Threat terminated.
Steven Universe: Future (Rewritten) is a Steven Universe: Future Fix Fic by KiwiQueen 13, written in order to better address plot points and ideas that the author felt were Left Hanging or resolved in an underwhelming manner in the show's actual final episodes. Instead of the Diamond essence successfully bringing Jasper back to life as they did at the end of "Fragments", the Gem remains shattered. Faced with the horrible truth of his actions, Steven's already poor mental health worsens, and he finds himself spiraling further and further into self-loathing and madness. Steven Quartz Universe was the savior of the the galaxy... but who's going to save him in his darkest hour?
The fanfic takes the form of an illustrated audiobook that was released weekly on YouTube beginning on August 25th, 2020, with chapters ranging in length from 15-to-30 minutes. The final chapter was released December 22nd, 2020. It was later followed by Steven Universe: Future (Rewritten) (Epilogue), a sequel series that ran from April 1st to July 21st, 2021.
The series can be listened to in the playlist here
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Tropes:
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In addition to some blood and gore due to the fic having far more moments of violence, events that did happen in canon are made more dramatic.
- Unlike the show, Jasper is Killed Off for Real. The Diamond Essence doesn't work, and Steven ends up having to hide the shards by burying them in a cave by the lighthouse.
- Whereas attacking White Diamond's gem during the body possession merely broke the link in the show, here it not only manages to crack the gem, but also cause White to poof for the very first time. Steven is able to heal the cracks, but White is out of commission for several chapters afterward.
- Closest Thing We Got: When Steven passes out due to his most recent case of pink swelling closing his throat, Spinel is the only one with a solid understanding of human physiology (or any understanding, for that matter). However, since that knowledge was gained from wanting to murder Steven at the time, she never bothered to look up medical treatments. Her insight manages to be enough for the group to revive Steven, though Word of God notes that almost everything they did was wrong and that Steven's Gem was what actually did most of the work after Yellow reduced the swelling.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: Once Steven starts explaining what's been happening to him, Spinel immediately deduces that a childhood of fighting his mother's enemies and fixing her problems is the root of everything. Spinel then dismisses Steven's shock at the accurate assessment, stating that even if it wasn't obvious from context, Steven had already voiced this frustration to her in the past.Spinel: You kinda cried a lot about your whole life being just fixing stuff over and over again when I tried to kill you, because of Pink.
- Failed a Spot Check: In the stress and excitement of Chapter 12, both Steven and Kunzite herself don't notice that Spinel and Volleyball fused to form the latter until halfway through the following chapter.
- Heroic BSoD: Steven jumps between panic, rage, and catatonic shock for an entire night after shattering Jasper and discovering that there is no way to undo it.
- Heroic RRoD: By Chapter 13, Steven hasn't eaten properly, drank much of anything, and had barely slept for a week. He's minutes away from passing out and his entire body and Gem are in utter pain, but he still insists on trying to push on. Kunzite has to force him to take a break.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Steven ends up becoming this on Homeworld when Bluebird manages to get a recording of him poofing White and broadcasts it all over the planet, with her claiming that it's proof he wants to shatter all the Diamonds and become sole ruler. Steven must escape back to Earth with the help of Spinel and Volleyball when immediately causes hundreds of Gems to storm the palace.
- Ignored Epiphany: In Chapter 7, Spinel realizes from their comments towards an unconscious Steven that the Diamonds aren't calling Steven "Pink" out of stubbornness, but because they honestly believe Steven is just Pink Diamond having an extended temper tantrum and playing a role. When they continuously dismiss Spinel's arguments, Volleyball angrily steps in to call out White on the fact that she should at least be completely aware of Steven's true identity, given that she had already tried separating him from his Gem years prior. White admits that she's deliberately been trying to forget.
- Last-Second Word Swap: "Oh, f-f-family-friendly."
- Mood Whiplash: The increasingly dour atmosphere of the fic plays in stark contrast to the title sequence, which is Peridot happily singing the name of the show. Especially when watched in the playlist, as chapters that end on a sullen no te (which is to say, a good majority of them) are immediately followed by ironic, uplifting melody of "Happily Ever After".
- My God, What Have I Done?: Steven's reaction to... a lot of things.
- The fact he shattered Jasper, which increases tenfold when he realizes there's no fixing it.
- His reaction to Spinel's punishment, getting angry at himself for not realizing that putting a victim of abuse in the home of those who glorify and mourn the memory of said abuser was a recipe for disaster.
- Trauma Button: Spinel has been regularly punished whenever she badmouths Pink Diamond with a stay in a dark, isolated tower for days at a time. Steven is the only one who sees the problem inherent in doing this to someone with millennia-worth of abandonment issues.
