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noodlenibblescribble · 4 years

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Crystal Gem Spinel AU Part 8

I hope yall enjoyed the fluff last chapter cuz yee, angst is back with a vengeance. I am not a happy noodle writing so much of this :,,,D aaaah, but I do take breaks when it overwhelms me. Like in the form of ChocoMimi, a manga series I grew up with, and the absolutely purifying show that is Epithet Erased. Please. I beg of you, dear reader, if you are in need of soul cleansing. This. Is. The. Cutest. Show. Please do not be swayed by the animations that seem lacking! The art is so cute and amazing, and the VOICE ACTORS AND WRITING BREAAAATHES LIFE. (also Giovanni is just the perfect soup dad. I adore him. He is an all-time favorite character for me right along with Spinel. He is such a good surrogate dad/older brother. You want supportive goofy villain/found family? This. Nothing gets better than this.)

Ok, sorry for that :,,D I…. didn’t realize it but I REALLY needed that series to get through this hahaa. Anyways, on with da show~!

Part 1 & 2: https://noodlenibblescribble.tumblr.com/post/187546841874/another-crystal-gem-spinel-au

Part 3: https://noodlenibblescribble.tumblr.com/post/187595107454/crystal-gem-spinel-au-part-3

Part 4: https://noodlenibblescribble.tumblr.com/post/187679185279/crystal-gem-spinel-au-part-4

Part 5: https://noodlenibblescribble.tumblr.com/post/187812730494/crystal-gem-spinel-au-part-5

Part 6: https://noodlenibblescribble.tumblr.com/post/188033669204/crystal-gem-spinel-au-part-6

Part 7: https://noodlenibblescribble.tumblr.com/post/189053664799/crystal-gem-spinel-au-part-7

Part 7.5: https://noodlenibblescribble.tumblr.com/post/189344446834/crystal-gem-spinel-au-part-75

When Spinel left, it felt was like there was a hole.

Garnet was at her wits end. She felt Sapphire’s quiet and cold rage seep through her every action.

She tried to be understanding to Rose, but her voice kept a concerned edge. She tried to comfort Pearl, but her hands shook as she tried to grab her. She tried explaining to Amethyst what would happen, but she couldn’t form the words.

She was powerless; she was crumbling under the weight of her vision.

And she was the one Rose was entrusting everyone to.

Garnet sat, alone and still in the palm of the Temple Fusion’s hand. The gems were gone, off in their own distractions. She was by herself.

She had so many responsibilities now. She had so much to check up on. But she didn’t want to do anything. She was so scared, she wanted to stop thinking.

She wanted to stop existing.

She was whole, but she felt alone.

With the intrusive thought, she popped, and out came Ruby and Sapphire.

They landed on the floor with their backs, but neither made a move to get up. They just laid there, staring at the sky in silence for a while. Minutes passed, birds flew by, before Ruby broke a bird song.

“So this is happening….”

Sapphire nodded to herself. She entwined her hands together in her chest and spoke.

“It is…”

Another silence, then Ruby continued.

“We’re going to be the leaders….”

A hum.

“Rose is going to leave us….”

“Yes…”

“She’ll never come back..!”

“Indeed…”

“AND IN HER PLACE, WE’RE GOING TO TAKE CARE OF A BABY?!”

“Most certainly.”

Ruby jumped up, her usual heat coming on.

“A HUMAN. BABY. NO- A GEM AND HUMAN FUSION? HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO THIS?! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO!? WE CAN’T TAKE CARE OF A BABY! WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THEM! ABOUT HUMANS! ROSE AND SPINEL ARE THE EXPERTS! WE-“

Ruby stopped, gripping her hair in frustration and growling. Sapphire took this as her cue to get up.

“This… THIS ISN’T FAIR!”

“It isn’t.”

“Why is she leaving us?”

“With her fascinations with growth and being human, this path should’ve been obvious…”

“But it’s so… FAST! WE DON’T EVEN GET A YEAR TO PREPARE! To say bye properly! We have so much to do to get ready, and Rose is just spending it with GREG!”

“She needs to make sure her pregnancy goes the way she intends. Her focus should be on that.”

“But that means she has no time for us! US! Her friends since….. FOREVER AGO!” Ruby is crying now. Sapphire jumps in with a hug, wishing she could cry too, but the tears were yet to hit her.

Ruby clung to her and sobbed, nuzzling up to her neck. They stayed like that a bit, eventually moving to sit down, with Ruby’s head in Sapphire’s lap. Sapphire pet her head while she whimpered. Ruby had a lot to mourn, and she was taking her time. Once she was back to calming down a bit, though, she continued. But not for her sake.

“I miss Spinel…”

Sapphire’s soothing hand stopped.

Ruby took a breath, and kept going.

“She should be here. She should be helping us. She should be with Rose in her last moments.”

“Everyone reacts to grief differently. She just… needs her space.”

“Space? Ok. But when is she coming back?”

Sapphire paused for a bit, only to clench her fist and stay silent. Ruby could tell.

“She shouldn’t have left.”

“Rose is her oldest friend. She’s taking it a lot harder…”

“Have you looked at Pearl? We’re all suffering. She should know best how much we need each other right now. How much we need HER.”

Sapphire’s voice breaks.

“We can’t always rely on her, Ruby! She’s her own gem. She decided she wants to be alone.”

“And look at how well that turns out. Admit it, Sapphy. I know what you feel. I know you miss her too. I know you feel hurt too. Let it out!”

“Letting it out isn’t going to bring her back! Isn’t going to stop this from happening!”

“It won’t…” Ruby propped herself up and hugs Sapphire now, stroking her hair. “But it’s better than keeping it in us. Keeping it in YOU.”

Sapphire can’t fight them anymore. It’s her turn to cry and to be coddled. She agreed with everything Ruby said. She felt the world was being unfair. She felt like the rug was pulled from under her. She felt like a failure at not having seen this coming.

She felt so unprepared for it all, caught off guard and so VULNERABLE.

She was scared.

More minutes spent flubbering with emotions, but the catharsis that came with it was long overdue. Both gems were tiny wrecks, but when they were Garnet, they formed a bigger hassle. It felt good to have their turns talking it out to one another, even if it wasn’t ideal.

It helped them remember they were never alone.

Amethyst felt like she was missing a piece of the puzzle. She would scratch her head and ask the gems, but no one wanted to answer her. She greatly missed Spinel and considered many times to try to track her down, but she REALLY wanted to see the baby as soon as it came out.

Considering how Sour Cream looked and acted, she was half excited, half secretly dreading it’s debut.

For the twentieth time that week, Amethyst strolled into Vidalia’s kitchen, hopping over cracker snacks and pots and pans.

Sour Cream was definitely getting bigger now, but he was also becoming much more annoying.

“Heeey, V! What you up to today? I’m bored.”

Amethyst found her in the living room, dozing off. No Sour Cream in sight. Perfect!

She jumped onto her friend, like she used to. “VIIIVIIIII VIIIIDALIAAA~!”

Vidalia SCREAMED, and became a mess of flailing limbs. Amethyst laughed at her reaction but stopped when she didn’t hear any back. Vidalia was glowering at her, instead.

“That wasn’t funny. Do you know how little sleep I get?”

“Sleep? You? Since when do you need sleep to party?”

Vidalia sighed and rubbed her temples.

“We talked about this… You have to be more sensitive, Amethyst! You can’t just BURST in like you used to!”

Amethyst felt her defenses begin to build up. She didn’t like this tone of voice.

“But I WAS careful! There’s no Sour Cream here, so I thought-“

“Wait- WHAT? SOUR CREAM?! SOUR CREAM!?”

Vidalia began looking everywhere for him. Amethyst groaned, but helped. They eventually found him in the garage, where he made a fort with his mother’s paintings. Amethyst took the opportunity to suggest another painting session, this time with her in a new form~ But Vidalia had other plans.

“Amethyst… I’m sorry. Could you- please…. Let me be alone for a bit?”

Amethyst felt her cheeks flare up immediately.

“Alone? But you’re never alone! You’re always with him!” She jabbed a finger to Sour Cream, who merely stared.

“Yes, and that’s… just how it is now. Look…” Vidalia took a deep breath. “Amethyst… Sour Cream is growing up, but he is still a BABY.” Amethyst clicked her tongue in annoyance, Vidalia ignored it. “He needs me. Every hour, every day, I need to be with him and make sure he’s ok. Babies can’t do anything by themselves. Believe me, I’d much rather be hanging out with you like before, but….”

Vidalia let go of Sour Cream, and he headed back indoors. She put a foot inside the door, and gave Amethyst one last thought.

“With babies, you have to do what’s best for THEM. Not you. You… might have to learn that soon.”

And she left Amethyst alone in the garage, closing the door behind her. Amethyst was full of disappointment.

She wanted to yell. She wanted to protest. She hated being kicked out. She hated being left alone! She hated-

Being abandoned.

Amethyst shook at the realization of what had occurred to her. Spinel had left because of the baby, and now Vidalia did too.

Babies weren’t fair.

She hated saying it. She hated dreading it. But now, when she ran into Rose, she couldn’t help her composure, and instead of the usual enthusiastic baby talk her and Rose had these past few months, Amethyst stayed quiet and walked away.

She knew Rose was happy about her baby, but Amethyst’s opinion of it had now become soured.

She just wanted it to be over with, and for Spinel to come home.

She just wanted it to be less tense.

She just wanted things to go back to normal.

How many times had she promised to always be there for her?

How many times had she assured Pearl she’d never let her suffer alone?

Well, what was her excuse now?

Pearl was so lost in thought, she didn’t hear Rose asking her for the time.

After asking for a while, Rose sat up from the sand with a huff instead, and Pearl rushed to her side with a flurry of concerns. “Do you need help? Should I get Greg? Do you feel pain?!”

Rose laughed and shook her hands away. “I’m fine Pearl. Where were you? I kept asking for the time.”

Shame made Pearl’s cheeks grow hot. How could she forget about her precious Rose? That Spinel! How dare she take up her thoughts even now??

Pearl responded through gritted teeth. “It was nothing important, I assure you.”

Rose hummed, not believing it, but not arguing. Instead, she got herself fully up, shaking the sand from her dress with Pearl’s help, and patting her belly. Pearl watched as she did so, reaching a hand out, but stopping just before she could touch it. She was still too scared.

Rose saw this, and took Pearl’s hand, surprising her. Pearl almost pulled away on reflex, but stopped herself when Rose spoke.

Still smiling, but her tone was… off. “You’re thinking about Spinel, aren’t you?”

Pearl had no way of responding. She only looked away, with brows furrowed. She really didn’t want to talk about it.

With more deliberate pronunciations, “I assure you, Rose. It’s nothing important.”

Rose sighed, but let it go. Pearl was relieved, even as she noticed Rose’s shoulders stayed stiff.

Rose turned around, to the direction of the car wash. Pearl made to follow, but Rose stopped her.

“I need to be alone with Greg for the day. He said he figured out a way I could leave a message for the baby…”

Rose looked back at Pearl, giving her a sad, but forceful look.

“You are dismissed.”

The words stung Pearl on a level she could only remember from the old days. Back when she competed with…. Spinel. Pearl gripped her head to stop herself from going down that path. She bid her farewell and watched her walk away.

Now she was alone.

Walking to the temple, she couldn’t help herself from kicking at the small rocks in the sand. Going back to her childish anger always left her feeling inadequate, but only Spinel.

Only Spinel.

Only Spinel! Could make her like this.

That… stupid CLOWN. Why wasn’t she here?? Why did she suddenly BOLT! Like she was the only thing that mattered?

What happened to the trio? Didn’t she grasp that Rose was leaving them?! That their core/ their ENTIRE reason for being was-

Pearl choked up. She gave up. She fell to the sand, gripping it tightly between her fists.

She was going to be alone for this. She would really, truly be Rose’s only support. It felt ironic, remembering how much Pearl wanted Spinel out of the picture before, but now.

She’d give anything to have her here.

Even through her fury. Even through her pains. She really�� missed her. She really needed her.

Pearl sobbed a little longer, before realizing she was in public view. How uncouth of her! She cleaned herself up a smidge and rushed to her room instead.

The only place that was safe.

Away from reality, and away from prying eyes.

Once safely tucked inside, she fell to the floor and hugged herself.

She really wanted to be reassured. She really wanted to be coddled and embraced, she felt so pathetic, and her face burned with shame, but she wanted it so much she shook.

It was like a withdrawal for her from a drug she was so used to. For a shameless second, she considered making a hologram of Spinel just to have SOMETHING.

But she thrashed the suggestion as soon as she got it. She would NEVER stoop that low.

Besides… she reasoned. The holograms were too cold and unfeeling.

And what she needed was her warm hugs.

~~~

The day had come.

Rose didn’t know what to think.

Luckily, she was with Greg when she felt the first contraction. She had read so many medical books about this. Done so much research with Greg! But now that it was actually happening, even with all her talk, even with all her hopes, she couldn’t help her feelings of

Fear.

Complete, earth-shattering fear.

She breathed, knowing it did little for a gem like her, but she kept it up because it was what she’d rehearsed with Greg. He held her hand tightly as he drove her to the temple. They had to get everyone. They had to be here. She wanted to look at them all one last time.

Except

Not everyone was there.

Calling out to the gems, her fear built up as every door opened but one.

She still wasn’t here.

She was really going to disappear without saying goodbye.

With her last memory being one of them fighting.

With Spinel looking so hurt.

This.

This wasn’t what she wanted.

The squeeze of Greg’s hand as he laid her down on their makeshift bed brought her back to reality. She grimaced at the pains she felt but kept up a nervous smile.

She couldn’t show them her panicking.

She may have messed up with Spinel but

She still had everyone else here.

The contractions were so strange to her. She knew what her body was doing, but the knowledge hadn’t shielded her from the reality at all. She had always wanted to be something new, to EXPERIENCE something new, and she finally was!

And honestly, this was thrilling!

But-

But she can’t help her thoughts rushing through all at once.

She was leaving.

She would be gone.

Looking across her, her spirits sank more and more.

No more goofing off with Greg.

When was the last time she saw Ruby and Sapphire?

This was the worst she’s ever seen Pearl.

And Amethyst is stepping away, claiming it to be too gross to look.

Rose wants to reach out and keep her in place. She shouldn’t leave her sight! But the pain is too much.

The baby’s time is nearing.

She can feel it.

Everyone’s concerns are muzzled together. Rose is still smiling but she wants to cry. It’s hitting her what this means. What her decision came to.

The enemies she’d made.

The lies she told.

… The friendship she had lost.

What was she leaving behind?

She feels a tear sneak out. She’s shaking so much. The room grows deadly silent.

Then an embrace enveloped her from behind.

Pearl was always the first to jump to comfort her.

Greg always knew what to say.

Garnet stayed the one that counted her contractions.

And Amethyst came back to mimic Pearl’s hug.

Rose cried more, overwhelmed with their love.

She was so sure they were going to be the best family for her child.

She was so… proud.

She felt her form glowing.

She was starting to shift.

Everyone gasped as she started to let go.

She wasn’t going to get to see the future.

She wouldn’t know how far her action’s consequences reached.

But she was confident the friends she left behind would be enough for her baby to grow well.

Her last smile was genuine, the last thing they saw of her.

And the last thing they heard was

“Thank you.”

~~~

Spinel came back a month after Steven was born.

She came back to a cold temple where Pearl never left her room, Garnet gave her the cold shoulder, and Amethyst ran away from her problems.

She didn’t like the trouble she left behind.

She didn’t like realizing she didn’t say goodbye to Rose.

She hated having ran away.

But what was done was done.

And all she could do was play puppet to Rose’s whims one last time.

She had to get them back together.

It didn’t take long for Spinel to start picking up the pieces.

It started with Garnet.

She knew her reason always won over. She followed her close behind as she tracked down corrupted gems. As much as Garnet protested by saying she was giving everyone a break, as much as she insisted, she could handle a few on her own, Spinel knew her too well.

Garnet was eventually overwhelmed by a hoard, and Spinel jumped in to help. They managed to barely escape but got stuck together on a tree as the bottom littered itself with big corrupted gems.

Perfect. What a beautiful failure this expedition was.

Garnet was so done for the night. For her life.

As Spinel tried reviewing strategies to escape, she failed to notice the grimace Garnet wore. Then Garnet walked over and punched the trunk, shaking it enough for leaves to fall on gaping monstrous jaws.

That finally shut Spinel’s chatter.

She watched on as Garnet gave another, then another, and one final punch before unfusing. Ruby was crying, continuing her punches, leaving scorch marks on the bark. Sapphire watched Ruby for a bit, then moved to sit down, her hands gripping each other on her lap neatly.

Spinel was scared.

She’d only ever helped Garnet. She’d never dealt with both.

She held her ground, though, and moved to sit with Sapphire.

She had to start somewhere.

But

Talking to Sapphire was like talking to a wall. She gave no real replies, only nods and hums. Nothing could get through her passive-aggressiveness.

Ruby finally stopped hitting the trunk when she reached a third of its core, then went to sit with Sapphire. They held hands and looked down at the corrupted gems now laying down at the base of the tree. Spinel took a deep breath and tried again.

Ruby cut her off immediately.

“Why did you leave us?”

Spinel had an answer prepared.

“I needed some time by myself.”

Ruby gripped her hair.

She understood, but she didn’t want to. She wanted to be irrational. And, looking down at the icicles forming on the branch, she knew Sapphire wanted to as well. They needed to vent.

So they did. It started with more of Ruby’s fiery accusations. Spinel had an answer for all of them, never wavering her sincere apologies. They began to drape over Ruby’s flames, calming her down and helping her come to terms with how helpless the situation was, but then-

Sapphire stood up.

“Your apologies aren’t going to rewind time.”

Even Ruby flinched at that.

But it didn’t deter Spinel. She already loaded the feelings of guilt into a locked safe deep in her mind. She gave her the same replies; there’s nothing else that could be done. It was over now and all she could do was help them come back from it.

They looked at each other and failed to notice the cracks of the trunk above cracking.

Sapphire had been too busy in the present; she hadn’t looked at the future. They were all shocked. Ruby dodged just in time, carrying Sapphire, but Spinel was pinned in an instant. Ruby and Sapphire gasped as the tree rolled over; no cracks in the gem, the only damage was her getting poofed. They were both relieved and worried. Without Spinel’s extra hands, they didn’t know how they could leave the forest without attracting the corrupted gems.

But after much deliberation and conversation, they came up with the idea of jumping tree to tree.

It was treecky (I am so sorry, the pun just wrote itself before I realized), but it was doable.

Until Ruby almost slipped with Spinel’s gem in hand.

At the last second, Sapphire managed to twist herself and carry Ruby back up, like a swing Pearl would do in her dance. That little moment of connection was all they needed to naturally fuse once more, trusting smiles in their faces. Together, they parkoured more in sync.

Garnet finally made it a safe distance away before jumping down to the ground and booking it to the nearest warp. Before she reached it, she felt the gem shaking, and looked just in time to catch the sudden glow.

Garnet dropped the gem and saw Spinel pop out, her new form a bit of a mess but… nice.

Soft.

Garnet didn’t know where she got the inclination to wear a skirt for the first time, but she liked it.

That didn’t mean she wanted to let Spinel off the hook, though.

Once Spinel realized they got out of trouble, she calmed her stance and stared awkwardly at Garnet. She was glad they were back together.

Garnet held the stare again for a shorter amount, before dropping her shoulders and opening her arms. Spinel came in for the hug.

Garnet admits she missed her. But she needs to work towards forgiveness. Spinel assures her she’s ready to put in the work.

And, seeing how well Garnet did without her, Spinel reassured her she believed the group was in good hands. Garnet stood still, and started shaking her head. It was too soon. The shock was still residing.

Spinel hesitantly agreed; she had more work to do with the others. But she was glad to see Garnet smiling again. She holds Garnet’s arm for the rest of the walk to the warp, coming up with smaller team building activities to take on in the meantime. Garnet started with her usual curt answers, but as each new suggestion took a more drastic turn, she couldn’t help let out small bits of laughter.

She was so relieved to have Spinel back. It was a weight off her shoulders.

Now she felt both whole and not alone in her role.

~~~~~~

Spinel stood outside Pearl’s door, her hand having stayed in the position of knocking without doing so for an hour.

She had never been more nervous in her life.

Based on Garnet’s talk, Pearl hadn’t left her room since the day of the birth. Spinel could only imagine how deeply Pearl shut herself inside her mind.

When Amethyst took her attention, the Pearl backlash was bad. Spinel didn’t want to think about how far this sent her back on her progress.

She hoped above all else to be proven wrong.

That Pearl would not give her the cold shoulder, and just let her back in for her much needed help.

But she was Spinel, and she didn’t prepare for best-case scenarios with feelings hanging around.

She fixed her skirt one last time, before giving a small knock.

It took a few seconds, but Spinel could definitely hear…. Something. Clanging? It was the loudest she’d ever heard Pearl’s room!

And it only got louder as it approached the door quickly.

In a flash, it opened, and Spinel barely registered the gem her arms unwittingly caught.

Pearl gripped her tightly like the world was crumbling. In a way, Spinel guessed it had.

No sounds came out, no words. Only tight squeezes and quiet sniffles. Spinel picked her up and moved inside the room, making sure the door closed behind her.

No need for the others to see.

Turning around to face the room, her pigtails dropped at what she saw.

Chaos.

The room that always reflected Pearl’s orderly mind had turned messy and disheveled.

Not as bad as Amethyst’s, mind you, but by Pearl’s standards?

Spinel was aghast.

“Oh Pearl…”

Pearl sniffled a bit harder and buried her head a bit deeper.

Spinel got to a high ground on top a pile of… something. She sat and held Pearl for hours.

In a way, it was nice to be able to have such an intimate embrace go on for so long. But its reasons kept concerns from fleeing Spinel’s mind.

Pearl was so still, she was almost convinced she had finally learned how to sleep. Then she stirred and began to speak.

“Where did you go?”

Her voice was soft and so unlike the confident Pearl Spinel was so used to.

Spinel could give no answer that would satisfy.

“Nowhere in particular. I just. Had to go.”

“Why?”

This tiny word had a break.

Spinel tried to move to look at Pearl, but she was having none of it. She wanted to stay cocooned together.

“I just… had to be by myself.”

It really was the truth.

In her time spent alone, she had realized it was the first time she had no other gem around. It was as liberating as it was terrifying. She still wasn’t sure if it even helped her at all.

But she couldn’t say that. She instead turned her mind to things in the room. All the items relating to the war in her care laid scattered, each weapon was stuck to a surface. She continued cradling Pearl as she noticed the lights dim.

“I planned on hating you, you know?”

Spinel stopped but surprise wasn’t in her. She knew full well.

“I wanted to blame you and take out some of these feelings on you.”

Spinel was so prepared for it too. Willing, even. But if Pearl was bringing this up now…

“But as soon as I heard your knock, I just. Couldn’t.”

Warmth rushed like a gate. Spinel wanted to squash it down but failed.

“I missed you. So much. I needed you. So. Much. She needed you too. We all did. But you weren’t there…”

Here, the waterworks start. Spinel’s guilt safe is drowning in them, but she can’t open herself up.

“I’m so sorry.”

She really means it.

All Pearl can do is keep clutching and crying, with Spinel following after.

But then come the catching up talks Garnet failed to mention.

How much Rose changed day by day, how much mellower she got, how in her last moments she cried and told them thank you.

Greg had the baby now, and Spinel felt relieved at knowing there was very little chance she’d have to shee it. She knew she would have to face it eventually but….

She finally coaxed Pearl to let go enough for Spinel to look at her face closely, wiping her tears and kissing her head, bringing her down in a softer hug where Spinel could rest her head on Pearl’s.

She really had her hands full.

And she hadn’t even gotten to explaining it to Amethyst yet.

~~~~~

(So uh, this is awkward, but I already went more in depth with Amethyst’s part of this in chapter 2 :, D so overall: )

Spinel vowed to herself again that she would never leave these gems for as long as she lived. And, as terrible as it was to think it, Spinel reasoned that without Rose… she had no reason to ever flee again.

~~~~~~~~~

Welp. More timeline stuff. Razzle Dazzle~! *uses jazz hands to hide their sadness* There’s still more catching up to do for the past timeline now that we have reached Steven’s lil era, but honestly, I just wanted to finish up to here for the next part. I do believe I’m jumping back in the next installment to the more modern times (with Spinel gone). I’m trying to balance the storytelling of both sides to compliment each other.

Sooos Imma spill some stuff I thought about through writing this section. I was major scared on how to write the Rose giving birth bit. I mean, hooooooweeeeey, writing giving birth is….. ick. And hard. And uuuuuuuuh. And with gems? Im HOPING this is somewhat believable, I tried to think it through to be as realistically canon as possible. Only so much to work with when all you know is Rose studied medical books to shapeshift a womb. Oof. ;-;

And I always say this when a chapter has Rose, but I always feel I need to point it out. My characterization of Rose is the way I pieced her to be from the show. Writing this AU really made me open my eyes to how…. jarring Rose’s decision to have Steven without consulting her friends was when she knew the consequences. And what she was leaving behind. *sad flops* It also made me realize that the original way I wrote the Chapter 2 Spinel and CG interactions when she came back for Garnet and Pearl were oversimplified. Of course they would be mad and hurt. She really did just abandon them in a great time of need. The audience knows why, but they won’t. Spinel still feels the need to protect Rose’s image to them, even at her cost.

I like writing Garnet, and I hope the Ruby and Sapphire moments were believable. I was writing too much into their confrontation with Spinel and their logic started getting loopy on me so I just generalized it :,T A lot of Spinel’s dialogue to Garnet and Pearl is the same. There’s nothing she can do but say she’s sorry, and she’s willing to do the work to help them move on.

Oh and uh, almost forgot. Yeeeah im skipping on explaining what Spinel does in her time away. I never really found an answer I liked. Some I considered were, she hangs out at a city, she stays alone in an island, she just keeps walking around like a tourist and the closest one but I felt was also something I kept going back to too much, she hides up in the moon base just to relive her ‘good times.’ In the end, it really doesn’t matter to me for this story. I explained what she got from her time alone (mostly nothing, just a momentary escape), and that’s all I needed. :,,,,3

P.P.S I ended up taking an idea too far and made a gemsona Spinel. Black Spinel cuz Im 20 and still not over my wannabe goth phase :,3 I may end up posting pics of it in my art blog later since I did end up liking them more than I thought…

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