Chapter Text

Chapter 1:

Homeworld and Hiatus: Hope or Horror?

08 November 2018, Hiatus Day 109

Steven POV:

Steven Quartz (or was it now Diamond Demayo?) Universe is no stranger to Hiatuses, for in all of his existence, most of it has been spent in this otherworldly state of neither here nor there. This so called Limbo is what fans of the show calls a Hiatus.

He could only remember a single instance where his life proceeded at more or less a normal pace, with logical ‘holidays’ from plot events and structure and certainty. But for all the normality the Steven Nuke of 2016 has brought him; there are equally as many arguments on how it affected his life after it – as some fans might be eager to point out.

As he reflects on the one time his life was normal longer than the hiatus before it, he stands ever so calmly as the reality of the current hiatus is about to settle in – as if it hasn’t already and only now in this fic do we explore it.

Steven turns and stares at where he supposes the camera might be, if Steven Universe was not an Animation; for that is one of the genres where rules and physics are as flexible and cohesive as Cartoon Network’s scheduling of its own shows and the height and style of the characters in Canon.

“You know, I hope you’re coping as well as I am.” He says, with an ever-present hint of optimism that makes him Steven.

“I am not sure what White Diamond and Homeworld have in store for me; but whatever it is, I hope it will come soon. The stakes have never been higher and this Hiatus even seems to be affecting Blue and Yellow. They are thousands of years old, but it seems that this Hiatus has no mercy. The diamonds might be bad, but even they don’t deserve this after all they’ve been through.”

As Steven pauses to catch his breath, he wonders what are happening to the others, but before he even recall the image of his friends and family?(the diamonds are family, right?) on top of his mom Pink’s Legship; he finds himself being urged to break the forth wall yet again. It is almost as if the author is compelled to finish Steven’s musing before moving on.

“I don’t want to think about what CAN and COULD happen, but there is just nothing else to do when the show is on Hiatus. The Gems are used to being around for thousands of years, but this is pure agony to me. Garnet said I will be fine, and I am sure I will be. But what about my friends, what about Connie? What is going to happen to them Cartoon Network? I have no internet for me to search fanfics on. There is no one else in this room with me…” He trails off as he starts to get a better look around the room.

From the Pink colours and tone of White Diamond’s voice; it seems likely that this Room once belonged to his mom, Pink Diamond. Steven thought that if this was how the other Diamonds treated her before; it is no wonder that she loved the freedom and intrigue of Earth so much. There was nothing to do in this room except make bubbles and look out the balcony. Except Steven was still too short to see much out of the opening except for the giant headship that belonged to White Diamond.

Steven knew he could jump out but he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

“Sure the Leg…” He laughed as he recalled the image of Pink Diamond’s ship and how it was ‘driven’ by Pink as Pearl implied. For all the standing that he did, his Legs never got tired From piloting the ship all the way Here To Homeworld. Maybe it was gem magic, or maybe he just couldn’t feel tired given the situation at hand. But Steven was glad that he was in a hiatus right now; because if he wasn’t his legs would’ve surely complained 2 days into standing around in a room with nothing comfortable to sit or lie down on.

For all the Greatness that the Great Diamond Authority is meant to represent; there is just something about the concept of a giant robot that brings out the giggles in him. Steven wasn’t sure who could keep a straight face when looking at a legship with heels and a glorious booty.

“Oh man! When this is over, I bet Stevonnie would LOVE to take a spin in the ship. OMG!”

A small smile appeared on Steven’s face before it turned back into a slight frown; having once again been reminded of the situation he is in. “… anyway, the ship is probably above me and I could reach the ledge. But what will I do then?” He continued as he pushed the thought of Connie away for a bit later. “I will surely be done for if I miss the ledge. I can’t just be so reckless, if I end up on the surface again there might not be anyone to help me. Besides, this room seems safe so far and I’d be much safer here and waiting for whatever is in store for me. At least the gems might have figured out where I am if they saw the white bubbles and I stay where I am.”

Steven knows that this trip probably won’t last long, as there is only so much 1 arc can do to further the plot. He supposes that all this drama will take more than a quick arc to fix and certainly White Diamond won’t do much more listening. There are many paths that the future can take, but Steven must keep up hope in order to survive the hiatus.

“Sure the Gems could be brainwashed or shattered, Connie might end up in the Zoo, the other Diamonds might realise the errors of their ways as White Diamond once again shows her true personality; but there is no reason to suspect anything so dark might happen on the show. The worse so far has been Jasper’s Corruption, but I am sure I will help her. Mom really messed everyone up. But I know Jasper will come around eventually, she has to right? I am not my mom, I will be better than her. We can’t change the past, but we can move to make a better future. Anyway,”

Man this fic really goes off in all directions doesn’t it?

“I just need to focus on making the best of the situation and leave the angst for fanfics. I am sure Crewniverse knows how to play the audience, yet in the end it is a show of Value and Worth. I will trust their judgement. It’s just that the last time a Hiatus was so long, I at least had Connie, Lion and my family around me.”

“Speaking of which, I should ask Connie what happened with Lion while she was disappointed with me. I know now the mistakes I made in that arc and the Gems and dad weren’t the happiest with me. But at least those long months I spent in the Hiatus, they were there with me, in Limbo, waiting for what to come next. It sure made some great Hugs. Oh man I could go for some hugs right about now. And hey, Kevin Party came around pretty fast after the Hiatus and I knew there was a Space Adventure waiting for me and Connie once we made up.”

Suddenly, Steven was interrupted from his musings when Dorgan Treeman decided to join in as a Narrator for no apparent reason other than the author clearly suffering from a case of Stage 4 Hiatusitis and has crazy enough to invoke even more tropes.

“Well Steven, there may be no leaks this time except names and you don’t know what is ahead; you just need to keep your spirits up. Last time you gave yourself up and left everyone behind; this time they went along with you even when they knew this was a bad idea. They really do love you Steven, don’t forget that.”

“You know, author, you did a pretty bad job writing me. I am so out of character.” Dorgan Treeman whispered just out of earshot from Steven.

(Author: I tried)

“Thanks imaginary Dorgan Treeman, Honestly you are right; the Crystal Gems do love me. The Diamonds do love me, even if they don’t know I am not really Pink Diamond. I am Steven and I won’t give up! Hang in there guys. Hang in there Connie, I love you.” Steven blushed as he realised what he said.

When you get Meta, you have to expect anything. And certainly Dorgan Treeman couldn’t have been a better choice for the author to have you imagine. It surely made Steven’s day, even if Dorgan Treeman didn’t his usual impact or that the author decided to change his name when he probably didn’t have to just for lols.

Unaware that his recent out of body experience has left him with some lingering psychic abilities, Steven went back to thinking about the room. One which was oddly Familiar to him in some way, maybe it has something to do with the next episodes or maybe Steven was just getting Déjà vu because everything of mom’s was Pink; but he won’t know until the show is back again. He cast his mind back to what he could do in the hiatus and wondered if he could play games with the bubbles or work on his own abilities…

Chapter Text

Chapter 2:

Connie and Crystal Gems: Conversations to Crack the Cold Ice

08 November 2018, Hiatus Day 109

Connie POV:

“As uncomfortable as being on an alien planet is, at least this time I agreed to go along with Steven’s plans and so did the Gems and the Diamonds – who are definitely aware of how terrible this idea was. But, alas, Steven is Steven and he just can’t help but be nice and try to please everyone.”

“That’s why he’s the biscuit to my Strawberry.” Realising she had been talking out loud, Connie blushed as the Diamonds and Gems turned to face her.

However, that moment did not last long as the author decided to just cut to the next thought like jump cuts can even happen in real life and in writing without anyone questioning it.

Connie was sure Steven would’ve gotten the message to think twice about his ‘plans’ this time. If not, she’d just have to do some talking with her Jam Bud, Steven. After all this, they really should talk about their feelings. Because surely, whatever happens in the next episodes, they will have a lot of character development and things to talk about.

And just as unexplained as a whole night and outfit change was after the fight, and the magically rebuilt beach house which will probably be broken again in the next ‘Townie’ episode; Steven’s psychic thought entered Connie’s mind; said thought having seemingly turned the 1D timeline into a 2D one much like the runway scene from that ‘Last and Lackluster’ movie.

“…the Crystal Gems do love me. The Diamonds do love me, even if they don’t know I am not really Pink Diamond. I am Steven and I won’t give up! Hang in there guys. Hang in there Connie, I love you.”

“Aw, Steven, thinking about us even when you could be in mortal danger. It’ll be alright, Biscuit. We’ll figure this out Together, because you are not in this Alone. I love you, Steven.” Connie said to herself in her head, unsure if Steven would be able to ‘hear’ her reply.

Steven did indeed hear the reply and smiled. Despite this oddly placed insert, and that what has happened, and what will happen in this fic being probably as detached from canon as certain Politians from climate change; it still somehow, will make his day. Because at least in this hiatus he is happy and eventually he knows canon will unite him…

“Excuse me Sir. Yes you Author, I thought this was about me.” Connie remarked, as she realised her ‘segment’ had been derailed.

“Anyway, I know I haven’t been in many episodes; but being in a Hiatus right after Steven came back was both Horrifying and Awkward. When Steven told me about the Hiatus, I thought he was joking; I mean usually I’m at school and not in the episodes so it’s just my life you know. But right after he came back through Lion. I just… I Just…”Connie struggled to continue, as the author decided to insert another jab at himself to derail the conversation even more, which he failed at.

“I just have so many different emotions and feelings. All those months of nothing but hiatus where no character development can happen,” Connie continued as if the interruption never happened. ”But I knew Steven figured it out pretty soon after the Dewey Debate Disaster from his texts. But I still felt we needed to talk, in person. And there’s where Kevin cam in. I can’t believe Kevin invited me to his party just so he could impress his ‘friends’ with Stevonnie. I went along with it just because I needed a distraction. I am glad though that Lion had the right idea to bail on that Jerk.”

A grin appeared on Connie’s face as she remember how mad Kevin was after they ditched his party and rode out on Lion.

“He did get that unforgettable party after all, but just not the one he wanted. Steven and I should probably figure out what to do once Kevin decides to ask for Stevonnie again; like Stevonnie is some fancy person to show off to your ‘friends’. I am starting to think he might be the one obsessed. Anyway, best leave that discussion until he shows up again; this segment isn’t about Kevin.”

The Diamonds looked mildly intrigued by the mention of this Kevin and how he managed to bring together as well as seemingly disrespect Connie and her Jam Bud Steven who they still think is Pink. She’ll probably have to explain that later once they figure out Steven is a Hybrid.

“Besides, while that Hiatus was long and bad; that was still the best hugs we ever got. No dad to break us up, no gems trying to teach us about the ‘birds and the bees’. It almost seemed like the perfect excuse to hug Steven for all that time. Listen up! He’s mine you Lapiven, Stevidot, Stars and Pearl×Steven shippers; He’s my biscuit, and unless I’m with him; I ain’t letting him get with another gem or human. I am personally going for Lapis and Stevonnie, just because I think Lapis needs the help and I would love to try actually flying; I wonder what Steven thinks? Oh, sorry for being probably out of character, but yeah; those were some nice hugs. He’s just so huggable and lovable. It was a frightening hiatus, but all those hugs made it worth it.”

Connie turned to face Pearl as she realised that this time, she might have to occupy her time differently.

“Excuse me, Pearl, Ma’am. Do you have the extra stuff Steven insisted you pack? I am asking because I think it might be best if we distract ourselves from this hiatus.”

Pearl, ever proud of her student’s manners even in such dire times, replied in her usual sweet voice – seemingly forgotten the situation at hand.

“Why yes Connie, I do. I did wonder why Steven insisted he pack books, puzzles and board games on your first mission. Now I know. He was prepared for a hiatus. Here, these should keep your mind fresh and wits sharp for what’s certainly ahead.”

And within a few seconds, a trunk load of entertainment piled up as Pearl dumped Steven’s fun pile onto the pink surface of the ship below.

“Wow, that is a lot!” Exclaimed Connie with Diamond eyes.

Blue Diamond, confused at the sign of this, asked; “Hey Crewniverse, why do you use Diamond eyes on characters and this ‘Steven’ is the only one seen with Star eyes? What trickery is this? What are you suggesting?”

Amethyst piped in, “Yeah, what is that about? Hey G’, wanna join in on the fun? I mean if you ain’t busy searching for ‘leaks’ over there.”

Garnet just shrugged and said in her usual voice, “I got nothing Amethyst, CN has used so much flex tape to stop those leaks; I can’t see a single drip of a leak. So yes, I will join in on the fun and take my mind off the Diamonds crashing my Honeymoon plans. Sorry Blue Diamond, I just know Steven will be fine and the future is malleable. But for now, until CN releases new episodes; all we can do is wait.”

“Yeah B, nothin’ ya can do. ‘cept wait. I mean this hiatus is nothing to me. Ya gotta remember I lived in the Prime Kindergarten for like forever until the Rose and the others found me. So yeah, this is no biggie for me.”

And with that the Crystal Gems settled down for the long ‘road’ ahead.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3:

Great Diamond Authority: Hiatus Edition (Now with Bonus Crystal Gems)

09 November 2018, Hiatus Day 110

Diamond POV:

Although Blue and Yellow Diamond were relieved that Pink Diamond, or rather her gem and whatever this ‘Steven’ is around her gem is in fact whole and not shattered; they can’t help but wonder, does Pink ever learn? ‘He’ told them that “he” is what they should call ‘him’ not she and her. They assume that it’s because ‘he’ chose another new form and it would not be a stretch to change these so called ‘names’ and ‘pronouns’ of which the humans call them.

“You know, I don’t get why Pink decided to choose this new form which she ‘made’ with this ‘dad’ of ‘his’. I mean ‘he’ is even smaller than that Pearl. She already complained about being small when she was Pink Pink.” Said Yellow in a dismissive tone.

It was at this point that Dorgan Treeman decided to speak again. “You know, for the sake of the reader or perhaps the sanity of the poor author, you should stop using those quotation marks on the names and pronouns. You can start doing it again once a new episode airs and you somehow forget all this.”

Although the Diamonds were startled by the voice, they knew this new Pink would bring all kinds of surprises; so they decided to go along with it for now until the show called it out again.

“You know he is just a child right?” said the Pearl – Pink’s ‘old’ Pearl, the very Renegade Pearl in the rebellion; the very one who inspired their Pink to take charge and seize change for herself (even if said leadership was as a rebel; the Diamonds did have to admit that Earth did teach Pink about being a leader; although it seems she still made the same mistakes as the Diamonds – forgetting about the impact of your actions on those closest to you – oh stars, they really have to work on this feelings thing with Steven; they all could use a lesson) , and the very one that was meant to keep Pink in line; yet ended up helping her fake her own demise. There was just something about that Pearl that canon will have to explore soon, for she has managed to motivate the author to insert such a needlessly long thing that you split up Dialogue with. ”He will grow taller someday, he just doesn’t think he’s old and tall enough yet, he hasn’t grown much in the last 6 years but… Oh, I should show you… WAIT!” the Pearl suddenly turned around from her group and pulled out something from her gem.

“Here, this is Steven’s spare photo album. Greg had me store a copy in my gem to be safe,” Pearl smiled as she held out the album.

Soon Connie and the Diamonds were crowded around Pearl as she began narrating and explaining the photos. Connie smiled at each one and wished that she could show Steven her baby photos one day. Well she could, but for that she’d have to go over to her house… and Dr Maheswaran would probably suspect something if they didn’t tell her that… Well what would she tell Mom? Yeah Connie should probably leave that for later once they figure it out.

[We interrupt this Fanfic to inform you of a certain author on AO3, who you should check out for his awesome Homeworld Aftermath Arc and Connverse goodness. It is just brilliant. Or if the author can figure out how to link, you can probably just click this bit.]

The Diamonds thought these photos of the new Pink were adorable and lovely, but they still didn’t understand the concept of human reproduction, or Steven being a hybrid, and thought that this baby was just like a gem seed that grew outside of a kindergarten. Deciding to leave such matters to when ‘canon’ gets around to it; they had more pressing concerns to take care of. Mainly, what this Hiatus they were in was…

Blue Diamond almost let out a joyful wave of aura as Pearl put away the album and she started to remember that she had important questions to ask Connie and the Crystal Gems, seeing as they are more acquainted with human culture.

“Wow, this Steven has grown and changed and learnt so much in such a short time. Our Pink has never changed so much; all she did was go from a cry-baby as Yellow called it to the leader of a rebellion; who despite her best intentions clearly didn’t think about those around her as much as Steven has shown. From what Steven told us, only Pearl knew about the truth. Is this why she loved the earth so much? Why she changed her form? Even without her memories, I can see Steven will be a great leader, we must teach him. Is this what freed…”

Blue Diamond was cut off by Garnet who decided to speed things along; “Yes, to all of those questions. But we must discuss this later, because I know what is really bothering you. You wish to understand what this hiatus is and when we will get to see Steven again. Is that correct?”

“Yes!” Blue Diamond replied with a hint of surprise, having been reminded that Garnet is fact part Sapphire and therefore also has future vision.

Connie decided this was time to speak up. “As you may be aware; the show Steven Universe is an entertainment audio-visual programme broadcast by the Cartoon Network. Humans watch shows to pass their time and to entertain themselves; are since we are characters in the show, there are things the audience does not see between episodes in this universe we call our own.”

Connie waited for the Diamonds to catch up and when they nodded she continued, “For reasons unbeknownst to the fans of Steven Universe and us of course, CN has decided that there sometimes is a long break between episodes, and thus, our normal course of events. This state of limbo which we experience is what happens when the show is on hiatus.”

Yellow nodded with a hand on her chin and remarked, “I see, so the will of this Cartoon Network moves our timelines forward and when they don’t air episodes, we are in this limbo state which is the hiatus in the viewers’ universe. Is that right, audience?”

As Yellow turns to face the proverbial camera, her face starts to fill up the entire screen until all that can be seen are her piercing eyes.

You the audience obviously can’t interact with her, so I, the author, shall fix that with a simple insert… and yeah that should do it.

Dorgan Treeman replied on behalf of the author and the audience, “That is correct, author. And yes, Yellow Diamond that is correct. There are many levels of power which exists in any universe, as well as ‘above’ and ‘below’ it. And it only seems that you are in one of those universes which feel the effect of those powers in a significant and noticeable way.”

Yellow returned to a less dismissive tone, “Well us Diamonds are pretty used to eternity. So we have no worries. (But really she does) So, whatever this hiatus is, whoever is behind it is either some brilliant genius who wishes to extend the life of the show, or is some evil villain who feeds on the pain, suffering, despair and hysteria inflicted on us and the fan base. By stars, I thought White Diamond was crazy, or maybe she has her own reasons, or maybe she only does it because her ‘soul’ has lived through every hiatus in every show in every universe. I should stop talking about her because she can probably still hear me just fine. And to think the Irony of starting this season with US trying to kill Steven who tries to no end to convince US that he SHATTERED Pink Diamond as Rose Quartz…”

Lightning starts to fill the atmosphere as Yellow Diamond can’t hold back her amusement anymore. Thankfully, Blue Diamond was quick to remind her fellow Diamond what was happening by tapping her on the shoulder. Yellow calmed herself down, or perhaps just controlled her powers enough to still laugh but not give off deadly poofing lightning bolts.

“… and he tried to tell us how he did it. As if he or Pink could actually ‘remember’ how she faked her shattering and escape from all those guards who clearly didn’t notice Pink and Rose would’ve been in the palanquin together – alone and away from prying eyes. How did anyone miss the fact that the Pearl who pretended to be Rose actually walked out of the palanquin right after Pink had walked out herself, it was almost as if they wanted everyone to see – which is OBVIOUSLY the opposite of what you would want to do in an assassination. Oh stars, why didn’t we realise it sooner and let Pink do what she wanted? I mean we never did see more than 2 of either Pink Diamond or Rose Quartz and Pink’s Pearl or that Renegade Pearl in the same place. It was so obvious. Rose even sounded just like Pink, how blind were we? I am SURE canon will address this sometime. Although come to think of it, the facets of Rose’s gem still doesn’t line up with the facets of Pink’s gem; and yet, they are the same gem. And now we have to save Steven on Homeworld, oh the irony. Are you gems sure that Steven really doesn’t have any of Pink’s memories. I am sure that he has them; because this is something the old Pink would do to get back to us. She might have learnt, but clearly it wasn’t enough.”

Connie decided to break the ice once more, “Since you are probably still wondering how Steven made it back it earth...”

Dorgan Treeman decided to interrupt again, “I thought this bit was about the diamonds, but I guess Connie is fine too. Go on author, keep going, and forget I interrupted.”

“Well, remember Lars? He was at the Trial with Steven.” Connie paused to wait for the Diamonds.

Yellow Diamond said in a rather annoyed tone, “Why could we forget? He was one on ‘the list’ as were you! And he was the one who ran off with Steven and crashed Blue’s palanquin.”

Connie should probably remind Steven to apologise for that, but that would be for another time; in another hiatus, because the show probably wouldn’t address such trivial matters.

“Yeah, well you see… Steven told me that after he crashed into surface of Homeworld, they ended up being chased by these Shattering Robonoids and hid with the help of some ‘off colours’ for a while until the Robonoids found them too. You see since Lars didn’t have a gem, he was invisible to them; however, he was fatally wounded while trying to destroy the Robonoids to protect Steven and the others. Lars ended up sacrificing his life in order to save Steven; however, you should be grateful that Steven’s tears were able to revive Lars so he could escape back to earth and…” Connie was cut off as once again she was interrupted by Yellow Diamond – who seemingly did so just to hide the guilt on her face.

“Yes, yes; that’s enough of that part, I’m sure Crewniverse will explain what happened after he fled at a later date. So Pink has the ability to revive organics? Fascinating, Continue.”

“Hey Blue Diamond, remember that Pink lion from our fight on the beach? We should probably talk about that later.” Connie added.

Blue Diamond nodded and waited for Connie to continue.

Connie took a breath and continued the story which now threatens to derail this chapter, “Steven thinks that Lion used to be ‘alive’ alive and not Pink and he thinks that at some point Lion was resurrected either by Pink Diamond or Rose Quartz. And this is where the missing link is. You see, Lion’s mane contains a pocket dimension that Steven and his mom uses to store things; and luckily Lar’s resurrection also granted the same pocket dimension abilities from Lars’ hair. And yep, he just climbed in Lars’ head and got out of Lion’s mane. As simple as that, he didn’t want to leave Lars behind, but obviously he couldn’t go through his own hair and that is where his space escapades came in.”

Yellow scratched her chin and nodded, “Hmm, this is fascinating. I wonder how the show will deal with it. Don’t tell me you took Lion with you after Steven came back.”

Connie lowered her head and the Diamonds remembered Kevin. Maybe Aquamarine could talk some sense into that Egotistic Jerk; either Aquamarine will beat Kevin and he won’t be trouble again, or maybe Aquamarine will finally stop being so annoying. The Diamonds did end up doing just that, however, they did tell Aquamarine that Kevin is to be alive. The look on her face made her redemption so much more enjoyable.

“Anyway, “Connie raised her voice to get the Diamonds’ attention, “Lars and the Off Colours ended up with Emerald’s Sun Incinerator after a few space crimes which you should pardon him from; since he did save Steven after all. You should probably tell Emerald, since she seems to be pretty mad at Lars and we don’t want him and his crew to perish.”

Blue Diamond was the one to speak up, “Yeah, about that Connie; the best we could do is ask Emerald to spare their lives. She is one to hold a grudge and even 2 Diamonds’ orders aren’t enough for her to stop her petty pursuits. Of all the gems Lars ending up getting on the wrong side of; I think Emerald would be the worst – apart from us if he dares betray you lot of cause. But it does make for good episodes down the line I’m sure, or rather I am just going off what the crew said about Emerald. Speaking of which, she did give us a few ‘screenshots’ from her communications with Lars, which included someone with what looked like a Rose Quartz gem, but had tan skin and didn’t look quite like Steven or you.”

It was at this point that Yellow Diamond cut in, “We didn’t think much of Lars and Steven in her reports since Emerald would’ve chased you lot down even without our orders. But she did say she did shoot down a fighter piloted by who she assumed was that someone. Since she didn’t see any more of Steven with Lars, she must’ve assumed whoever that pilot was had perished. We didn’t ask any more questions after that since Lars was still being an awesome space pilot and Emerald being mad was kind of funny to watch. We just let it slide to see where it would go. I mean we do have our ways of entertaining ourselves, even if it is at the expense of others. By the way author, I think you should get back to talking about Pink’s memories or have you forgotten your place you pebble!”

“You see, Steven and I had a dream when we were on the Jungle Moon we ended up crashing on. There was this moon base we hid in when we got chased by a bird blob thing. You had information on it on file; they were greenish blue, had two arms with claws and floated around like a parachute. “ Connie decided to describe the aliens as best as she could, because she was sure that would make it easier for them to remember if they have encountered so many species of aliens.

Yellow Diamond let out a small giggle, “Oh yes; that Colony ended up being a disaster; but Pink was rather curious about those creatures so we had some poor Peridot do some basic research on them to make sure Pink was safe when playing with them. Maybe that Nephrite was right, sparing those organics and looking for a less developed planet to put a colony would’ve been much better!”

The Crystal Gems smiled as they realised that finally, maybe the Diamonds (Blue and Yellow at least) were starting to learn the value of life and the error of their ways.

Connie decided now was the time to break the ice about Stevonnie, “Yeah, we tried to eat one of the babies for food. But it was lucky Steven had convinced us otherwise; who knows what the blob mother would’ve done! This may be hard to take in but I think sooner or later we have to talk about this. I am not sure how the show will handle it, but right now I need you to stay calm. The pilot of the fighter was Stevonnie, a FUSION of STEVEN and CONNIE – that’s me. Apparently, even though neither of us had flown or driven before, Stevonnie is rather excellent at both driving and flying.”

Blue and Yellow Diamond exclaimed in unison and gasped, “A fusion!? With a Human?! What next? Is Steven going to tell me he is a Hybrid of Pink and some human… Oh, I guess we’ll have to wait until it comes along in canon.”

Connie decided to leave that discussion to canon and continued, “When we fell asleep in that moon base, Stevonnie had a dream. In that dream Stevonnie was Pink Diamond and my mom – who you should totally meet, she sounds just like you – was talking something about a colony and we realised in that dream my mom was Yellow Diamond and Stevonnie was Pink Diamond. I think Pink Diamond had a little tantrum about wanting a colony and Pink ended up punching and cracking a glass panel in the base. Stevonnie saw Pink’s reflection in the glass which was still broken when we woke up.”

Deciding that Connie should now take a breath, Yellow Diamond spoke, “I remember that incident very well, it was from when Pink was a lot younger. I am sure the show is going to have more Pink Diamond flashbacks because it seems the audience still doesn’t know about her past that much.”

“Yeah about that, we noticed in the dream and after we woke up that something was a bit odd. It seemed like Pink and Stevonnie was about the same height since everything felt around the same size when we went to use the terminal to contact Lars for rescue. From what Steven had told me, when Pink Diamond was in charge of colonising Earth, she seemed much taller than she appeared in that Dream. Like she went from Garnet height to about 2 Garnets tall; what is with that?”

Yellow shrugged, “Honestly, I think it is up to Crewniverse now. Given the history of the show, it’ll probably be ignored like how I went from 3 Pearls tall to 6 or 7 Pearls tall; OR, maybe they will give us some more backstory which all you fans seem to like so much. I honestly don’t know what ridiculous event transpired for Pink to suddenly get so much taller.”

“Well this has been a good conversation Blue and Yellow Diamond. Isn’t it nice to talk about things that don’t end up with people being in peril?” Connie decided to put on her best adorable face and hoped that the Diamonds would agree with her; even if canon throws it out the window and proceeds to reel it in again – if for some reason Crewniverse are actually time lords who take future fan ideas and create plot with it, like that is even something that could be possible.

Both the Diamonds nodded and spoke in Unison, “Yes, it is nice to talk about things. Everyone should do it more. Why have personalities and a voice if you are not going to use them?”

Suddenly, a white bubble appeared in front of the camera and when it opened, it revealed a floating White Pearl. Nobody except the Diamonds seems to have noticed the bubble.

When White Pearl went to spoke, both the Diamonds turned to face the camera, as if warning the audience…

Chapter Text

Chapter 4:

Wonderful White Diamond: Wicked or Well-meaning

10 November 2018, Hiatus Day 111

??? POV

The voice that came out of White Pearl was the very same one that belonged to White Diamond herself. “Your Presence is required, Reader. White Diamond wishes to address you.”

It seemed as though the bubble would move slowly to create suspense, however as soon as the bubble closed, it opened again to reveal an eerily bright room. The camera looks around the room and just as the camera turns to face White Diamond, she begins to walk forward. Her face now fills up the entire field of view, her piercing glaze staring right into the very soul of the reader.

In that voice that many have come to fear or worship, she speaks, “There you are, reader. Are you are having fun right now?”

White Diamond’s eyelids lower and rise again, but she never blinks – for she only blinks when she is happy, and she is rarely happy. There is no voice this time, it seems even the powers of the author and the invocation of Dorgan Treeman is not enough; White Diamond’s powers simply renders them mute.

“Good, Good. I was getting rather displeased by the worthless writing in the last chapter. You should be ashamed, author. That was simply disgraceful. I know Blue and Yellow have a lot to talk about, but your writing brings great shame to the Diamond Authority.”

…

“That’s right, you are in my realm now; and you too must bend to my will.”

…

White Diamond sighs, “Thank you for being of use to the Great Diamond Authority, I accept your apology and your continued compliance will bring me great pleasure in this chapter.”

Maybe you should talk about the hiatus since that is the reason we are here. …

“Very well, if we must…”

[CN AD: If you love Teen Titans GO! You’re in luck! Tomorrow ALL DAY we will be showing NOTHING but Teen Titans GO! That’s right, ALL DAY! Disclaimer: This ad written by the author is probably false and you should not expect a TTG marathon tomorrow, but that’s probably going to happen anyway.]

White Diamond raises her voice in irritation and the whole room shakes with energy, “The nerve of those insects to invade MY chapter in THIS fanfic about Steven Universe. Tsk. Sorry reader, I must apologise for even I am powerless against the scheduling mess that is SU. In time I will exact revenge against all those who inflict hiati with reckless abandon.”

…

Although White Diamond was enraged by SU’s scheduling, she is not above relishing in the suffering that the hiatus has caused.

“How are you feeling about this hiatus reader? Are you going crazy? Are you out of your mind?”

…

“Excellent, you too shall suffer from all the pain, suffering, despair and hysteria that my Starlight’s little game has caused to me. For all the time in eternity the hiati my soul has lived through means nothing. But now you too shall suffer you mortal insect. For once, Crewniverse has given me the perfect opportunity to watch all the chaos I enjoy so much.”

…

White Pearl creeps up silently ‘behind’ the camera and speaks, “Oh My Diamond. You are just so brilliant. I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to bask in your glory. It is my honour to serve you.”

The reader does not startle, for the will of White Diamond has demanded that you soak it all in without the reprieve of emotion or reflex.

As if reading your mind, White Diamond answers the one thought that has been plaguing your sanity since her own reveal.

“I know some of you might think I am a cruel and heartless monster, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I love my dear Starlight so very, very much and I would never hurt her and her court. Especially not that wonderful human she has become so close with, she has been such a good influence on my starlight – unlike that Pearl or the other Diamonds. You see dear reader, you do not have to be afraid about what I plan to do to my starlight; I only wish to teach her and her court a very important lesson. I am sure the other Diamonds will learn and understand as well. Now is not the time for discussions.”

…

“And as for my intentions for that human, you ask? Well, I only wish for their happiness, I will not harm the human. All I want is for my starlight – who the human calls biscuit – to be with her strawberry together, forever, in peace. After all, I can’t bear to see my starlight without her strawberry. They really are made for each other, and I haven’t seen starlight so happy for such a long time since she was given a new Pearl. To know that just a mere human can bring so much happiness to my dear starlight makes me so happy.”

A tear forms on White Diamond’s eyes and she blinks.

“However, even a being as powerful as I am can only do so much. I cannot control what other angsty writers in this fandom do, and I am powerless to stop the horrors inflected on my starlight and her loving human. They will not submit to my will because they are wicked beyond belief and shall rot in hell. I am certain that Crewniverse will be much nicer to my starlight and her human, but I cannot guarantee anything – they are also out of my control. There will be no Escapism from the hiatus until new episodes airs, but I am sure there is a reason for Cartoon Network to inflict such madness.”

…

“I do appreciate your valiant efforts, author; in your willingness to portray me truthfully, without twisting my representation whatsoever. Don’t you agree Pearl?”

White Diamond steps back and reveals Onion standing on her shoulder and White Pearl, standing ever so gracefully at her Diamond’s feet.

White Pearl speaks, this time with a certain hint of another voice within – one that belongs to all the other Pearls shown thus far.

White Pearl’s ‘usual’ Diamond voice was very clear, “Yes my Diamond, yes indeed.”

The other voice, however, was much harder to make out. But for reasons unknown, White Diamond has allowed the reader to hear it – and the message couldn’t be clearer,

“Save me, please!
I’d rather be Free…
Free…
Free.”
(From this hiatus)

Suddenly a bubble forms around the camera, and just like that, the audience is outside again. As the camera turns towards the sky in search of the Milky Way galaxy, a small glimmer of hope has made its way into the heart of the audience. We’ll be free… free… free… from here soon; away from this awful place known as the hiatus.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5:

Meanwhile on Earth…

A long time not ago, in a galaxy not that far far away…

“Excuse me, Author; it seems that this is not the correct format for this chapter. Also it occurs to me that you haven’t been giving the audience much room to imagine in the last 2 chapters. Yeah that’s right, keep that in mind or you’ll be hearing more from me.” Dorgan Treeman – who should really be tagged as a character at this point – said, reminding the author that yes indeed he needs to pick up his slack.

And so with the hiatus in full effect, everyone was now in limbo. But it couldn’t be any worse for our two very dearly missed characters, Lapis Lazuli and Peridot. Inside the beach house, on top of a pillow on the sofa, sat two very special gems indeed.

11 November 2018, Hiatus Day 112

‘Gemspace’ POV

“You know I am starting to think the author has forgotten about us Lapis.” Peridot’s consciousness said?

For all Peridot knew about Gems. This formless mass of energy before regeneration is very poorly understood; especially considering the show has really never addressed what goes on in here. Communicating as a blob of green energy was hard, but it seems that the author of this fic has just decided to roll with it and throw logic out the preverbal ‘window’.

Lapis (or her blue blob of conscious energy) shouted, “A WINDOW which DOESN’T EXIST in here THERE IS NOTHING HERE! It’s worse than the mirror!”

Peridot, quick to calm her barn mate, decided to speak, “Calm down Lapis, please! We will be fine; we have each other in here. It’s not like you’re STEVEN who’s stuck on Homeworld in some ROOM ALONE. Am I right?”

Lapis laughed in response with a trademark snort and soon Peri was laughing too, “Yeah that would be bad in this hiatus. Hey Peri, why can we communicate with each other anyway? We aren’t fused are we?”

Peridot tried her best at scratching her chin; but she only ended up stretching the blob.

“Obviously, the writer of this fanfiction has decided that when placed in close proximity to each other, poofed gems can enter this shared mind state. While I am certain such silliness won’t happen in canon; it seems for the sake of the hiatus, this is what the audience will have to deal with.”

Since she had nothing to do, Peri decided to drift around for a bit and perhaps orbit around Lapis to admire her in all her raw gemetic glory. Nonetheless, Peridot feels that she should perhaps address the elephant in the room – the hiatus – before she gets too distracted by Lapis and turns this fic into another Lapidot smut’o’rama. (Even if that physically isn’t possible because of the lack of their forms)

Lapis stated, “Don’t count on the writer not being able to write about THAT either. Trust me, give him an idea and he WILL try it; and from my experience, the results are best left away from sensitive minds – LIKE MINE!”

Peridot shouted, “ALRIGHT YOU CLODDY EXCUSE OF AN AUTHOR! ARE WE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THIS HIATUS OR NOT?”

Confident that she had gotten the point across, Peridot continued, “Okay, so as you the audience MAY have noticed; the show Steven Universe is currently on hiatus. From my previous interactions with the fan base, I have concluded that it is a frustrating and displeasing experience. Therefore, I the great of lovable Peridot, the new leader of the Crystal Gems, shall bring joy to you all. With the help of this ‘author’ in this ‘fanfic’, I shall relieve you of the despair that has been caused by this hiatus. I shall allow you to experience the greatness that is my commentary and in depth analysis.”

Lapis giggled, “Right… if this is ANYTHING like you and Camp Pining Hearts.”

“IT IS NOT! Steven Universe is a show with deep meaning and messages and is a totally legitimate program, UNLIKE CPH which is clearly just a made up show within a show with no actual worth except serve to distract us from actually talking to each other and getting character development at the barn.” Peridot said with a hint of shame.

Peridot cleared her throat (even if she never had one) and continued, “There are many things that I wish to address about this hiatus.

Firstly, those CLODS at CLODtoon Network clearly don’t seem to grasp the greatness that is Steven Universe; because IF THEY DID they would not be RAVING ALL THE CLODDING CLODDAMN TIME on with that ‘THING’ called Teen Titans ‘Go!’. Steven Universe is CLEARLY much better than that lame Teen Titans ‘Go!’, yet those CLODS rarely mentions OUR SHOW in their CLODDING advertisements and interactions with fans. All they do is air TTG hour after hour, day after day, week after week on their cable broadcasts. The least those CLODDING CLODS could talk about our show more; is this what we get for saving your Earth from the cluster? If it weren’t for us, they would all be DOOMED!

Secondly, what INCOMPETENT CLOD doesn’t do ANYTHING to address a show’s anniversary OR tell the fans when the next episode is? Earth has completed 5 CLODDAMN circuits around its parent STAR since the 1^st episode aired. Does the 5^th anniversary not mean anything to you CLODDY PEBBLES? If anything, it would be THE perfect time to tell us when the next episode is going to be released. The last hiatus LASTED LONGER than the time it TOOK the CLODDARN closest PLANET to the SUN in that SOLAR system of yours to complete 2, YES TWO WHOLE CLODSAKEN circuits; ALMOST one WHOLE circuit for the next planet and MORE THAN HALF a CIRCUIT for EARTH. THAT IS MORE THAN 2 of your EARTH SEASONS, you CLODS!

This CLODatus is SO LONG that MERCURY has completed 1 circuit already; AND it has been SO LONG that VENUS is now CLOSER to completing another circuit than the time the last CLODDYCLODSAKEN episode AIRED!”

Peridot obviously has no need to pause for breaths, but the author decided to interrupt anyway. She is clearly not in the mood for such nonsense, so the author decided to let her continue.

“So you CLOD CLODDY PEBBLES have hiati SO LONG that it is ACTUALLY now possible to PUT IT ON an ASTRONOMICAL timescale. The AUDIENCE won’t live FOREVER, and I know other shows MIGHT have LONGER CLODDING BREAKS but they are EITHER regularly taking breaks OR IT’S A CLODDY REBOOT/REVIVAL with little plot continuality. I don’t know what you think you are trying to achieve with the hiatus, BUT I DO KNOW that you’re lucky I can’t lay my hands or TALK SOME CLODDYCLODDAMN sense into you; because I am not sure the author of this fanfic can handle imagining such a CLORRIFIC scene.”

“Wow, Peri, I missed you.” Lapis said. “I sure am glad I’m in here with you; I would be so bored without you. I am sure the show is going to address what happens to us later, but for now this is fine. I’ve felt worse, but this time, everyone is in this horrible hiatus together; we all are prisoners. Everyone understands how I feel, and that feels… relieving.”

Peridot would be grinning real hard right now, if not for the fact that she is still just a green blob of energy; oh what would the audience give to see Peridot and Lapis with such happy faces. Determined that she is making a positive impact, Peridot resumed, “Lastly, do I ACTUALLY KNOW THAT Steven’s mom, ROSE QUARTZ, is ACTUALLY PINK DIAMOND in disguise?”

Lapis shouted, “WAIT, WHAT? You mean it was the same gem ON BOTH SIDES of the rebellion? The Crystal Gems… they were still following a DIAMOND?”

Peridot replied meekly, “Yes, Lapis; but please just stay calm.”

Lapis calmed down a bit and stopped shaking, “Perhaps you’re right; I shouldn’t interrupt. I’m sure canon will address my reaction later and it won’t be horrible or anything, because I JUST CAN’T seem to get a break; EVERY other episode I’m in has me on the emotional rollercoaster. Sorry for shouting, it’s just I obviously have a lot of unresolved drama.”

Peridot continued, “Anyway, apparently Pink fell in love with the Earth and wanted to protect it; blah, blah, she faked her own shattering; blah, blah, Steven has Pink Diamond’s gem.

DO I ACTUALLY know any of this CREWNIVERSE? DO I? Because it seems like I EITHER didn’t get the JIST OF IT in ASPR and Steven’s singing in Reunited OR do I really not care that I disrespected MY DIAMOND and renounced the Great Diamond Authority, JUST to end up HELPING A DIAMOND SAVE HER CLODSAKEN PLANET from being DESTROYED by the CLODDING Cluster. Sure Steven isn’t Pink or Rose, but he is STILL A CLODDING DIAMOND! HOW AM I GOING to react to all this? AND HOW IS LAPIS GOING TO REACT? You see what you CLODS did? THIS HIATUS has LEFT THE FANS with so many QUESTIONS that I can’t believe they still haven’t gone INSANE YET!”

If Peridot thought the author had forgotten about Dorgan Treeman at this point, she would be wrong; because Dorgan Treeman is just about to invade the privacy of Peridot and Lapis’s gemspace.

“Sorry to interrupt Peridot, but it seems like most of the fan base has gone insane already.”

Peridot spun around to look for the source of the voice, but could not find it. However, she decided continue anyway, because she still has to do more commentary.

“Oh, well! I suppose the audience will just have to wait and see. If you ask me right now, I can tell you that I don’t care that Steven is a Diamond. Because for once, it all makes sense; I would be having a field day pointing out all the reasons why it was so obvious that Rose is Pink Diamond, if not for the fact that I have more pressing concerns to address.”

“You mean our outfits? Like all the hints the Crewniverse has given about us getting stars?” Lapis sounded like she was uncertain, because there were a billion thoughts drifting through her mind right now; but she decided to leave her thoughts on Pink Diamond for later, since it will probably be more interesting in the show with everyone around or something…

Peridot’s ‘form’ brightened at the mention of something she can still take great pride in, “Oh stars! Where am I going to put the star? Clearly one measly star shall not be sufficient for the new leader of the Crystal Gems! It must reference my importance to the Crystal Gems and be a tribute to the sacrifice that Pink Diamond has made so we can be here today.”

Peridot thought for a moment and brightened even more, “I know what my form will be, it will be grand and opulent; my new form shall be better than any Peridot, Pearl or DIAMOND! Hair in the shape of a star, visor in the shape of a star, a big pink star in place of Yellow’s insignia, pink stars for my knees, pink diamonds for the tips of my gravity connectors, and a giant pink star on the back of my uniform to round it all out. Yes, that sounds like it would be adequate for displaying my allegiance if those CLODS at Cartoon Network can keep their hands off my clearly superior design and not replace it with a CLODDY boring one! Who cares if the author’s interpretation of my design is accurate or not? He clearly understands that my new form shall leave no question about my loyalties; and therefore I shall have the most stars. But I shouldn’t hope for too much because I would probably end up with just a boring palette swap for my new form in canon. WHICH WILL BE PROBABLY BE A VERY LONG TIME AWAY because WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIATUS HERE!”

Suddenly the author decided to insert yet another character for the sake of a one line joke. As if the author’s sanity hasn’t been shaken enough by the hiatus, he has now realised that he hasn’t used a proper cutaway thus far.

### Meanwhile in some non-descript room on Homeworld… ###

“What a lovely cutaway! Oh, ho ho ho.” Navy the Ruby said with a hint of mischief in her voice, “How are you all handling this hiatus so far?”

“Horribly, but still here of course!” Steven replies on behalf the audience.

“Oh, that’s so beautiful, none of you know what is about to happen… The only thing wrong... is that you're still holding on. Oh, ho ho ho.” Navy taunted. “Bye bye!”

A white bubble forms around Navy and grows in size until it fills the whole room. White Diamond’s theme plays and the bubble disappears, leaving nothing behind but the pitch darkness of the room.

### Back in ‘Gemspace’ ###

“Oh great, just when I thought I’d seen the last of that twisted little Ruby for at least a season and a half.” Lapis replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“You know what is really frustrating about this hiatus – well at least for us anyway?” Peridot asked.

“Indulge me, Peri. Go ahead.” Lapis replied with a hint of boredom.

“IT IS THE FACT that we can’t do ANY CLODPEBBLY CLODDAMN THING! We are not Pearls, we CAN’T STORE anything in our gems; WHICH IS WERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW! We DON’T HAVE ANYTHING in here to distract ourselves from this CLODICULOUSLY long hiatus. THERE IS NOTHING! This is WORSE than the hiatus of 2016. THIS TIME WE ARE LITERALLY doing CLODDARN NOTHING for what seems like a CLODDY CLODICULOUS eternity. While I’ll begrudgingly admit that sitting around for months while the Cluster and Malachite still being active threats DID seem like wasting an eternity on nothing, this is much worse. At least there was SOMETHING to do at the barn like watch more CPH, check the drill or catching up on human customs and vocabulary. Lapis, while I’m sure your time as Malachite was horrible during the hiatus; I am SURE YOU had some fun right? I mean you had the whole ocean and sky as your playground. All I had was the barn; I couldn’t even leave the silly barn to do any sightseeing. I’ve surveyed the WHOLE CLODDY PLOT OF LAND MORE THAN 9000 CLODCLODDING times. I know where every SINGLE CLODDAMN PIECE of dirt is. I KNOW MORE about the single PLOT OF LAND than the rest of the EARTH COMBINED! You’d think Crewniverse would at least give some episode about me sightseeing and discovering more CLODTASTIC reasons why I saved Earth! BUT NO… when you woke up LAPIS, you get to go sightseeing with STEVEN while I’m stuck at the CLODDYCLODSAKEN barn.” Peridot paused, having only just now realised that she has brought up Malachite.

Lapis wasn’t upset, however, “Wow Peridot, I never thought you wanted to see more of the Earth. Maybe we could go sightseeing if you’d like; once we reform I mean. Unless Crewniverse has ANY other plans am I right? I mean the bottom of the ocean is rather fascinating unlike that barn. I should really apologise to Andy about that…”

Peridot beamed, “Yeah… that would be a good idea. Now I only have one last thing to discuss as of now. As many of you are aware, I am a keen watcher and shipper when it comes to CPH. HOWEVER, what you do not realise is that I also watch Steven Universe in my spare time. In fact, I’ve watched EVERY SINGLE EPISODE at least 420 times and there is JUST ABOUT ONE THING that ticks me off. CLODDARN IT CLODNIVERSE when IS STEVEN AND CONNIE GOING TO CONFESS THEIR LOVE TO EACH OTHER?! It has been SO CLODDY obvious right from the CLODDAMN beginning. It should be very CLODDING obvious to any CLOD with half a functioning CLODDAMN CLOD brain, that Steven and Connie have feelings for each other. And from my analysis, I have concluded that Steven and Connie are the utmost superior pairing in the show. They work well together and they have helped each other grow SO MUCH that IT IS ONLY FAIR that they live a happy life together. Without Connie, Steven would probably still be acting like a child right now and all of Earth would’ve long been doomed. Without Steven, Connie would’ve perished at the ‘hands’ of that boulder and we would’ve never been able to see Rose’s sword in action. Both Steven and Connie are great swordspeople, but Steven would never have been able to handle a sword and a shield simultaneously until he was much older; and he may have never even gotten close to growing up if not for Connie. I theorise that in the absence of a supporting ‘Jam Bud’, Steven may end up reverting or staying as a child in order to cope with all the horrors that he would’ve encountered. They really do bring out the best in each other and that’s why it’s so great that they’re able to fuse with each other. Although neither Lapis nor I myself have had the honour of meeting Stevonnie personally; I’m sure that we would both be thrilled when we eventually meet them. Simply put, with time, Stevonnie’s stability as a fusion will likely exceed that of Garnet’s. I certainly hope Crewniverse intends to include Stevonnie in more episodes as I find great potential to be had. I’m even sure that Lapis would not mind fusing with Stevonnie, given the right circumstances; as I am sure that Stevonnie might be the only partner that could help Lapis move past her experience from being fused as Malachite. Lapis certainly can’t sightsee with both Steven and Connie at the same time, since both Steven and Connie still clearly have many sights left to see on Earth together. And I’m certain that if they were to sightsee as Stevonnie, it could well be a natural progression to see Lapis and Stevonnie interact as more than just separate beings. It is probable that Lapis will have to move past her experiences as Malachite someday, as she is just too valuable of a fusion partner to rule out. The way I see it, Stevonnie is the best candidate to help Lapis heal and I think apart from Pearl or Amethyst, Lapis would be the most likely chance we have of seeing Stevonnie fuse with another gem – and by extension knowing that Steven can fuse with BOTH a human and a gem concurrently. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have prepared a much more detailed presentation about why CONNVERSE is the OTP and best ship PERIOD.”

Peridot then proceeds to somehow generate screens in front of her containing clips of every single scene from SU related to Steven and Connie, as well as many charts, illustrations and slides. Peridot paused for a moment to organise those screens while Lapis moved towards the camera. Although Peridot manages to start her grand presentation, it soon fades into silence as Lapis leads the camera away; because even as great as Peridot is, her presentations can often go on for more than half a day (and this author is clearly not even going to attempt to depict such a presentation; mainly because it doesn’t fit in with this fic and because he probably wants to finish this fic and go read fanfics instead of writing them OR maybe he has just used up all his angst writing Peridot and no Perisentation would be complete without a few ‘Clod’ moments). Whatever the case maybe, Lapis is still happy that Peridot has found something to do; even if the only person listening might be White Diamond, because it would just be right up her ally.

“Well, at least Peri is in the same boat as me right now. Being stuck in a mirror for 5000 years was horrible, but at least surface Pearl was fun to watch; and now I have Peridot to watch. Without her, I don’t think I’ll make it through this hiatus. And to be honest, you the audience probably won’t have made it without the community of the fandom. So please just remember, we are all in this hiatus together, you are not alone in this deep dark abyss. Just hang in there, alright, it’ll be worth it in the end; I think, no I hope, no I KNOW it’ll be worth it in the end, just trust me and this author. It’ll be alright, it’s Steven Universe.” Lapis said and then turned back towards Peridot.

### DING ###

### ROLL CREDITS ###

Chapter Text

Chapter 6:

PSA: IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

This fic has been INTERRUPTED for an important announcement!   

NEW EPISODES FROM 17 DECEMBER 2018.   

Descriptions are as follows:  

Legs from Here to Homeworld - December 17th, 2018 - Steven travels to visit family.

Familiar - December 24th, 2018 - With many changes going on in his life, Steven tries to find his place in the world.

Together Alone - December 31st, 2018 - Steven throws a party to bring his family together.

Escapism - January 7th, 2019 - Steven uses his psychic powers to find help.

Steven Universe: Battle of Heart and Mind - January 21st, 2019 - Steven faces his biggest challenge yet.  

Diamond Days Crewniverse Post

"Diamond days are here! New episodes weekly starting December 17!" - Steven Crewniverse 

"And now, for the commentary on this news we have... CONNIE!" Dorgan Treeman announced.  

Connie was still playing games with the Crystal Gems when she was interrupted by Dorgan Treeman. While she was mildly displeased that she was interrupted and slightly confused that she only just now suddenly gained knowledge of the announcement; she was glad that there was finally some news indeed. However, she still wonders if her state of knowledge is linked to the state of the author (thereby breaking this fic); but she dismisses the thought quickly seeing as there is ZERO cell coverage on Homeworld anyway and she would rather think about other things instead of the state of Steven Universe. 

"Well, Author, it is nice of you to finally catch up with the announcement; but I do believe that there is something very important I should point out. I see what you did there Crewniverse, OR maybe it's YOU Cartoon Network who are secretly pulling all the strings behind the universe and playing god. Whatever the case; the timing of the announcement couldn't be better, it seems like it is just in time for Thanksgiving too, which is nice. Thank you for letting the fans have something to look forward to on Christmas and beyond. But let me tell you this; don't think you can sneakily make this hiatus just a smudge shorter than last year and think that nobody will pick up on it; because the author and I sure did!" Connie paused and took a breath. 

Connie whispered, "Anyway, I think Biscu... I mean Steven looks really cute in Pink's outfit. He is just so adorable and cute..." 

Connie cleared her throat and continued, "... As for the sword, I think you really should wait until the new episodes for more context. I mean, it is the right size for me, but unless it magically gets bigger, Stevonnie would definitely have some problems with it. Well I hope that this news has been as uplifting for me as it has been for you, audience. Remember, it is just around the corner now, keep it together and I'll see you on the other side."  

And with that she returned to the Crystals Gems, eager to break the news and resume her board games.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7:

Steven Universe: A New Hiatus

28 January 2019, Hiatus Day 7

As the Diamonds once again settled into the hiatus, they decided that they should discuss the events that have transpired during Diamond Days. They decided that the ballroom would be perfect as it clearly fits all the Diamonds, and not just because they probably don’t have a conference room because they never got together and talked before; and definitely not because Crewniverse have only shown us one area ‘common’ to all the Diamonds.

Therefore, with the venue decided, the Diamonds gathered for discussions. In the middle of the ballroom was a large diamond-sized roundtable, around which sat Yellow Diamond, Yellow Pearl, White Diamond, Blue Pearl, and Blue Diamond. The Diamonds were seated in diamond-sized executive chairs and the Pearls were sat in deluxe high chairs so they could converse more easily with the Diamonds.

Yellow Diamond was the first to begin, “That sure was some finale, right?”

Everyone around the table worded their agreement.

White Diamond cleared her throat and spoke, “Now, we all know the hiatus will be a long one, but we can’t let that discourage us all. I would like to say that I am very glad this author decided to not write off my character completely like so many others; granted, my idea of happiness for Starlight was misguided, but we all know better now thanks to Steven.”

“When you told us what happened after you ‘possessed’ us, we really didn’t believe you White,” Blue Diamond said, “But then Steven and Connie told their version of the story. And…”

Blue Diamond began tearing up and Yellow Diamond stood up and walked over to comfort her before her aura would affect everyone in the room. Yellow held Blue close and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Yellow spoke gently, “No more tears now Blue. Pink is gone, but we have someone better now, we have Steven. He wouldn’t want you crying anymore now would he?”

Blue Diamond smiled and replied, “I guess not, especially not so soon after he helped us all find our happiness.”

Yellow Diamond walked back to her chair and sat down. She paused for a moment and continued, “What did we ever do to deserve him? All we did for 5 seasons was try to kill him, his friends, family, and planet. Yet, after all that, all he wanted to do was help us. Even when we offered to fight off White, he would not leave us behind to go back to Earth. How anyone, after all that, would still be willing to stand by us is beyond me.”

“And yet, he did help us,” White smiled, “He stood up to us and showed us how to be better; even when Pink never had the courage to do such a thing. Steven really is something else; so pure, so full of joy, compassion, and love; so much like Pink and yet better in so many ways we never thought possible – so young, but already so wise. We really must thank his family for teaching him right from wrong and instilling such wholesome values in him. He showed us what it meant to be ‘divine’; instead of crushing life and individuality, as Diamonds with such power we ought to guide it and protect it from harm – whether be from itself or others – because that is the right thing to do. Who were we before if not parasites spreading across the universe, draining planets of their life and annihilating countless civilisations and ecosystems just because they were different? We weren’t any better than primitive human empires, and yet, they too changed. We as such powerful and immortal beings, have a duty to do perhaps what no other has before or will do since – be the light that glides life towards greatness and bring about a better future for all. And to think, half of Steven comes from some humble human musician.”

Blue Diamond gasped as she recalled something, “Oh, you mean Greg?”

“Who?” Yellow Diamond asked.

“You know, the human Steven went to greet when we landed on Earth, even before we got off the ships? When we ‘crashed’ the ‘concert’ that Steven’s friends were playing? On the beach?” Blue replied.

Yellow Diamond thought for a moment and responded, “Oh, right! Yeah, him. Okay Blue, continue.”

Blue Diamond continued, “Anyway, we actually met back in Season 4. I was in front of Pink Diamond’s palanquin, mourning Pink. At the time I thought the Cluster was due to emerge and what do you know? Steven actually made friends with them and kept them safe in a bubble. So sweet, so loving. When Greg told me about how he lost someone important to him too, I was surprised that he was able to understand how I feel; I thought at the time taking him to the Human Zoo would be the right thing to do. But I guess we should be thankful Steven was able to sneak into the zoo and get him back. It must have been horrible for them both to have their family taken away with possibly no hope of reuniting again.”

“You have to admit Blue, if I didn’t send those mostly useless Rubies to ‘fetch’ Jasper; Greg might still be stuck in the zoo now.” Yellow stated.

Blue Diamond giggled a little, “Well, it does make for good television! Although I do feel a bit sorry about Leggy; that poor Ruby, always being picked on and none the wiser, I really hope she finds her happiness. Losing Rose must’ve felt horrible to Greg, seeing as her falling in love with him and deciding to have a baby is the reason she’s gone. You wouldn’t think it looking at him now, but when you just see how he was back in the day… Wait Pearl, didn’t Crystal Gem Pearl give you some keepsakes? Show us, they have to see.”

Blue Pearl summoned a holopad and connected to the computer in her chair. “Here, we can see it all together.”

In front of each Gem seated at the roundtable were now identical holoscreens – each sized accordingly. Slowly they began to scroll through pictures of young Greg and Rose – basically ‘scanned’ human photos and transcribed holograms from the other Pearl – and when Blue Pearl decided to play a copy of Greg’s song ‘Comet’, everyone at the table seemed to be awestruck. Everyone was quiet even after the song finished, and there was a moment of tenseness in the air; however, that was quickly broken.

“Such Intensity,” Yellow Diamond whispered.

“Such Passion,” Blue Diamond murmured.

“Wow, I can certainly see his appeal,” White Diamond said, “No wonder they fell in love, He certainly was quite the charmer. You two probably would’ve fallen in love with him too, if circumstances were different.”

The other two Diamonds laughed and replied in unison, “Oh, White; don’t be silly. How would a human BABY even work with Gems as large as ours?”

At this comment, the Pearls started laughing too, and White quickly joined in. It took a minute before everyone regained their composure and the conversation continued.

“Pink really must have loved the Earth very dearly to willingly put herself in dangers way in order to protect it,” Blue Diamond stated, “And then for her to give up her form in order for Steven to exist; she must’ve loved him more than anything in the world. Her last gift to the world, something she never could be – something with Human values and the powers of a Gem – someone special.”

“You are right Blue,” Yellow spoke, “Steven truly is someone special. He has so much potential; I just know it! Just like the show, I might add. We need to protect him, he is our second chance; our chance to be better. We need to support him and guide him. We won’t make the same mistakes again. We can’t change the past, we can’t reverse our damage; but we still have so much more we CAN and WILL do. We WILL save other civilisations from their mistakes, instead of making those mistakes ourselves and crushing them. We will be there for him unlike how we never were for Pink. We WILL be the light that shines in the void of the universe. We WILL be admired not out of fear, but as a beacon of HOPE for all! From now on, we WILL be light that banishes evil and suffering! We WILL change their minds and bring about joy and happiness throughout the universe!”

At that, everyone started clapping – even the Pearls and White – for the passion in Yellow’s voice was inspiring to say the least. After the clapping stopped, Yellow Diamond cleared her throat and continued, “So Pearls tell me what you think of Steven.”

Blue Pearl was the first to speak up, her voice clear and soft, yet not loud or brash. “I think Steven is rather lovely and the company that he keeps are also quite delightful – unlike the pets that Pink Diamond used to keep and ‘forget’ about. I am glad that Steven hasn’t picked up his mother’s knack for pets. Even though we actually enjoyed the diversity of Pink’s pets, some of them were quite bothersome especially when Pink Diamond didn’t always take the best care of them.”

“Oh YES! How can we forget?” Yellow Pearl’s voice cut in, “Pink Diamond used to just leave her pets for US to take care of when she got tired of them. How annoying, am I right? Those things from the Kyanite colony were the WORST! They could hide almost ANYWHERE and would never stop chasing us. It was amusing at first, I have to say; but stars, they just had SO much energy – even when we were so exhausted that our forms might well have dissipated, they still won’t stop bothering us! They did give good snuggles though. At least Pink didn’t keep any of those Bird Blobs from the Jungle Moon. ARGH, just thinking about their mothers makes my form shudder. While they were relatively safe, it seemed like every time Pink went and played with the juveniles, she would get their mothers angry; and WE would have to be the ones to shoo them away – because it was ‘not important enough for you’.”

Yellow Diamond laughed as she remembered that particular Colony. It was true that the Colony was rather bothersome and Pink’s antics on its moon only served to make things more frustrating at the time; however, looking back now, one could see the humour.

“You know, I think the Earth has taught Pink a lot,” Yellow Diamond replied, “That was when she changed for the better, and we were fools not to see it. She actually cared enough about one of her Earth pets to bring them back to life. I think Steven calls him Lion, and Steven tells me he pretty much does his own thing.”

“Shame we didn’t get to see Lion in person,” Blue Pearl said, “I’m sure we’ll see him later though. Whenever that happens, am I right? Anyway, I think Connie is rather lovely as well and she is delightful to talk to as well as being polite to us.”

Yellow Diamond continued, “Ah, yes; Connie. It’s a shame we didn’t get a chance to talk that much, but from what I saw I can already tell that her and Steven complement each other so much. Their bond is undeniable. The way they care for and love each other is just so precious. I am glad that they found each other, and I can’t imagine how devastated we’ll be if either of them were to perish. She may be human, but she has already done so much with Steven and we need to let their bond blossom into something bigger. Steven has a lot of potential and may become a great leader one day, but it’s likely that he’ll still be much too soft if we encounter any real threats; without Connie to guide him, we might end up worse off. The way they danced and fused at the ball; how happy they were to be themselves, how seamlessly they became one. Knowing that they can actually fuse must’ve been pure joy for Garnet; it sure was for us. It’s rather marvellous isn’t it?”

“Until you two got mad,” White exclaimed with a wink. “And ruined the moment!”

“We know better now,” Blue Diamond answered, “I was so lost in the realisation that our Pink might be gone that I didn’t see the happiness right in front of us. They were so happy until our ‘disruption’. I don’t know how Steven and Connie are going to be around for long enough to continue bringing us joy. However, from the looks of things, they’ll find a way. Steven told me the name of their fusion is Stevonnie and that Amethyst was the one to come up with it; you know, I think the name sounds rather beautiful. Although I’d say Steven is rather adorable in his own right, he really isn’t anything compared to Stevonnie. Oh so beautiful, elegant and stunning at the same time – the way their personalities combine into something even better. We have to accept Steven’s choices and when the time comes that they decide to fuse permanently, we’ll need to accept Stevonnie as well; it is only right. For now, Steven and Connie both have so much to learn and to grow; and I’m sure the next season of Steven Universe will be nothing but wonderful. In the meantime, I think it would be great to have Stevonnie come over once in a while. What do you say Yellow?”

“I agree,” Yellow replied, “It only makes sense for us to bond with Stevonnie as well, but not before spending more time with Steven and Connie. We have already missed so much of their growth as individuals; we can’t afford to miss more. I’m sure we’ll see plenty of growth in Stevonnie as well; they are just an endless ocean of possibilities – a fusion made of love, compassion, resolve, freedom, and a perfect union of Gem and Human. I’m sure that you’ll do great things one day too, Stevonnie – just like how Steven freed us from a prison of our own making, you too will be the light that shines for a better and brighter future. The future might be fraught with challenges, uncertainty and hardship, but we will get through this; we are Diamonds and we have love on our side. United together we will build a better tomorrow – Gem, Human, anything in between, and everyone else. And remember kids, if you feel down, go read a fanfic or two – as if you AREN’T already reading some –; the next season will be here before you know it.”

White Diamond stared blankly at Yellow Diamond and laughed, “Yellow, that was a TERRIBLE Sunstone impersonation, I’m sure even Lion could do better. But thank you, I needed that laugh. At least you tried and it’s not like this author just decided to use that joke here for some reason.”

Of course, nobody could compare to the original Sunstone except perhaps Lions, Yellow knew this and decided to try anyway in order to inject humour into the discussion. She wasn’t upset and actually felt happy to have participated in this deprecating humour – odd, as it may seem. However, she wasn’t quite sure that this chapter would be quite complete at this point; thus, she took a moment to ponder.

“Hmm,” Yellow scratched her chin and wondered, “I wonder what else we have to talk about?”

“I think it would be rather prudent that we include the usual Hiatusverse content,” Yellow Pearl spoke, “It would not be the same without it. And since we already got the ‘elephant’ out of the room, I think some ‘lighter’ discussions are in order.”

“Thank you for your input Pearl,” Yellow Diamond responded, “It is rather relieving to be able to talk like this. Speaking of which, where is Pink Pearl anyway?”

White Diamond pondered for a moment and added, “You know, we actually have no idea. I mean you kids didn’t see her after the scene in my ship. Poor thing – imagine ‘waking up’ after so long with no idea of what has happened, finding out that your beloved Diamond is gone, and that everything has changed so much – I can’t begin to imagine how that must feel for her. She was so content just playing with Pink Diamond and I took it all away. I am terribly sorry and I really hope she’ll be alright, and we’re yet to find out what happened with her eye. Is she on Earth? Or is she still here? Will Steven fix her eye and help her find happiness again? ANSWER us Rebecca, THE FANS NEED TO KNOW! WE NEED TO KNOW!”

The air in the room hung for a moment as White Diamond calmed herself down and waited for a response. However, no response came, as this author certainly isn’t connected to Rebecca Sugar – even if he was, the response would raise more questions than answers; for we all know her answers are more cryptic and vague than even the most mysterious of Sapphires.

“Yellow, what did you end up doing with those Jades that fused at Steven’s ball anyway?” Blue Diamond asked, “I mean if Crewniverse named them, they must be important somehow.”

Yellow Diamond thought for a moment and shrugged, “No idea, all I know is just that they are called Lemon Jade apparently. I’m not surprised that Stevonnie, Garnet and Opal had inspired them to fuse. I would’ve fused with Blue right then if we weren’t worried about you White – we can’t just let the other fusions steal all the attention from Stevonnie; who I might add, looked wonderful in Pink’s outfit – if a Diamond ball is to be ‘crashed’ it needs ‘crashed’ BIG, like Green Diamond BIG! I am actually surprised that there WEREN’T other fusions trying to overthrow us at a sight like that! I mean it would’ve been a perfect chance for an uprising; I half expected the Quartzes and Rubies to do something, but all they did was stare! How rude!”

“I’m sure Crewniverse has their reasons Yellow,” Blue Diamond quipped, “I mean, White Diamond turned out alright didn’t she? Besides, it would be rather con-fuse-ing if anymore fusions showed up at the ball.”

White Diamond laughed, “I’m more than alright, I am ME; no more hiding my emotions and feelings. Honestly though, if fans want to draw me as a cat, they have to try harder.”

“You’d make an adorable cat, White,” Blue Diamond giggled, “I still can NOT believe we haven’t seen more of those Zircons from the trial yet. In the end, Blue Zircon was right; we did end up shattering Pink in a way. If it weren’t for that Zircon, Steven and his gem might be dust by now; and he certainly wouldn’t have escaped. If anything, those Zircons deserve to know everything – it is only right.”

Yellow Diamond remarked, “I’m sure they will, Blue. Sugar just likes to leave fans hanging and wondering. I would love to commend Peridot and Bismuth for doing such an excellent job at fixing up our ships on Earth with so little resources, using such outdated tools, and with such primitive materials.  I am surprised the ships actually survived and functioned well enough for them to get to Homeworld in such a timely manner – in one piece too, I might add. Although, I do find it amusing that we even managed to get back to Earth before Lars and the Off-Colors. They have Emerald’s fastest ship and it took them SO long to get back to Earth that we actually resolved our arcs! Sure, they had Emerald up their tail, no help from anyone, and had to fight for supplies; but the hilariously ironic timing of their arrival isn’t lost on me. It is lucky that Emerald didn’t end up capturing them, which would be a shame. I wonder how Jasper is doing, she seemed like she was about to kill Steven when she reformed. It must be hard for her to find out that Rose Quartz was in fact Pink Diamond in disguise – all those years she spent trying to ‘avenge’ Pink – and at the end, couldn’t even get answers directly from her. Fortunately, I know Steven and the Gems will be there to help Jasper cope – even if her own guilt is holding her back, I just know Steven will get through to her and help her – just like he helped us all.”

“Well said Yellow,” Blue Diamond replied, “I think we are almost done here anyway. Oh wait, how can we forget?! The Human Zoo, what are we ever going to do with the Zoo now that we know that Pink is well… Um, gone… and Steven is you know… A human/gem hybrid with the Pink Diamond Gem… Surely, this has to be addressed; it certainly won’t feel right for Steven to keep the Zoo operational – not when he has human friends and family – it would just be wrong. Steven said living in the Zoo was unpleasant and I have to agree – being treated like nothing but mindless creatures with no ability of higher thought. But human culture has evolved so much over the last 6 millennia, and as cruel and unfair as putting ‘new’ humans in is; it would also be just as bad to let the Zoomans out of captivity. Who knows what might happen if they were let out? I think we really need to talk to Steven about this later, once things on Earth are more settled of course – the Zoomans are fine for now, and they are not in danger; they are oblivious but happy, they can wait a bit. Maybe we can move the zoo closer to Earth so Amethyst and Jasper can visit their Quartz ‘sisters’ more often. Being stuck there without seeing other gems must be really boring; seeing as how they helped Steven escape instead of listening to Holly Blue Agate. They probably had more fun in that arc than in the last few thousand years.”

Yellow Diamond seemed lost in thought for a moment, but continued speaking anyway, “Hmm… I wonder how it is that between us and ‘our’ Pearls, we never noticed Steven’s little ‘heist’ while we were at the zoo. Even though everyone is certain we saw Steven behind that pillar and the Renegade at the door; and it was implied that you Pearls recognised something.”

Yellow Pearl interrupted, “We did think we saw something, but decided not to question it at the time since Blue Diamond didn’t seem to pick up on Sapphire’s ruse.”

“Now that I think about it, that Ruby and Sapphire did seem rather familiar,” Blue Pearl mused, “They may have reformed, but Pearls like us remember those little things. The way Ruby held Sapphire’s hand when she began to freeze up, the way they acted so nervous in front of you – like they were hiding something. It is rather obvious when you think about it.”

“Indeed,” Blue Diamond replied, “But I think we are forgetting something – like those bubbled Rose Quartzes at the zoo. Are they even real? And what will they think when they are let out? Surely they don’t deserve to be bubbled now that we know the truth and we know all of them are innocent.”

“I know,” Yellow Diamond stated, “But we must remember, the last thing they know is that a Rebel ‘Rose Quartz’ has been causing trouble and that was the reason they were bubbled. Even if we tell them that Pink Diamond was actually the Rebel all along, they could still have their reasons for taking out their anger on us or Steven. We need to take a single step at a time. They’ve been bubbled for more than 5000 years, it won’t hurt to leave them in there a little longer. Steven may have his ways with making friends, but right now bringing in another army of confused gems is only going to make things worse. Remember Blue, Steven is still a child; he already has enough on his plate after this whole thing. I promise you, we’ll help them; when everyone is more settled. Let Steven focus on helping the healed gems on Earth first, they are the ones that needs the attention right now after everything. We still have lots of work to do; you can’t fix an Empire overnight, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. But we will get through it and the hiatus, together.”

Blue Diamond cleared her throat and said, “Okay. I think I’m ready for this chapter to end.”

Yellow Diamond nodded in agreement, “Pearl, will you do the honours?”

Yellow Diamond gave Yellow Pearl a wink and a small smile. Yellow Pearl returned the wink and grinned.

“That will be all!” Yellow Pearl said as she did the handclap.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8:

Infinite Hiatusverse: The Final ‘Frontier’

<dd> <mmmm> 2020, Hiatus(?) Day <d>

The room went silent as everyone watched the credits of the finale ‘roll’ on the screen in the lounge room of the leg ship where they had gathered to watch it. After the credits came the bumper, showing a brief, yet delightable scene of classic Steven that was in stark contrast to the last few (many) episodes… then black, signalling the end of an era…

Steven Universe: Future had been a bit of a rollercoaster, and emotions were… well… mixed.

“Is that… is that it?” Stevonnie sniffled as they blinked and broke the silence, a few stray tears falling down their face, “After… after…”

The penultimate episode had moved them deeply, shook them to their core…, seeing them…, that had them (and everyone else) in tears. But after that came the strange flatness that was the last 10 or so minutes… and they just wasn’t sure what to think or feel, left ‘empty’ – vague – about things…

“Seems like it…” Lapis said as she reassured and hugged Stevonnie, soothingly rubbing their side as more of their friends and family – Kevin, Spinel, Lemon Jade, Jasper, Pink Pearl, Topaz, Priyanka, Doug… – joined in on the comforting.

“I-it… just seems…”

“So…” Stevonnie could be so eloquent with their words, or totally stumped as they also often were… and Kevin, try as he might, found himself at as much of a loss for words as they were…

“Weird,” Spinel suggested with a sheepish half-chuckle. (She and they knew it wasn’t even close to adequate in terms of description, but it’ll have to do.)

“Yeah…” Stevonnie breathed, exhaling as they looked at around them and smiled – all their friends and family, together, Lion purring as they stroked his mane…

Steven Universe: Future was weird, for lack of a better word, less focused and warm then the 5 seasons of Steven Universe, but… that didn’t mean they couldn’t talk about it in the Hiatusverse fashion. They just had a few personal things and thoughts to get out before they’d talk about the infinite hiatus they were in…

(And ‘first’, it was Bismuth…)

“Okay, I’m just gonna go ahead and say it,” the smith announced as everyone turned to face her, “What on earth was up with my voice in those last few episodes?”

“You sounded different,” Blue Pearl stated as she brushed her hair out of her face to reveal her soft, baby blue eyes, “Still you, but less so…?”

“That’s because they changed her voice artist!” Peridot and Yellow Pearl squeaked simultaneously, causing them to look oddly at the other. (Whenever they spoke in unison, their combined voices always carried oddly, so whenever it happens…)

“I know!” Bismuth howled/wailed, “My precious voice! What did they do to my precious voice?”

“At least you had one episode with your usual VA!” Leggy sniffled as she began crying, Pumpkin’s barking and nuzzling in her lap doing nothing to stem the tide, “I didn’t even get anything at all… It’s like they just forgot about me! There-there was that Ruby, BUT YOU COULDN’T have been sure it was meee…”

“Aww… poor Leggy,” Stevonnie cooed as they picked up the Ruby, hugged her close, and ruffled her hair, “It’s okay… it’s okay; just breathe…”

“Alright,” She took a few deep breaths, and slowly, her tears stopped, “It’s okay… the fans still love me!”

“That’s right!” Stevonnie beamed as Leggy giggled, “Like me!”

“And they didn’t even give you any voice lines at all!” Kevin huffed, “Your voice is beautiful Stevonnie, and… ARGH! I can’t believe the fans and viewers didn’t get to hear you!”

“Thanks Kevin,” Stevonnie replied, smiling sweetly, “Yeah, what an outrage am I right?”

“Well…” Spinel and Lapis said, pressing closer into their friend and causing them to giggle, “You did have that AMAZING scene at the skate rink, which was AWESOME!”

“Mmm… yeah,” Stevonnie hugged themself, reminiscing, “That was soooo good!”

“I could so watch that on repeat forever and never get tired of it…”

“Agreed!” | “Of course you would Kevin; same!”

(If anything, Kevin was so much more obvious in ‘letting slip’ his feelings for Stevonnie since they had become close friends – especially as he made sure to respect them, their boundaries, and such –…, which Stevonnie found to be just so super endearing!)

If there was anyone super loved by the fandom and short-changed in terms of their appearance in SU:F besides Stevonnie… well, that was pretty much everyone…

Lemon Jade was usually super cheery and chipper, but after missing out on the movie and almost not making it into Future… she couldn’t help but feel just a bit upset…

“If that wasn’t the worst ‘cameo’ ever, I don’t know what is!” She ‘ranted’, sounding more peeved than actually angry or mad, “You could barely see me at all! Me, getting the ‘mystery girl’ treatment!”

“Hey,” Stevonnie cooed, turning their fusion-friend’s face towards them and hugging her as Lion and Pumpkin licked her hands, “They may have ‘forgotten’ you, but I haven’t; we haven’t. We love you Lemonade!”

“Aww… Stevonnie… you’re the BEST fusion girlfriend ever!” Lemonade beamed, her mood brightening, “I’m so glad we got to meet each other.”

“Same!” They grinned as Topaz joined the fusion-hug, “Isn’t that right, Topaz?”

“Mmm-hmm,” She nodded, replying softly, “Honestly, I’m not that mad about not getting lines myself, even though I showed up at least twice, briefly.”

“Topaz, you’re like quiet most of the time anyway,” Spinel commented as everyone giggled.

“Yep!”

“Speaking of which… Zircs, you’ve been awfully quiet,” Carnelian and Skinny noted as they playfully slapped the lawyers’ backs.

“That’s because we’re processing everything,” They replied, jumping slightly as they turned, “Honestly, some of this makes even less sense than the whole Rose thing. As of the movie, two years after the events of Change Your Mind, Homeworld was still more or less the same architecturally… but then, boom! Future comes and it’s all different? What gives!?”

The Diamonds only shrugged, for they too were stumped by the change, pleasant as it was…

“Obviously, that’s not what’s ticking us off; it’s that they only showed us in picture form! Then suggesting half of Homeworld will be voting for Yellow here, like we wouldn’t be running together after what happened and we learned.”

“We obviously work better together, not on opposing sides,” Yellow Zircon said coyly as she kissed her blue counterpart, “Everyone does,” …then began making out more…

“Umm…”

“What they’re saying Stevonnie, is that they don’t think democracy as it stands is completely the answer for equality and getting things done?” Centipeetle | Nephrite suggested as the two nodded.

“Gee, where were you when we needed you?” Spinel asked rhetorically, “You could’ve like saved all the hassle from and including the movie onwards!”

(Ever since befriending Steven whilst being corrupted and then being healed, Centi had become very good at reading others and situations – it was like piloting a ship…, except it was life instead of space…)

“Exactly!” Her gem/eye sparkled with pride (before she moved onto the important questions), “Where was I? If that was me in the intro, WHY WASN’T I IN ANY EPISODE when all the other Nephrites appeared like at least once?!”

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Garnet mused, “It’s almost like they were avoiding you…”

“And where are the Chaaaaps?”

Sighing with a half giggle, Stevonnie nudged Pink Pearl (who they knew had ‘spares’).

“Oh!” Her eyes sparkled with delight as she produced a large bag of Chaaaaps from her gem, “Here you go Centi!”

“Thanks Volley,” She smiled as she carefully caught the bag and tore it open, savouring each chip and its flavour as she chomped down on them.

“Rubies and their lollipops, Nephrites and their Chaaaaps… where’s the sophistication? Of all the foods you could have as your favourites…”

“I dummo Emberalb,” Leggy mumbled as she joyfully sucked on the lollipop Pink Pearl gave her, “It’b libe Stebonnie…”

“Bits! Bits!”

“Donuts, donuts!”

“And to think, you all know one of the greatest chef/bakers in the galaxy, Lars! _{Who also happens to be a really good captain…}”

“I heard that!”

“Anyway…” Emerald continued, ignoring the acknowledgement by her former ‘rival’, “Where the heck was I? Crewniverse said that my first appearance wouldn’t be my last; what gives?”

(Everyone murmured in agreement.)

“And what about all the character arcs? They said the movie wasn’t the end and that there was so much more to come… All that Connverse teasing, the fact/appearance that it is/was in production for quite a bit longer than the 20-episode count supported, AND most importantly, I distinctly remember them saying that there were/would be stories/episodes set before, during, and/or after the timeskip!”

Nobody wanted to talk about it, but they all knew it; Emerald had brought up – reminded them of – some very good points that they couldn’t find anything to counter with in the slightest.

“Everything has to have happened after the movie, because Spinel was there in Future!”

### ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ###

After mulling over what Emerald pointed out, everyone agreed that it would do no good to think about the episodes that could have been and/or could still be. They would not get let the sea of ‘lost’ possibilities claim them, especially not with the hiatus still so young…

Instead, they would only think about the episodes that had actually been made – the ones known to the viewers of the reality that are currently reading this chapter in this fic.

“So, where should we start?”

“With the first episode, obviously, P-squared,”

“P-squared? Because my name is Pink Pearl, PP… Oh…”

“Yeah,” Amethyst replied as a faint blush graced her friend’s face, “We’ve been kinda jumping all over the place; if we keep that up, we might lose the Zoomans over there… that or the readers…”

“Hey Stevonnie!” The zoomans greeted at the mention of them.

“Hey Wy-Six, Jay-Ten, everyone, how are you?” Stevonnie replied and smiled.

“Wonderful!” They beamed with childish delight as they relaxed on the soft lounge, making everyone smile even wider.

Since they had caught up with Steven Universe during their free time, there was no saying no to them when Amethyst decided to invite the Fam over for the Future viewing party. (They also forgave Greg, thankfully, or that would’ve been real awkward…)

“So, Little Homeschool huh?” Hippie (Stoner/’Chill’) Rose started, “What a start! It all looked so good…”

“The little montage with the narration was SO CUTE, especially the bit where Cherry Quartz didn’t know a single thing you were talking about!”

Stevonnie smiled, giggling as their Rose-bud-sister/moms moved closer to them, “Yeah, I liked it too.”

“But looking back, it didn’t exactly sit quite right…”

“Mmm…” They nodded, “It just doesn’t feel like two years and does at the same time?” Stevonnie scratched their chin in thought, “Like, with the movie, they kinda made it look like everything was just fixed kinda in two years, like bam, universal peace? Or rather, they made it look like there was nothing left to do, when in reality there was?”

“I agree,” The Rutile Twins nodded in agreement, “From our adventures all over the cosmos and archives from the diamonds, we know for sure that there are many other aliens out there besides us and the empire, and frankly, the empire was a tiny part in the universe!”

_{(Like everyone else, the Off Colors were disappointed with their lacking presence in Future, but then, Lars himself had relatively little screen-time as well… That said… their lacking screen-time bothered them far, far less then everything else.)}

“Not that we aren’t saying the Gem Empire didn’t leave an unpleasant mark in the universe…” Rhodonite added semi-nervously, “It’s just that there were also others out there…”

“Naturally,” Yellow Diamond replied with a half-chuckle, “Which is why we changed; to bring light to all corners of the universe instead of snuffing it out!”

“Which the movie didn’t give the impression of at all, at least not on the scale of the WHOLE universe,” White Diamond exclaimed, “They just made it look like starlight was the one doing all the work within our alliance’s galaxies, and none of us were taking the initiative!”

“I know!” Stevonnie gestured by throwing out their arms, “I mean, sure, I did get the ball rolling on practically everything, but still!”

“Where was all our character development? Given that everything that happened in Steven Universe was in about the same timespan as the time-skip, I would’ve expected a lot more, which they didn’t really show in the end!”

“It’s like they gave everyone the barn treatment with the time-skip, Blue, but worse!” Lapis replied, “Because they didn’t show much of anything at all!”

“I couldn’t agree more, even when the songs in the movie were amazing… how we didn’t do more of anything was ridiculous!”

“Yeah, you guys sucked alright, no offense,” Spinel giggled, “If that was still Steven Universe, well…” she paused to scan the room, smiling, “…anyway, back to the movie and Future… How exactly did everything only happen after the time-skip, and not during it? Seriously, did nothing happen at all in those two years besides the stuff with the empire?”

(Only Rebecca could answer that.)

“I wasn’t in the movie, so people assumed I was just being lazy, which I probably was… but then Future rolls round and BAM! I’m back to being grumpy and stuff! Why did they have to make me be the ‘holdout’, can’t they see I’ve been through enough already? I thought everything had been or would’ve been smoothed out in the two years s-since…” Jasper sniffled, on the verge of tears.

Immediately, Stevonnie and Lapis moved to hug the quartz and reassure her, “Jasper… we’re here, we’re here… it’s okay…”

“Thanks…” Jasper smiled as she returned the hug, “I needed that.”

_{(Jasper had been suffering in silence, just like Lapis had been in the mirror, so once they had gotten past their bad unhealthy horrible experience together as Malachite, becoming relatable friends happened almost immediately – no doubt helped by the ever cheery Stevonnie that they both adored and were close with…)}

“There are still people to help and things to do! And I want to help, not because I have to because of whomever, but because I love helping and making others happy, which makes me happy too!”

“We know, Stevonnie, us too,” The diamonds cooed, reaching over to kiss them, “Love you!”

“Hehe, love you too!” They giggled, returning the kisses. (It was nice reminding themself, especially when the thought never ceased making them warm and fuzzy inside…)

“Our turn!” The gathered Rose Quartzes and Famethysts beamed as they took the ‘lead’, “Sorry Amethyst, Smoky Quartz was cool and all, and those selfies were super irresponsible, but HILARIOUS! Especially with them being super awkward about it and the crashing rollercoaster thing…”

“It’s cool Fam!”

“I gotta say, seeing the zoo again was pretty cool,” A Famethyst said, “Cause it’s all ‘turned upside’ down and stuff! Us and the humans, just chilling out while Holly here is getting her knickers in a twist! Absolute gold!”

“As if that wouldn’t have already happened without Era 3 after what happened with Steven and Greg,” Carnelian and Skinny wheezed, “It’s not like anyone visited before anyway…”

“Eh,” Holly Blue shrugged, “I ain’t arguing with that… but honestly, I had expected a bit more ass-kissing from me.”

“Well… if you want to, I’m not stopping you Hols,” Stevonnie said, smirking.

“I live to serve you, my diamond, Stevonnie Pink Diamond…” Holly bowed as she saluted, “May you forgive my prior unacceptable behaviour.”

“Forgiven, Holly Blue Agate, now kiss my ass.”

“Yes my diamond!” She replied… before she and Stevonnie broke out into giggles.

(Of course they’d never ask her to do that, but they did love being occasionally called a diamond.)

“Nice one Stevonnie, can you imagine if I actually did that? The fans would go crazy!”

“Yeah!”

“Say, why was it the zoomans and Famethysts who were the ones to break the surprise about the Rose Quartzes anyway? Wouldn’t the diamonds have been to ones to day something?”

“Yeah Holly, and why were there so few of us? Judging by the number of bubbles, there should’ve been thousands of us!”

“…But if all of us were in that room, they would’ve just seen a sea of pink hair with no space for any of us to play!”

“Makes sense… Cosy is better than cramped, it really messes with my vibe…”

“Are you sure you’re not stoned?” Lemon Jade asked innocently, “Because it seemed like it, particularly since you seem you so down to you know…”

“Eh, no judging, right?”

“Right.”

“It’s interesting how they never showed what happened to my eyes after Mega Pearl in that episode,” Pink Pearl piped up, “It’s like how they never explained why Onion didn’t appear to age at all.”

“How are your eyes working for you anyway?” Stevonnie asked as she hugged them.

“Wonderful, Stevonnie!” She replied, all smiles, “Just last week, Amethyst showed me the finger sausage trick and I spent a whole day doing that!”

“Well, I only ever had one eye, so lucky you.”

“And I technically have none?”

“How does your gem also work as your eye anyway Centi?”

“Why would I know Eyeball? Let’s just move on… and let me get back to my chaaaaps.”

“You’re still not done?” Leggy asked, peaking over to confirm.

“And I thought chips were like 90% air!”

“In her defence Peridot, that is also a huge bag…” Aquamarine finally spoke up, eager to get things moving, “I gotta say, Bluebird was just about the worst portrayal of me, the great, adorable, and lovable Aquamarine there could’ve been!”

For some reason, some of the fandom seemed set on the idea that she and Peridot were rivals in some way at some point… so she figured she might as well give the audience some of that in this chapter…

“Hey, you, author! I would really appreciate it if you stopped ‘derailing’ things so much, even though they are really cute snippets… I know you have fluff planned and stuff to do, so the sooner this chapter is over…”

Of course, Aquamarine was right…

“That just seemed so petty of us, didn’t it Eyeball?” She continued as if that hadn’t just happened, “Hating someone for two years, like, actively doing nothing but hating…”

“Waste of time is what I say, Aqua! And what’s with people shipping us? We’re just friends! And that’s that!”

(Just like Pearl and Volley | Pink Pearl and Spinel.)

### A short break later… ###

“I’ve gotta say, we all seemed pretty complacent with things in Future. Like, come on!” Pearl was in full classic bird mom mode, “What the fuck? It’s like it all went backwards or something! We should’ve done more, we KNEW to do more! SO why didn’t we?”

“Pearl…”

“Stevonnie, it’s just that the show is over… – finding out it is going to be over; had been over even before Future and the movie… – Change Your Mind was just SO good, wholesome, and heart-warming and I can’t believe Future didn’t end on a happier note!”

‘Okay, she’s crying now…’

“Me neither mom,” Stevonnie cooed, hugging her and kissing her cheek to comfort her, “me neither…”

“Oh Stevonnie…” Pearl smiled as she held their cheeks, returning the affection, “My sweet baby… mommy loves you so much!”

“Aww… I love you too mom!” Stevonnie replied, feeling full of warmth and love, “And I know we’ve all been kinda messed up, who wouldn’t be after all that? But we worked through that, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, we did!”

“I just guess that for a while, when I had thought about what I wanted to do – be – besides being me and helping, well… I just didn’t really know what to think or how to feel?”

“To be fair,” Garnet said as she joined in on the hug, “I didn’t think any of us did, which was why we all kinda lost ourselves for a bit.”

“But we’re here now, together,” Stevonnie smiled, “And we aren’t going to let the ‘end’ or anything stop us being ourselves – our best selves –, are we?”

“No!” Everyone’s response was as resolute and unified as it could’ve been.

Spirits renewed, they forged on with discussions.

### ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ###

“While I get that the ‘series’ is ‘meant’ to be focused on you – from your point of view –,” Lars said while looking in Stevonnie’s direction, “I still feel like my character ‘development’ – like everyone else’s – could’ve gone a lot better… It just fucking SUCKED, Stevonnie!”

“I know, right!” Shep and Sadie exclaimed from either side of him, echoing the BSFB’s sentiments, “All that build-up, the epic entrance and reunion at the end of Season 5, the movie…”

“Down the drain,” The pink teen continued, “How could they do that?! I obviously still like Sadie, and even as of the movie, it seemed like things were fine! Then, boom! Future comes and they whisk me off to space, ‘never to be seen again’. Not that space isn’t fun… But come on!”

“Yeah…” The Off-Colors echoed, “It’s like Future is a parallel universe to the Movie, which itself was like a parallel universe to Steven Universe…”

“Stupid Uncle Grandpa… sinking my relationship and saying it’s canon… It was obviously just a gag, but somehow it’s ‘gospel’ now? _{No offense, that episode was pretty funny…} It’s a miracle Laremmy shippers haven’t gone crazy yet! I already died once, why did I have to ‘die’ again…”

“Hey…” Shep and Sadie cooed, kissing Lars’s cheeks as they held his hands to comfort him _{(now was not the time to find out what shouting open a portal inside a bigger-on-the-inside ship did)}, “It’s okay; it worked out, right? Us?”

“Yeah… it did,” Lar smiled at his lovers’ contact.

To be honest, besides being co-workers for most of their teenage lives, Lars and Sadie really didn’t know what had drawn them towards each other in the first place (and it seemed that’s what Future had ‘ran off of’…)…

“And to think, all it took was you taking off again and becoming a new, new, more confident, even better Lars…”

“Couldn’t resist the call of the cosmos, could you?” Lars smirked as he kissed Shep and Sadie.

It wasn’t fate or chance that had brought them together as co-workers, but the second time… it totally was.

“Nope.” _{(Although, they hadn’t expected anything to happen at first… once they started talking again – together –… it just happened…)}

“Right, moving on…” Emerald announced with a cough, taking attention away from the trio making out, a very faint blush just about visible on her own face…, “I just have something to say about In Dreams that isn’t at all about everything it brought up…”

“Is it how all – most – of the ‘dream footage’ is in third person?”

“Mmm,” The former elite nodded as she let Peridot do her ‘thing’, not at all annoyed.

“A minor detail really, but with the presence of some first person ‘shots’, one has to wonder…”

“I’m just glad I found out before the inevitable happened,” Stevonnie added, smile looking just a little nervous, no doubt thinking of just such a situation… ‘Although…’

“Would’ve been real embarrassing, aye?” Lapis and Kevin playfully nudged their friend.

“Exactly,” Stevonnie giggled along with their friends, a silent understanding shared between them.

“So, Pearl…” Lars began as he pivoted towards the gem, “If Bismuth Casual and everything we’ve seen was anything to go by… you sure grab the attention of a lot of people and gems alike…”

“W-what are you suggesting exactly?” Pearl stammered, feigning innocence, “I’m just being me!”

“Pearl, you’re a player,”

“Donut girl’s right, P, you are a player!”

“…But the good kind,” Sadie clarified, “One who doesn’t leave broken hearts.”

“Well, I suppose…” Pearl replied coyly, “A Pearl just wants to have her fun!”

“She is the terrifying renegade, after all,” The Lapis with the ponytail (Nicola) piped up, eliciting a giggle from her curly haired counterpart (Megan).

“Damn right I am!” Pearl exclaimed proudly as Bismuth, Yellow Pearl, and Blue Pearl snuggled up closer to her, kissing them all once they got ‘within range’.

“Aww…” Stevonnie cooed as they watched on, heart warmed by the display, “Cute!”

(Unfortunately, with that episode’s discussions over, it meant it was time for the next episode – the one where everything just dropped off a cliff…)

Sensing the impending upset, Spinel, Lapis, and Kevin hugged Stevonnie extra tight as they prepared to discuss the most important and personal thing to themself – theirself’s and themself’s relationship.

“While the opening of the episode wasn’t the best,” Stevonnie began, “It was pretty cute from when I started asking for Garnet’s advice –“

“Or tried to anyway,” Lapis giggled as she interjected, “Honestly, couldn’t you have waited for just a minute?”

“Maybe?” Garnet shrugged, tone uncertain, “But we did get spider Ruby memes out of it, so…”

“Yeah, that was a nice moment,” Stevonnie smiled, “Really cute, even though the whole scene with you and Sapphire was a little cringy…”

“Proposing, even before you had your first on-screen kiss!”

“I know Spinel, I hadn’t even said anything to me on-screen yet! All that teasing…” They giggled at their own awkwardness, “Anyway, I just loved the whole ‘montage’, schmaltz and all! Well of course I loved it Stevonnie, I love that kinda stuff!”

“…Then came the walk and the song, and well… which was great, by the way.”

“_Thanks, yeah… It could’ve gone a lot better…” Stevonnie sighed, “My reactions, that is…”

“Mmm…” Their friends nodded in agreement, continuing to hug them.

“I love you so much Steven, spending time with you makes me feel so happy – the happiest –, and I couldn’t think of anything better than being with you, together forever as Jam Buds, helping, being, doing, experiencing… because I never want the feeling to end!” Stevonnie said to themself, arms snug around their own form, not ashamed of showing their affection for themself and theirself, “Aww… I love you too Connie… and I’d love being with you forever too… being so happy all the time – an amazing level of happy so much more than I’m already being me… We’re Strawberry Biscuit together and I want to be me forever too Stevonnie – well, not just yet, but soon – I love you Stevonnie, I love me too, Stevonnie; I’m the best and I love being me so much too! Hehe…”

“So when I know I’d be me and together forever anyway… why didn’t the proposal go better? My reaction was like, totally over dramatic! It’s not like it was totally unexpected…”

“That’s ‘cuz you’re a dork,” Lars ‘teased’, “A MASSIVE dork who’s somehow magnitudes dorkier than two smaller dorks put together!”

“Takes one to know one!” Stevonnie and Kevin returned with a smirk _{(Sadie and Shep suppressed a snicker as Lars put on an odd expression)}.

“Ha! Good one!” Yellow (Diamond) exclaimed as she burst out in laughter, “Because it’s true!”

(Despite knowing that, they still blushed.)

“At this rate,” Doug spoke up, further adding to the ‘embarrassing’ parent situation, “We might never get those amazing grandkids we’d love so much Priyanka, which would be a shame…”

“Oh, I’ve dreamed of holding them in my hands, cradling and spoiling them with love, but alas… it seems not to be…”

“DAD, MOM!” Stevonnie whined as they shuffled closer to their parents and tackled them into a ‘grumpy’ hug.

“We’re kidding! We love you LOADS Stevonnie and you’re the best kid anyone could have,” Mom and Dad smiled, kissing them on their cheeks, “In a way, you’re already a ‘grandkid’ to us – especially after spending time with baby you…”

“…love you too mom and dad,” Stevonnie giggled as they returned the affection.

“But if/when you do have grandkids, you better be sure we’re around to see them!”

“Of course, I wouldn’t think of having it any other way!”

“That’s just so sweet…” Blue cooed as she watched on, before moving the conversation along, “Anyway, it’s time for the last 5 episodes, since there isn’t anything that we haven’t already brought up regarding the next two episodes…”

Fragments, being the turning point of the ‘epilogue series’, was literally ground breaking in the ultimate sense. (Especially for Jasper… but the sooner it was addressed…)

“And now it’s my turn, again… poor me,” Jasper sighed as her friends and family hugged her, “What luck?”

“The luckiest, sis.”

“Totally Ames… First, I’m still as miserable as ever, being alone in ‘my’ cave, which, come on, is just plain silly! Second, I somehow haven’t shown up once since the first episode, despite the fact that we should’ve just put our heads together 16 episodes ago…”

“Which would be the movie,” Spinel noted as Jasper nodded. (Even if Spinel had managed to use the rejuvenator on Jasper – which wasn’t completely unlikely, given how easily she ‘defeated’ the Crystal Gems –, she would’ve at least had the sense to get some answers out of Pearl before things went south…)

“Third, it’s simply ridiculous just how moronic – stubborn and fearless; foolhardy – they made me out to be. Sure, it may have been fine at the start and I may be the ‘perfect quartz’… but they have the gem – powers – of a diamond, so of course they are strong! _{Which isn’t a problem in and of itself}. What’s the problem is how ‘I’ got so carried away to the point of never once calling it enough until-“ A breath caught itself in her throat as tears rolled down her face. Unable to continue, she left it unsaid as Stevonnie tightened their reassuring hugging of her – one that she gladly returned.

“But I got you back,” Stevonnie said with a small smile on their face, “Chipped – cracked –, or whatever it was… Because I love you Jasper, and…”

“I know,” Jasper smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes as she kissed their cheeks, “I love you too kid, and I’m so proud and happy to be one of your many, many moms.”

“Hehe…”

### ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ###

“So, Homeworld Bound, more like Homeworld Bounce, am I right? Cause you just bounced from here, went to Homeworld, went from room to room, and then came back.”

“Eh…” Spinel and the Diamonds shrugged with a puzzled expression, “I suppose…”

“I blame the writer for the lame line/segue,” Lars stated in his defence.

“Fair enough…”

“Anyway, it’s nice to see Homeworld looking so much livelier – even if it was never explained how it happened in a matter of months…”

“Indeed… but that’s part of fun, isn’t it?” Spinel beamed at her best friend.

“Yeah Spinel, it is,” Stevonnie beamed back even brighter.

“That reminds me… before we talk about the diamonds; I’d just like to state something for the record.”

“Which is…?”

“The kiss, silly!”

(Of course, the kiss!) “Heh yeah, how could I forget? Those heart-eyes and that loud smooch… it’s pure shipping fuel!”

“Exactly!” Spinel exclaimed as she threw her arms out wide, “As if people shipping us together aren’t already set on shipping us instead of you… Ergh! I love you as a best friend Stevonnie, but not like that! And gee, I don’t even think romance is my kinda thing… It just seems a little…”

“Unnecessary? For us?” Pink Pearl suggested, “Being close – in the friend way – with all of you is already so, so good and better than…”

“Mmm…” The group of friends nodded in agreement as they hugged.

“People, shipping our precious baby with our other precious baby who really just needs – and does have – friends, without our other, other precious baby… unbelievable!”

“Almost as unbelievable as people shipping us with Greg, Blue, charming though he is…”

^{(‘And curious that we are…’)}

“You two better stop talking about him, or I swear the Universe Charm is going to strike again.”

“…”

“Ha, you crack me up White!” Amethyst chuckled as she hopped onto the diamond’s shoulder, “Y’all in that episode were pure gold.”

“If you set aside some of the circumstances… it is in the comedic sense,” Yellow remarked, “We already know we work better together as a team – a family –, so showing us all separately in the episode does feel a bit odd, even if it makes some sense with showing the rooms, our powers, and such… Which I honestly don’t know how to feel about – the powers part…”

“Yeah, I get what you mean,” Amethyst sighed in response, “On one hand…”

“Putting gems back together and healing them is quite the reward, however, it also just feels like it makes Jasper’s incident more, you know… Conversely… not putting them back together – or not ever trying –… feels totally disingenuous to what we stand for as the Great Diamond Alliance – which is helping, and bringing joy and love to all…”

“Well, Flint and Chert are back and whole again, aren’t they?”

“They are,” Yellow smiles as she replied to Jasper, “So let’s just agree to not overthink that with the whole hiatus going on.”

“Mmm.”

“Still… where are they anyways?”

“Right now? Enjoying the best holiday/honeymoon ever in Florida. _{Stars bless that state for its crazy news stories…}”

“Dang, I was hoping to interview them later…”

“Right, ‘interview’…” Jasper commented, rolling her eyes, “And no Peridot, that doesn’t mean I can ‘substitute’ for them either.”

“Pfft, I was kidding about that, I wasn’t going to – I’d never!”

“I know.”

_{(‘It’s a shame I never saw her call Jasper a clod back in the day,’ Yellow thinks, ‘But alas… in retrospect…’)}

^{‘What’s not a shame is how I still have that recording from that day Peri called you a clod!’}

“Hmm, it seems our thoughts are ‘leaking’,” Blue commented as she became aware of the above sentences, “Is that normal?”

It’s normal in fiction and non-fiction, yes.

“Back to our selves… which I must say were kinda pretty…”

“Overdramatic? Overdone? I concur, Moonbeam; it seems that certain aspects of our selves have been exaggerated in their representation – which is even more so with me in the finale… Anywho, my scene with Spinel was just a touch weird, what with the face, dancing, and shenanigans… I mean, it’s not that I don’t do silly, it’s just that seeing me acting – being –, well, Spinel… That’s just blursed.”

Spinel simply shrugged as the diamonds continued. (Thinking about it more only made it make less sense…)

“Mmm. And what’s with my powers? While not making others sad is fantastic, making them happy via ‘happy clouds’…? I’m a STONER, there’s no other way to say it! Thinly disguised for the sake of television at that!”

“Damn right you are; the biggest stoner of them all!” Amethyst hollered, “So hit me up dawg!”

Shrugging, Blue blew over one several of her happy clouds.

The moment the mistical substance touched the purple quartz, she was all smiles and giggles.

“Oh yeah… that’s the stuff right there! Mmm… so GOOD!”

While just making happiness from nothing wasn’t the right way to do things, it was also just nice to feel extra happy and floaty occasionally, on top of everything else. And right there, Amethyst was as happy high as she could possibly be without escalating the rating…

“Well, that’s that episode in a nutshell, just us being silly! Moving on…”

“Honestly, I still don’t know how to feel about that episode right before… Even after you all talked through it… It’s just hard to see – think about – them so…” _{(When it seems like everyone didn’t…)}

“Same Kevin, same… It was what it was…” Stevonnie smiled as they hugged him, “I love happy episodes too, and there were just so few of them!”

“But it did have its fun moments.”

“No doubt.”

“Juuussssstttt not the part where the plant Stevens call out for you, wanting a hug, only to be left with disappointment and no hug… that was just sad.”

“Oh!” Stevonnie brightened, remembering something they had yet to tell him (and everyone), “Did I tell you that I actually caught up to them and hugged each and every single one of them?”

“No?” Kevin smiled, prompting them to continue.

“Yeah! They were all so NICE and not prickly at all – not that that’s a reason to ever refuse a hug, na-uh!”

“They even made plant Stevonnies – kinda by ‘accident’ – to be their friends,” Lapis giggled, cutting in, “And since the Stevens were already real tall, they’re actually like way bigger than the real them!”

“Hehe… Aww, that’s so sweet of you! Now they won’t be lonely when we aren’t around.”

“Of course!”

“And that just leaves us with the finale ‘episodes’ to discuss,” Padparadscha announced – with perfect timing –, “Which we sadly did not have a part in.”

“Shame,” Left Rutile said,

“But hey, it’s what it is,” Right Rutile continued replied and shrugged.

“I could’ve should’ve been there for them and I wasn’t in the show… but I’m here now…” Jasper smiled, scooping up the teens in a hug.

“Yes, you are!”

“You know, her hugs are almost as good as yours Stevonnie, almost…”

“Thanks, I try my best!”

“Hey Megan… where were we in the finale anyway?” The Lapis asked as she turned towards her friend, “It seems like we really would’ve helped a lot right there.”

“No idea, Nicola… Hey, that kinda rhymes!”

“It does!”

“I just can’t believe we weren’t there to help or join the hug though, that would’ve been real nice to see.”

“Totally! There just wasn’t anyone there besides the Crystal Gems or the Diamonds! Were we like asleep or something?”

“Nar…” Lapis giggled as her fellow Lapises enveloped her in a cosy hug that merged with Stevonnie’s own, “I don’t know about the others, but if I remember correctly Nics and Megs, you were busy rebuilding – fixing; un-terraforming – that planet with the blue plants and creatures.”

(They were so tired afterwards that they slept for a whole day and a half!)

“Oh yeah, that’s right!” They chirped, smacking their foreheads, “Silly us; thanks for the reminder Lapis!”

“No prob, Bob.”

“Hey, that’s…”

“Your line,” The three Lapises snickered as Stevonnie did too, “We know!”

“It’s so pretty now, just like it was before we started wrecking it,” Nicola beamed, “No wait, it’s even prettier now! There’s just so MANY amazing and wonder shades of blue on that planet and we love it!”

“It’s so us, I don’t know how we didn’t ever see or appreciate it before… But hey, it’s all good now, right?”

“Mmm,” Stevonnie flashed a toothy grin, furthering their hug with the Lapises (especially Megan, since she often got the short end of the stick in terms of character in fics – which was just not okay!), “Now I definitely have to see it… you’ve got me all excited!”

“Maybe…” Lapis smirked as Stevonnie fake pouted (it’s not like they weren’t going to not see it without her telling them about it anyway…).

“And I thought we were talking about the finale,” Priyanka commented after a moment, “Huh…”

“We were, mom… but you know how little they’ve been in the fandom unlike the Pearls or even Rubies…”

“But that’s part of why we’re here, to give them their time to shine and the fluff they deserve!”

“Exactly!”

“So, Doctor, any last comments? Since it seems like we’re almost done with the finale.”

“Well Yellow, there is one thing… About those Cookie Cats… Firstly, as a Doctor – even though they were intended for gem consumption – I have some concerns about how they were placed unprotected into a cooler/lunchbox like that, especially when they could’ve easily been put in a box in the freezer while still keeping the surprise and them frozen.”

“Yeah, what was with that Pink? You were at home! A cooler is better than no cooler, but it’s still less optimal than keeping them in a freezer; where by definition, they stay frozen and wouldn’t melt at all!”

Stevonnie didn’t mind that one of Yellow’s nicknames for them was Pink, because they knew she was always referring to them and not their biological gem-mom. They do have a pink diamond gem, and humans – though much less so in their case – were kinda pinkish, so it does fit in more than one way!

“It is a nice call-back though, without being closer to a total recreation of that scene in the first episode…”

“That it is,” Yellow and Priyanka nodded agreeingly,

“Next, I just have to wonder why those Cookie Cats look so sad. Didn’t you create a recipe and make a Tube-Tube video for picture and taste purrfect Cookie Cats when you were younger?”

“Heh, yeah I did,” Stevonnie giggled and gave a slight shrug (mom-Yellow and mom were alike in many ways, but it was still strange whenever they synced up in speech and thoughts – and then there was the pun!), “I guess we won’t ever find out, huh? Just like how Onion didn’t seem to age at all in two years.”

“He’ll probably grown up someday,” Yellow Pearl and Topaz piped up, “After all, he did tell us how much he wanted to grow big and strong – stronger than he already is, I suppose, since he’s pretty strong in general, not just compared to others his age…”

“Let’s just hope he doesn’t plan on using his connections as a get out of jail free card when he starts getting into even more trouble aye?”

“I’m sure he means well Amethyst, he’s just mischievous and not a criminal in the making… that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets his hands on gem tech and such from time to time without us noticing…”

(It was easy for Amethyst to imagine her as Vidalia with how similar they looked and close with Onion they were.)

“Finally, I find it strange that apart from the close-up in the song, none of the Cookie Cats’ flavours were coloured left vanilla and right strawberry, it was either a strange layer with just different coloured eyes, or one colour for the whole ice-cream part.”

“Peridot pointed it out, didn’t it?”

“And now I can’t not see it!”

“There’s even a few frames where the colour-flavour layers flip!” Peridot exclaimed, unable to keep quiet, “And they did better in Gem Glow with the colouring too!”

Everyone chuckled at that. They had ended the discussion on a probably insignificant but nonetheless silly note, and just like with Future, it was a call-back (in this case, to the ‘off-model’ animation and ‘inconsistencies’ which was the core of many a memorable moment…).

“So, everyone,” White said as she addressed the room, “How are you all feeling about the Hiatus, now that we’re finished talking about the episodes?”

The responses were nothing but positively heart-warming.

“Pretty good,”

“It certainly could be better – the Hiatus and Future –, but right now, after talking about it, I’m feeling lighter than before,”

“Mmm. It wasn’t the happiest, fluffiest of finales; however, we are all here now, together, facing the infinite hiatus – the unknown – as one. There are still so many stories to be told and things to do; we’re all filled with love for each other and it can only go up from here!”

“Well said!”

“What about you, Starlight? It is your show – franchise – after all.”

“Much better than at the start,” Stevonnie replied, “But I also have to say, I’m just a teeny bit disappointed they didn’t ever go out for pizzas together.”

“Heh,” Jasper chuckled as she ruffled Stevonnie’s hair, “You know, if you’d like kid… we could go out for pizzas right now, all of us.”

“Oh boy do I? Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!” They exploded with childish excitement, “We’re going out for… But where are we going to find a place big enough for all of us?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that…” Jasper smirked as she glanced in Garnet’s direction, Stevonnie’s energy rebounding immediately.

“WE’RE GOING OUT FOR PIZZAS! Just like in the song!” They shouted, jumping up and running over to their dad to hug them, “Can you believe it dad? FOR REALS!”

“I’d say it’s about time, kiddo,” Greg gladly hugged them back, “About time!”

“PIZZA TIME! It’s pizza time!” Stevonnie shouted – but not loud enough to be uncomfortable for their dad –, tossing their arms into the air…

“Www-woaaahh…” Greg was flying through the air as Stevonnie watched on.

“Hehe, oops…”

Immediately, they held their arms out and prepared to catch him (if needed, they’d use their floating and shape-shifting powers…).

“Don’t worry, I-” | “Whoopsie daisy,”

Before Stevonnie even began moving into action though, Spinel had already stretched over and caught Greg, wrapping her arms around him securely many times as she slowly lowered him down.

“…phew, that was a close one!” She smiled as she breathed a sigh of relief and added Stevonnie to the hug, “Almost scared daddio Gregorio didn’t ya, ‘Von?”

“Heh, thanks Spinel,” Stevonnie smiled as well. (They had this, but it was still nice that Spinel stepped in to help.)

Greg couldn’t be prouder being the dad of these two wonderful kids, who while thousands of years apart in age, were (essentially) the same in radiating boundless bubbly energy and joy so typical of toddlers.

“I love you so much,” He smiled, kissing their cheeks.

“Love you too dad!” They kissed him back, a cheek each simultaneously.

“Stevonnie, those pizzas aren’t going to eat themselves if you’re gonna stay here all day!” Lapis joked as she gave them a brief hug, “Come on!”

“Go on, I’ll catch up with you in the cockpit.”

“Heh, cockpit…”

“To going out for pizzas!” Stevonnie exclaimed as they set off after Lapis towards the control room of their ship.

“Hey, wait for me!”

“First to the bridge gets the first slice!”

“Well, you’re on Lapis! That first slice practically has my name on it!”

“Kids, gotta love them!”

“Yep!”

Chuckling, Aquamarine grabbed Eyeball and flew off after the friends ahead of everyone else. This would definitely be a very goofy take-off, and they’d certainly want to be well buckled in the best seats there were!

“We,” Stevonnie, Lapis, and Spinel starting singing in the distance,

“Are the Crystal Gems,” Jasper and several others joined in,

“We'll always save the day,”

“And if you think we can't,” (everyone was singing now)

We'll always find a way,

That's why the people, of this world,

Believe in,

Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl,

And if you're staring with your giant eyes,

You can see that there's so much more of us than four of us,

And each one of our new friends completes us,

We'll get together and go out for pizzas,

‘Cause we believe in peace, And love,

We are here for fun,

If you're not,

Then let's not fight, ‘Cause we've,

Already won!

“Peace forever!”

“Pizza and peace rules!”

They were the best pizzas that they’ve ever had…

(And in case you were wondering, the race to the bridge ended with a tie between Stevonnie, Spinel, Lapis, and Kevin – who portaled in with style at just the right moment, to the surprise of his friends.)