half-formed ideas
Premise: AU where Peridot was alive during the war and joins the Crystal Gems. Or as I like to call it, the ExtraMom AU.
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Peridot’s a Crystal Gem, she’s been one for decades now, she works with Rose Quartz herself. She’ll still remind everyone that she never wanted to be one.
She was a prisoner of war first, poofed and captured. When she reformed, she was forced to give information about the Kindergartens and what little of Homeworld’s plans she knew about. Then Peridot had no choice - going back to Homeworld’s side meant being shattered, so she stayed and here she is now.
“That’s making your choice,” Pearl tells her, not bothering to hide the disdain in her tone, utterly unsweet and unlike what a Pearl should be.
Rose, instead, looks sadly at Peridot, completely genuine. “I’m sorry you can’t go back to Homeworld. I wish things could have been different.”
So does Peridot. Yet there’s a part of her - the part that watches Pearl slice apart a practice dummy with both grace and savageness, and admires; the part that looks out at Rose’s garden, filled with plants, organic life composed of individual cells, each one alive itself, and with the curious ability to turn light into chemical energy - a part of her that doesn’t mind as much, interested to see where this path is headed.
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“We’ve won.”
Garnet says this quietly, without triumph, and nothing more.
It’s true. Homeworld has left. Earth is theirs. They’re free, they can do whatever they want now, no Diamonds to follow, no rules to obey.
Victory probably isn’t supposed to be death and destruction - at least, not on their side - but for the Crystal Gems, those are their spoils of war. Torn earth and barren land and the endless stench of rot; more gem shards than anyone can bear to look at, and a growing pile of intact Gems that won’t reform.
(They will, eventually, but the Crystal Gems will come to dread it, fearful of every gem that starts glowing)
They delay the census of their new society for weeks. Then they delay it some more. Then Peridot finally makes her report.
The only ones left, in good health and proper functioning: Rose Quartz, Pearl, Garnet/the gems Ruby and Sapphire that comprises her, and Peridot.
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Rose keeps asking if Peridot doesn’t want to learn to summon her weapon. Learn how to fight, as if she can be anything like a soldier. They have all the time in the world now, and Peridot knows that one day she’ll be worn down enough to give in and start training, but for now, the answer is no.
“I think it’ll be fun to try something different.” Rose says, as she watches Peridot work. “You don’t have to be cooped up in this lab all day.”
“This is fun for me,” Peridot says. “I’m good at it. It’s necessary work. And that satisfies me.”
They spend a lot of time together nowadays, trying to make sense of everything broken around them and trying to fix it all: The corrupted Gems, the lifeless Kindergartens, the decaying remnants of Gem presence on Earth. Rose Quartz is a healer, determined and talented; but Peridot is the Gem specifically trained in science and technology. Together, they make a good team, more so if Rose can just let Peridot be.
Rose wants Peridot to not be a Peridot, wants her to be something more, something different. Like a Pearl that fights, or a Ruby and Sapphire perma-fusion. That's all good and well for them, but Peridot is fine as she is.
“You need me,” Peridot tells Rose. “I was made for this. I do this job better than anyone else can, including you. You can't deny that.”
Every word out of Peridot's mouth is arrogant, disrespectful. A Peridot mouthing off to a Rose Quartz. Ridiculous. Dangerous, if they were back on Homeworld.
That's exactly what Rose wants, though, and she smiles at Peridot.
Peridot smiles back.
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