Connections and Captivity is a Steven Universe fanfic written by realfakedoors and is Canon Divergent as of Storm in the Room.
After escaping the Human Zoo, Steven's ready to meet the challenges of Homeworld, but before he and the Gems can ready themselves for the Diamond's next move someone is captured. Relationships will be tested in this story of coping, loss and forgiveness.
It can be found on AO3
. It technically spawned two sequels, though one was discarded for the other, What is Not Broken, found here.
Trope examples:
- All for Nothing: Beyond forcing Peridot and Lapis to finally fuse into Blue Prehnite, all the Crystal Gems have to show for the rescue mission is the loss of the Roaming Eye and Connie getting ressurected.
- And I Must Scream: Beyond the usual Shattering, CG Peridot gets trapped in a Robonoid after her poofed Gem landed on a Junk Pile. After she's finally freed, she instantly apologises to Lapis for having to be trapped in a mirror for millenia, now having an idea of what it must have been like.
- Back from the Dead: White Diamond and Dani are technically this, after Steven's blood inadvertently heals them in WD's case, and purposefully for Dani. This is why White Diamond is so interested in him. Connie is also brought back to life, turning Pink in the process.
- The Coup: What Blue and Yellow Diamond are trying to pull on White Diamond. Unfortunately...
- Evil Counterpart: White Diamond's Peridot to the Crystal Gem's Peridot. She's basically pre-Character Development Peridot, cold and to Steven and the other prisoners as she forces them to fight as part of the Experiments, she conducts.
- Extraoredinary: While Peridot was already capable of this, Blue Prehnite takes it to whole another level, by being able to turn metal fluid in the process, allowing her to control it like Lapis controls water. This makes her a literal Two-Gem-Army when fighting Homeworld soldiers in the Zoo, and even allows her to hijack one of Yellow Diamond's Hand Ships.
- Foreshadowing:
- While worrying about Steven being captured by Homeworld, Peridot notes she knows exactly what the Gems will be willing to do to him, because she used to be willing to do those things in service to Homeworld. Flash forward a few chapters, and Steven is being experimented on by another Peridot.
- Among the Experiments WD Peridot is conducting, she's very interested in Steven's blood plasma. It later turns out that Steven's blood can heal even shattered Gems.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Peridot pulls a non-fatal one to force the other Gems into Escape Pods when the Hand Ship is going down, separating them all in the process. She then finally poofs from an major injury she sustained and her Gem Goes Down With the ship.
- Steven pulls one himself, agreeing to fuse with Holly Blue again in exchange for letting the other Crystal Gems return to Earth.
- Kick the Dog: Yellow and Blue Diamond not only forcing Steven into a fusion with Holly Blue Agate to form Opalite, but then having Opalite shatter two of Amethyst's Famethyst, traumatising Steven in the process.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Amethyst suffers one when she is only able to catch Ruby when Garnet defuses, losing Sapphire in the process.
- Lapis has one when she accidently sends Peridot crashing into the ocean, after her temper snaps due to thinking Steven is as good as dead.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Steven wanting to help out Peridot, unbubbles the Earings that had been forced upon him while infiltrating the Zoo. Unfortunately, they turn out to have a homing beacon which leads Homeworld right to the Temple allowing them to capture him.
- Oh, Crap!: Garnet has such a large one when her future vision shows Steven getting captured, that she ends up splitting up during a fight with a monster underwater, seperating Ruby from Sapphire who ends up retreating into her Gem as the currents pull her wildly away.
- Both Yellow and Blue Diamond have one when White Diamond returns from the dead.
