#I've had this cooking in my brain for literal yearsss. Like since 2017

[ocean-waters]

Free!cember: crossover (Steven Universe x free!)

Thanks to free!cember, I finally have an excuse to share this Steven Universe x free! concept I've had cooking in my head for several years.

(This technically counts more as an au rather than a crossover, but I've hardly been following the rules, so)

Warning: word vomit. Apologies, but the brainrot has taken over me.

So far, I've only drawn the iwatobi and samezuka cast, but I'd like to do some more characters in the future. I tried to make them all distinctive and tried following SU's art style. The iwatobians have white accents on their clothing, while samezukans have black accents.

For some context: they all meet due to being involved with the process of terraforming new colonies for homeworld. (Terraforming refers to manipulating and reshaping the landscape of a planet to make it optimal for establishing colonies for homeworld, which is the planet from which the gems originated). There are 3 types of terraformers in this au:

Lapis Lazulis - They manipulate water. Only confirmed terraformers in Steven Universe Canon. They use water to slice and pierce through rock formations with deadly precision. They can also mold it into any shape they wish. They possess water wings, which give them the ability to fly.

Idocrases - They manipulate earth. They're able to manipulate large chunks of earth. They can fracture them, push them, crush them, split them, etc. They are very general use. However, they're not very precise. Usually, their work ends up looking pretty rough, so Lapis Lazulis are then often sent in to polish it.

Rubellites - They manipulate fire. How does fire aid in terraforming? Simple. Explosions. They just blow stuff up, lmao. They're often used for demolitions or sent in to clear up areas with too many unwanted elements.

So, with that, the gems I assigned them were:

Haru: Lapis Lazuli. Felt like the natural choice, given they're waterbenders in canon and pretty aloof and distant, but will do anything for those they care about (based purely on one of the lapises we see in the show, but still)

Rin: Rubellite. Apparently, it's a stone that is said to be associated with passion, high energy, and love. And since Rin is so passionate and romantic, I figured it'd fit nicely. It also has a really nice color.

Makoto: Idocrase. Usually a stone associated with positive and calming energies. It also pretty earthy, forming in lime deposits near volcanoes. And in this Au, it fits since he can manipulate earth.

Rei: Fluorite. Apparently known for mental enhancement and focus. They're technicians and data loggers in this au.

Nagisa: Spinel. Based on the canon gem. Goofy and fun-loving. They're entertainers and are often sent in to keep up morale and make gems happy. They have stretchy powers.

Souske: Quartz. Typical bulky soldier/guard. Pretty tough and intimidating, but they form very solid friendships.

Nitori: Pearl. Also based on canon. They're servants given to distinguished gems. Very polite, respectful, and loyal to their masters. (He doesn't stay as a servant. That would feel wrong.)

Momo: Amber. It's orange. Associated with courage and self-confidence. Momo is pretty self-assured and, at times, overly confident, so I felt it fit.

As for the story:

The gist of what I came up with is that Haru and Makoto are terraformers that often get assigned together on missions, which is how they become best friends. Nagisa is usually there as an entertainer for the colony and likes to meet up with them whenever they have free time, which is how they became friends too. Haru is considered to be the best among the lazulis due to his precision when it comes to working with water. His cuts are clean, and his work is impeccable. He's also pretty creative when it comes to the ways in which he uses water.

Then Rin shows up one day, assigned to the same colony as them. He is also considered one of the best among his class, having some pretty big fire power and the capacity to create more powerful explosions than average. He's pretty confident in his own abilities. Then, he gets to witness Haru in action and is completely blown away by it. And well, basically, almost the same events that happen in the show happen here.

They meet Rei when he's assigned to document and monitor their terraforming project.

Souske was a guard for the gem station Rin resides in, so they've been friends for a while.

Nitori was given to Rin for his accomplishments, but Rin does not like the idea of "owning" him, so he just treats him as part of his friend group. Though Ai still insists on helping him with everything.

Despite serving homeworld initially, they all rebel at one point and escape to their own home away from home. The iwatobi group does so first, but it takes Rin and his group a while longer. This is where the conflict comes in.

And, of course, there's fusion involved. One of my favorite concepts of steven universe.

For context: gems' bodies are made of light and are essentially a hologram with mass. This means means they have some advanced abilities like shapeshifting and fusion. When two or more gems fuse, they produce an entirely new entity with its own consciousness and individuality, which combines the personality traits and physical attributes from its components. For it to happen, gems need to be synchronized, and there has to be communication and cooperation.

Fusions are essentially a physical manifestation of the relationship between its components. It can be any type of relationship. Platonic, romantic, familial, etc.

So far, I've only done two:

Rhodochrosite

The Rin & Haru fusion. At first, I wanted it to be a pietersite, as that is a gem that has both red and blue chaotically intertwined within it. However, I then became aware of the existence of a stone called Rhodochrosite. And it just seemed so much better. It might be a stretch, but the markings it has, together with its soft pink color, made me think of cherry blossoms, which is just so much more symbolic of the relationship between these two. Plus, the gem is called Rhodochrosite. RHodochrosite (hehe). So I opted for it instead. I know blue and red don't make pink when mixed together, but fusions don't necessarily have to follow color theory. (See: smoky quartz, s1 garnet, sunstone, and more)

The clothing is loosely based on the japanese team uniform from the final stroke movies (meant to represent how Rin and Haru become their best selves together). He has only two eyes because of the whole seeing a sight they've never seen before together sentiment. And yes, he has shark teeth, too.

In terms of character, rhodochrosite is.. a lot. I mean, what do you think would happen if you combined these two. Pure chaos (in a good way, mostly).

He's ridiculously competitive about everything. "This isn't a competition." - Yes, it is, and he' going to win. He's also pretty impulsive and quick tempered. Act first, think later. If he likes or doesn't like something, he'll show it. He can be pretty blunt, too (given that Rin is very opinionated and Haru doesn't care for sugar coating things). He can also be pretty closed off, keeping things to himself. He will do absolutely anything for his friends, though, even if it means using violence. (To be fair, violence is almost always the answer for him)

He's pretty confident in himself and likes to do as he pleases. Usually, he flies around and plays around with the elements, testing out his capabilities. Being the fun-loving thrill-seeker that he is, he usually gets a bit too carried away with this and ends up causing a lot of damage. His elemental powers are also enhanced, meaning he's truly a force to be reckoned with. He's overall a fun experience for Rin and Haru. I imagine fusion would be the equivalent of swimming together. They don't stay fused forever like garnet, though. They value their individuality too much for that. But they do it often. Sometimes on accident. The rest are used to seeing him around a lot. And yes, there are feelings involved, but they're in denial.

Apatite

The Makoto and Haru fusion. Saw the stone and its beautiful teal color and thought it would fit quite nicely. Plus, it's opaque like lapis lazulis and idocrases. He has two pairs of eyes. However, the pupils from the top and bottom sets move in synch, as if they're just one pair split down the middle.

He's quiet and serious, but also very gentle. I imagine he usually gets lost in his own head due to constantly having an internal monologue, so you could often see him just sitting there staring into space, deep in thought.

He's mostly level headed, due to Haru's stoic nature and Makoto's overabundant patience and prefers to avoid conflict instead of engaging with it. However, if someone or something were to threaten their friends, they wouldn't hesitate.

Haru and Makoto are already pretty in synch, so fusing is not difficult for them, but they mostly do it only when necessary. Like during combat or to protect their friends. They enjoy each other's company either way, merged or apart, it makes no difference.

They can manipulate mud and clay (earth + water), and sometimes, they create little sculptures.

There is so much more I wanted to share, but I've been working on this for a while. So I'll leave it here for now. I do want to do more for this au, though. More characters, definitely more fusions, and expanding the story a bit more. Also, some sketches of small interactions/moments. Particularly some with nagisa and rin&haru. They're both like big brothers to him, so their fusion is like his ultimate big brother figure, and I think their dynamic could be so fun. Until then, though, I'll share this.

Steven universe isn't as relevant anymore, but like free! I don't think I'll ever let it go. It's a lot of fun working on things like these.

#we're back to line work being my number 1 nemesis. #some of them look grainy; but that's because of the quality of the pencils i have :( #I've had this cooking in my brain for literal yearsss. Like since 2017 #it has changed quite a lot since then #there is so much i want to share about this dbsgsjdhdwkbs please ask me about it #even then; I'll probably make more of it just out of self indulgence #free!cember #gem au #free! #steven universe #haruka nanase #rin matsuoka #makoto tachibana #nagisa hazuki #rei ryugazaki #souske yamazaki #aiichirou nitori #momotaro mikoshiba