, you know? and on her and spinel’s parts, knowing you were created to replace the person before you must be roughhhh!!!

Why I don’t:

this isnt her fault at all but i wish the manga left it at, if NEED be, *one* comment from spinel abt her ~girl clothes~, we rly dont need more than one (if we even needed that, but i feel like saying ‘ok take it again’ in terms of introducing a trans character has the potential to go worse not better). also i think clear card has no idea what to do with her, or i guess exposed that the story didn’t always know quite what to do with her. she was always evil and silly but the silly was built ON the evil like a foundation? so now that its gone she sort of flounders i think. i wish we got to have more of a rounded view of her. but its ok i can do it myself in my brain. she’s a very “potential not utilized” character sometimes. also she’s like super down with murder so i guess that’s not great lmao. i hope in clear card sometime shes like why dont we just kill kaito? with a gun? and everyones like WHAT and shes like what.....it’d solve our problem....

Favorite episode (scene if movie):

tbh nothing jumps out for me hugely but the scene in the hallway outside touya saving yuekito’s life.... she’s like “ugh, it’ll be trouble for eriol” and spinel is like “oh? i dont think so” like. poor ruby is left out of so much :(( n then gets all smug to sakura and friends later like of COURSE he couldn’t tell you his plans, DUH, it wouldnt have WORKED if he told. are you trying to convince yourself too? :’(( OH OHHH WAIT I ALREADY TYPED THAT BUT. this page, early in clear card. like the QUESTIONS it raises

-what’s the relationship between sakura and ruby like?

-does ruby feel sympathy towards someone else left out of the loop in their own life?

-clow and eriol have always been heavy-handed with controlling their sun+moon people, eriol even takes it upon himself to be in charge of transforming spinel and ruby in and out of power saving mode - why is it mizuki doing this instead of eriol just putting her to sleep? what is the relationship between her and ruby?

-what does ruby want to DO when she gets there? did she have a plan on her own?

Favorite season/movie:

sakura card arc

Favorite line:

the one that comes to mind right now is when she tells yukito like IF YOU DONT WANT HIM... IM TAKING HIM ;P bc he is hearing “if you dont ask out your crush i will” but she is saying “HEY ARE YOU GONNA EAT THAT?”

Favorite outfit:

i am kinda touched by eriol making her a yukata..... handmade clothes are important to ccs and cute clothes are important to ruby!

OTP:

hmmm i dont think i have anyone tbh? open to ideas

Brotp:

hear me out but i think with her interest in movie direction she should chat more with tomoyo. also spinel of course!! i think her and spinel are being played against each other for drama (in a similar way to kero and yue), that their dynamic of Smart One and Silly One have been sort of externally given to them, but once they catch on to that they can overcome it and grow close. this is where i also put my complicated web of headcanon that while kero and yue never thought of themselves as related to clow (and vice versa), ruby in particular thinks of eriol as her father (and spinel as her brother). this is not something eriol intended, he’d much much rather be seen as a Mentor than a Relative (its about having a little distance even in your enmeshment, yknow!) but ruby sort of went for it and he was like...okay thats kind of nice i guess? it’s good to stop at each plate at the buffet of types of connection!

Head Canon:

emancipates herself from her magic connection with eriol eventually, possibly with mizuki’s help, and lives by drawing on the power of others around her as needed. goes to college somewhere far away and comes back with a degree in filmmaking. also shes really popular on tiktok or whatever equivalent app.

Unpopular opinion:

ok so in clear card WHY DOES SHE JUST NOT SLURP UP SAKURAS ///EXCESS/// MAGIC HERSELF .... like id say yue could do it but ppl could argue back oh it’d still be in sakura’s account just in a different pocket. okay so ruby’s on a whole different magic bank account and she is FIRST INTRODUCED as person who chomps down on magic ppl all the time. just be sakura’s vacuum cleaner so she stays at her post-90s-manga perfect power level it’s not that hard. give her daily high fives or whatever.

A wish:

MY (45m and/or ???m, its complicated) MAGICAL BEINGS HAVE UNIONIZED????? jokes aside i want to see her awkwardly apologize to yukito and touya for trying to kill them. sorry, sorry, it wont ever happen again. unless eriol asks me to kill you, in which case all bets are off. why are you frowning im just being honest.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen:

i have a deep fear that what if ruby/yue happens at the end of clear card and no no no no no

5 words to best describe them:

nobodys that annoying without reason

My nickname for them:

ruby even when shes nakuru bc. its shorter to type hgfchfjh

#ask

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thicc-anxieties · 5 years ago

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This is absolutely not gonna be written well but , say what you will , pink saw that her powers were hurting people , saw that she hurt her pearl , and decided to change. Something the other diamonds could not bring themselves to do when they hurt other gems or pink. No one has the responsibility to forgive the people that hurt them , but people who hurt others, They have the responsibility to change. I truly believe if anyone is at all sorry or remorseful , they have to take the steps to make sure they don't hurt anybody like that again . Pink wanted to change , and she did . She decided to use her powers to heal , in a lot of ways it's the exact opposite of Steven's story right now . A boy who spent all his years healing , helping others , but it's wearing thin , his powers of destruction are coming out and honestly , he could have hurt the Pearl's. Pink CHANGED . And through her own accord , because she saw her powers of destruction were hurting others .I have no doubt in my mind that besides rebelling against the diamonds , she was rebelling against herself . Saying that she can save earth, she can become its protector , she can protect gems she took her anger out on , she can start healing . And yes , even after those choices , even after repressing her powers of destruction , she messed up . A lot. She was far too arrogant and naive , she assumed no one would care for her as much as they actually did, no one would care for her actions . She had the mentality of a child with no plan of action, trying to run away from the diamonds , not really knowing what humans wanted , not knowing what her pearl wanted. But

She tried, and she did make a change.

This isn't at all trying to say her actions need to be forgiven . But it's to say that pink did self reflect. I know how hard it is to see a character like pink pearl , physically altered because of just how much she was put through. I can relate to her , a lot of us can . And I know that's a big reason why this is a final straw for people .

(Kinda personal here sorry ) My dad ,was , is...not a great parent ,he messes up ..a lot . I empathize with pink pearl , and relate to her. But if I just , imagine my dad realizing his mistakes , self-reflecting , attempting to change. God how much better I would be for it. How much better our relationship would be for it. I don't have to forgive him , but...god him actually taking the initiative ..even just saying sorry. Moving foreward , no longer having to be glad he isn't home. I would love that. I would really love that. Pink is a character who was traumatized by the diamonds , laughed off her sadness , played the clown , hurt by them so much that she legitimately thought they would not care at all about her being killed . She also is a person who threw tantrums , unable to control her powers , she left spinel most likely because she saw herself in her , and she wanted desperately to run away from that . She wanted to give CG pearl her own agency and encouraged it . She didnt want Pearl's love for her to be something programmed , but she wasn't good at explaining, or confrontation . She left pearl in the dark about her feelings. She kept her true feelings secret , she lied under the false presumption it would be sparring people’s feelings . She hurt a lot of people . She was hurt a lot. She messed up and changed the thing about herself that hurt others the most. She was the first diamond to take initiative. To rebel against her diamond status , her diamond powers, try to make a difference.

It's okay not to know how to feel about her , I dont know either , that's the point. I do however think we need to come to terms with the fact that steven could very well hurt someone this series , he could loose control , he could get angrier than we've ever seen him , he can break , like his mom. And like pink it's his responsibility to change . And he will be better for it.

#steven universe #steven universe future #su #volleyball #steven universe spoilers #steven universe future spoilers #pink pearl #pink diamond #su spoilers

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topduce · 5 years ago

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Pink Diamond: A Character Study

So in Steven Universe it never explicitly states what happens between Pink Diamond and her original pearl to separate them but we can assume that they had some kind of "inappropriate" relationship

We see in some of the flashbacks that Steven has that Pink Diamond doesn't just want her pearl to entertain her, she also wants to entertain her Pearl

This isn't so unusual if you consider Pink's relationship to the other diamonds; They talk fondly about how Pink would tell jokes, dance, and sing them songs despite being a diamond herself

The Lapis Lazulis in another episode mock Lapis by saying, "you want us to sing and dance like Pearls?" Which implies that entertainment is reserved for certain gems

From Pink's perspective it must be a little confusing being told her entertainment is something they love but not something she cant do freely

The diamonds also didn't take Pink seriously.

We know that pink had a problem controlling herself. In Volleyball, we learned that Pink had violent outbursts when she didn't get what she wanted. We Also see Pink smashing a mirror when she was denied a colony and we know that Pink's been locked up on multiple occasions for her disruptive behaviour

It is possible that her Pearl was taken away because 1) She did not act professionally around her Pearl or 2) The Diamonds were angry at her and aware that she had a fond relationship with her Pearl so they took her away as punishment for Pink's shenanigans

It was likely a combination of the two where she was taken away to teach Pink a lesson and also in hope that around new company she might become more mature

She wasn't only given a new Pearl, but also a Spinal. It's clear that by giving her a compliant Pearl and a Spinel for entertainment, that the goal was for Pink to become more focused without depriving her of what they thought she wanted.

We were all mortified that Pink left Spinel like that but Spinel was, in essence, a replacement for Pink's dead/imprisoned friend so its understandably hard for Pink to be around her

Because Pearl has never experienced one of Pink's tantrums we can assume that the punishment made her a little more secretive and emotionally reserved as well

Pink's calmer attitude may be why she was given a colony. It was also likely that Blue and Yellow felt a little bad for her after losing her Pearl.

Pink wasn't given a colony until after these changes were made and we saw her personality shift significantly.

In the Diamond day episodes, blue talks about how things used to be when they were all close. The way she says it implies that they stopped hanging out together long before Pink left homeworld

Probably there was tension between White and Pink that drove them all apart

Which brings us to Pink's final chapter

Earth was something Pink always wanted but it's not what she expected. She doesnt have any friends by her side and she isnt permitted to explore or do anythng exciting

Shes sees an opportunity for escape and freedom and she takes it because there isn't anything really tying her to Home World or the Diamonds anymore

I believe that she truly thought others wanted the same thing and that she wanted freedom for everyone

But she was undeniably manipulative and flawed

She lied to Home World and to the Crystal Gems. She couldn't lie to pearl about most things because Pearl was constantly by her side. She kept what she could from her and she took advantage of the fact that Pearl had feelings for her.

I dont believe that Pink was a bad person at heart but I think that she had little regard for those around her.

When she got angry she didn't think about how she might end up hurting Vollyball

When she acted out she didnt think that Vollyball might suffer the consequences

When she disrupted events she didnt think about how Blue and Yellow would get in trouble along side her

When she left Spinel she probably didnt think thatd she'd be there for all eternity

When she faked her shattering she didnt consider that the Diamonds would take their anger out on the Earth or that they would mourn her for centuries

When she flirted with Pearl she didnt think about how emotionally invested Pearl would become

When she had Steven she didnt think about the fact that he would have to tie up all her loose ends

She did a lot of good and she did them for good reasons but she chose not to consider how her actions could impact others

I love Steven Universe because there are no villains, just complex and flawed characters who make mistakes. Pink wasnt good or bad. She caused some really terrible things to happen and some really great things to happen but neither cancels the other out

#steven universe is among the best shows ever written #each character is so 3 dementional #steven universe #su #steven universe future #steven universe the movie #steven universe movie #spinel #pink diamond #pink pearl #pearl #Vollyball #su theories #kind of #rant #character study

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ghostlybrewsandmagicrunes · 5 years ago

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I’m finally found...

((I figured I’d try my hand at writing, so here’s the first chapter of a steven universe fic))

[Chapter Two] [Chapter Three] [Chapter Four]

She stands there, quietly waiting with her hands clasped together. Vines long dead, snaked around and up her legs, trapping her in place. Her eyes were half closed, staring idly at the warp pad in the short distance from where she is. No sign of life around her. Many of the plants now dead from the lack of care. Even since Pink Diamond had left her in their little waiting game, nothing had been tended to.

Spinel’s gaze fell, eyes now staring at the cracked ground beneath her. Was she doing this right? Surely Pink meant to come back… right? Or was she doing this wrong? Should she go looking for her? Would that be against the rules of the game? Her lips became a thin line, shaking her head, dismissing the thought. No, Pink wouldn’t do that, not to her best friend.

… Right?

Almost like it read her doubts, the warp activated and her eyes shot up to watch who came through. Had Pink come back? Did she win the game? She didn’t move, just like what she was told. Oh how she longed for this moment. A smile crossed Spinel’s face, a glimmer of hope in her eyes as the light from the warp faded away. Only, instead of seeing the familiar form of Pink Diamond. It was someone, something entirely different. The being looked around, finally spotting her in the distance. Then, unexpectedly, this being jumped in the air, towards the gem.

“Hey, are you Spinel?” they spoke up, the being landing gracefully before her. Spinel gasped, backing away, but as she went to move her legs, the vines held on and caused her to fall backwards onto the ground. Almost defensively, she brought up an arm, who was this? What are they? How do they know her?

“Wh-who are you? Where is… Where is Pink?” She managed to get out, her voice a tad foreign as she hadn’t needed to speak in such a long time, not since Pink had left her to their game.

“Oh, I’m Steven, Steven Universe! I’m so sorry it took so long to get here, I wasn’t sure where this garden was and had to look around just to figure that out.” He reached out a hand, offering to help the gem up. “Pearl told me about you, or at least what little there was known about you.”

“Little known… about me? I don’t understand,” she was hesitant, but eventually reached up a hand to take his. Letting the other being help her stand and help her keep her balance, she hadn’t moved her legs in so long, the vines were pretty much the one thing holding her up.

“Sorry, this must be weird, and confusing. Pink Diamond was my mom,” He shifted, his hand reaching down to pull up the bottom of his shirt, revealing a familiar gem embedded into his stomach. Spinel took a step back, she knew that gem. She would know that gem from anywhere. What was this? What’s going on?

“I… I still don’t understand, why do you have her gem? Where did she go? What’s going on?” She stared wide eyed at the gem on this ‘Steven’. She could feel the tears beginning to form. When Steven took notice, he moved closer, but she flinched back and as a reaction, formed a massive fist and punched him away hard enough that it sent him flying back into one of the pillars that were still standing. “St-STAY AWAY!” she yelled, though she gasped when she realized what she had done.

Steven groaned, standing in the rumble and brushing himself off before looking at Spinel. There was a clear look of worry on his face. Why did he look so worried? Shouldn’t he be mad that she punched him? The human steadies himself before he starts walking back over to her. He must have seen just how scared she looked.

“Spinel, it’s okay, you didn’t hurt me, I’m fine.” He held out a hand, which she backed away from. “Please, I just want to help,” he spoke more softly this time. “It has to be pretty lonely here in this garden.” He gives a soft smile, still holding his hand out to the frightened gem. “I can explain everything, I swear, but I want to take you away from here first before I do that.”

Spinel was shaking, her eyes frantically staring at this being as he spoke to her. She wasn’t really supposed to leave the garden, not when the game was still going. This ‘Steven’ seemed very adamant on getting her to leave. Maybe something bad happened to Pink, he did have her gem in his belly.

“Can’t… Can’t we just talk here? Pink and I were playing a game and I can’t stop playing it. What if she comes back?” She gives a half smile, maybe this being could be reasoned into staying.

“She won’t be coming back for you.” He sounded sad, a frown on his face.

“Why not? Why would you say something like that?” She started to shake, what was he saying? Why would he say something so… so mean. “Because she doesn’t exist anymore.” Steven stated, his expression a mixture of worry and determination.

“What?” Spinel felt a sudden pain in her chest. She brings her hands up to clutch at her gem. Her eyes shifted from staring at Steven to staring at the ground. Was that why he has her gem? But that doesn’t make any sense, how did he have her gem, it didn’t look cracked or shattered. “I don’t… I…” she fell to her knees, they suddenly felt very weak. Steven took a step forward, but he kept his distance, hesitant to approach.

“Spinel? I’m sorry, I know this is a lot to take in, but my mom, Pink. She gave up her physical form to have me. She’s gone, I’m what’s left of her now.” He took another step forward, before his body was met with another fist. Sending him flying into another pillar that shattered from the impact.

“NO!” The gem cried out, her body shaking. What was this feeling? Was this anger? Why was she angry? She shouldn’t be angry, best friends shouldn’t be angry, but she just felt… so damn angry. Her hands were clenched into fists, she looked angry and pained. Her chest was hurting a lot now, but she bit through her pain. “I DON’T… I don’t believe you…” she quieted herself, tears starting to run down her cheeks. “I refuse to believe Pink would just… l-leave her best friend here…” She was breathing harder now, the more she talked, the more believable the thought was that she was just left here, abandoned by the one person she thought was her friend. “Th-that she would j-just… leave me here.” She let out a choked laugh, “Why does… why does this hurt so much?” she reached a hand to her chest, “What’s going on?” She let out a sob, moving to wipe away the tears only to have them continue flowing.

“Spinel…” Steven stood up again, coughing through the dust and climbing out of the rubble again. He watched as the gem was clutching at her gem. “SPINEL!” He rushed over, dropping down next to her. He was met with a weak push to his chest as Spinel attempted to push him away, but her arms did listen to her very well, and simply rested against him instead.

"Go away," she choked out through sobs, her hand balling into a fist on his chest as he drew closer. She felt arms wrap around her, causing her to flinch. "W-Why would she l-leave me? Was I-I not good e-enough for her?" She was breathing pretty hard, a hand constantly trying to wipe away the tears while the other moved from Steven's chest to her own, clutching the gem placed there.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why mom did what she did, I'm sorry I dont have the answers you need." Steven gives her a gentle squeeze as the gem in his arms deflated a bit. Spinel leaned in against the human as he welcomed her into his embrace. She stayed there for a good while. At one point, Steven wasn’t sure she was even awake anymore, but remembered that gems don’t really need to sleep.

“Wh-why do you have it?” He blinks, looking to the gem, who was now poking at his stomach area, specifically where his gem is located. “Why do you… why do you have Pink’s gem?” she sniffled, rubbing her eyes a bit. It seems like the tears had at least stopped, but it still looked like there were some stragglers.

Steven stayed quiet for a moment, thinking about how to tell Spinel. Then he looked at the gem, who happened to be looking at him with wide, sad eyes. He cracked a small smile, then shifted to stand, pulling himself from the gem. His hand wanders to pull up his shirt again, showing her his gem.

“I inherited her gem when I was born. This is all that’s left of her now.” He paused for a moment, then gave a half smile to Spinel. “Well, this and all the bridges she left unburned.” He looked a bit frustrated, his hand gripping at his shirt as he brought it down to cover his stomach. “Pearl told me about you though!” He smiled at her, “She said you use to be mom’s playmate… or something like that, a best friend?” He thought for a moment. It took Spinel a moment, her eyes staring at the human before her. Her hands gripped all the more tighter around her gem.

“Pink and I were best friends, we would spend hours here in the garden.” she started, her voice shaky at first. “We would have so much fun, just the two of us…” there was a smile on her face, but no sooner was it replaced with a frown. “Or so I thought…” then the tears started up again, but she made no move to wipe them away. Steven stood there, watching the gem cry. He was silent again, unsure of how to proceed.

“Someday, somewhere, somehow…” he started, softly and slow, almost like a song. He held out a hand, reaching down to place it on Spinel’s hands, hoping she would stop clutching at her gem in fear that she might make herself poof. “You’ll love again, you just need to find… someone.” He gives her a soft smile, their eyes meeting as he helps her stand up, steadying her as she tried to regain herself. She kept a hand held to her chest once she was steady, gripping onto his hand as Steven began leading her towards the warp pad.

“Someday, somewhere… somehow…” Spinel chimes in, quietly joining along as she watches Steven cautiously. “I’ll love again… I just need to find… someone,” she wipes her eyes as best she could, not letting go of Steven’s hand. “Someone… who treats me better, someone who wants me around.” Steven smiles softly at her, stepping up and onto the warp.

“Someday, somewhere, somehow, you’re gonna feel found.” He smiles wider, helping her up onto the warp pad. Once she was steady, he warps the two of them away from the garden and back to earth.

#foundau #spinel #steven universe #su #fanfic #fic #found #post change your mind #pre movie #chapter one #coffeebrewsandmagicrunes

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