Hello and welcome to my first attempt at Steven Universe fanfiction! I'm in love with this show and I'm similarly in love with Pearl so I mean, here we are. Hopefully, despite the tired prompt, my little origin story will pique your interest. I am just posting the opening for now.
The story of a pearl was never a particularly happy one, and rarely a very free one.
Kindergartens were reserved for the battle-ready gems, which, though also used to mass-produce for a very specific niche, received much more attention than the pearl factories created above ground. The Homeworld was riddled with the factories, something civilians murmured and complained about under privileged breaths. The smog from their smokestacks did muddy the sky, but no one questioned the media's explanation that it was simply a waste product from cheaply fueled machinery billowing from the rooftops.
No one truly knew what went on inside unless they worked there, or were born there. Even if they were pearls born from their dark chambers, they were preprogrammed to be unable to speak ill of it after release. Employees were threatened to keep quiet.
If any ordinary gem were able to breach its walls, however, they would likely be disturbed with what they found, but no one ever did, so no one ever cared. Their biggest issue was with the ominous dark smoke ever pluming. They never thought to peek inside.
Inside, however, is where this story begins. It is the story of a pearl gone rogue, too self-aware for its purpose, too real.
Here we go! Well, I don't really need a "read and review" for this since it is mostly a placeholder as I work out the rest of the story, but feel free to keep an eye on my little pet project. :)