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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 7: Rejuvenated (originally published January 18, 2021)

Author's Note: And so, we reach the penultimate chapter of Part 1! It was once stated that an episode featuring Rhodonite was in the works for Steven Universe Future where we would explore how her components met along with the debut of Morganite, but that was unfortunately scrapped because there was enough content to turn it into a whole two-parter, along with not heavily featuring Steven enough and not being relevant to Future's plot. Well, I'm gonna try and prove the Crewniverse wrong by condensing what they planned to a manageable level, and you will have to bear witness to it!

Synopsis: Peridot builds a device that tells how many times a Gem has been rejuvenated, and it reveals some shocking secrets about Rhodonite.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Matthew Moy as Lars

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Erica Luttrell as Padparadscha Sapphire

Ashly Burch as Rutile Twins

Estelle as Garnet

Charlyne Yi as Morganite's Ruby

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pink Pearl/Volleyball, Morganite's Pearl

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Olivia Olson as Citrine

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

And featuring Hayley Kyoko as Morganite

"Now then, you two, keep yourselves steady, in both body and mind." Garnet instructed Rhodonite and Padparadscha Sapphire in the ways of yoga atop the central tower of Little Homeworld. "It is of utmost importance to keep those instructions in mind in life."

"Okay, keep myself steady. Keep myself steady." Rhodonite nervously repeated her fellow fusion's instructions to herself. Unfortunately for her, she could barely keep the pose she assumed up. "Whoa! I can't do this!"

"You can Rhodonite, just relax your thoughts." Garnet continued teaching.

"Ooh, Garnet is going to give some excellent advice that could change our lives!" Padparadscha Sapphire exclaimed happily.

"Precisely." Garnet remarked to the defective Sapphire. "My teachings could help you in the long run."

"ATTENTION STUDENTS OF LITTLE HOMESCHOOL!" Peridot's nasally voice cried out, causing the two Off-Colors to lose balance and fall to the floor. "I'VE COME TO MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!"

"Even after two years of coming here, Peridot's voice still gets on my nerves a bit." Rhodonite muttered as she got up from her fall. "But don't tell her I said that!"

"And now Peridot is calling everyone because she has something amazing to tell us." Padparadscha stated. "What fun!"

"I'll take you guys down." Garnet declared before she grabbed the two Gems by the hand and raced to the edge of the roof.

"You know, we could just take the-" Rhodonite began nervously before the three Gems jumped off the tower. "STAAAAAAAAIRS!"

Garnet landed safely, yet dramatically, on the ground below, where many Gems gathered around Peridot as she began to demonstrate what she wanted to show them all.

"I would like to present a project that I've been working on ever since last year's Spinel incident." Peridot announced as a rod-like device emerged from her gem. "This is a Rejuve-Meter." She stated. "See what I did there? Anyways, this little gizmo works a bit like carbon daters here on Earth, and can help with examining how many times a Gem has been rejuvenated! Would anyone like to be a test subject?"

"Ooh, me! Me!" Teal Zircon exclaimed while raising her hand.

"I applaud your eagerness TZ." Peridot thanked the Zircon before scanning her with the Rejuve-Meter. The screen rotated through many possible numbers before it settled on 2. "Says here you've only been rejuvenated twice. What could possibly cause either incident?"

"It was a few honest mistakes, I swear it!" Teal Zircon revealed. "Cross my gem and hope to be shattered, the memories I make are all that mattered!"

"Okay then. Anyone else?" Peridot began looking around the huddled Gems before she spotted Volleyball among them. "You there, come on down!"

"Oh, me?" Pink Diamond's former Pearl gasped as she stepped forward.

"Yes, you." Peridot grinned before scanning Volleyball with the Rejuve-Meter. Compared to TZ, Volleyball caused the device only to say 1. "Only one time?"

"My Diamond was playing with a Rejuvenator and got me reset by accident." Volleyball confessed. This seemingly offhand comment caused Rhodonite to freeze up at the mere mention of rejuvenation, like she was flashing back to a similar incident.

"Interesting, interesting." Peridot muttered as she continued scanning each of the Gems around her.

"Hey, Garnet, what's going on?" Steven asked, weaving through the crowd to greet Garnet. "And how did teaching Rhodonite and Paddy go?"

"It went well, until Peridot caused them to lose balance because she wanted to show off this new device she built in response to Spinel." Garnet explained. "She says it can help her scan Gems for how many times they've been rejuvenated."

"Uh, yeah!" Rhodonite laughed nervously. "W-what she said."

"Is something the matter Rhodonite?" Steven asked the Off-Color fusion. "You're looking real tense. Should I get Lars?"

"I feel like the idea of rejuvenation is making her skittish." Padparadscha pondered. "But, what do I know?"

"I feel like you might need some help." Steven encouraged Rhodonite as Peridot made her way to the two.

"Okay, according to the Rejuve-Meter, all the Gems present have been rejuvenated up to three times each. Nothing too severe." Peridot said. "Now, let's see how many times you were rejuvenated."

"No, I don't think that's really necessary!" Rhodonite yelped, but her urges proved fruitless as the Rejuve-Meter did its job, but the results it got were quite shocking.

"And your components have been rejuvenated….." Peridot paused for effect as she examined the meter and got quite a surprise. "My stars, SEVENTEEN TIMES?! HOW, AND WHY?!"

"I-I-I!" Rhodonite stuttered, when Fluorite and the conjoined Rutile twins came up to her.

"Is anything the matter?" the grandmotherly six-Gem fusion asked with concern in her slow tone.

"My sincerest apologies Fluorite." Peridot apologized to Fluorite. "It's just that I made this little device that allows me to discover how many times a Gem has been rejuvenated, and I think I may have accidentally made Rhodonite here uneasy about it since she may have been rejuvenated in the past."

"Oh, it's alright Peridot." Rhodonite said as she patted the little green Gem on her triangular hair with one of her small arms. "We know you didn't mean any harm."

"Besides, Rhodonite joined us because she was looked down upon for being a fusion between two different Gems." The left Rutile stated. "Especially her original owner."

"Which means she may have something to do with this." The right Rutile added.

"Yeah, it was a Morganite, right?" Steven asked, causing Rhodonite to nod meekly. "Well, looks like we're headed to Homeworld then!"

"Rhodonite has a problem, so we must return to Homeworld to solve it!" Padparadscha declared.

"I can't help it if I make a scene, stepping out of my hot pink limousine." Lars quietly sang to himself as he swept up the floor of his space-themed bakery. "I'm turning heads and I'm stopping traffic. When I pose, they scream, and when I joke, they laugh." His cleaning would have to wait when he heard the door open. "Ah, welcome to Spacetries. How can I help, Steven?"

"Hey Lars, long time no see." Steven greeted the pink teen as he entered the bakery with Rhodonite in tow. "We need to talk about Rhodonite. Peridot was showing off this little gizmo she built that made her super uncomfortable, and we think it may have something to do with when she was created on Homeworld."

"We believe it may have been caused by the Morganite who originally owned the Ruby and Pearl she's made of." Fluorite added. "Do you think she could still be around?"

"How should I know?" Lars asked while putting away the broom and taking off his apron. "Most of the time I spent on Homeworld was being forced into a trial, dying, and then trying to escape after I came back to life."

"Well, I think we might need a lift there." Rhodonite declared. "You wanna help?"

"Could take a little bit to get there, but anything for you guys." Lars accepted happily. "Blue Lace, watch the shop while I'm gone!"

Blue Lace Agate gave Lars a thumbs-up as he left the shop to see the other Off-Colors outside.

"Can't we just take the Warp Pad?" Lars asked while the group walked away from the bakery.

"The nova thrusters are as good as new, right?" Steven responded with a question of his own.

Within a few hours, the Off-Colors had finally reached the Gem Homeworld. Since it had been so long since they had escaped their formerly oppressive home planet, Homeworld has changed dramatically in the passing years. There was lots more color, plant life was abundant, and Gems were milling about to do whatever they please without fear of persecution from the dismantled caste system.

"Okay, Morganite should be around here somewhere." Lars stated as they disembarked from the Sun Incinerator. "Any idea where?"

"Why don't we ask around?" Steven suggested.

"Last I remember, Morganite lives in this big palace that looks like one of those pagodas on Earth." Rhodonite explained. "Though since I've refused to go back there until now, I've pretty much pushed the location out of my memories."

"Why don't we try asking around?" the left Rutile suggested. "Maybe try that Citrine over there?"

The Rutiles pointed to a large, muscular yellow Gem with her gem on her stomach, a distinctive mullet-like hairstyle, a stern expression on her face, and an unsettling eye twitch that she showed as the Gems walked over to her.

"Can I help you?" the Citrine asked with a glare.

"We don't want any harm." Steven told her. "We're just on the lookout for a Gem named Morganite. Seen her anywhere?"

"Oh, you're looking for Morganite?" Citrine said as her expression softened into something more genial. "Yeah, she lives in the big pink skyscraper, can't miss it." She thumbed over to a tall building not too far away that was colored in varying shades of pink and had a predominantly Oriental appearance. "Here, I'll take you there."

"Isn't it wonderful?!" Padparadscha cried while Citrine signaled for a carrier to bring them to Morganite's palace. "The most wonderful Citrine will give us a lift to Morganite!"

"One of those Off-Color Gems, I see." Citrine commented as the carrier arrived. "Okay everyone, all aboard."

"So tell me, what's Morganite like?" Steven asked Citrine. "Is she as okay with Era 3 as everyone else? Because I've met a few Gems who aren't too happy with it."

"She doesn't really care." Citrine answered. "Just as long as she continues her design work. Back in the day, she was highly acclaimed in our society for her visionary designs, especially her work on the Diamonds' palanquins."

"Sounds like she'd fit right in at Little Homeschool's art classes." Fluorite remarked.

"Yeah, but she also had strong views against cross-Gem fusions when we served her." Rhodonite stated. "It's why we fled and eventually met the other Off-Colors."

"How much longer till we reach her?" Lars asked Citrine.

"Not too long now." Citrine replied as Morganite's building began getting closer. "Okay, we're here." She announced, stopping the transporter.

Steven, Lars, Citrine, and the Off-Colors now stood before the pink pagoda-like building, staring in awe of its beautiful architecture. But within the gorgeous structure lay some dark secrets of the past that Rhodonite was ready to contend with.

"You ready?" Lars asked Rhodonite, who tightly held his hand in exchange.

"I'm scared." Rhodonite muttered.

"Don't worry. We're all here for you." Steven alleviated the fusion's fears by holding onto her hand.

"Rhodonite seems afraid, but she knows we'll all be by her side." Padparadscha declared calmly.

"Us Off-Colors gotta stick together." The Rutiles said in unison.

"We're your family." Fluorite said.

"Okay, enough heartfelt found family moments." Citrine chuckled at the heartwarming scene before her as she knocked on the door, causing a holographic projection of a small, pink Gem soon appeared from the top of the doorframe. "Hello?"

"State your name and your business." The hologram demanded.

"I'm Steven Universe." Steven said to the hologram. "I'm here because we've got some old subordinates of Morganite here with us."

"Excellent." The hologram said, and the doors soon opened. "Please enter single file, and do not make a mess of things."

With that, the group got in line, Rhodonite in front with Steven behind her, and strolled into Morganite's tower.

Upon taking the elevator that took them to the tower's top floor, before Steven, Lars, and the Off-Colors was a small, pink Gem with pale skin dressed in a kimono and her dark pink hair in low pigtails. She was kneeling to the ground in deep meditation, and had a certain Gem device hanging over her head as a decoration.

The very sight of this Gem turned Rhodonite's paranoia into a very uncharacteristic rage, and she marched straight up to the little Gem before angrily picking her up. "You! I knew you'd still be here, now fess up!"

The Gem slowly opened her eyes and gasped in fright at the angry fusion violently interrogating her. "Oh no, someone help!" she cried. "Wait, I remember you!"

"So you do remember me, huh?!" Rhodonite snarled while Steven and Lars tried to keep her calm. "Why don't you tell me why I was rejuvenated SEVENTEEN TIMES before I toss you over the edge?!" she threatened, turning her head to face a door leading to one of the balconies of the top floor.

"Rhodonite, please!" Steven exclaimed.

"I get that she traumatized you, but you would never try to hurt anyone!" Lars said.

"Please, remember Garnet's instructions!" Fluorite cried.

Rhodonite froze in place and dropped her former superior from her grasp, and then she began to remember what Garnet taught her. "Relax my thoughts, relax my thoughts." She whispered to herself, easing her tense form. "My apologies, I just lost a little control there."

"A little would be selling yourself short." Rhodonite's would've-been victim snarked. "Especially after all the times I had to break you up."

"So, you must be Morganite." Steven remarked.

"Suppose you heard of me." Morganite stated. "My work is highly acclaimed throughout nine star systems. Now tell me, what brings you all to my tower, outside of nearly trying to kill me?"

"We need to talk." Steven said, moving out of the way to introduce the Off-Colors. "These are some of my friends, a group of Gems persecuted by the old ways of Homeworld because they didn't fit in with their fascist standards, including Rhodonite here. We came because we know you had rejuvenated the Ruby and Pearl that are her components seventeen times, and want answers as to why."

"You want to know why?" Morganite asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I'd like to understand." Rhodonite answered.

"If you say so." Morganite responded. "Please, do sit down, all of you. Have I got a story for you?"

As the group all sat down on their knees, Morganite began her story. "Now, our little tale begins thousands of years ago, back in Era 1, a short while after Pink Diamond came along."

Thousands of years in the past, Morganite was quite possibly the most celebrated designer to have ever graced Gemkind for having helped build most of Homeworld's architecture. One of her most notable actions was being the leader in building each of the Diamonds' palanquins, and her methods were seen as extraordinary.

"Exemplary work Morganite." Yellow Diamond complimented the design of her palanquin, built to be just as massive as she was. "Very nice patterns, and the shade of yellow is very fitting too."

"I especially admire the drapes you put on mine." Blue Diamond admired her palanquin.

"It was my pleasure, my Diamonds." Morganite thanked with a courteous bow. "I don't ask for anything in return; your applause is all that matters."

"Oh, you are so modest." Blue giggled. "But don't you ever get a little lonely doing so much for our kind?"

"No, I feel perfectly happy by myself." Morganite answered.

"Not even any subordinates to bounce ideas off of?" Yellow continued. "Because I can assure you, I've already got some for you for the occasion."

With a snap of the Diamond's fingers, Yellow's brought forth a pair of inactive gemstones and set them on the ground. The Pearl rose up first, projecting a holographic clamshell around itself.

"Please identify yourself." The shell ordered robotically.

"Morganite." Morganite complied.

"Greetings, Morganite." The shell greeted. "Please state your preferred customization options."

"Nothing too fancy, but nothing too modest either." Morganite continued.

"Settings selected. Please stand by." The holographic shell opened and the Pearl began glowing, eventually forming into a full Gem. The Pearl looked very standard, but had straight pink hair in a bob, her gemstone resting on her chest, a leotard with a transparent shawl around her neck and pink flats.

Next came the Ruby, who also looked like how Gems of her type should be, with her gem on her stomach and a Pink Diamond insignia on her top.

"You must be our new owner, correct?" Morganite's new Pearl asked.

"Yes, yes I am." Morganite answered politely. "You were awarded to me for my work on Yellow and Blue Diamond's palanquins, and I expect you to be on your best behavior."

"Yes, Morganite." The Ruby and Pearl said in unison. What Morganite missed was her new Ruby turning her head a bit to gaze at Pearl, and it was love at first sight.

Over the next couple hundred years, Morganite's Pearl and Ruby served diligently and quietly, never once saying anything negative about their boss or her celebrity status. At least, not in public. In private, the two kept talking for hours about how self-absorbed she was, allowing their working relationship to blossom into romance.

"Oh, the nerve of her taking all the glory from all those hardworking Bismuths!" Morganite's Pearl laughed. "They may hold a higher rank than us Pearls, but I really feel sorry for them."

"And I heard from some Lapis Lazulis that ol' Morgy didn't appreciate the sloppy work they did on Hiei 16." The Ruby responded. "Chances are she's bound to tell Blue on them."

"And what of Pink Diamond?" the designer's Pearl continued. "Sometimes I wonder if she was just a Quartz plucked from a Kindergarten and ordered to look like a Diamond, because she rarely acts like the others at all. Her Pearl says she throws quite the destructive tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants."

"Oh, wow! What a baby!" the Ruby laughed loudly.

"Can I just say, I really love the way you laugh?" Morganite's Pearl said. "It's so loud, yet so endearing at the same time."

"I-I find you endearing too." The Ruby blushed. "No, wait, I don't think that's the word I'm looking for! I meant to say-"

"Cute, graceful, smart, caring, loyal?" the Pearl began flirting. "Because all but one of those fit you as well."

"Oh my, really?" the Ruby responded as she blushed even harder. "I don't anyone has ever called me anything that wasn't stupid or expendable, but you're the first."

"Thank you." The Pearl said, now beginning to blush herself. "Would you like a kiss?"

"W-w-w-w-wait, really?!" her new Ruby lover stuttered. "I don't think I've been given a kiss either?"

"Well, let's give it a try." The Pearl remarked, picking her beloved Ruby up by the waist and bringing them face to face before giving her a sweet kiss on the lips. When the Ruby returned the kiss in kind, their gems began to shimmer.

"Oh, girls! I want your two cents on my latest project." Morganite called for the pair as she walked in on their embrace. "What in the?!"

What Morganite saw was not her Ruby and Pearl, but rather a strange new lifeform with both of their gemstones on her front and bearing some parts of their respective physical forms.

"What happened?" Rhodonite muttered. "Did we just fuse?"

"Yes, you just did!" Morganite barked, catching Rhodonite by surprise. "You knew the laws you two; only two Gems of the same type are allowed to fuse! Did you not hear the cautionary tales of those six Gems that just up and vanished when they first discovered fusion?"

"I sincerely apologize, Morganite, but we really do love each other!" Rhodonite cried as she begged on her knees. "If you would just let us explain!"

"Explain nothing." Morganite coldly declared before pulling a Rejuvenator from her gem on her chest and using it to cut Rhodonite in two, causing her components to poof. "And that will be all."

Morganite believed that would be the end of it, the end of her subordinates' relationship. But she thought wrong.

When her Ruby and Pearl were regenerated, they at first acted like they first met Morganite all over again. And just like that first time, they once again fell in love.

Despite Morganite's attempts to suppress her subordinates' relationship, word got out of the two's love, and many Gems began to question the designer's high status and demanded something to be done about it.

The more times her Pearl and Ruby began fusing, the more Morganite used her Rejuvenator to reset them, and the more she began fearing for all the fame she accumulated being dropped faster than an unwanted colony. Eventually, after approximately seventeen resets, Morganite came to a decision.

"Are you sure we should still be doing this?" the Pearl asked her smaller lover one day. "You know our Morganite will be very unhappy."

"Well, I for one am sick of all this!" the Ruby exclaimed hotly. "Sick of being persecuted for our love, sick of fusions between different Gem types being so frowned upon, sick of this society we live in!"

"Oh, poor baby." The Pearl consoled the Ruby. "We're stronger than that, I just know it."

"Oh, girls, please come here." Morganite called for the pair. With nervous looks to one another, the couple walked over to their displeased master. "I have some splendid news for you."

"What is it?" Morganite's Pearl asked meekly.

"You no longer have to worry about being caught, because you're getting replaced!" Morganite answered cheerfully, presenting a new Pearl and Ruby that will soon take the old pair's places.

"Well, funny you should mention that." The Ruby stated, bravely stepping forward. "We're through with this! You don't understand the love Pearl and I share, just because you're so self-absorbed and dedicated to Homeworld's ways!"

"Oh, so good you're such a team player." Morganite sarcastically remarked before clapping her hands to summon a pair of Shattering Robonoids. "Because as they say, there's no trash in a team."

As the Robonoids prepared to detain Morganite's former Pearl and Ruby, the two made a break for it. They bolted out the top floor of Morganite's tower, jumping off the balcony and beginning to fall all the way down to Homeworld's lower levels.

"After them!" Morganite commanded the Robonoids, and they zoomed out the building after the fleeing Gems.

As Ruby and Pearl continued falling at high speeds, the Shattering Robonoids flew down in hot pursuit and tried to scan their gems for destruction.

"Oh no, we're gonna get shattered!" the Ruby began panicking. "This is all my fault, if I hadn't talked back to Morganite, then we wouldn't either be shattered by the Robonoids or by falling to our deaths! I'm so-"

"It's okay." The Pearl said softly, cupping her favorite soldier's cheek. "I'm here for you, you're here for me."

"Yeah." The Ruby began to relax. "We're here for each other."

The two began to kiss once again, fusing into Rhodonite once more as they crashed behind a statue on Homeworld's decaying surface. The Robonoids continued scanning for the pair, but the machines found nothing due to the structure keeping them protected.

As the Robonoids flew back up to report to Morganite, Rhodonite peeked from behind the statue in relief. "I'm here."

"Hello?" a deep, slow-moving voice called from a cave. "Is anyone there?"

"Who said that?!" Rhodonite began panicking. "Come out wherever you are!"

"You were cast out too, yes?" the voice continued. "Come on in, you'll be safer here."

"I-if you say so." Rhodonite muttered. "Where are you?"

"Just follow my voice." The voice answered. "You can find me in this cave. Just look for the rock."

Rhodonite did as this mystery person said and found a rather conspicuous rock within a cave, moving it aside to discover a secret passage. When she entered the path and went through the dark tunnel, at the end was a massive Kindergarten that might've gone unused for ages.

"Welcome, dearie." The voice said as its owner appeared from behind Rhodonite. Turning around, Rhodonite discovered a massive six-Gem fusion with a gentle smile on her face. "So, were you persecuted for your love too?"

"Wait, you're the six Gems!" Rhodonite exclaimed, thinking back to the tales of old.

"I see my reputation is still going strong." The larger fusion proclaimed. "I am Fluorite. And you are?"

Rhodonite glanced down at the gems on her torso, and then back at Fluorite, before she finally answered. "I'm Rhodonite."

"So that's what happened." Steven realized as Morganite concluded her tale before he turned to Rhodonite. "What do you think?"

"Relax my thoughts, relax my thoughts." Rhodonite whispered to herself as she sat cross-legged next to Steven and as she opened her eyes, she un-fused into Morganite's former Ruby and Pearl for the first time in centuries.

"Normally, this is the part where we'd yell at you for never atoning for ditching us." The Ruby stated. "And we'll still never forgive you for that."

"But that's in the past. We're different Gems than we were thousands of years ago." The Pearl replied. "Here in the future, we have a new life now. Together."

"I understand now." Morganite said solemnly. "If that is your decision, then so be it. Now good day."

"Thank you for having us." Lars thanked Morganite. "Now come on, gang, let's head home."

"One second." The Ruby and Pearl said in unison before they kissed yet again, fusing back into a more stable Rhodonite with shorter pant legs, a scarf replacing her shawl, and her hair now in two tones.

"Okay, now we can go." Rhodonite smiled.

"Everyone, wait!" Padparadscha exclaimed. "After a moment of clarity, Rhodonite will change her look! Isn't that exciting!?"

"You crack me up, little buddy." Lars chuckled as Steven, and the Off-Colors left the building.

After Morganite finished waving them off, she checked around to see if anyone was still watching. Rising from where Rhodonite sat her down, Morganite turned to the Rejuvenator hanging over her head and pressed on a hidden keypad on the wall that led the way to a Warp Pad.

"My clarity has got to hear about this." Morganite said to herself as she took the Warp Pad to parts unknown.

Revanche 666 was a planet drained of all life and resources by the Gems' colonizing, and all that was left was a world with a suspicious resemblance to a human skull.

Morganite disembarked from the Warp Pad and walked towards a black-colored building resembling a Communication Hub. Standing guard was a pair of Citrines, much like the one who had brought Steven to her, but they were less friendly.

"HALT!" the Citrines yelled as they blocked the way.

"It's alright you dolts; it's me." Morganite grumbled at the guards' ignorance.

"Oh, terribly sorry Morganite!" the Citrines declared, moving to allow Morganite to enter the building. "The master is expecting you!"

Morganite strolled down a long white hallway, lined with multiple guards. There were Pearls that had grey skin, black & white uniforms and their hair swept to one side of their heads, white Topazes, including one that was giving a cheery wave only to stop with a sinister glare from the pink Gem, Jaspers, Amethysts, Rubies and many more.

"Oh Morganite, fancy seeing you here." Holly Blue Agate said, as she appeared to start walking alongside her fellow ex-aristocrat. "How have things been going on your end?"

"That boy just paid a visit, and he brought some Off-Colors with." Morganite answered. "One of them was a fusion of my ex-servants, and even tried to toss me over the edge!"

"Really, an Off-Color attempting murder?" Holly Blue smirked. "Well, it's good you're still keeping up appearances like I am, no matter how complicated it may be. Hopefully the master's endgame will allow me to get some peace and quiet!"

"In due time, Holly." Morganite chuckled. "In due time."

The two Gems stopped walking in front of a pair of white doors that automatically opened for them. And at the end of the room before them was a Gem in a revolving chair examining all possible data she could find of the Crystal Gems on a series of holograms.

"We have arrived your clarity." Holly Blue announced while she and Morganite kneeled before the Gem. "Morganite would like to speak with you."

"Yes, Steven Universe has come to visit me earlier." Morganite added. "Which reminds me, is it time to proceed with Phase 1?"

The Gem stopped typing on her database and slowly turned to her subordinates, before slowly getting up from her chair.

And now we have another Gem to add to this mystery foe's alliance! And we'll finally get to see who she is next time on the final chapter of Part 1. But in the meantime, I have an announcement to make. Once I'm done with that chapter, I'm going to take a bit of a hiatus to focus on other stories and my schoolwork, but not too long like my fellow Steven Universe fans have joked about. I hope you understand, and see you next time.

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #lars barriga #rhodonite #padparadscha sapphire #fluorite #rutile twins #morganite

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solara-bean · 4 years

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Early Days: Part 3 Shirou x M!Human Reader

Eight months....Y/n had been living with Shirou for eight freakin months and neither one of them brought up the idea of him moving!!! Granted prices of housing had sky rocketed with new residents, mostly beastmen moving into the city. But didn’t Y/n have enough to afford living with other humans in a tavern or something??

Shirou had been meaning to ask but he could never seem to. One because he didn’t want to sound rude and say “ Hey could you leave.” And two....uh....what was two. He knew he had more than one reason. Maybe because he still wanted Y/n’s help with the shop? No. He could always ask Y/n to still work with him. So what was the other reason.

He pondered further as they walked through the market place of the city. Countless merchants, human and beastmen selling various products. Y/n was excited to have enough money to indulge himself and Shirou needed to get more dyes from Lev anyway so they went together.

“ Well if it isn’t my favorite wolf.” Lev said as he swayed to the counter to greet them.

“ I’m the only wolf you know.” Shirou deadpanned.

“Which is exactly why you’re my favorite. And who is this? The infamous human you’ve imprisoned?”

“ Yep! Thats me.” Y/n laughed.

“ Aren’t you just the cutest.” Lev’s eyes then twinkled at Y/n’s necklace. “ And that necklace is absolutely exquisite. Is that a garnet stone I see?”

“ Yeah. You have a good eye. People usually mistake it for a ruby.”

“ Oh you’re too kind. Now what can I get you two?”

“ Just the usual please.”

“ Really you don’t want the sky blue dye.”

Shirou perked up.

“ You have it? This soon!”

“ Yes yes. Calm down. I can practically see your tail wagging.” Lev retrieved the bottles and put them on the counter. “ Now you know that you won’t get them for cheap.”

“ I never do.” Shirou gave him all of the coins he brought.

After saying their goodbyes. The two went on their way so Y/n could pick out what he wanted to buy. Then they heard what sounded like children screaming. Shirou’s instincts kicked in and before he knew it he was bolting through the crowd to where the screams had come from. By some miracle Y/n managed to catch up. They were soon met with the sight of four tiger beastmen children cowering before a baker, the boar beastmen named Adalbert.

“ Now I’ve had enough of you thieves stealing my food! If you don’t pay up there will be consequences.”

“ But sir. We’re so hungry.” Said the oldest brother of the group at ten years old, Iason. The twins, Inga and Ingi, nodded from behind him.

“ Please. We’ll pay you back.” said the little sister, Ida.

“ No you won’t! You said that last time! And the time before that! If you don’t make up for what you’ve taken from me I swear I’ll-”

“ Adalbert! That’s enough!” Shirou stood in between them. “ This isn’t like you. You’re scaring them.”

Adalbert glared at Shirou as he huffed out a few labored breaths. As he calmed down he noticed that he had morphed unconsciously and had bared his tusks at the children who were still shaking in fear behind Shirou. Iason was trembling as well despite his efforts to be brave for his siblings. He’d also morphed to appear more intimidating but his puffed orange fur only made him appear as cute as a cub.

“ What am I doing?” Adalbert groaned and morphed back. “ Forgive me young ones. I should not have lost my temper with you.”

Iason gave him an untrusting glare before morphing back as well.

“ It’s ok. We should’ve just asked for food.”

“ That’s odd. You normally do. Why was today any different?” Shirou asked to which Adalbert merely motioned to his beaten up bakery. “ Oh...right.” he had forgotten that the bakery was robbed by humans last week.

“ I just haven’t been myself since the robbery. It feels like every little thing has been getting to me.”

“ That’s only normal.” Shirou put a comforting hand on his arm, unable to reach his shoulder due to their height difference. “ Your trust was betrayed.”

“ Yes. By those wretched humans!” Adalbert then turned to Y/n. “ No offense to you of course.”

“ None taken.” Y/n looked at the sacks of flour outside of the bakery. “ Were you able to get more supplies?”

“ Yes but I’m still behind on my orders. I can’t afford to give away food for free.” He looked at the siblings with a sympathetic gaze. “ But for you four I guess I can make an exception.”

The siblings eyes lit up and they all thanked him as he gave them each two loaves of bread and a muffin.

“ How much would that cost?” Y/n asked.

“ About thirty five silver. Why?”

Y/n took out a few gold and silver coins from his pouch then gave Adalbert the rest. Adalbert instantly tried to give it back.

“ I can’t accept this. It’s much more than thirty pieces.”

“ I’m fine with it. It’s just splurging money after all.”

“ Well at least let me give you two something to eat.”

As Adalbert let Shirou pick out a loaf of bread, Y/n felt a tug on his cloak. He looked down and saw Ida holding it up to her face to admire the patterns.

“ What do these symbols mean?”

“ They’re protection charms.”

Her eyes glittered.

“ Like magic?”

“ Uh huh.”

“ Wow! I wish I had a cloak like this.”

“ Then I guess it’s your lucky day.” he took off the cloak and put it on her. It was way too big and looked more like a blanket with a hood.

“ Wait I can keep it?!”

“ Yep it’s all yours.”

Ida smiled so wide that her baby fangs showed. She hugged his leg then ran to the twins to show them. Before long they were chasing each other to see how the cloak flowed in the wind like a cape. Iason on the other hand didn’t seem amused.

“Hey human!” he called to Y/n. “ We can’t keep accepting handouts. I know you’ll want us to pay up eventually so take it back.”

“ Hmmm. You have a point. Oh! I know.” Y/n handed him the last of his coins. “ There. now you can pay me.”

“ Wha-! I can’t pay you with your own money! Do you think I’m stupid or something?!”

“ Then you’ll have to keep it then huh?” Y/n smiled.

Iason gaped at him. Then the money. Then back at him.

“ Fine.” he pocketed the coins. “ If you don’t want then I’ll make good use of it.” he walked back to his siblings muttering ‘ dumb human doesn’t even know how money works.’

Y/n covered his mouth to try to hide his laughter. Not knowing that Shirou saw the whole thing.

They took bites of the bread as they walked home. The sun was beginning to set, washing the city in shades of orange and yellow. It was so beautiful that they almost didn’t notice the weird looks they were getting. Almost..

“ That was a good thing you did back there.” Shirou said between bites.

“ According to Galina, it’s something you do all the time.”

“ It was still nice of you. You weren’t able to buy anything for yourself.”

“ Not true. We got bread,” he held up his chunk before tossing it in his mouth. “ And you know. Gotta help out your fellow orphans.”

“ Wait.” Shirou stopped. “ You’re an orphan.”

“ I never told you? I’ve been one ever since I was..what..maybe fourteen.”

“ Fifteen for me.”

“ Really!?” Y/n chuckled. “ I guess we do have something in common.”

Shirou smiled at him. But it quickly faded when an all too familiar scent entered his nose.

“Well well well. If it isn’t the wolf and his pet.” slurred Alexander as he exited a tavern with a group of his friends. He was obviously drunk. “ What are you doing on this side of town? You know this is human territory.”

“ There’s no such thing as human territory. You all just like to hang around this spot for some reason.”

“ Yeah to get away from the smell of you animals.” Alexander and his pals guffawed.

“ Tch. You’re one to talk. Aren’t you the ones that only bathe once a year.”

“ What’d you say?! You mind repeating that wolf!” Alexander got into his face, making Shirou nearly blanch from the stench. He honestly wished that he was kidding about the bathing thing.

“ Ok.” Y/n intervened. “ How about we all calm down and go our separate ways. I know that we’re all men but there’s no need for senseless violence.”

Shirou looked at Y/n’s pleading gaze then back to Alexander. He took a deep breath to calm himself.

“ You're right. Let’s go home.”

They were well on their way when Alexander decided to have one more comment.

“ Make sure to keep your dog on a leash next time.”

Y/n stopped and let out a deep sigh.

“ You know on second thought.”

Before Shirou could blink Y/n had already launched himself at Alexander and landed a sucker punch to his nose.

Then all hell broke loose.

#bna #bna: brand new animal #brand new animal #shirou ogami #shirou ogami x reader #early days #its about to go down

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kineticallyanywhere · 4 years

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I'd love to hear those fusion thots :eyes: the pacific rim ones were V good

If you’ve been around this house for a hot minute you might know that fusion aus are My Entire Jam Garden so you might imagine I’ve already put some thought into this and you would imagine right. The following was brainstormed in consort with @aryashi my second brain.

The basis for this au is that fusion is possible in the forgotten realms and is just a thing people there can do. This also applies to sudden interdimensional travelers.

tl;dr I wrote basically a one-shot’s worth of words down there but in short fusion is rad but also there's an unexpected amount of drama. which is basically a summary of the podcast but replace "fusion" with "fatherhood"

(preface: fusion is not a sex metaphor, just like pacific rim. Platonic fusion is normal. Familial fusion is normal. Okay, continue.)

First inter-dad fusion: “I silence his dumb ass with a kiss” except its “I silence his dumb ass by accidentally fusing our bodies and consiousnesses into a single being w h o o p s”

I like to name fusions as something other than their romantic ship name so let’s call him… o h yeah we named all of Henry’s fusions after animals. So this guy is Hare (like Darryl). Hare is pretty stable from the outside, but their internal dialogues clash really hard so they're incredibly slow to make decisions.

Internally, Henry feels like he's crossed Darryls boundaries. They have to hold it, but he lets Darryl take the wheel and all similar mistakes are made. They make it through the thing with the Lance before unfusing. Darryl has no idea what that was and already has a lot of intimacy issues, so he’s not particularly inclined to try that again for funsies. Henry is curious, but there’s a buried part of him that’s making him deeply unsettled by the whole experience. He can barely have a straight thought about it, much less articulate the feeling, so he doesn’t try. He lets it go.

First sons fusion: When the Lord of Chaos throws back his robe, yelling “Dad! !” it’s a GIANT Lark&Sparrow. They’re like trying to fuse two rubies together, you just get a bigger ruby. This changes a bit later, when the twins start to diverge from each other vis a vis Love Wolfism, but basically the Lord of Chaos is an Oak Twin the size of their dad. But still looks 12. It probably actually takes the Love Wolf speech from Henry and their divergent reactions to get them to unfuse.

Second inter-dad fusion: That other time Henry and Darryl smooched while high on drug flowers. It was very unpleasant, they don’t talk about it, they don’t try that again for a while.

They get a book on fusions from the Library that reads almost like a birds and the bees talk and there is minor culture-shock panicking about whether fusion is Like That, but something in Henry is telling him “No. It’s not Like That.” He doesn’t really know why he’s so solid in that belief. He understands that fusion is unique and powerful and a wonderful thing, but something about doing it is just… getting under his skin.

Third inter-dad fusion: Glenn and Ron. I’m not even sure the exact context or anything. Maybe they were just vibin’. All I really know is that I imagine these two occasionally fuse for the weirdest things, like

Fourth inter-dad fusion: also Glon, fishing magic items out of a giant toilet. They needed to be taller.

Glon is… gosh, what the heck is Glon. Performative out the ass, for sure. Down for basically anything. Allowed to wear bootie shorts.

Back up a hot minute though, because first dad-son fusion: almost happens on the Tower of Terry. It comes so close. They’re in that hug, and Ron thinks maybe if they fuse, the magic won’t take TJ. Or even if it takes them both, that’s better than TJ getting taken alone. They don’t have to say “I’m sorry” or “I love you, son” out loud, but before it really takes, Terry gets ripped away. Because Willy can’t have that, can he?

Fifth inter-dad fusion: is Glon again, but the circumstances are way different because Ron just saw the mummy of his wife and Glenn is trying to help him breeze past it and it works until it doesn’t and they fall apart with Ron a crying mess.

Sixth inter-dad fusion buckle up because we’ve reached Ravenloft. Before dad-fusion 6, Henry gets caught in his dad’s claws. He feels something very familiar and rejects it with everything he has, and escapes to grab Glenn. Then he gets hit by Calm Emotions, Glenn reaches up, trying not to fall, and Henry is already super chill about everything all of a sudden, so when Glenn tries to fuse out of panic, Henry goes for it.

Gila—Henry and Glenn—can do actual bard magic. They’re like Opal, in that a single moment of disconnect is enough to snap them apart and finding that disconnect is not difficult. But when the situation is saving their kids and telling their asshole dads to get lost, that’s plenty enough connection to cast an actual magic-ass thunderwave with a guitar and maybe a bit more.

(Barry didn’t like that.)

So another fun thing about adding this factor to cannon is that this lets the dads have glimpses inside each other’s heads. So certain conversations could change a little bit. For example, in the van while they’re driving away from the Ravenloft fight and Henry’s explaining a few things.

Henry: I don't have a lot of memories from that time in my life— Glenn: Not a lot? Try "not any.” Henry: Glenn�� Glenn: Dude, none of my business, but your brain was weird. Henry: Glenn. Glenn: Like did the government get to you when you showed up on earth or— Henry: Glenn what the fff—rick are you even saying just shut up Darryl: …

Darryl had noticed, too, but Glenn has other fusion experience to compare with. Henry could catch glimpses and imprints and trains of thought which ground in different points of Darryl/Glenn’s entire life, and Glenn and Ron can do that equally with each other. But a bunch of things for Henry, if you try to backtrack to where the decision comes from it just. Stops. Especially with using magic, which Glenn got to do. And Henry’s thoughts on fusion end dead hard.

(filtering all of this through Freddie’s headcanon that Glenn always figured Henry was from Faerun but was just wildly wrong about all the details is so much fun)

This is the part in the fic series where there’s a one-shot about Henry having a panic attack just outside of the camp at night, and the most he can explain is just that something about seeing his dad again set him off.

And then we get to a lighter turn for first dad-son fusion but for realsies this time: Ron Stampler nat 20s to hug his son and then also is the son. And that dad. And dads are supposed to be inside to do a ritual for a demon cow.

RJ is the sweetest dude. Also if you don’t sit on him he will wander off and do the most extreme version of the first thing that comes to his mind for a problem solution or release from boredom. And he will not tell you about it in advance, so seriously. Sit on him.

So they stand there for a second like "yes... Yes. Yes... Okay. Im... I'm the dad. But I'm the kid? But im. The dad. And all the other dads are also the kid so... Dad... Trumps kid status. And I'm the dad... Cool." and they go in to help with the demon cow.

The kids are flipping out outside.

Henry spots them and drops the cage, almost like he’s Garnet and just spotted Stevonnie. While all the other dad’s are freaking out/fawning/curious, Glenn lifts their glasses and theres four eyes and he drops the glasses and never mentions this again.

Rj: hi um. I'm a dad.... Yeah. So I'm here tooooooo frickin kill a demon cow let's do this Rj: got the good dad vibes comin out of my butt

For realsies though Terry should be outside, so they unfuse for the cow thing and the bbq but then Dennis happens.

Second dad-son fusion: Dennis: are you sure you've got this? Ron: i can do it TJ: he can DO it dad GIVE ME YOUR HAND

RJ’s an arcane trickster and it’s real cool and Dennis looks so jealous ha ha ha and also they separate after the fight and suddenly Terry’s unsettled and needs to talk to Ron for a second because “Hey Dad is Dennis not real????????”

Third dad-son fusion: is way less eventful, but who the heck can say no to more reasons to cry about the Wilsons at the tail end of the Supper Bowl arc?

Fusion is not a replacement for talking, but it is a bit smoother in communicating emotions. It doesn’t happen until the end of their talk, when Darryl’s got his arm around Grant. I don’t think either of them are super attached to this whole fusion thing, (If Grant is, it certainly wasn’t his dad he’d been thinking about trying it with. Maybe one of the other kids… “maybe Terry.”) so they may not even pick a name. Henry certainly cries at least twice as hard, but when they want to just get something to eat and maybe just hang out for a while, nobody pushes.

I think the most important part of this is that it gives Grant a kind of… emotional break. Lets him feel something nice again— like he does in the show, too, but in a way that’s a bit more stable while it lasts. Like the feeling when you’re a kid on a long car ride with your parents, one that ends in getting home late and you’ve fallen asleep and they carry you out of the car.

Good things for Grant Wilson for til forever.

Somewhere in that arc, though, Glenn approaches Henry by themselves. Glenn’s not really a feelings guy, but whatever’s going on in Henry’s head is a problem. It’s a one-up the o-dads have on them, and they can’t afford that right now.

Glenn: so you like... Really don't hardly remember being a kid? Henry: Glenn, I don't want to talk about it Glenn: I bet your dad's gonna wanna talk about it Henry: well... i don't care what he wants Glenn:... You seriously don't know how you got to earth? Henry: [exasperated] the frick are you-- I got to earth like anyone else, Glenn. You know where babies come from, right? Glenn: of course i fucking know where babies come from. A mommy and a daddy love each other very much and then their kid runs away so hard he skips dimensions Henry: wh-- wait you-- do you think I'm an alien? Glenn: obviously Henry: Glenn that's-- [sighs, rubs his face] Glenn this isn't the kind of time for your conspiracies Glenn: hey as far as I'm concerned, a man who sleeps with an axe under his pillow is a fool every night but one. and you shoot poison from your hands and shape shift into bears

Which adds nicely to the slide of heading to Oakveil next

Henry: y'know what. When we leave here, we can get my kids next. Glenn: your interdimensional kids Henry: to prove to you you're being crazy. Again. Glenn: De Nial is a river man, and we left it back on earth

And one more dialogue bite, because…

Glenn: claim your powers latched onto you from this world all you want. But that language you and your dad spoke, didn't come out of the air, it came out of the door in your head

...fusion means the other dads get to learn about the metaphorical brain door.

This brings us into the most recent arc, heading into Oakveil. He and Ron sneak in, and Beary tells Henry he’s home, and pieces start to click together. Henry’s from this world, so he understands why he’s had such a particular view on fusion and that basic cultural understanding. That it’s considered normal. And that it’s even normal for a kid’s first fusion to be with their parent. Their parent who loves them and knows them wants to see them grow.

Bear Ry’Oak is not that.

First O-dad fusion: Henry’s first fusion was with his dad.

I think the worst thing is that, when fused with his dad, Hen doesn't feel like he's not himself. one of the interesting things about the Oaks is that they're kind of all slight alterations on the same traits. Like as gross as it feels to admit, Beary is just Henry but with the condescension turned up to a billion and his high horse is basically an elephant and no self-awareness or care for how others might have different perspectives from him

But Beary is still so overwhelming to Henry that it just flattens pretty much anything that makes Henry, Henry. Specifically the parts that Barry dislikes. like Henry's anger. To directly quote Aryashi: “Beary thinks using fusion for combat is barbaric. obviously fusion is for Conflict Resolution. Fuse with Beary so he can sort out your disagreement with him!”

(and then bathe in bleach)

So Beary finds them in Oakveil and Henry starts panicking and he tries to Handle Henry like he did when Henry was a kid, fusing with him to stomp down on his feelings to cut a panic attack or outburst off at the pass. If Henry's in no place to fight back it usually works, but if Ron's there--literally pressed against Henry's back--to see the fusion coming, maybe he reaches for a fusion, too, and lets Henry's instincts choose which pull to follow, and Henry's instincts choose Ron.

Seventh inter-dad fusion: Wren is suddenly there before Beary can even start his attempt to coach Henry through breathing (his half-effort to help Henry and be able to say that he tried freakin hate him) and is sitting on the ground and the disgusted look Beary gets seeing this. (Fusing with an outsider is something he considers so beneath his son.)

Beary:... Ah. Ronald. Wren, existing, suddenly, and mostly being Ron's processing power as Henry's mental wheels try to slow down to match Ron's pace (cultivated through a childhood of dealing with Willy) rather than amp them both up: uhm... It's just Ron, actually Beary: would you mind... (there's other people around so he can't say "decontaminating") liberating my son. (as if ignoring the role his son had in choosing this fusion over his) Wren: Henry is uh... (me? Not me? Yes me, not up for this, we should go somewhere else that usually works fine, we can just leave and find the others and that'll be fine) he's good. We're good, we're gonna... (looking at the other people who look like Henry and the "not amping each other up” thing is working less and less) Wren: bye

And then they just stand up and fast-walk away

Wren is either chill af and rolling with every punch or the living equivalent of a coke bottle that you popped a whole roll of mentos in and then closed immediately. At this moment, it’s very much the coke bottle side. Beary lets them go because he knows Henry will be back, and they make it just outside of town to where the others have just shown up before they fall apart.

Ron: We found the door! Darryl: what door? Ron: the one in Henry's head! And all the dads know what he's talking about Glenn: did you open it? Henry: no Ron: a little bit Henry(probably now starting that panic attack): the anchors in there Ron: his dad came out of it Darryl: his dad???????? Henry, vulnerability, Oak: I AM FEELING VERY VULNERABLE RIGHT NOW AND I HATE IT [chorus of mumbled sorrys] Ron: oh also Oakvale is Henry's home Darryl: WHAT Glenn: Uh hey anyone gonna pick up the phone cause I FUCKIN CALLED IT Henry: That's not my home! My home is with Mercedes back on Earth! Glenn: Yeah, this is just where you were born. Henry: Glenn I swear to God-- Glenn: Dude lay off, I was agreeing with you! Home's where the heart meds are and all that jazz Darryl: Wait, you have heart meds? At home? When was the last time you took your heart meds? Glenn: Uhh... not since I came here? It's fiiiiiine. Never felt better! Ron: Not to interrupt but Henry's on the ground breathing funny. Glenn, are you sure you don't have any heart meds? Henry: being hugged by both of his sons in a simultaneous way that is not their normal simultaneous way (i.e. the Lord of Chaos way): WHY ARE MY SONS TALLER THAN ME Glenn: I'm more surprised that they're hugging you Lord of Chaos: to assert dominance! Any moment now, we will turn this hug into a suplex!

And that basically brings us to now? I want a Triple Oak Fusion (the King of Chaos) but with how the fight with Beary went I’m not sure where it’ll go. OH YEAH.

Autumn stopped fusing with Hen even when he was a kid because she couldn’t stand to see how much her son craved the approval of that evil man who stole her life away. And whether or not Henry ever fuses with anyone ever again after finding out he’s got Eldritch in him has gotta be up in the air.

And at this point I could easily be convinced that the next inter-dad fusion is Darryl and Glenn, those beautiful idiots. They could be… Denn. Glarryl? We’ll workshop it.

#jakalboy #dndads #aus #fusion aus #dungeons and daddies #me talking #my writing

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 4 years

Text

Episode 131: Off Colors

“And this is Lars. He’s all human.”

Forty-seven seconds is an eternity in an eleven-minute episode. Steven and the Stevens (the song) is forty-one. The final scene of Winter Forecast, my favorite in the series, is an even thirty. And when Pearl first poofs in Steven the Sword Fighter, it may take her several weeks in-universe to come back, but it’s only seventeen seconds until Amethyst and Garnet reveal that she’s okay.

Off Colors ends with Lars at his finest, bouncing around from friend to friend to save their lives from an alien drone, culminating in a brave, goofy rodeo show on the robotic menace. He comically yelps as the machine bucks and sprays lasers everywhere, then the baker who was once terrified of letting people try his food yells “Eat this!” as he deals the final blow, solidifying the cartoonish victory we’ve seen time and time again in action shows for kids. But then the drone explodes, and it kills him.

Laramie Barriga, the first person we ever see Steven speak with, the first human who’s ever named on the show, a depressed grouch that has resisted every opportunity to grow but can’t help growing anyway, who after countless false starts has finally seen his inner hero emerge, dies a sudden, violent death. And he remains dead for forty-seven seconds.

False deaths abound in Steven Universe, from Pearl’s aforementioned poofing to the Pink Diamond faking her own shattering. But none feel as visceral as Lars’s, because it isn’t false. He not only dies, but we see his lifeless body tumble to the ground like a rag doll, and must linger with him as the weight of his death settles in. The Off Colors are jubilant at their victory, and their cheers create the discordant atmosphere that so often accompanies death, the shock and confusion as life goes on even as another life ends. Steven is the only person on the planet who understands that humans don’t die the same way Gems do, and he doesn’t need to say a word as he grasps for signs of life and finds none.

According to interviews with the crew, there was some question over when the episode would end, and whether this death would be a cliffhanger. I’m so glad they went with this approach, and not because I think it would be too brutal for young viewers (I was raised on Don Bluth and The Lion King, kids can handle it); reviving him in the next episode would be a pacing nightmare, but reviving him here forces that uninterrupted wait, a moment that can’t be escaped by the episode ending and focusing on something else until the next one comes on. Plus, I’d imagine it helped with the censors to have him come back in the same scene, because I’ve never seen a children’s show portray death with this much physical realism; in the rare instance of a character dying on-screen, it’s always a dramatic affair with a final speech and a last gasp, but Lars is dead before he hits the floor.

The other reason Lars’s death stands out is that even if it’s temporary, it’s permanent. The rules of Steven’s inherited revival powers aren’t examined too deeply, but it’s clear that Lars is no longer mortal in the way he once was. He’s pink, with white hair. He barely has a heartbeat. If he’s anything like Lion, there’s a chance he’ll never age. This and more will be covered in Lars’s Head, but even now, it’s clear that the Lars we knew died on a cold and foreign world, and it’s another Lars that wakes up.

There’s obviously more to Off Colors than Lars’s death, considering the episode is named for the new set of characters that we spend most of our runtime meeting. But its very first line, after another stylish pan down from the title card, is “Lars, are you okay?” Much like The Good Lars appears to be a Lars episode but ends up being about Sadie, Off Colors appears to be an Off Colors episode but ends up being about Lars. Every moment he’s on screen is a reminder that he’s an alien on Homeworld, from his earthly need for food to his battle plans adopted from Jurassic Park to his vital lack of a gem. Even before he literally changes color, he fits right in with the misfits.

But let’s not cut the Off Colors short. It isn’t easy to introduce four distinct characters at once, so each gets a quirk to make them stand out fast. The Rutile Twins have two heads that paraphrase each other. Rhodonite fuses the nervousness we’ve seen from rubies and Pearl into a whole new level of perpetual fear. Fluorite speaks in the deep, slow voice of a six-Gem fusion. And, of course, Padparadscha has visions of the recent past, a running gag that I don’t predict I’ll ever get tired of.

Still, even in this first appearance, there’s more to this little family than their quirks. We meet the Rutiles first, voiced by Ashly Burch (one of the 2010s’ best new talents and the co-writer of my favorite latter-day Adventure Time episode, Hall of Egress), and despite a lifetime on the run their instinct is to help instead of hide. Rhodonite, voiced by Enuka Okuma (who like Padparadscha/Sapphire’s Erica Luttrell is a Canadian actress who started young and has steadily built up a considerable resume), doesn’t let her anxiety or societal pressure stop her from living as a fusion, which in a way makes her braver than the more confident Garnet. Fluorite, voiced by Kathy Fisher (primarily an EDM singer for the band Fisher) is proudly polyamorous and has a lot of grace for a giant caterpillar. Padparadscha, voiced by the aforementioned Luttrell...well, she pretty much is just her quirk, but she’s still a delight.

Given how many characters we meet and the amount of time we devote to Lars’s heroism and death, Off Colors can’t do much with its new characters besides introduce them. But the episode reveals their struggles not only with their words, but the setting they hid themselves in. Rather than spend any amount of time in the high tech environment of modern Homeworld (the place that reared the likes of Peridot and terrified Lapis Lazuli) we head straight to the ancient remains of perhaps the oldest Kindergarten in the universe, a massive chamber in a hollowed world without any more room to form new life.

Like Earth’s Prime Kindergarten, it’s a perfect place for horror, this time from a drone that’s so relentless that it kills one of our characters. The drone’s theme resembles the opening of the Love Like You reprise and Holly Blue Agate’s motif, adding another layer of looming alien danger to the atmosphere, and the machine itself has the vicious efficiency of Peridot’s old robonoids. The world is old, but the technology hunting the Off Colors down is new, lending the sense of an endless struggle that must be endured rather than overcome.

Life on Homeworld is dictated by doing what you were created to do, but it’s important to show that deviating from this path doesn’t lead to instant happiness. If Gems could break away from their oppression with ease, it wouldn’t be much of an oppressive state, so the Off Colors trade lives in constant servitude for lives in constant survival mode. It isn’t as if we needed more evidence that Gem society is a mess, but there’s power in personalizing how misfits are persecuted to this day, compared to how the Crystal Gems were able to form in the past. The struggles from back then remain the struggles of the present, and the only way to fix them is with an outside push. We won’t see that push until the end of the series proper, but are primed to understand the power of external changers from Blue Zircon’s own ability to stand outside of the story and punch holes in the narrative the characters took for granted. It’s no wonder that Steven is fated to do the same thing.

It’s refreshing to see Lars and Steven get along from the start, instead of going through the usual ornery motions until they reach the sense of understanding they had in Stuck Together. It makes sense that we’d cut to the chase in an episode with this much to do, but given how often Lars forgets his lessons, it’s a nice change of pace for his growth to stick.

Even more refreshing is Steven forgetting about his martyr complex for a moment as his own survival instincts take hold: we see him instead channel the leadership lesson he learned with Peridot in the drill, assuring Lars that everything will be okay even when it’s clear that he doesn’t believe it. This time it’s Lars who must deal the barriers he sets up for himself, railing against his own cowardice and needing Steven’s positivity in the same way Steven needed his negativity on the spaceship. When Lars shows signs of an imminent panic attack, Steven gives him the same hand to the heart we’ve seen in Lars and the Cool Kids and Lion 3 and tells him that it’s okay to be afraid, a line Lars repeats to psych himself up for his last stand.

Steven also forgets about Zircon’s big reveal, which initially seems like a negative. As viewers, we’re invested in learning the truth about Pink Diamond and are made to wait even longer to get more clues. But I see this as the beginning of a major step forward, because even though Steven is hardly over his issues with Rose, this is where he starts focusing on where his priorities should be: his life in the present, rather than his mother’s ancient past. In Off Colors and Lars’s Head it’s all about escaping Homeworld and helping Lars and his new friends, then it’s straight to the Breakup Arc, and both journeys recenter Steven in a way that lets him grow enough to reexamine Zircon’s information through fresher eyes.

And as complicated as his relationship with Rose has become, let’s not forget that this episode ends with the first instance of her healing tears emerging from her son. He’s had healing spit for ages, his own Steven-y take on his mom’s power, but he evokes her far more directly as he revives Lars with a method that solves a mystery we weren’t even thinking about as we entered Homeworld: the origin of Lion. But more on that next time.

For now, it’s enough to have a full-to-the-brim episode of new friends and tense drama, written and animated to punch you in the gut with a surprise death that feels no less powerful when it’s half-reversed. The Off Colors show us problems unique to Gems (Homeworld society, fusion stuff, malfunctioning psychic powers), and Lars shows us problems unique to humans (general physical frailty, from hunger to the inability to shrug off explosions), but both reach an understanding that makes their imminent team-up feel as natural as can be. Each of them lives in fear, and each of them learns that the only way to work past this fear is to accept it and work together to overcome it. I know that they can be strong in the real way, and they’re about to prove it.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

The streak of Love ‘em episodes holds strong. What seems to be a pure set-up episode is blown up by its shocker of an ending, and while it may lead to yet another cliffhanger, there’s a sense of completion as Lars goes from cowering mess to genuine hero.

Top Twenty-Five

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

Last One Out of Beach City

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Mindful Education

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

Steven’s Dream

When It Rains

The Good Lars

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

I Am My Mom

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Gem Harvest

Three Gems and a Baby

That Will Be All

The New Crystal Gems

Storm in the Room

Room for Ruby

Lion 4: Alternate Ending

Doug Out

Are You My Dad?

Stuck Together

The Trial

Off Colors

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Adventures in Light Distortion

Gem Heist

The Zoo

Rocknaldo

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

Future Boy Zoltron

Tiger Philanthropist

No Thanks!

6. Horror Club 5. Fusion Cuisine 4. House Guest 3. Onion Gang 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

(Despite the header image looking very Sugary, there’s no official promo art; that lovely picture is actually from the wonderful ferryperson.)

#off colors #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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starscheme · 4 years

Text

With All My Heart

Chapter Ten: Found, but Lost

Hours had gone by and still no sign of Garnet. The sun had long since set, forcing the Off Colors and the Crystal Gems to search by flashlight. Pearl and Amethyst joined the search, unable to sit at home any longer. Most of the gems had jumped from place to place by warp pad, each one marking off areas they had already searched. Amethyst made sure to stay with Pearl as they rushed around. None of the Gems worried about a late night, they were frantic over Padparadscha’s late prediction. It was a good thing they didn’t need sleep or food. It made for a good search party.

“You find anything, Rhodonite?” Asked Lars, walking through some large leaves to meet her at the warp pad.

“Not a trace. This is hopeless…we’re never going to find her…” Rhodonite moaned sadly, hugging herself with all four arms and nearly blinding Lars with her flashlight in the process.

Lars covered his eyes and sighed, stepping onto the warp pad so that the Gem could take them back to beach city. “…I haven’t heard anything from Steven or Pearl either,” he replied, taking his phone from his pocket to check if they had called once again. I heard he ran off to look for Spinel too. If anyone can find her, he’d have the best luck. Those two were always together…”

Once the beam of light had brought them back home, they were faced with Fluorite, the large fusion that was kept at home in case Spinel happened to come back. “Anything,” asked Lars.

Fluorite shook her head slowly, disheartening Lars and Rhodonite. The two sighed miserably and Lars took out a map from his pocket to mark off the area they just searched. “…you should get some rest,” Rhodonite began in concern, “it’s almost dawn. Don’t you need a little sleep?”

Lars offered the gem a tired smile. “I don’t need as much as I used to. Don’t worry, I can keep going. Let’s at least search one more area.”

As Lars and the others kept on trudging on, Steven had been searching all night long and found absolutely nothing. No one besides the off colors had seen Spinel when she left and there was still no word from Garnet. Checking his phone again, he could see that it had already died. The half gem had run all over the city calling her name, going anywhere he could think of that they shared a memory.

"We were always together..." Steven muttered, doing his best to hold back tears. A lack of sleep didn't help his emotional state, but he couldn't possibly rest while Spinel was out there alone. Especially after hearing Padparadscha's foreboding prediction. He took only a moment to stop running and catch his breath and was ready to set out again until a familiar voice called out his name.

"Steven, there you are!" Connie exclaimed, hanging her head out of the passenger seat while her father drove. Stopping on the side of the road so Connie could get out, she rushed over to Steven and hugged him tight. "Pearl told me what happened to Spinel. I'm so sorry, Steven!"

Honestly, Steven was relieved and welcomed the hug from his friend. No matter how confusing everything has been, the one constant was that Connie was one of his best friends. Nothing would change that. "...I'm still looking for her.”

"Lars and the others are still looking too, don't worry, Steven, we'll find her."

"Thanks Connie, I'm gonna try a couple more—"

"—-you should rest for a while Steven. You don't look well, Connie insisted. "You've been up all night. Some sleep will help a lot."

"I can't sleep until I find her. I won't be able to. The whole reason she slipped away was because I fell asleep in the first place! She fell asleep in my arms and now she's gone..." declared Steven, wiping the oncoming tears from his eyes.

Connie couldn't help but be curious about what he said when he mentioned holding Spinel in his arms, but she had to put that aside for now. Spinels safety came first. "The rest of us will keep looking and Pearl knows Spinel really well. I'm sure we can do this. Now please Steven...you HAVE to get some sleep. Without it, you'll be of no use. Besides, Spinel wouldn't want you to—"

"Stop." Steven insisted bitterly. The way she made it sound like Spinel was already gone, he didn't like it.

Connie could see that the lack of sleep and worry had worn Steven down. She was about to suggest he rest once again until her phone began to ring. "It's Lars," Connie announces hopefully. Maybe his search party had better luck. Answering the phone at once, Connie listened as Lars spoke and suddenly a wide grin spread across her face. "Steven, Lars found Spinel! He's back at your house right now!"

Steven suddenly felt his legs give way and he dropped to his knees with a tired laugh. "Is she okay? Did he say anything about her Gem?"

"No, he just said he found her Gem. She must have been poofed by something. Come on, we'll give you a ride back home!" She exclaimed as she helped Steven to his feet.

Inside the car now, Steven waited anxiously to get back home. Sure she had been poofed, but as long as she was in one piece, everything was going to be okay.

Once they reached his home, Connie and Steven thanked her dad, rushing from the car to go and see Spinel. However, instead of being greeted with happy, relieved faces, Pearl, Amethyst, and Rutile stood in front of the house, as if waiting for Steven there with distraught over their faces.

"Why are you guys out here? Where's Spinel?" Steven asked at once as he ran over. It seemed like they were there to block him from going inside.

"Ah, Steven..." Pearl began, looking a bit shaky herself. Trying her best not to burst into tears again. "Something has...happened to Spinel. Before you go inside, you should know—"

So something was wrong. Without waiting to hear another word, Steven leapt over the gems that blocked his way and landed onto the top of the stairs, rushing inside.

"I said, I don't want a hug!" Lars shouted, pushing Spinels extended arms off of his waist. He and Rhodonite stood in the middle of the living room with Spinel, but not the Spinel Steven remembered.

Steven stood frozen in the doorway, staring wide eyed at the Spinel Pearl had shown him in a hologram earlier. Her hair was tied into buns that took the shape of hearts, the black lines that ran down her cheeks were gone, her eyes had changed color, and the biggest change of all? Her heart Gem was right side up. Still, even with all these changes, Steven was just relieved to see that she was okay. She must have really changed her appearance after reforming.

"Spinel!" Steven called out happily as he ran over to her, taking her hands in his. "I was so worried about you!"

"Worried?" Spinel repeated. Even her tone of voice was different now. "Why would anyone worry about me when I have my best with me?" She giggled happily.

Steven looked into her eyes, growing a bit more concerned. She really didn't sound like herself. "O-okay. Well...I'm just glad you're home. We can talk about what happened later if you want..."

"Eh, sorry mister, but I don't live here," Spinel answered with a smile, "where my best friend goes, I go!" She announced happily, slipping her hands from Stevens grip and backing up to stand beside Lars, putting her arm around him.

Lars looked terribly uncomfortable and shrugged his shoulders as he looked to Steven for help. "She's been like this since she reformed," he explained, pushing her hand from his shoulder. "She said she's my new best friend..."

"That's what I was trying to explain to you, Steven," Pearl chimes in as she entered the house, holding what appeared to be the small rod that Steven recognized as Spinels Scythe. "Spinel...seems to have poofed herself with this."

Steven was still confused. "So?"

"Steven...Spinel is like me. She didn't originally have a weapon since we weren't built for battle like Ruby or Amethyst. ...Since the rebellion began, Spinel has been using something called a rejuvenator that had been reprogrammed from its original purpose. Which was to...reset a Gem back to when it was new. She must have had another rejuvenator since she kept backups in case hers broke...from her appearance, she clearly used it on herself. Which means she doesn't remember...anything. All of her previous memories are gone now..."

Steven felt like he was living in a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. What on earth was she talking about? There's no way that Spinel would just forget like that. Not after everything. "Spinel?" Steven began, turning to her once again, slightly irritated when he saw her clinging to Lars' arm.

"You don't...remember anything? You don't remember me?"

"Sure don't, am I supposed to?" She answered with a shake of her head, the smile never leaving her face.

"...she must have wanted to be like she was before. ...to fix everything..." Pearl choked out.

"You mean to fix what YOU said she should!" Steven insisted, clenching his fists at his side and glaring down at the floor. He couldn't help but blame Pearl. He didn't want to hurt her, but the words just kept pouring out before he could stop them. "You said she was wrong and so she FIXED herself! I told you that she was fine! Why couldn't you just—"

"Hey, hey, Steven, Calm down!" Lars pleaded anxiously. "This isn't going to help."

"That's right," Spinel added happily, "let's turn our frowns upside down and play a game!"

Steven glanced up at Spinel, feeling a sharp pain in his chest when he saw her face. "...I—I...what am I supposed to do?"

"...I'm sure this isn't permanent," One of the Rutile twins began as they entered his the others, walking over to Lars and brushing Spinels hand from his shoulder.

"Lots of gems got rejuvenated on home world. The ones that started to get their memories back tried to run...but were eventually shattered."

"Started to get their memories back?" Pearl and Steven repeated together.

"So that means there's a chance her memories are still in there somewhere?!" Pearl asked hopefully. Since she had been beside Pink her whole time on Home world, she had never seen anyone rejuvenated. The diamonds would merely shatter or break a gem that stepped out of line.

"I should think so..." the left twin replied, "but we don't really know how it works."

Steven was still a little lost, but ever optimistic, he tried to spin this in his head. Spinel didn't remember him now, but she could remember him eventually. So this wasn’t the worst thing that could happen. At least she wasn’t actually broken or shattered. Still, just how long would that take though and how was he supposed to remind her? "O-okay. So we just...need to remind Spinel who she is. Then...she'll be back to normal and everything will be fine."

"Yeah, okay, but in the meantime, what are we gonna do about this?" Lars asked as Spinel coiled her arms around him gently and pressed her cheek cheerfully against his as she giggled.

"Well first, stop touching her." Steven answered irately, finding it difficult to not simply forcefully separate the two.

"Dude, are you serious?! I can't even move my arms!" Lars replied. "Hey uh, Spinel? Can you...let go?"

Spinels happy expression didn't change, but she released Lars without protest. "Anything for my best friend."

"Why is she doing that? Why is she suddenly so attached to Lars?" Steven demanded, finding that he was most unsettled with this outcome.

"She must have reformed around Lars. He was the one that found her after all. When a Spinel first forms, the first person they see is...who they think they were made for. She must think Lars was her intended...owner, if you will."

"Well tell her he's not!" Steven insisted, not sure what to do about it. Though he has happy that Spinel could get her memories back and he was glad to have her home unharmed, he was not happy at all that she was so close to Lars.

"I'm afraid until she gets her memory back...Lars is her...new best friend." Pearl answered sadly. This really did seem like all her fault and she felt so ashamed of herself.

"Well, we'll just leave Spinel here with all of you. I'm sure you can make her remember in no time." The right rutile twin said with a smile before turning for the door.

Lars offered them all a nervous smile before he headed for the door as well, only to be stopped when he felt Spinel grab his hand in an attempt to come with him.

"Huh? Oh, no, Spinel, you stay here." Lars said with a forced smile.

"What are you talking about? I can't leave my best friend all alone," she replied cheerfully.

Pearl sighed sadly, "Lars I...know it's an inconvenience, but would you mind letting Spinel stay close to you until we help her to remember? ...Spinels like to be with their best friends and I don't want to stress her too much while she's like this."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Steven interjected. "She's not gonna live him."

"I just wanna go lay down..." groaned Lars, regretting his decision to help them find her now.

"Lay down? That sounds like a fun game! Let's go play it together!" Spinel exclaimed.

"NOPE!" Steven at once, immediately uncomfortable with the image of Spinel lying in bed with Lars. "That ain't happening!"

Pearl scanned her brain, trying to think of someway to fix this. Steven was already so upset with her.

"Oh, um, Spinel..." Pearl began with a soft, forcefully cheerful voice.

"Perhaps you and Lars would like to have a slumber party here tonight?"

"What?!" Lars demanded as his voice got a little higher.

"Oooooh, what's that? Is it fun?" Spinel asked, bouncing lightly in place.

"So much fun," pearl replied. Spinel may have lost her memories, but Pearl still knew how to handle her. After all, it was her job to do so when they first met. "You will get to stay here with Lars and all of other friends."

Spinel clapped her hands excitedly, "yaaaay! That sounds great! What do you think, Lars?" Asked Spinel as she hugged his arm.

Lars and Steven both looked down at her hands as they held onto Lars' arm.

"I don't like this," stated the two boys with a frown.

A/N: So here’s the thing, a jealous Steven is my life fuel.

#stevinel #steven universe #su #su au #Spinel #su spinel #lars #steven and spinel #rhodonite #memory loss #my bad #with all my heart #chapter 10

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geewithluv · 4 years

Text

jungkook ♛ meeting her parents

Ｐａｉｒｉｎｇ：Jeon Jungkook x Fem!OC Emmie

Ｇｅｎｒｅ：Fluff

Ｗａｒｎｉｎｇｓ： none

Ｒａｔｉｎｇ：G

ＷｏｒｄＣｏｕｎｔ：1.4k

Ａ／Ｎ： «this belongs in my headcanon universe and you can read the other parts in the masterlist, the description of the characters is [here] so you get a summary of who they are. »

ｍａｓｔｅｒｌｉｓｔ

Emmie had a big family. A really big family. Big enough that she had to triple check she brought gifts for everyone because a double-check had proven inadequate. She was one of 8 children and her aunts and uncles all had at least 3 kids as well. Annual family reunions looked more like concerts and despite having moved to Korea after her study-abroad turned into a dream job 3 years ago, she hadn’t missed a single family reunion and she refused to.

Emmie and Jungkook had been together for about a year when family reunion season came around. It was between the Europe and Asia legs of the Speak Yourself Tour which worked out really well for Jungkook who wanted to meet Emmie’s family.

Emmie had explained to Jungkook that you didn’t just meet her family, you experienced them and she wasn’t sure a family reunion would be the best idea. They’d only been dating for a year and sure she wouldn’t be the first person to bring their partner, her cousin once brought a guy she had only been dating for a month and they broke up during the barbeque. But she was still worried. She knew it would be the 3rd year where her relatives would wonder if she was secretly miserable in Korea. She knew they did it out of concern for her but that didn’t make it any less annoying and she didn’t want to throw Jungkook into that.

He insisted, however. And she agreed. Her mother was so excited Emmie thought she’d come to Korea herself to gather the couple. Her father shared similar feelings but played his ‘protective dad’ role well over the phone when she called them.

To Jungkook, this trip was an adventure. It was also a way to prove how serious he was about their relationship. He was so deeply in love and no matter how many times he said it and how many times she said it back and told him that she knew he loved her, he still felt like she didn’t really get it.

“I think my mom had to straightjacket Amber.” Emmie tells Jungkook, referring to her 15-year-old sister who was a huge fan and upon figuring out Emmie was dating THE Jeon Jungkook had done her best Mariah Carey “Emotions” whistle note only cover on the phone. And she nearly fainted when she figured out she’d be able to actually meet him and talk to him. Emmie was less than thrilled as she tried to guide her sister into not being weird around her boyfriend (“No you cannot call him Jungkook-oppa.” “Why not?” “Because it’s weird.” “But he’s my oppa…” “He’s not your-- never mind.”). She loved her sister but not this part of her.

Jungkook laughed. “She’s that excited?”

“You have no idea. She might try to kidnap you.”

“I’m always up for a little danger to get the blood pumping.” He said as the flight attendants started their spiel on safety protocol.

Emmie had told Jungkook about her life back home. Her parents didn’t have a lot of money even before they decided to have 8 kids but they made ends meet, even if it meant small dinners and stocking up on cafeteria food at school to bring home. Bills were paid, water running, clothes on their back. They couldn’t complain. But it wasn’t great. There was still stress over paying bills and buying clothes as the children grew that carried over into their adult lives. It’s actually how Emmie started sewing, at first it was fixing holes and buttons and then sewing shirts and dresses for school.

Emmie explained that her parents named all 8 kids after jewels. Crystal, Garnet, the twins Jasper and Jet, herself Emerald, Sterling, Ruby, and Amber. They hoped that the names would serve as some sort of prophecy and it seemed to work. The 6 old enough to had gone to college or got into a trade, the two youngest were doing good in school, and 2 of them were in happy marriages.

It really did work out well. To the relief of many who worried that the couple just birthed 8 children into the poverty cycle.

The couple caught a cab to Emmie’s house after deciding that she didn’t want to settle the ongoing argument over who will go to the airport to pick them up.

“Oh my god…” Emmie said as the car pulled up to her home. Written on a banner hanging from her porch was “welcome home Emmie & Jungkook!” with some accompanying doodles she’s sure is the work of Amber. Though Jungkook found it endearing, Emmie found it embarrassing and her cheeks tinted a color similar to her hair.

“That’s so nice!” Jungkook smiled as they got out of the cab, paying the driver and grabbing their bags. They hardly had time to stretch their legs before the whole family piled out of the house and straight into a group hug that Jungkook was not expecting to be pulled into. Questions started flying from everyone’s mouth, ‘how was the plane’ ‘did you bring anything’ ‘how’ve you been’ ‘are you excited’ it reminded Jungkook of all the times he was accosted at the airport.

“One at a time, please.” Emmie huffed as her family started to release from the hug. “Can we get inside?” She asked with a laugh.

“C’mon, c’mon. I got your room all ready for ya’ll!” Emmie’s mother clapped her hands together excitedly as various siblings started grabbing suitcases.

Jungkook learned quickly that Emmie’s house was organized chaos. He wasn’t too surprised, the BTS dorms were similar in that way especially when they were younger and there were 3 less people there.

“Now, Aunt Betsy wants us over there a little early. Says she’s got some clothes she wants you to fix up and I tried to tell her you were on a vacation but you know how she is. Your father’s sister, truly.” Emmie’s mother tutted at the dinner table as food got passed around.

“It’s alright, momma.” She said truthfully. She never really took vacations anyway, she was always thinking about her job no matter how much Jungkook tried to get her to take a full break.

“Now, Jungkook.” Her mother spoke and Jungkook jerked his head up from the mashed potatoes. “I was fully planning on showing you all Emmie’s cute little baby photos--”

Emmie interjected with a gasp, “Momma!”

“--I’ve got binders full of pictures of all my children, but Miss Amber here would just die if you saw her in ‘em too.”

“Momma!” Amber screeched.

“My god, you banshee!” Sterling, Emmie’s 21 year old brother, scolded. “You’ll make the guy lose his hearing and then how will he be able to sing, huh? Gonna sue you for damages or something, I can see the headlines now--”

“The kid’s already a tomato, Sterling, cut it out.” The eldest, Crystal pointed at her youngest sister. Emmie was trying not to laugh and she could tell Jungkook was too.

“Ya know, Amber called every damn radio station she could find trying to win tickets to your show!” Ruby, only a couple years older than Amber, chimed in.

“Really?” Jungkook’s eyebrows raised, he knew fans did a lot but he couldn’t imagine the time it took.

“Yeah! She spent more time doing that than she did on her homework.” Ruby continued.

Amber was quick to defend herself. “I wasn’t alone! You called like half of ‘em when you weren’t busy flirting with Jake from your--”

“We are not talking about that!” Ruby dropped her fork in shock.

“Whose Jake?!” All four brothers started.

“Here we go.” Emmie groaned.

“Now, look. I got one sister married, one dating, and now I gotta worry about another with some guy named Jake? I’m driving you to school from now on!” Garnet, the second eldest said.

“Cut it out. You guys are gonna make Jungkook think we’re crazy.” Emmie’s father finally spoke up. “We should all just sit here and have a nice meal. See, Emmie’s not bickering back and forth. Being real mannered. C’mon y'all.”

“Emmie’s only quiet cause she’s trying to impress her boyfriend.” Jet scoffed.

“Hey, did Emmie ever tell you about the time when she was 8 and a girl in her class--”

“Jasper!”

“Oh this has to be good.” Jungkook motioned for Jasper to continue.

After the evening had settled and Emmie and Jungkook had gotten ready for bed, Jungkook turned to her.

“Your family is a lot.” He said.

“Sorry.” She murmured with a sigh as she turned out the light.

“No, no. I like it. It’s nice.” He spoke with a fond smile. “I just hope I’ll fit in.” He wrapped his arm around her.

“You already do. Get some sleep, I love you.” She kissed his lips softly.

“Love you too.”

#bts reactions #bts imagines #bts scenarios #bts fanfic #bts fluff

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essekknits · 4 years

Note

idk if the prompt things still open but... dragon peter nureyev? or more ben lives au bc that was so good

Okay, listen. You can’t just drop such a perfect prompt on me and expect me not to write the absolute shit out of it.

I love it so much this became a full fledged multi-chapter story I am planning to continue.

And here’s the link to it on AO3, if you want to follow!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22684750/chapters/54219535

***

He didn’t know what he expected when he heard the clunking of metal, but a young knight in a beat up armour collapsed at his door wasn’t it.

Usually the knights that came to face him were older men, muscular and loud and full of brash courage and pompous self importance. This one wasn’t any of that. He was young and short, his armour and skin smeared with blood. He was also very, very unconscious.

What can one do when faced with a man like that besides helping him? He was intrigued, after all, and if there’s one thing dragons aren’t very good at it’s leaving the things they want.

You see, there are some misconceptions about dragons and their dwellings that people don’t seem to be able to get out of their heads.

First, dragons aren’t some mindless beasts. They aren’t the brutal, thoughtless disasters they were painted as in human culture. They were clever. Smart and quick and cultured. They had their own traditions, their music, their cultures. They were scholars, learned in magic and history and fighting. From a very young age they could shift their forms to more resemble those of humans, until they were able to hide among them.

Second, dragons didn’t live in musty stone caves filled with piles of gold like most would imagine. In fact, most dragons would be insulted at such thought. Dragon dens were the epitome of luxury, carved rooms in the inner caves covered with carpeted, decorated walls, bookcases, trinkets and knickknacks tastefully organised all around, with the brunt of the treasure in rooms properly made for that purpose. Dragons did love gold, but they also enjoyed beauty and comfort, and their dens reflected that.

The young dragon who was named Nureyev (or Peter, as his adoptive father used to call him before his death) picked up the young human in one clawed paw, clutching him close to his chest as he limped into the den. He charmed into existence a bed, human sized, complete with plush pillows and a soft, warm blanket. He lay the battered human in the bed, shifting into a more human form. He then grabbed some clean cotton and a bowl of water, and began cleaning his wounds, humming as he worked.

~~~

Juno didn’t expect to wake up feeling this warm. In fact, he didn’t expect to wake up at all. He hoped for a painless death, and instead got life and a dull ache where he should’ve felt the sharp bite of the steel that cut his skin and flesh. He kept his eyes shut, trying to get a feel for where he was. He fell unconscious at the mouth of a cave, and now… he could hear roaring flame, and soft steps, and the rustling of fabric.

“Good morning, sir knight. I hope you are feeling well.” A voice called, soft and deep and melodic. It was a voice Juno wouldn’t have minded waking up to every day, and wouldn’t have minded dying to either. The stranger already knew he was awake, so what did he have to lose?

He opened his eyes, and was stunned.

On a first glance, the man in front of him looked fairly normal, if extremely beautiful. He was tall and slim, with high cheekbones and dark hair. His clothes were a deep red fabric, heavy and rich and velvety, and he wore golden jewelry adorned with precious gemstones, mainly rubies and garnets.

But on a second glance, you started noticing that things weren’t as they seemed.

His eyes had an alarming colour, like molten gold, shining even over his extravagant jewels. His skin looked slightly more golden than was natural, like it perpetually captured the glow of the sunset. But it was his teeth that gave him away. Just a bit too sharp to be human, he had a smile that made him seem like he was happy to see him, and like he would be just as happy to kill him.

Luckily for Juno, this was not his first time meeting a dragon. Growing up, one of his best friends was a dragon, living in hiding among humans after their whole tribe was destroyed. But Sasha was very different from this man. She was cold, quiet and serious, with black hair and black eyes and small obsidian jewelry she could easily hide. In her dragon form, Sasha was still small and black, her dark scales shimmering in the light and her sleek form built for speed, like she was born to pierce the sky.

“What’s that, sir knight, lost your tongue?” The man chuckled, gracefully sitting on the bed besides Juno. Because it was a bed he was on, and he was covered with a soft blanket. This was… more comfort than he ever had, more or less. His wounds also seemed to have been bandaged, and he was stripped of his armour and left in his underclothes, a loose linen shirt and a knee length braie. He would be embarrassed if not for the immediate threat that was the dragon in front of him, expecting an answer.

“Uhhh, no. You didn’t get that lucky.” He retaliated quickly, earning a delighted chuckle from the dragon. “Thank to you. For your help.” Juno pulled himself up, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I was simply curious about the mysterious stranger who passed out at my door. May I know your name, now?” The dragon raised an eyebrow, and Juno barely hesitated to answer. He wasn’t a good enough liar to trick a dragon. Not to mention that he didn’t even really want to lie. Again, he didn’t have anything to lose.

“Juno. Juno Steel.” He answered, and the dragon chuckled.

“A beautiful name for a beautiful knight. My own, I’m afraid, isn’t quite so unique. Rex Glass, it’s a pleasure.” He licked his lips, eyeing Juno in a way that wasn’t all unpleasant. “But where are my manners, I forgot to even offer you water!” He laughed, charming a mug of water in front of Juno’s stare, offering it to him.

“Neat trick.” Juno took the mug, suspicious. He hesitated to drink.

“Oh please, I didn’t poison you, Juno. I took you in when you were unconscious, didn’t I? Dressed your wounds, looked after you… if I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have woken up.” Glass rolled his eyes.

“Not why I was hesitating.” Honestly, Juno wouldn’t have minded. “Just wondering if this is a transmutation or a summoning. Or something else entirely. Every person has a different way of getting the same thing done, and transmutated water tastes like dirt.” He put the mug to his mouth, drinking it all in one swig. He was really thirsty.

“Oh? A knight who dabbles in magic? This is something I haven’t seen yet.” Glass tilted his head, and Juno shook his head.

“Not much of a magician myself. Not much of a knight too, if we’re talking about it already. But thanks for the water. Definitely not transmuted.” He gave him a half smile, thinking of the people who he first learned of magic from. His thoughts briefly went to Sasha and her instinctive, meticulous magic, but they soon turned away from her, to his twin brother. Benzaiten’s magic was art, just like his dancing. Juno’s smile faded from his face, before he caught himself, shaking his head and returning his eyes to Rex. “So, how did you do it?” He asked, genuinely interested even if he was a bit distracted.

“Would you believe me if I told you that I just… willed it into existence?” The dragon’s teeth showed again in his smile. He was clearly dramatic, and loved a good story.

“Yeah, actually. I’ve seen magic do weirder things.” Juno shrugged, his voice distant, and the dragon frowned.

“Are you feeling well, Juno? You do seem a bit ill.” His head was tilted again, and his voice seemed genuinely concerned.

“Me? Yeah, I’m fine. Really. Just… injuries, you know? Got hit over the head, that kind of stuff leaves you all spinning sometimes.” Juno ran his fingers through his hair, careful or the area where a bandage covered it.

“I see. How about you go shower? There is a spring not far from here, and when you return I can check on those injuries.” Juno nodded, agreeing to be lead to the spring. Rex left a change of clothes with him, made of simple and comfortable cotton.

Juno couldn’t understand the situation. What does this dragon want? What could he possibly want? He took Juno in when he was injured, dressed his wounds, welcomed him in his den (because that was a dragon’s den if Juno has ever seen one. Which he hasn’t, but he heard the stories Sasha and her parents told). But dragons didn’t do things for no reason. What reason could this dragon, a being powerful enough to just will things into existence, and whose magic pulsed through the whole cave system, vibrating through Juno’s body with every breath, have for trying to help him?

The springs were naturally hot, located in a cave with high ceilings. The stone itself had veins of gold in it, and the light he carried with him shone on it, reflecting back and forth. If this was a human settlement, they would’ve ripped this mountain for its gold already. But this was a dragon’s den, and dragons had value for gold even when it was still in the vein, solely for its beauty and magical qualities. As Juno showered, he could feel his exhaustion peeling off with the grime and blood, magically disappearing. While this particular spring was quite small, Juno could hear larger ones in the depths. Maybe large enough for the dragon to soak in in his true form.

The dragon walked into the cave again once Juno was in his underclothes, this time not as overly dressed as he was before. He wore a white cotton shirt that seemed fitted for his measurements, and dark red pants the same colour as his previous attire. He knelt near Juno, summoning bandaged and some sort of ointment.

“Why are you doing this?” Juno asked quietly, not looking at the man who was currently bandaging his wounds. He tried to tell him he can do it himself, but Glass wouldn’t budge.

“Well, why not? You’re injured and tired, Juno. It would be irresponsible of me as a host to let you go untreated.” His voice was quiet and professional. “Now sit still and let me finish. Then we can go eat.” Juno let him do as he wished, then got fully dressed and followed him back to where they came from.

The food was all on a low table, surrounded by large cushions. Juno wasn’t used to so much food in the same place. This kind of plenty, in general, wasn’t something he was familiar with. But still, he sat at the table besides Rex, they ate, and the conversation flowed. Rex was… charming. His eyes were hypnotising, and he had a certain scent to him, like spices from a far off land, that’s Juno couldn’t quite put his finger on but couldn’t get enough of. Juno thought… he might be okay with it. With being here, with this dragon.

~~~

“So, would you tell me what brought you here, Juno? I am curious.” Nureyev asked, lounging on a pillow and comfortably leaning toward Juno.

“Let’s just say the knights don’t particularly like me.” He sighed tiredly. “I hit the head knight in the face. Tried to expose his corruption, but even though I brought evidence, nobody cared. So they kicked me and started threatening to kill me if I don’t shut my mouth.” He shrugged, like he didn’t care, but his eyes said otherwise.

“That sounds cruel, Juno, I’m sorry for this.” He put a hand on the knight’s, gently tracing his bruised knuckles with his thumb. Everything about this human was fascinating. Usually he didn’t care for humans much. They were there to be exploited or ignored or fought. Nothing more. Nothing like… like this knight, open and hurting and quick witted and with so much sadness in him.

“Well, it is what it is.” He shrugged again, adamantly avoiding Nureyev’s gaze in a way that was almost amusing, and Nureyev took as a challenge.

“So, what will you do now?” He asked, tilting his head at Juno as he put a grape in his mouth, letting it burst between his teeth.

“I… I don’t know. Probably run somewhere else. It’s pretty clear that if I stay around, they’ll kill me. The only reason I survived was because I know the catacombs well, and no one else would go in them.” Juno’s eyes were cast aside, ashamed and tired.

“Well… life can wait one night, can’t it? Come here, Juno.” Nureyev smiled softly at the knight, eyes hooded and posture inviting. He didn’t even need to charm him magically, but Juno looked… almost compelled. He closed the distance between them, and Nureyev pulled him in for a kiss.

This human knight tasted of mead and honey and blood, and fit so easily in his arms that it just felt right. Like it was meant to be, and Juno Steel was always supposed to end right there, in his arms. Like it was only a matter of time, and they would do the same thing in every universe out there.

“Don’t you get tired of pretending?” Juno murmured against his lips as they pulled away, and Peter looked into his deep brown eyes that seemed so warm and so sad.

“What do you mean?” He tilted his head to the side, curious. There was no way he could know. Nureyev was very good at disguising himself, at appearing like a rich, slightly eccentric human. There is no way a knight in his early 20’s would uncover his disguise.

“Pretending to be human.” Juno pulled away just a little further, pinning him with his gaze. He didn’t look like he was running away, though, and that was unusual. “Cut the games, Rex. You’re not the first dragon I met.” His voice was dull and distant, like he wasn’t all there. It wasn’t a knight bragging about the amount of dragons he killed. It was just… acknowledgement. He didn’t look like he was going to attack.

“That… does seem familiar, yes. I must admit, you are not reacting with as much… violence, as I’ve come to expect from a knight.” He confessed, not making any move toward or away from Juno. This was it, either the knight runs, or attacks him, or… well, Nureyev didn’t want to entertain the last option too much, not wanting to be burned by false hopes.

“Why would I react with violence? Hell, you’re the first person I met in days that didn’t want me dead.” Juno sounded a bit sad about that, but only faintly.

“Isn’t this what knights do?… slay the beast?” Nureyev asked carefully. His own parents were killed by knights, or… or so Mag told him. Then again, everything else the man told him was a lie, so why would this be any different? He was still bitter and hurting.

“Even if they do, I don’t care about that. I don’t do this. One of my childhood best friends was a dragon. She lived in hiding in the city. I don’t… I don’t fear dragons more than I should.” Juno’s eyes were cast down, and Nureyev didn’t know whether he wanted to ask him for further clarification or just fight him. Luckily for him, asking for more clarification appeared to be a sure way to start a fight.

“And how much should you fear dragons, sir knight?” He asked, head tilted and tongue as sharp as his teeth. He sounded dangerous, and that’s exactly what he was going for. Slowly, he let more and more inhuman features grow on him. His teeth sharpened even more, the pupils of his eyes turned into vertical slits, and deep golden scales surrounded his eyes and dusted his cheeks. Horns started growing back from his head.

“A lot, but not enough that I’ll attack someone who was kind to me and never tried to hurt me.” Juno’s voice cooled down considerably too. Up until now, he was still using that soft, vulnerable tone, deep and golden and warm. Now his voice was rough, jagged steel. defensive like a wounded animal licking its wounds, lashing out at anyone who would come too close, whether friend or foe. Nureyev almost regretted riling him up like that, He was beautiful like this, but there was pain in the way he carried himself now, sitting up stiffly instead of leaning comfortably on the pillows.

“You are welcome to stay or leave as you please, Juno. I will not hold you captive.” Nureyev eventually said, met with only a small nod from this human knight. He knew the human would leave, deciding to leave a note for him to find in his bags.

While we didn’t separate on the best of terms, my offer to you still stands.

I do hope to see you again, Juno Steel.

signed, yours truly,

Peter Nureyev

#fic #fanfic #my fanfic #my writing #the penumbra podcast #tpp #penumbra podcast #juno steel #peter nureyev #jupeter

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cosmotalia · 4 years

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The Gemonym Pantheon

The Gemonym pantheon is a large expansive one, there being a deity for each gemstone known currently to form in a gemonym.

In the beginning of the world, there was only pure magic and from this magic, Diafi formed.

Diafi is the head of the pantheon, on account of coming into existence first, followed shortly by their thirteen siblings. They are the deity of magic and diamonds, said to treat diamond gemonyms with special attention, as many diamond gemonyms are blessed with special abilities or unique strength. It is said they are currently in a deep sleep, powered down by their sacrifice to protect the gemonyms from the violence of the world outside Brink.

Shortly after Diafi came into existence, the ambient magicks of the world separated into the thirteen elements which in turn formed into the thirteen elementals of the pantheon.

Rubine is the goddess of fire and rubies. She is characterized as having a fiery and domineering personality.

Jasp is the god of earth and jasper. He is characterized as being down-to-earth and carefree.

Aquami is the goddess of water and aquamarines. She is characterized as bubbly, happy and a tad ditzy.

Qurat is the goddess of air and quartz. She is characterized as whimsical and generous.

Saphir is the goddess of lightning and sapphires. She is characterized as aloof and elegant.

Emeri is the goddess of nature and emeralds. She is characterized as motherly and kind.

Turqou is the god of ice and turquoise. He is characterized as distant but wise.

Agatei is the god of mist and agates. He is characterized as mysterious and mischievous.

Lapo is the deity of light and opals. They are characterized as creative and hyperactive.

Obsid is the deity of darkness and obsidian. They are characterized as broody and quiet.

Citer is the deity of sound and citrine. They are characterized as brash and loud.

Hemmate is the deity of metal and hematite. They are characterized as hardworking and determined.

Ameth is the goddess of the mind and amethysts. They are characterized as kindly and mystical.

With these thirteen elemental deities, soon more would form, either created from important natural phenomena or by the elementals themselves, as to maintain and embody specific concepts.

The first three of these various other deities is the Celestial Trio, consisting of Orthi, Ortho and Sunri.

Orthri is the goddess of birth, the moons and moonstones. She is twin to Ortho, sister to Sunri, and more closely associated with the green moon Vitae, which the gemonyms simply refer to by the birth goddess’ name. She is said to carry all souls in her cradle before handing them off to Sunri who brings them to Cosmotalia. Ceremonies celebrating birth often are done in her name. She is characterized as motherly and quiet.

Ortho is the goddess of death, the moons and moonstones. She is twin to Orthri, sister to Sunri, and more closely associated with the dull moon Mortemuna, which the gemonyms simply refer to by the death goddess’ name. She is said to ferry all souls to the afterlife where they will live in a paradise which Diafi forever more. Funerals are often done in her name, asking her to allow safe passage for the deceased. She is characterized as quiet yet fierce.

Sunri is the god of life, the sun and sunstones. He is brother to Orthi and Ortho and closely associated with the sun Stellux, which the gemonyms simply refer to by the life god’s name. He is said to transport all souls to their bodies in Cosmotalia and guard them. He is characterized as courageous and brave.

The next three is known as the Nature Trio, a trio celebrating the nature of the island consisting of Pearlil, Malachi and Kyan.

Pearlil is the goddess of the sea and pearls. She is also closely associated with hurricanes. It is said her eternal swaying makes the tides and waves and it is her gemonyms pray to when the sea crashes and threatens to flood their caverns. She is characterized as moody, just as the sea, able to switch between calm and angry at the drop of a pin.

Malachi is the goddess of the land and malachite. She is also closely associated with earthquakes. She is the one who maintains the island of Brink and it is her gemonyms pray to when the caves shake and threaten to bury their caverns. She is characterized as mostly stable but with a tendency to lose this stability.

Kyan is the goddess of the sky and kyanite. She is also closely associated with windstorms. She is the one who maintains the skies and it is her gemonyms pray to when they must venture outside and under her skies so their venture will be calm. She is characterized as a calm yet easily angered force. She is of less notability to the gemonyms as her other counterparts but is believed that if she wasn’t revered at all, she’d rip open the island and force the gemonyms to live under the bare sky.

When the gemonyms started to die but were unable to prosper, the deities found themselves in a dilemma. How would they stop their race from dying out if they were to ever withdraw? Ameth, the mind goddess, saw into the minds of their people and noticed that when two gemonyms became close, there was something they wanted even they did not know. Ameth figured out this was family and created Garne.

Garne is the goddess of family, love and garnets. She is often called the daughter of Ameth. Ceremonies to celebrate a union or a birth often are associated with her. She is characterized as loving and accepting. Her definition of family is very loose, so as a result gemonyms do not define family as solely blood-related.

Others were created after this, to assist in various aspects of gemonym lives.

Jaddet is the goddess of luck, prosperity and jade. She is characterized as outgoing and confident, being very generous with her gifts.

Prehni is the deity of prophecies, dreams, visions and prehnite. They are characterized as mysterious but diligent. The gemonyms call them the bridge between the pantheon and the gemonyms. As a result, messengers are said to be beloved by them.

Ambre is the deity of plants, growth and amber. Some say Emeri created them so they are called Emeri’s child. They are seen as more minor due to the lack of amber underground. As such, they are characterized as a distant deity who prefers to do their job in quiet.

Tales tell of the first instance of violence among the gemonyms happened shortly after the demise of Diafi. An unknown force came to the isle and began slaughtering the peaceful gemonyms. They cried out to their gods for help who created two new children: Tigri and Blodstride.

Tigri is the deity of action and solutions, associated with tiger’s eye gems. Blodstride is their sibling. They are characterized as a stern and patient creature, wishing to come to a peaceful solution before all else. It is them that gemonyms pray to for solutions and them that they thank when said solutions bring success. If a peaceful solution is impossible, the situation comes into the hands of Blodstride.

Blodstride is the deity of necessary violence, associated with bloodstone. Tigri is their sibling. Blodstride is characterized as a creature who is distant but always answers calls to action. They say that they go into a fugue state in battle, often forgetting most details of it. This represents the gemonyms reluctance to battle and the trauma that is often inflicted upon them when they go into it. It is them that gemonyms pray to when they must go into battle, symbolically giving them their pacifism and taking on their capacity for battle. The exchange is done once more after battle is done.

#worldbuilding #fantasy #fantasy world #gods #deity #pantheon #important figures #gemonym pantheon

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kyerinell · 5 years

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Stormlight Archive Theory

So firstly, this is a wip. But there’re some things that i think tie in a little too well. However, not all the information is there to prove it yet, so take the entire thing with a pinch of copper. Below cut because possible Oathbringer spoilers.

What we know:

10 heralds, somehow tied beyond physical realm into a cycle of death and rebirth (ish)

Can’t fully die under usual circumstances

Prior to the beginning of the series, 9 heralds had broken

9 unmade

Heart of Urithiru tied to a singular large scale fabrial

Unmade can be contained like other spren

The Heralds lost something when they broke, and they’re currently twisted from their attributes.

Jezrien is killed by a knife of a strange material with a blue stone (sapphire) in the pommel.

You might be able to see where I’m going with this already. My theory is that the unmade are what was lost from the heralds over the millennia of torture and breaking. We’re told that the Midnight Mother feels like she lost something to Shallan, that she’s seeking to understand humanity.

We know that the Unmade can be captured in certain gemstones: Nergaoul into Ruby, Yelignar into smokestone.

Nergaoul is tied to the Ruby, tied to the attributes of bravery and obedience. Strangely it ties specifically to these two in the battle rage it inspires: encouraging the bravery while undermining the obedience.

Jezrien is killed by a knife where one of the key (only) things we know about it is that it had a sapphire embedded in it, which is specifically tied to Jezrien’s representation and place in the essences.

We see veins of garnet throughout Urithuru, which is tied to blood and Shallash. We also know that Re-Shephir was “separated” from the others and captured for some time. I suspect she was imprisoned and used to power the tower fabrial, as it would have likely taken a powerful spren to do such. Additionally, Taravangian says that the spren used in half-shards could have made a radiant in a different era, so it seems high spren can be used in fabrials (see also the oathgate spren).

That’s the main stuff that has support. The rest is pretty much just running through an idea I like. You see, the idea of the heralds and their divine attributes being skewed interests me immensely. I suspect it’s also tied to something else: I think we’ll see another creature soon: a tenth unmade made of a shard of Taln.

We see Nale struggle with the loss of his confidence. His twin attributes are Just and confident. Personally I believe he lost more along the lines of his sense of justice and is attributing that as loss of confidence because of personal moral views, but it’s rather immaterial in this instance.

We see Jezrien as a beggar outside the court of Kholinar, leading none, protecting none.

Shallash now destroys in the name of honesty, destroying images of veneration because she is unworthy.

Ishar the pious now proclaims himself a shard of god, his guidance twisted when he gives it to others.

Kalak is the resolute, but in his conversation with Nale he’s worrying, and Nale confirms that it’s now common. The resolution of Kalak, of metal, has shattered.

I don’t know enough of the others to say for sure. But that brings us to the most recently broken: Taln. The dependable and resourceful. I’d argue he’s lost that resourcefulness right now, as his dependability is still there to some extent. When attacked, he catches the darts in an instant. And he still came, even broken, to warn. However, he can’t react to anything around him properly.

I also want to go ahead and mention some of the other unmade and the connections I think most likely.

Re-Shephir - Garnet - Lightweaver - Shallash - creativity without honesty to the creation (making twisted, base copies)

Nergaoul - Ruby - Dustbringer - Chanarach - bravery without obedience or temperance

Yelignar - Smokestone - Skybreaker - Nale - both people become extremely confident, conceited (though both were to start, as well)

Moelach - Emerald - Truthwatcher - Paliah - grants cryptic insight to the future without any learning behind it (tenuous, I know)

I’m afraid I don’t know enough to tie down the others. I suspect, however, that Ba-Ado-Mishram is tied to amethyst and Kalak, the willshapers, tied to the transformation of the voidbringers.

#personal theories #stormlight archive #heralds #cfsbf

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reikiajakoiranruohoja · 5 years

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Be Yourself 2- The Monster she made

In terms of culture, the Yellow Court was an oddity among the wider Homeworld. While the three other courts (because legally, the Earth gems were just a rebuilt Pink Court) were made from or the lack of emotions, the Yellow Court boasted its main cultural cornerstone as Duty.

Duty not to just the Authority, but to one's task, to one's teammates and to one's ideals. While obedience was expected, it was also rewarded unlike in the Blue Court. Most of the nobility couldn't figure out why shouldn't a gem just be happy fulfilling their intended purpose?

Those gems rarely had to stand up in a battlefield covered in dead things, be gem deep in blood or organs. To dull their mind to the mere act of -killing- a living being for the Empire. To watch as their comrades were shattered or -worse- by the enemy.

The rewards were a meagre consolation to the crude reality the Yellow Court's finest had endured. The loss of their innocence was hardly as cheap as a prism or a respected position.

Of course, Steven would tell Yellow killing and colonization were wrong. He would explain to her how gems could always find an alternative way of living. Yellow did believe it, she had witnessed Amethyst of the Crystal Gems be social and lacking most or even all the conditioning her less fortunate kin had.

Where Steven's theory hit a snag, was when it came to gems like her. Ones who had seen combat and death already. Unlearning millennia of training was hard, he had to have noticed it by the ease she had attacked Blue. Once the fight started, there was no holding back or mercy. It was either you or your foe dead. It didn't matter who it was, as Yellow had realised days after the incident at the mecha.

Yellow and her most elite soldiers were dulled to the sights and sounds of gore and death. It was abnormal for gems, who had no need to hunt or kill for sustenance. Most barely tolerated the sight of -eating-, nevermind witnessing what an organic being looked all gored up.

It wasn't just the sight of an organic torn to shreds that she was null to. Shards on the ground or extraction fluid leaking out of her were far too common. Gems as a species were quite deadly, but Yellow had witnessed and faced landmines, blades, explosions and energy blasts enough that she knew to be complacent was suicide.

It did make watching horror movies quite the bore, though. Yellow had decided to spend her newly acquired free-time studying humans and their ways. Their love for fear was curious, especially how commonly it was tied with the fear of an extraterrestrial being with acid blood coming to kill them.

She guessed being an apex predator with total planetary dominance got -dull- eventually.

War movies, however, were another thing. They were listed as thrillers and drama and had a high maturity rating (Steven wasn't allowed to watch anything above 13, apparently) so Yellow hoped they would stir something within her.

She ended up trying to empty a stomach she did not have onto the palace floor, the vestigial programming of her gem overtaking her body. Apocalypse Now was aptly named, indeed.

It did somewhat bring Yellow hope that she and her elites weren't alone in their dulled empathy. Humanity had the exact same issues with their soldiers, down to their military training being dehumanizing.

Being reminded of just how bad it had once been, however, made Yellow's mind reach yet another dark spot. Rest was not needed for gems, though ones like Blue often used it to recharge their energy levels. To Yellow, gaining energy from rest was impossible.

She'd look into the eyes of a drone, staring blindly at her. No mind of its own, even if White wasn't controlling it. The old thing would attack her with the intention to kill. Blades cut into her, punches caused bruises.

Every single sun-cycle, for most of her younger years. Even worse if rules had been broken. She had to get up, she had to fight, shatter if need be. White had plenty of old drones to use, those maddened by their faulty programming.

White had made her into a shatterer, dug the reflex to fight so deep into her that she'd attack Blue without question. Millenia of war had only heightened her senses, taken away her compassion and left behind nothing but tempered steel.

Yet, not even a month ago, all of that training and conditioning hadn't been enough. White had stolen Yellow's body to hurt Steven. Yellow had hazy memories of White controlling her limbs and mouth, forcing her to expose her weaknesses.

What if she had intended to never let Yellow be herself again? Just leave her like Pink's old pearl, a drone without a mind.

Yellow's stomach lurched once more, extraction fluid dripping down her chin like organic drool. It hurt to go through the past like that, to look into the face of her creator and see how much she had been wasted.

The general got on her feet, letting the old conditioning lead her to Blue's room. Weakness was not a dirty word when it was Blue.

Of course, Yellow had forgotten the legalization of alcohol.

"Hhey, Yellow" Blue said, leaning against a wall with a glass in her hand. Trying to look more proper than her state allowed. Yellow snarled, marching into the room and closing the door.

"Blue, are you intoxicated on work hours!?" Yellow snapped, feeling her hackles bristle. Blue eyed her with squinted eyes. "No? It's night you windbag. What's with you, you look like you ate something wrong" Blue asked, motioning to the extraction fluid on Yellow's chin and armour. "I...err...Can I stay here for a bit?" "Sure"

Yellow sat in a corner, hugging her knees as she tried to centre her poor mind. Blue, naturally, decided to lean onto her and chuckle a bit. Yellow let herself shake, trying to not let the mask cover her once more. She did not want to harm Blue. "Blue, why do you tolerate me still, after everything?" Yellow mumbled a question, sighing deeply. Blue looked at her, squinting her eyes more and letting out a tired grumble. "Oh fuck off, Yellow" "What?" "You heard me! Fuck off. You always do this when you're all self-doubting, come to me to get you fucking worth back. Not bothering to actually DO anything about it yourself, just leaning on me for kind words. Well, guess what? You can't take it all back. You can't fix the ones you killed and shattered. You just have to start bettering yourself now"

Blue's outburst left Yellow staring at her twin, it was one thing for Blue to be snappy, but to be so blunt was rare. Especially with that amount of cursing. "I'm assuming that is the alcohol talking" Yellow muttered, giving Blue a glare. Blue answered it, grabbing hold of Yellow's chin a bit too roughly. "I can handle my drink, Yellow. This isn't about just you, it is about us" "Us?" "Yes, what we have done. What we did to Pink, what we did to Steven. I don't know if his gems can ever forgive us. I know that garnet and Lapis Lazuli don't. But also, what White did to us"

Yellow listened to Blue rant, the alcohol had loosened her tongue enough that the diplomat spoke of her greatest fears in a candid way. It was, as much as Yellow tried to mentally deny it, refreshing to hear a honest Blue. "I don't think I can forgive White, Yellow. Not after what happened. Sure, she wanted to be 'perfect', but fuck if that doesn't justify the cycles of abuse. Pink didn't know the amount and it was still too much for her. What about us, why can't we too just leave and find a place to stay" Blue vented, now studying her bottle of alcohol rather absentmindedly. "If we leave, no one is there to hold her back. She'll just hide in her head once more and start thinking she is perfect."

"We can't, Yellow, I think we already saw how much we could do in terms of standing up to her. We were nothing more than rubies to her, the defective amethyst took longer to resist than -we.-"

Silence fell upon them, as awkward as it had once been. When they were young and uncertain.

"You are wrong, Blue. You never gave up trying to find something more out of life than blind obedience and duty. You fought back and Pink followed your example. I just followed what White told me to do" Yellow admitted, wincing at the far too easily recalled memories. Her walls had been torn down and rebuilding them was going to take a while. If she wanted them back at all.

Blue moved closer, enough that Yellow could feel her soft hair falling over her. "Yellow, you did all you could for me. You shielded me from the worst of White's abuse and you protected Pink as well. But this wallowing isn't you, you need to find a way to get past it" Blue spoke, her tone comforting once more if a bit slurred by the alcohol. That made Yellow smirk just a bit.

"Drinking that poison is yours?" "Making this legal and letting gems feel free to get drunk is. So much of the Black Market is about choice, even if it is a bad one"

Yellow thought about it, the new freedoms gems were given. Night cycles were free time to explore, alcohol and most contraband goods were now legal. Payment for a work well done, rather than bought by money. They weren't about to mimic -all- of humanity, after all.

In this new Homeworld, was there a place for her armies? Or her? Would they need to find a way to seek the-ra-py? "I fear that I am forever a live wire with its coating stripped off, dangerous to everything around me. I don't know how to not be a killer" she admitted, groaning as she leaned against the wall. Looking outside the window, she could see all of her colonies. They were tiny specks in the darkness, but she could pinpoint each one regardless. "We will always need a killer, Yellow. Even the Crystal Gems discorporate gems, who knows how many organics they have killed. But you don't have to be -only- a killer anymore, nor feel you are broken" Blue mused, wrapping her arm around Yellow's shoulders.

"What we need more, though, is defence. We cannot allow White to ever get us like that, ever EVER again. If this new thing is to work, we need to be safe. No more White Pearls, no more danger of being controlled. That is where we need your expertize at being a fighter"

That was a good point, Yellow thought. Blue had always been the more sensitive one regarding White, to a fault. But what had once been nothing more than a childish paranoia, was now the stark reality. As much effort as White put into trying to interact with them now, it was all on her terms. If White chose to just revert back to her old ways, there was no Steven to save them this time.

They had to be their own shield. Who better than the gems jaded by combat and war, who would not baulk at being told to hold down White's power. Or find a solution to combating it. It was heresy, of course, to consider such methods.

But this was Era 3, the old ways had to give for the new.

#ptsd #vomiting //#my writing #yellow diamond #blue diamond #alcohol use //

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oathkeeper-of-tarth · 6 years

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If My Life Is Mine

Here’s a fic set in a vague future, inspired by: the Pearl episode of the official Steven Universe podcast, 'Your Mother and Mine' and 'Pool Hopping', wishful thinking, rewatching the final season of Star Trek: DS9. A bit of a “what would you want to be the next big step we see of Pearl’s character arc” sort of thing. All very much in the contemplative reflective Pearl vein of Love On A Wire. Blatant pandering for the occasion of @dr-jekyl's recent birthday and hopefully well-tailored to her tastes and interests.

Summary: Garnet leads the Crystal Gems on Earth, but help for the fledgling new rebellion is needed out in space and on the ground in the heart of Homeworld. So Pearl takes off, adjusts, listens, counsels, bolsters, takes responsibility, and leads - or does her very best to, anyway. Pearl-centric, featuring Garnet and Bismuth, guest appearances by everyone under the sun. Some Mystery Pearl, some Bispearl, some Pearlnet, some (past) Pearlrose, though of course the true main ship is Pearl/Happiness and Agency and Self-actualisation and all that good stuff. No special warnings. ~6000 words.

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If My Life Is Mine

They need her, they say.

Pearl argues immediately, of course. They need someone who knows Homeworld - but she hasn’t been to Homeworld proper in thousands of years. They need someone who knows pearls - but she hasn’t seen another pearl in just as long, and hasn’t acted in a way befitting a pearl in, well… not until those sad attempts in front of Holly Blue. They need someone who will be able to understand the technological aspects of it all - but everything she’s been working with is horribly outdated - often rather ingenious, if she does say so herself, but still terribly makeshift. They need someone who knows rebellion, who understands how to properly plan it, how to prioritise, how to-

She turns to Garnet (of course), even as she knows that Garnet won’t leave what she so fondly calls her planet, especially not with a fleet of white ships looming on the horizon. Garnet doesn’t respond in any noticeable way, calmly seated on the couch in the crowded living room-turned-makeshift-rebellion-headquarters and Pearl meets her own gaze reflected in that ever-daunting visor.

Of all people it’s the permanently sour-looking yellow pearl, for quite a while now (secretly) formerly of Yellow Diamond’s court, who cuts off that entire avenue of thought via scratchy transmission from deep space.

“Garnet is needed on Earth. We need you to come stay and help out here.” In her Diamond’s convenient absence, she’s seated on a chair - yellow, to match the rest of her surroundings, and quite throne-like - that dwarfs her in a way that would seem amusing were her bearing not so insistently imperious, even though for the moment she sounds unusually humble. “We need the experience. We need long-term strategy. We need a leader. Someone to make the calls and guide us in the field. We don’t know how to do this- this entire operation alone - not yet. And you did it once already.”

Pearl half-opens her mouth to say something in denial, but… she did. She did do it. Certainly she could tick off, on a list, many of the required skills and competences. And she can do it again, she can do it even better. Learning and growth, wasn’t it, after all? And experience. Along with a unique perspective, as well as a certain reputation-

“And, well, you’re the infamous Renegade Pearl, aren’t you?” Yellow Pearl pipes up from the tiny screen, and Pearl preens just a tiny bit at the idea of that old, old title still persisting.

They need her.

Pearl adjusts.

The plan was well-made, but some things can’t be accounted for in advance. Issues such as being fed incorrect information - doubtless there is suspicion by now about their mole in Blue Diamond’s court, who has hopefully not yet been discovered (an extraction mission rises to the top of Pearl’s priorities either way). This shipyard ambush, however, simply can’t take place with the distribution of forces as it is. The losses for their relatively nascent little movement would be absolutely unacceptable-

“What do we do, General?” the ruby crouched at her left asks gruffly, jarring her out of her thoughts.

“General?” Pearl half expects to turn to see who was being addressed and catch a glimpse of pink. But there is none. “M-me?”

The ruby is insistent, and a soldier through and through. “The plan. Situation on the ground is different. What do we do?”

“There’s so many of them,” Rhodonite pipes up nervously, with a wail rising in her voice. “There wasn’t supposed to be. They tricked us!”

An elbow is nudging at her midriff then, annoyingly insistent and oddly reassuring. “I’m sure P- sorry, General P’s got an idea or two. She’s real good at those.”

“Amethyst, please.” But it’s a half-hearted protest, out of habit more than anything else. Pearl’s already coming up with and discarding scenarios, focusing on the placement, the distribution, the direction of movement-

“We can...” they’re all looking at her- looking to her. She doesn’t have Garnet’s Future Vision to help in angling for the best possible outcome, or her internal support structure in case the outcome is far from best. She doesn’t have Bismuth’s presence and easy charm. She doesn’t have anything Rose had, anything that made Gems stop and listen to her, and follow. All she has is... herself.

But that is something, too. A quick mind, a quick hand, and the will to use both. And then, perhaps, somewhat newer and still a bit… spotty, on occasion: the ability to summon up enough confidence, enough respect for her own judgement to take on the responsibility of picking the plan and making the call. Herself. Not in anyone else’s name. Not relaying orders. Not following, not just offering ideas and counsel for others to use or discard as they see fit, and certainly not obeying.

“We’ll go around the back and sabotage their fuel lines - that should be enough to delay progress at the colony. Avoid open combat for as long as possible. And we’ll need a distraction.” She scans their surroundings, glances over her companions, from the Rutile twins to the two peridots hanging on to her every word, and finally meets Bismuth’s eyes. “Those pillars over there-”

“On it,” Bismuth is already rising, one hand flashing into a mallet. “Whoever carved those did one of the shoddiest jobs I’ve ever seen. They’ll go down easy.”

Doubt spikes hot in her mind. “Oh no, Bismuth, you don’t have to-” Pearl tenses to get up and go after her, but a large, eternally work-roughened hand at her shoulder stops her.

Bismuth is smiling at her, an odd mix of encouragement and anticipation on her face. “Hey, it’s okay, I got this. I’m exactly the right Gem for the job - ‘s why you picked me. And you got that,” she inclines her head towards the others, all gearing up to make a break for the back of the docks, “General.”

Pearl smiles through her own highly annoying intermittent flaring nervousness, and nudges her shoulder playfully. “The right Gem for that job?”

“I know you know it.”

Pearl intervenes when she has to.

It’s not just planning out the combat maneuvers and timing engagements and picking which destabiliser production line to hit, or coordinating with a fearsome crew of bona fide space pirates. There is so much more to it, during the downtimes, she almost- almost finds herself overwhelmed. She is quite proud of how she’s so far managed to handle that “almost”.

Talking and listening, and taking into account. It helps when she can frame it as teaching- that, she’s always been terrific at. Steven helps there, too, whenever he visits, with his eternal patience and open hand and open ear for any Gem who might need it, and anyone who might be struggling with having just chosen a side.

And then, then there are the pearls.

Many of the ones active in the rebellion, sent their way by the ever-industrious Yellow Pearl, take on roles of subterfuge and infiltration. Making good use of all the expectations placed on them as much as the disregard they are subject to, they become excellent sources of a wealth of invaluable information. There are some who choose to fight, and Pearl can’t help but take them under her wing, so to speak. She isn’t playing favourites, of course not, but it’s hard not to feel something when faced with them, with their keen eyes and oddly demanding and expectant gazes. She can tell exactly who belongs into that daunting category of having heard of her.

But there are many that end up with them almost by accident - pearls belonging to important Gems the rebellion needed to take out, or pearls who merely found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time during a sabotage operation or a factory raid - and suddenly found themselves ownerless, for all intents and purposes. Unwanted, cast-away pearls seeking refuge.

Some of them miss their old lives. Some of them rejoice at the opportunities before them and refuse to look back. Pearl’s head spins as she bounces from extreme to extreme.

She spends a good chunk of a morning comforting a light green pearl who clings to her and cries into her shoulder and sobs-rambles about how nice her Emerald has always been, and how much she just wants to go back home where she belongs. Then, almost immediately afterwards, a plum-coloured pearl who’s only been with them a day regales Pearl with the tale of her dramatic escape, including how she stabbed the Gem who dared consider herself her owner with a decorative cape brooch and clambered over an eight-foot wall.

The latter does put something of a spring in Pearl’s step- until she comes upon one of the latest Gems to join them, seated at the edge of a docking station causeway, long legs dangling to brush against the limits of the artificial atmosphere bubble. A burgundy pearl, the short mess of curly hair a fluffy halo around her bowed head, gem exposed at the small of her back, shoulders shaking, altogether the very picture of inconsolable.

Pearl sighs, and sits down next to her in what she hopes is companionable silence.

“I’m not supposed to be here alone,” the pearl mumbles through her tears after a little while, but doesn’t acknowledge Pearl’s presence in any other way. “It’s all so wrong.”

It sounds like another case of homesickness and of attachment to her former mistress. Pearl tries to project gentle understanding and thinks back to what’s worked well in such cases before. “Tell me about her. What is she like?”

“She was one of Yellow Diamond’s citrine guards. The lieutenant of her sector, in fact - and so magnificent. You should have seen her in her dress uniform, oh! What a sight. My Spinel could only wish she were half as amazing as her.”

The other pearl’s voice is a soft, almost dreamy sigh. It is a bit odd to hear that tone, that voice - her voice, almost, and sounding so very… familiar. But before she can respond in any way, the other pearl continues, now a bit more hesitant, halting.

“But, you know, that wasn’t what… that wasn’t why…”

And then it clicks into place, along with the incongruous little details like the pearl’s noticeably non-yellow colouration, the mention of a (clearly disliked) spinel, that look of naked longing in her eyes...

“Why you loved her?” Pearl prompts softly.

The other pearl’s cheeks darken with a deep red blush, and her hands drop to fidget in her lap, long fingers tugging on the elaborate ribbons decorating her waist.

“Yes. She… she was always so kind, and so careful. When she talked to me, asked me things. And she’d always sneak off after coming back from a mission, bringing me little souvenirs. Look,” she pulls on a bit of string tied around her neck, with a red crystalline microstructure unfamiliar to Pearl hanging from it, “she got me this. She said the surface of the last moon she’d been sent to was covered with it, and that it was beautiful because- because it made her think of me, when sunlight caught my hair, a-and...”

The words dry up, and the tears well back up again. Pearl hesitates for a moment, then puts an arm around the other pearl’s shoulders, bare save for a transparent shawl, making sure to telegraph every movement well in advance.

A sincere smile, a look that was more than that unpleasant mix of covetous and shallowly appreciative and appraising, a gift of a trinket to call your own, a modicum of respect. After thousands of years away from the stranglehold of the Homeworld system, that bar seems so very, very low, but Pearl remembers very well how world-changing the smallest of things felt, once. Like being allowed completely private access to a comms terminal. Or not being berated for expressing interest in inappropriate fields, such as engineering. Being given a chance to hold a sword, not for anyone else’s convenience, but for her own use.

“We promised to run away together,” the pearl continues, voice rising in a tremor again. “But she- they got her when we were making for the docks, where I managed to have a ship waiting for us, and she- she said she’d hold them off, told me to run, and I listened to her… why did I listen?”

Pearl looks away, gaze skimming along the scorch-marks left by their most recent skirmish here. It’s an odd little attempt to offer some privacy to the most naked parts of grief.

“I, um.” Pearl clears her throat again, awkwardly. “I lost someone too, not so long ago. Someone very important to me.”

Laughably recently, for a Gem. And it’s all such an oversimplification of thousands of years of fraught history, but if it can help in any way…

What these two had undertaken together might pale in sheer scale and far-reaching impact to starting a war over an entire planet, and everything that came... afterwards. But it is no less monumental for being restricted to the personal, Pearl finds.

There is no response for a while. The pearl turns a bit and allows her head to rest on Pearl’s shoulder. “Does it ever go away?”

Pearl restrains a wince at the way the pearl’s hand clenches over her chest, but pushes herself to disregard platitudes and stick to the truth she’s so painstakingly cobbled together over the years.

“Not really, no,” she replies, voice almost a whisper, smaller than anything she’s used since leaving Earth. “But it does get easier.”

They sit together as the station makes another half-trip around the moon it’s orbiting. Pearl studies its face, idly wonders about labelling its craters, and ponders the fate of the pearl pressed against her side.

“Listen,” Pearl begins once her companion has seemingly calmed somewhat and sat back up, “since you made it all the way here... you can join us, if you want. It’s dangerous, and bound to only get more so, and I can’t promise you much. But whatever you choose to do with yourself, I promise you can stay here with us as long as you want or need. Okay?”

The pearl meets her eyes for the first time. “I wanted to be here. We both did. But I don’t think I can do this, especially not… alone. I’m nothing like you.”

Pearl wants to argue the part about being alone while surrounded by an ever-growing number of Gems, but she remembers all too well how it feels, that ragged-edged void torn open in you, and that veil between you and the rest of the world. So she argues that last bit instead.

“I’m nothing special. Any pearl can do what I do, if she wants to.”

“But-”

Pearl is quick to cut off any protest in this particular matter. “No, no, no, listen, this is very important. All I ever got was a chance, and all I did was decide to take it. What we’re doing here now is trying to give that chance to everyone else. To you as well. Do you understand?”

The pearl’s tear-stained face scrunches up in thought. “I think so. But I- it’s hard to believe that a pearl could… do all these things...” her soft voice trails off again.

“Oh, so many find that hard to believe,” it’s so much easier to find words now, being allowed to preen and gloat and boast and put on a show - one of the great joys of the entire people-seem-to-like-calling-me-General arrangement, in Pearl’s view. “And let me tell you, there is nothing quite like the satisfaction of seeing the looks on their faces when they realise they’ve been beaten, outmanoeuvred, and outsmarted by the very pearl they were laughing at and offering to assist in returning home mere moments ago.”

There is an actual hint of a tiny smile on the pearl’s face, and Pearl feels herself beam with pride. The old thrill is still there, unchanged - the delicious awareness of rule-breaking, when the rules are so utterly terrible and suffocating, the inimitable spark of rebellion. Deliberately being so far removed from all the things they made her to be, everything they tried to instill in her. It is a delight Pearl can’t ever see herself growing tired of, and one she is eternally grateful she has managed to recapture.

“You’d think,” Pearl grins, “after so many thousands of years, they’d learn not to underestimate us. But noooo. Well, all I’ll say is... makes it all the easier for us to keep pulling it off, right?”

The pearl ducks her head. “You really think I could-?”

Escape a dozen quartz guards? Steal and fly a spaceship?

Lead a band of intergalactic rebels?

Pearl lets her smile soften. “Absolutely. Whatever you want. And I’ll gladly help.”

Pearl takes responsibility.

Failure is a reality, and the possibility of defeat is a cloud constantly looming over them, outnumbered and faced with such an overwhelmingly powerful opponent. And miscalculations happen, and good Gems are lost - hopefully merely imprisoned, though there is nothing mere about Homeworld imprisonment.

“I’m sorry,” Pearl tells the only ruby that managed to escape back to their hideout, hidden away in a nook of an abandoned and thankfully mural-free Diamond base. “I should never have sent you in there without some scouting first. I got carried away thanks to our recent victories, overreached, and you paid the price.”

The ruby shakes her head. “They knew the risks. We all do. But we chose to be here.”

She’s fiery and passionate and ever so insistent, and reminds Pearl of another Gem she knows and holds very dear. Pearl’s best attempt at a determined, reassuring smile, even if it’s for the moment just an unpleasantly forced stretching of the lips, is the least she deserves. “We’ll mount a rescue as soon as we have the chance. You’ll be a great help.”

“Thank you. They, uh-” Ruby trails off, voice suddenly wavering, and looks down, scuffing her foot on the uneven ground of their most recent temporary base. “They mean a lot to me.”

Pearl nods, but doesn’t quite know what to say, not when it counts - it’s never exactly been her strong suit, for all her tendency towards outright rebellious loquaciousness. Then there are the intrusive, poisonous thoughts, grasping at her, always doing their very best to pull her down no matter how high she manages to climb - Who’s ever heard of a pearl leading? Who let a pearl give orders and make decisions, let alone important ones? Of course it all went wrong, what pathetic game of pretend are you trying to play? You’re not fit to pick out the colour of your dress. You know all you’re good for is standing pretty in that little display corner, you’re not fooling anyone and you never have.

They are something she suspects she will never be entirely rid of, those stinging little whispers. But she takes a deep, grounding breath, and lets them roll off her as best as she can - and her best now is certainly better than her best even just a few quick human years ago.

Everyone makes mistakes, no matter who they are - herself just as much as Garnet, or even- or even Rose. There. It isn’t even all that hard to admit that anymore, is it?

By now she’s analysed the outcome of the mission, pinpointed the flaws in her original plan, and come up with several options for improvements in the future. Dwelling on it, wallowing, beating herself up over not seeing the obvious and slipping into that familiar self-deprecating place of always ruining everything would be the opposite of helpful right now. Even if Pearl has always been so very, very good at dwelling.

Pearl puts a hand on Ruby’s shoulder instead, and thinks back to the asteroid belt patrol route layout a disgruntled citrine slipped them. “We’ll get them back, and I know exactly where to start.”

Pearl cooperates and co-conspires.

The holo-screen takes several tries to properly turn on and the transmitter sputters to life reluctantly, worn and overheating from the strain of Pearl’s extremely long-distance and carefully frequency-masked subspace conferences with Garnet, the hours of building plans together, ironing out strategies and syncing up short-term goals. Fighting on two fronts is incredibly difficult, even without heavy communication constraints. But Earth’s defense is in Garnet’s capable hands, and Pearl’s well-oiled little strike team buys them time with sabotage and interference whenever they need it, and provides an endless stream of new recruits and fresh turncoats.

“How are things back home?” The words slip out at the tail end of her latest report before Pearl can fully register their implications, and she pauses. Bathed in the lights of some of her oldest haunts, she didn’t ask about Earth, about the Solar System, about Beach City, or the Temple, or about Steven or Connie, thankfully highly regular in their visits. She asked about home.

When did that shift even happen? If we win, we can never go home and that meaningful clasping of hands was thousands and thousands of years ago. And now here she is, hidden in the very heart of the home she renounced then, surrounded by echoes of things she’s for so very long feared both never and ever seeing again.

There are many places she wouldn’t mind calling home, she thinks - perhaps at the same time, which also has its charms. A true citizen of the stars, she’d style herself, and oh, the places she’d go - the places she will go, the things she will show others, once… once all this is done. But there is always something to be said for that odd little planet, teeming with life, and encouraging all sorts of wildly inappropriate behaviour. Perhaps her slip isn’t so strange after all.

By the time she tunes back in fully, Garnet has covered Amethyst's return with her entire extended family, their slowly building plans for the relocation of the space station housing the zoo humans, and all their updated planetary defense-related arrangements with the humans in the region.

“Nice work at the shipyards - Amethyst has been recapping the fight to everyone within earshot. Sounds like you’ve got things well in hand over there.”

“Well, you know me,” Pearl laughs awkwardly, “always full of surprises!”

“Not surprising at all,” Garnet cuts in, suddenly far more serious. “I knew you could do it.”

Half of Pearl wants to puff out her chest and soak in the praise and build herself on the foundation of it, and the other half wants to give a self-deprecating little laugh and say Well, that makes one of us! and call her every accomplishment a happy accident. But she stops herself before she can do either, as neither is a road she much wants to go down again.

“Would you believe,” she starts up instead, voice carefully casual, “the other day I had to break up a fight over some utterly minor nonsense between a carnelian, a peridot, and a dioptase, of all Gems, and listen to endless arguments about who started it. I have no idea how you did it Garnet, any of it, with Amethyst and myself- we must have driven you to distraction!”

“You did.” Even through the low resolution of the transmission, Garnet’s dry amusement is palpable.

Pearl clears her throat and tries not to ruin the mood by giving the (really, mostly correct) impression the next thing she says is some kind of settling of old scores, of putting things to rest and making them right, just in case something were to happen to either of them while they’re apart like this, and she never got the chance to try again.

She wishes it weren’t by laggy, grainy long-distance transmission, but she forges on all the same. “I’ve been wanting to tell you for… for a while now that… I’m sorry. We put so much on you, when Rose left, and you’d never asked for any of it in the first place, or wanted it, and… I’m so sorry, Garnet. You didn’t deserve that entire mess just dumped on you like that.”

Garnet pauses long enough to remove her visor, a gesture that, although more common in recent years, still comes laden with meaning and a sense of trust - that most precious and vulnerable of things that Pearl hasn’t always been kind to. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Technically, of course, that particular thing indeed wasn’t, and isn’t, and there is a lot there, wrapped up in that stinging, thorny bundle of Rose always did what she wanted that they are still only starting to unpack.

“Right, maybe I had no way of... affecting that decision. But I should have been there for you. And for Amethyst, too. I should have helped, and all I did was make everything worse.”

Garnet looks away briefly, and allows herself a sigh. “It was a bad time for all of us. But it’s in the past. We made it through, Pearl, and look at us now.”

“Yes,” Pearl acquiesces softly, “look at us now.”

The transmitter beeps a warning in the stretch of silence, and Pearl nudges it absent-mindedly.

“I suppose what I really wanted to say is… thank you. I want you to know appreciate all you’ve done for us. And all you’re still doing.”

“You’re welcome. We’re doing it together now.”

Garnet’s smile is small and soft and sincere, and Pearl is delighted to meet all three of her gentle eyes with what briefly feels like no barrier, even with entire galaxies between them.

“We are.”

She reaches a hand for the tiny screen, and Garnet reaches back. It’s not the contact they’d both like, light years away, but it’s something.

“I should go,” Pearl says finally, regretfully, and Garnet merely nods, until she’s startled by the way Pearl rapidly switches gears. “Oh! I almost forgot... you’re making sure Steven has the appropriate amount of vegetables with his meals? No offense to Amethyst, and not to add to your, well, overflowing list of concerns, but I do not trust her with matters related to nutrition-”

“Steven’s doing fine, Pearl,” Garnet interrupts, efficiently mollifying in a way Pearl still finds few Gems to be.

“I know. Of course he is- and he’s been such a help here! I’ll need him back soon.” Pearl meets Garnet’s smile. “And not just because I miss him already.”

“Connie says she’s coming over as soon as she’s done with school. You’ll see both of them soon.”

“Stevonnie will want a mission then, won’t they? Luckily, I know just the thing, excellently suited to their talents and highly educational. Oh, they’re going to love it!”

Pearl’s enthusiasm is cut off by the display sputtering in and out of static, and breaking into a comms unit production facility crawls up on her ever-growing to-do list. The signal stabilises again, but the message is clear.

“Well, looks like it’s really time for me to go. I’ll send you a quick report when we come back from the asteroid mines tonight.”

Garnet puts her visor back on, and gives a quick wave. “Good luck. Look after yourself. And everyone else.”

“I’ll do my best. You too, of course. And-”

Pearl blushes, her best approximation of ‘newly-minted confident rebel leader’ mellowing into something softer and more bashfully hesitant.

“And say, um,” she clears her throat, and Garnet grins and lets her squirm. “Tell Sheena I said... hello?”

“I will. But I’m sure you want me to tell her something more than that.”

It’s a tad hard to think clearly and come up with charming retorts when her mind so eagerly floods with sweet recollections of being suddenly held back from boarding an off-planet bound ship at the very last minute - for the admittedly very agreeable purpose of ‘goodbye kisses’.

Oh, but that’s it! “A kiss!”

“A kiss.”

“Yes, tell her that, while it’s true that I am regrettably far away, I’m sending her a kiss! And that I’ll certainly call her as soon as I am able.”

“One kiss from a dashing space rebel, got it. She’ll love it.”

Pearl drums her fingers against her lower lip nervously, and frowns. “You think she will? I think she will. Ohhhh, but what if she thinks it’s too, I don’t know… silly?”

“Pearl.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t need Future Vision for this. She’s going to love it.”

Pearl’s face is still bright blue when she returns to the hub, but she feels lighter than she has in days.

Pearl leads.

Others follow, to her eternal surprise. Or- well. Maybe not eternal. They’re- she’s... working on it. She’s earned the respect, surely, or it wouldn’t be there in such noticeable amounts. Right?

The battles she can handle easily, such as they are - mostly ambushes and quick stings and brief skirmishes anyway. Planning out troop movements on holographic chessboards is something she’s an old hand at. But the aftermath, when the dust settles, and they have made their escape, safe as can be, and she finds herself surrounded by Gems who look to her, that is new.

They want to listen to her. So many Gems, from all possible walks of life, eager to hear what she has to say, to take into account what she thinks, often when making their own choices, and not just in the heat of battle. It’s… an odd feeling. One Pearl is not sure she is altogether fond of. Guilt and blame are not pretty things, and the pitfalls here are rife with the potential for both, and are plentiful and not always obvious save in hindsight.

It was always easy to make a lightning-quick decision when it was just her own gem on the line. Easy to throw herself into battle, easy to throw herself in the way of swords and maces and javelins. Infinitely harder to expect someone else to do it. Without even the veneer of just doing what someone else would have wanted, acting in someone else’s name. And most of these Gems have never met Rose Quartz, have never followed her or fought against her or anything at all. She is, at most, a bogeyman to them, a figure from a cautionary tale. And while they’ve all heard other tales now, too, it’s incredibly odd to realise that beyond some vague notion of important legacy she doesn’t really mean all that much to them. But Pearl, Pearl they all know, and Pearl is real to them, and Pearl is right there, and they, for whatever incomprehensible reason, seem to trust her, even with their lives.

She’s developed something of a distaste for secrets in recent years (and is still working on her Lion tolerance levels- well, no offense or blame to the feline personally, and 'Earth mammal drawn into Rose’s orbit and inexorably changed' was hardly a narrow category - no offense to Greg, either, who’s been a stellar reminiscing companion, but facts were just that). Oh, she works hard not to burden the Gems under her leadership - her Gems, what an idea! - with her fears and anxieties, while still keeping them aware of important concerns. But the balance is difficult to strike, and the whole ‘protecting’ issue required quite a lot of thought, and Pearl isn’t sure she’s reached a satisfactory conclusion there yet.

She is distracted, very briefly, as a particularly colourful comet flies overhead. Their current hideout comes with an observatory dome that Pearl is determined to make good use of, and where she spends most of her (admittedly meagre) downtime.

And then, it isn’t the number of orders given or plans made that makes her important. Yes, perhaps on a strategic level, but…

What gives her worth? (Oh, asking the real questions now - and there, another comet, this one with a less pronounced dust tail, but still wonderful.) Not what she meant to Rose, or what she means to someone now. Worth is something she herself has, utterly intrinsic, without anyone else entering into it - it’s an odd equation. What she can do, and what she chooses to do. What she knows, what she believes. And even without that, just the fact that she is. A living thing. Thinking, feeling, being.

Rose had made many speeches on the topic. There was an entire manifesto to consider. Pearl has had plenty of time to expound upon it on her own, and pass it on to others. She does her very best to believe it herself, of herself… but it’s easier said than done, a lot of the time. Still, let it never be said she doesn’t try.

Even if Rose were here, and she isn’t, she isn’t, she isn’t- but even if she were, her glance, her word, her touch, her kiss, the way she beamed at Pearl standing at her side and carrying her banner, and all the secrets in the universe, whether entrusted to her, or forced upon her… that wasn’t what made Pearl Pearl. Oh it… informed it, certainly, but so did many other things, and many other people, but most of all it was Pearl who did the final sculpting, in the finest of pale, iridescent nacre. No matter who she’d claimed to do it for, she was the one doing it, in the end, and that has to count for something, doesn’t it?

While the others rest, Pearl ponders essential existential questions and has deep, introspective moments while stargazing at constellations she never thought she’d see again. That much she allows herself, with a gentleness aimed at herself that she’s had to painstakingly cultivate - she wouldn’t be Pearl, after all, without getting stuck in her own head now and again.

The rebellion continues. And persists.

Pearl gazes, exhausted, across a newly liberated colony-formerly-in-the-making, and feels relief, and feels pride. Pride in the Gems fighting alongside her, in their cause, and in herself. To have come so very, very far…

Her reverie is interrupted by the sound of someone walking up the hill on her left, and she turns to see Bismuth, hands held conspicuously behind her back.

“I was thinking…” Bismuth begins, rehearsed, as soon as she’s by Pearl’s side on the summit. “I wanted to commemorate our first big victory. So I made you this.”

She’s holding out an elegant rapier, glittering silvery in the oddly coloured dusk. It’s a stunning show of craftsmanship - the fine metal has little constellations worked into it, stars winding around the elaborate hilt and the blade both. Pearl feels her eyes welling up before she’s even dared to reach out and touch it.

“Oh… oh, Bismuth, it’s beautiful,” her fingers lightly brush against the grip, and Bismuth nudges it towards her until she finally grasps it. “You’ve truly outdone yourself.”

“You say that every time,” Bismuth scoffs playfully.

Pearl, however, is utterly serious and insistent. “That’s because it’s true every time!” She turns in a huff, and gives the sword a trial flick, and a few swings. It cuts through the air like quicksilver. “Oh-! Oh, the length, the balance- how did you get it to be so perfect?”

Bismuth grins. “Easy! I know you. And I happen to know we’re both real good at what we do. So it all works out.”

Work.

Pearl pauses halfway through a quick, spontaneous swordfighting form, and heaves a deep sigh. “There’s still so much to do.”

“Sure is! I was in such a rush to get this to you, I still haven’t even started on a scabbard for it. But I can’t help it - the promise of finally getting to see you use it, even just a bit? Worth it.”

“Bismuth, you know that’s not what I meant.”

There’s that wonderful, indomitable grin again, and Bismuth nudges a shoulder against her gently. “I know. But look, we’ve made some big steps here, and we aren’t about to stop, and they aren’t about to stop us, either.”

“No,” Pearl agrees, looking back towards the horizon littered with jagged half-finished spires, “no, we are certainly not stopping.”

Bismuth throws an arm around her shoulders and Pearl presses into her side gratefully, sword held tightly to her chest, and sniffles only a bit.

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minijenn · 6 years

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Knights of Gravity Falls AU

In this AU, Gravity Falls is filled with more fantasy elements and the town itself is now a kingdom.

The Gems are now genuine mystical beings from another dimension, but they and Steven still have their canon abilities.

Stan and Ford are court wizards, but Ford is far more gifted in magic; however, because of Ford’s reclusive nature, the less skilled Stan can masquerade as his brother easily when he disappears.

Connie is the princess, but she is very skilled with a sword and is more than willing to fight despite her parents’ wishes.

Steven is her knight and loyal bodyguard and the two are still attracted to each other, though because of Connie’s royal status, their budding relationship is frowned upon by her parents.

Dipper and Mabel still move in with Stan and while Dipper becomes his apprentice, Mabel manages to become a warrior’s apprentice in Connie’s court, trained by the Gems themselves.

The four easily form a bond when they all meet each other for the first time, especially with Steven often guiding Mabel through her training sessions with the Gems, who serve as elite soldiers for the kingdom.

Dipper still finds Journal 3, but besides the categorization of Gravity Falls’ mystical creatures, it contains several spells that he discretely uses to advance further in Stan’s “lessons”.

The Gems can use Earth magic, but due to their dependence on their now-mystical Gem abilities, they hardly find any opportunity to use them.

Amethyst is the exception as she cannot properly use any magic and her own abilities are subpar compared to Pearl, Garnet, and Steven.

All of them are still able to fuse, though.

The warp pads don’t exist, but they are all able to use their Gem magic to open portals to wherever they need to go; this magic is limited to teleportation on Earth.

In addition to her protection of the Earth, Garnet also teaches the kingdom’s budding clairvoyants in her free time.

Steven is far more confident in his abilities and unlocks his healing spit and plant manipulation prior to the story.

At some point after the twins have proved themselves, Connie officially declares Dipper and Mabel honorary knights of her court, becoming the first of their respective classes to do so.

Steven is named a paladin-in-training on the same day, though.

Bill comes from the Underworld rather than the Nightmare Realm, but he is considered a rogue operative to that dimension’s regime.

He leads the opposing side in a civil war and if his side wins, nothing can stop Weirdmageddon.

However, the Gems still have no memory of him and his existence is kept a mystery until the equivalent of “Dreamscapers”.

He’s still Bill to his core so he interferes as much as his UF counterpart and has an alliance with Yellow Diamond.

Gideon is a genuine psychic, but his powers are limited to levitation and lower-class spells, so he uses mystical artifacts to make it seem like he’s more powerful.

Pacifica comes from one of the “noble” families, so she’s still rich but her entire family envies the fact that Connie’s family rules over Gravity Falls.

Lion is now a dragon named… “Dragon” and is far more protective of Steven and his friends. He’s still pink and doesn’t eat much, but he now breathes fire.

Waddles is now a mystical boar that accompanies Mabel in battle and for fun; he can alter his size and is a better tracker than Dragon.

Gems are now created by magic spells from their home dimension, but it had a similar effect on the Earth until the Crystal Gems ended it, so there aren’t as many Gems as there are in SU.

The Diamonds invaded the Earth out of desperation since their home dimension was running out of resources to make new Gems.

The Corruption still happens, but the dimension to Homeworld was sealed by Rose through an Earth magic spell.

Homeworld is only a threat because since Rose gave her life to make Steven, the spell she used weakened enough for them to start invading again on a small-scale.

Jasper, Peridot, and Lapis still exist and fulfill their roles, but the Ruby Squad and most of Earth’s other Quartz soldiers were never made.

Ford was sent through several mystical dimensions, with Stan working for the past thirty years to open a magic portal and bring him back.

It’s still as dangerous because their home dimension cannot handle too much exposure to other dimensions.

Dipper and Mabel’s personalities are largely the same, but Mabel takes her warrior training seriously and doesn’t tease Dipper as often as she used to. They each understand their respective paths and often encourage each other to improve.

The Gems reside in a wing of the castle, but it is customized to resemble a medieval version of their UF home.

Greg works as a court minstrel and lives with Steven and the Gems, so he’s far closer with them than in UF.

He was a traveling minstrel until he wound up the Kingdom of Gravity Falls where he met Rose.

He still worked with Stan in the past but as his apprentice before Dipper; he also knows about Stan’s spell to bring back Ford and even though Stan was an inept teacher, Greg knows some basic spells.

#universe falls #sumbission #submission #long post so i put some under the cut #still a neat AU idea!#im not much on fantasy aus but this is still cool

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e350tb · 7 years

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Amedot Bomb 9: Wedding

AN: This one took a long time because I was trying to get it as right as possible. Hope you like!

#6: Wedding

It was a pleasant and sunny morning at the barn. It was also a very unusual one.

It had been three months since Peridot had proposed. She hadn't realised at the time, but preparing for a wedding was a long and difficult job, for a number of reasons. Thankfully, the other gems had been happy to help out, and finally the day had come.

It was most certainly not going to be traditional.

Garnet, Greg and Andy had just finished setting up chairs on the grass outside the barn. The wooden structure had been draped in white - if you didn't go too close, you could almost believe that it wasn't just covered in bed sheets Greg had found. There were also flowers, and those were actually real - Steven had gone out and picked them personally, returning with a wide variety of flowers and a wide variety of bug bites. An arch had been erected at the end of the isle, which had been made from junk found in Amethyst's room and spray-painted white.

Andy put down the chair and rubbed his hands together.

"Well, that's done!" he declared, "What time were we startin' again?"

"Twelve," replied Greg, "In about two hours."

"Alright," nodded Andy, "That's enough time to get you into that suit!"

"Do I have to?" asked Greg, "I mean, I'm sure the cherry sweater's gonna be fine..."

"Hey, we're gonna keep at least one thing here traditional," replied Andy, "C'mon, no gettin' out of this..."

He dragged Greg away.

Garnet glanced down at the chairs, which had been labelled with the names of those invited. Two were marked 'Ruby' and 'Sapphire', with a third label in between reading 'Garnet'.

Garnet shrugged, sitting down in between the two chairs.

The first problem had been finding somebody to actually marry Amethyst and Peridot.

"It's going to have to be somebody with legal authority," mused Connie, sitting on the couch between Steven and Amethyst and tapping on a notepad with a pen, "Otherwise it won't be considered official by law."

"Mayor Dewey's got legal authority!" suggested Steven.

"Not Mayor Dewey," said Amethyst bluntly.

"Okay."

"We could ask my dad, but you don't really know him that well," said Connie, "Or maybe some kind of lawyer..."

The door opened, and Blue Zircon walked into the beach house.

"'Sup Zircs," nodded Amethyst.

"Amethyst."

"Yeah, maybe some kind of layw..."

Connie trailed off as the three of them stared at Zircon.

"Um...is there a problem?" asked Zircon, nervously scratching her head.

Zircon paced behind Greg's van, anxiously fretting about what she needed to do. Steven and Connie stood next to her, trying to calm her down.

"I've only just started learning about human law!" exclaimed Zircon, "I'm not prepared for this!"

"You'll do fine," Steven reassured, "You've been doing really well learning from Mayor Dewey..."

"...learning from his legal team," corrected Zircon, "Dewey doesn't really know anything about law. Or mayoring."

"He tries," said Steven.

"All you've gotta do," said Connie, "Is read them their vows, ask if anybody objects and then declare them married. It'll be okay, Zircon, trust me."

"Vows, okay, got to do vows," nodded Zircon, "Uh...what am I saying again?"

"Here, repeat after me," replied Connie.

Zircon swallowed and nodded.

"Do you, insert name here..."

"Well, Greg, you came to the right place!"

Barb Miller led Greg, Steven, Amethyst and Peridot into her house, leading them right to the kitchen table and sitting down.

"I'm not an expert, but I did a course on clothing design at college," she explained, "My memory's a little patchy but I think I know a little about dressing a wedding."

"Why do we need 'dressing?'" asked Peridot.

"It's an Earth thing," shrugged Greg.

"Alright, let's see what we can come up with," said Barb, picking up a pen, "What'll you two be wearing - suit or dress?"

"Uh..."

Peridot scratched her chin before snapping her fingers.

"Both," she decided, "Why not both?"

"Uh...really?" asked Greg, "I..."

"Sure, I think I can make that work," nodded Barb, starting to scribble a design on a scrap of paper.

"I've got an idea!" said Steven.

He leaned in and whispered in Barb's ear. The older woman nodded and grinned.

"Oh yeah," she said, "That's definitely going in there..."

Greg fidgeted at his collar as he took his seat. He had suited up as Andy had insisted - he wore a tan suit with a waistcoat, although he had managed to convince his cousin to let him drop the tie. Steven sat down next to him - he wore a pink suit and tie, and was bouncing in his seat in excitement.

"Looks like Barb did pretty well with that suit of yours," nodded Greg, "Where's Connie?"

"She's just getting changed," replied Steven, "Apparently Pearl came up with something and..."

He trailed off as Connie arrived next to them.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Connie wore a blue, military-style tunic with red cuffs and collar, crossed with a black belt. Under this, she wore white pants and tall boots. She carried one of Pearl's swords on her belt (Rose's sword must have been too big for the purpose).

Steven tried and failed not to blush.

"Oh no, what're you two up to?" Greg asked half-jokingly.

"Well, I'm glad you asked," replied Pearl, stepping into place behind her student. She wore a similar outfit, except her tunic was pink.

"Are you doing some kind of honour guard?" asked Steven.

"Please tell me you're not giving Connie a rifle or something," said Greg.

"Oh, nothing so uncouth," replied Pearl, "Just swords. Apparently there's a human tradition called a sabre arch, and I thought it might be a good idea to do one of those."

She glanced towards the arch.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" she asked, "This is all very new..."

"They'll be fine," replied Steven, "I promise."

"Lapis?"

Lapis glanced over to Peridot from her hammock.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I...need to ask you something," Peridot said nervously.

"No, I don't know where the remote is," said Lapis.

Peridot swallowed.

"Apparently at human weddings, there's supposed to be someone who stands next to the...'groom' when they get married," explained Peridot, "And I..."

"Groom?" quizzed Lapis, "Humans have such weird names for things."

"I know," nodded Peridot, "But that's not the point. The point is...um..."

She scratched the back of her arm.

"Lapis," she asked, "Can you be that person? Can you be my...what did Steven call it?...best gem?"

There was a brief silence.

"Sure," shrugged Lapis, "Can I go back to sleep now?"

"Thanks Lapis," said Peridot, smiling.

She walked away, letting her barnmate go back to sleep.

Twelve o'clock.

Everyone had arrived by now. The Crystal Gems were there, which went without saying - Garnet, Pearl, Greg, Steven and Connie were all right up the front, and even Lion was sleeping peacefully next to the chairs. The Off-Colours had also been invited - Lars, Rhodonite, the Rutile Twins and Padparadscha sat in the second row with Sadie, while Fluorite had taken a seat a little farther back due to her size. Having helped set up the whole thing, Barb and Andy had also been invited to attend.

Perhaps the hardest of all to bring to the barn had been Amethyst's family - the Famethyst. Steven, Connie and Garnet had gone on their own little mission on the repaired drop ship to bring them, which had been quite the adventure, but they had managed it (and once again, ensured Holly Blue Agate wouldn't report their temporary absence by reminding her that security breaches at the Zoo were technically her responsibility). The Amethysts, Skinny and Carnelian didn't really know what was going on, but they were clearly happy to be there for their Earthling sister.

The last guests were Sour Cream and Onion - not close friends of the couple, admittedly, but they were the children of what Amethyst had called her 'best girl', and Steven was friends with them both, so there had been no objections to their presence.

At the front, Zircon was nervously waiting to begin - Lapis stood to her left, Vidalia to her right. The lawyer gem breathed in deeply - she could do this.

In a human wedding, the groom generally took their place up front before proceedings began, while the bridge was escorted down the aisle. In this case, they had decided that they were both of these things at once. As a result, they both came down the aisle at the same time, to a recording of the Bridal March that Steven had made earlier with his ukulele.

Greg and Steven exchanged a small grin.

Barb and Steven's idea seemed to have worked like a charm. The two gems were wearing the top half of a suit over a wedding gown - green for Peridot, purple and white for Amethyst. At Steven's suggestion, they wore a flower over their lapels in the colour of the other gem. Peridot wore a purple bowtie, while Amethyst had gone for a green necktie.

Before long, they reached the front, turning to face each other. Both looked incredibly nervous - Peridot was visibly shaking.

Zircon swallowed, took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"Fr...uh...friends and family, we are gathered here today," she said, "To witness the joining in matrimony between these two gems, Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG and Amethyst Facet-5 Cut-8XM..."

As Zircon went on, Pearl sniffled quietly. Garnet glanced over to her, noticing her start to tear up.

"It's going to be okay, Pearl," she whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I know," Pearl whispered back, smiling shakily, "I know."

"Before we go onto the vows," said Zircon, "If anybody has any reasons why these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

There was a brief silence.

"Nah, I'm good," said Carnelian, shrugging.

There were a few chuckles, and Amethyst grinned and winked at the small red gem.

"Um...alright," nodded Zircon.

She turned to Amethyst.

"Do you, Amethyst," she said, "Take this gem to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

Amethyst swallowed, and nodded.

"I do."

Zircon turned to Peridot.

"Do you, Peridot," she said, "Take this gem to be your lawfully wedded partner, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"

Peridot glanced briefly to Lapis, who gave her a discreet smile. She looked back at Amethyst and smiled shyly.

"I do."

"You may now exchange rings."

The two gems produced their 'rings' from their jackets - they were in fact small donuts, like the one Peridot had used to propose, although these ones were iced simply in green and purple respectively. They exchanged them - purple to Peridot, green to Amethyst.

"I never knew swapping donuts could be so beautiful," croaked Steven, beginning to tear up.

"I now pronounce you gem and gem," said Zircon, "You may kiss."

Without hesitation, they did so.

The Famethyst erupted into a thunderous cheer as the rest of the audience began to applaud. Steven broke into tears, burying his face into Connie's shoulder as she smiled and patted him on his back - next to them, Garnet was doing to same for an emotional Pearl. Zircon smiled and mopped her brow.

After a while, Peridot and Amethyst split apart, turning to the audience. Amethyst laughed, grabbing Peridot and picking her up bridal style as she began to make her way down the aisle. As she walked, Pearl and Connie quickly ran to the end of the aisle and snapped to attention on opposite sides.

"Present arms!" Pearl shouted.

She and Connie drew their swords, raising them up as an arch over the end of the aisle. Amethyst smiled as they passed underneath, giving Pearl a thumbs up - Pearl smiled and nodded back.

And that was that.

With the wedding over, everyone headed for the barn, where the reception had been set up - Greg, Andy and Lars had set up a selection of food for anybody who wanted it, and Sour Cream quickly set himself up as a DJ. It was perhaps the strangest assortment of people ever to attend a wedding reception - but it was without a doubt one of the most entertaining ever held.

As night fell, Garnet, Rhodonite and Fluorite had wandered outside. The party in the barn showed no sign of slowing down, but it was peaceful under the stairs.

"You know," said Rhodonite, "I think I could've done with another permafusion around here. I mean, not that you guys aren't great, but..."

"As long as Amethyst and Peridot love each other as much as we do," Fluorite said sagely, "It doesn't matter whether they can fuse or not."

"Oh, I-I'm not saying that," replied Rhodonite, "I-I-I was just saying..."

She shrugged.

"I just like talking to other gems who know what it's like to be me, I guess," she said.

"You guys okay out here?"

The fusions glanced to Stevonnie, who had come out of the barn to see what they were doing.

"We're fine, Stevonnie," nodded Garnet, "Just having a conversation."

Stevonnie nodded.

"Well, let me know if you need anything," they said, heading back to the barn.

Rhodonite watched them go, furrowing her brow.

"Do you think they might..."

Garnet smiled and shrugged.

"Maybe," she replied, "But that's for another day."

She lay down on her back, gazing up at the stars.

"Here's to love," she said, grinning.

"May Homeworld understand it one day," sighed Rhodonite.

"Like Peridot and Amethyst," nodded Fluorite.

It was midnight in Beach City, and the reception had finally ended. Amethyst and Peridot sat by the cliff next to the lighthouse, looking up at the moon.

"So," asked Peridot, "Do you reckon this is forever?"

Amethyst chuckled, putting an arm over Peridot's shoulder.

"Nah man," she said, "It's, like, forever plus one."

"It's logically impossible for there to be a period longer than forever, Ames," replied Peridot.

Amethyst grinned.

"I love you, Peri."

"I love you too," replied Peridot, smiling back.

They were silent for a while, listening to the sound of the waves below.

"So," asked Amethyst, "Where to from here?"

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stevenuniversallyreviews · 5 years

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Episode 91: Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

“That’s me, the nice one.”

Considering Steven’s entire personality revolves around putting others first, I’m amazed that it’s taken this long for a “it’s great to help out others, but remember to take care of yourself” episode to come along. The closest thing we’ve had so far is Sworn to the Sword, but even that was more about Connie learning the concept of prioritizing others too highly above herself than actually practicing it.

It’s a tricky subject, because we should be kind and helpful when we can, and taking time for yourself is something that can come across as selfish or unfeeling in a culture where selflessness is virtuous. Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service handles its lesson beautifully by leaning in hard on the importance of balance, rather than suggesting that focusing on the needs of others or the needs of yourself are the only options. And while I’m sure this is a moral that could be taught with the Crystal Gems (Pearl or Ruby in particular) I think our human protagonist is a terrific choice for two reasons.

The first reason is that Steven’s problem of overextending himself to help others usually involves helping the Gems, the people that should be helping him. This is a whole can of worms that will be talked about way more come Steven Universe Future, but if the Gems were able to see that Steven needs to cool it and take care of himself, they would’ve taught him that a long time ago. It isn’t until What’s Your Problem? that one of them realizes that they maybe shouldn’t be putting so much pressure on him to comfort them, and it’s sad but not surprising that this revelation comes from his sister instead of one of his moms.

The second reason is that giving this lesson to a minor character like Kiki allows Steven more leeway to ignore it. So he does.

I've been Kiki. I’m sure a lot of us have. My go-to instinct is to try to help people (I mean I ended up a librarian) but it took me a while to realize that it was exacerbating my own depression to put all the worries of others on my plate. It didn't mean I stopped caring about people, but I had to learn healthy boundaries to keep my own head above water. Having similar friends means I've also been Steven, trying to help others who don't know how to stop helping others, without realizing until later that we had the same problem.

In that sense, this episode about pizza dreams becomes monumentally important to the series, because it’s Steven’s entire problem in a nutshell. Kiki learns the episode’s lesson in a running sequence that evokes Stevonnie's joyous sprint in Alone Together, but the ending is undermined by cutting back to Jenny and Steven for one last joke. I hated that cut when I first watched Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service, because the episode was funny enough that it was okay to end on a sweet moment instead of shoving another gag in at the last second, but watching it again I'm struck by what it forebodes. Kiki is running free, but Steven is asleep on the boardwalk, because even though he helped Kiki figure out that she needs to stop overwhelming herself with the needs of others, he has overwhelmed himself with her needs. And he’ll continue to try and help everyone he sees no matter what. And the further we go, the unhealthier it gets. We see in the very beginning of this story that he understands the value of me-time, preparing a nice dinner for one in his room, but you get the sense that he stops thinking he deserves it right around the time he hears that his mother shattered Pink Diamond.

Let’s talk about Kiki for a second, because she’s such a perfect lead for this story. We don’t know much about her coming into her debut focus episode, especially compared to her twin. She’s nice, but a lot of people in Steven’s universe are nice. She seems to have a stronger work ethic than Jenny, which may or may not be why we don’t see her as often in social situations. She enjoys wordplay enough to not just tell puns but provide commentary on them, which makes her a winner in my book. And most recently, we saw she was willing to pretend to be in love with Ronaldo to help out in Restaurant Wars. I’m not quite mean enough to say feigning attraction to Ronaldo is a sign of true altruism, but I will say she’s way more open to doing whatever it takes to help others than he was.

It isn’t the deepest background of a recurring character, but it’s enough to make it understandable that she’d do Jenny’s work for her. From there it’s a simple matter of going overboard and bringing Steven with her.

It's a little weird talking so much about huge character arcs and intricate plotting in Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service, because the episode itself is super silly. The dream sequences leading up to the finale are hilarious, showing once again how good this crew is at capturing the wacky nuances of dreams, but this time without the tonal interruptions of Lion 3 or Chille Tid. Steven is an expert dreamer by now, and relishes helping his friend while being a huge dork. This is the second episode in a row where a distinct anime influence is felt, this time evoking more specific inspirations, from the title to the absurd Evangelion reference at the climax, with plenty of shonen gags in between. Steven is ostensibly a consumer of children’s media, and while I hope he hasn’t watched Evangelion at his age, it makes sense that his dreams would reflect that in the same way his story in Garnet’s Universe references the likes of Chrono Trigger and Usagi Yojimbo.

Silliness also pervades the editing; the early cut between Steven beginning his meticulously prepared dinner to snoring on the couch with pizza dripping everywhere is my favorite, but I like that we mix it up with actually seeing Steven immediately fall asleep after declaring himself a dream warrior. The dramatic music and intense closeup on Kiki as she explains that she has the same nightmare every night is a funny way to reveal how bad her problem really is while showing how she’s repressing it,.

Then of course there are the jokes. Steven Universe is no stranger to comedy, but rare is an episode with with this many jokes told by characters, rather than situational humor common to television. This is another reason why I appreciate Kiki’s presence, because again, she’s all about that wordplay, capping Steven’s series of pizza-based gags by pointing out that “time to cut the cheese” isn’t a pun (which is debatable; if you define puns as jokes that exploit homonyms, she’s right, but if you include alternate definitions of identical words in that definition, she’s wrong). The highlight, of course, is “pepperanhas.”

I actually think this much humor sort of hurts the message, though. I understand why it’s so prevalent in a dream episode like this, but Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service has a solid message that can be hard to absorb when there’s gag after gag to keep you laughing. The message isn’t hard to understand—the episode has subtlety, but the lesson itself isn’t subtle—and I don’t think any show should preachily value the moral over the plot, but it makes for a tonally imbalanced outing. I still like this story, but it’s just off enough that despite its many strengths and its surprisingly solid place in the overall story of the series, I don’t love it.

That said, I have no complaints about the character work: this is the second episode with just two voice actors (after Open Book), even if one of these actors is voicing for two, so it makes sense that we get a little extra focus on the characters than usual. I’ve already talked about Kiki’s people-pleasing and inability to quash her self-sacrificial tendencies, but this is also a fantastic snapshot of Steven at this point in the show. He's still a goofball, and he's still a good friend, but he's dealing with more nuance than he’s had to in the past. I love his instinct to panic and apologize for going into Kiki's brain without permission, considering his good intentions hurt another friend in The New Lars. And I love the tiny taste of teen attitude when he's exhausted and exasperated and snaps at Kiki with bitter comedy instead of childish anger (which he also apologizes for). For all the silliness, he’s maturing.

Plus, we don't even get that clean of an ending for Kiki, despite her running free in the last scene. After the big confrontation with Pizza Jenny (full name Pizza Jenny Pizza) clears Kiki's mind up, we see that her problem isn't fully gone. While looking around the landscape of her brain, she has to follow up "All the cheese is gone!" with "...well, most of it." You can't snap your finger and fix everything, and Kiki is bound to have lingering issues when it comes to helping herself versus helping others. It’s truly challenging to overstate how prescient this small townie episode ends up being to Steven Universe Future.

This is Jenny’s third episode in a row, and it finally addresses a strange character beat of hers that’s been mentioned, but never seen: that she’s “the evil twin.” She’s more social, a Cool Kid who bends the rules with the freedom that comes with her car, and she apparently conflates liking metal bands to being bad (come to think of it, it’s weird she doesn’t bring any metal influence to Sadie Killer and the Suspects’ sound), but none of those traits qualifies as “evil.” She’s dismissive of Lars at times, but who wouldn’t be? And remember, Jenny was the one who stepped in front of Garnet’s fist to save Steven in Joy Ride, and Jenny was the one whose instinct was to help Stevonnie when their car stalled in Beach City Drift. So it’s about time we actually get some evidence that she’s any sort of bad twin.

It’s pretty tame, which I appreciate given her consistent depiction as a good person. At worst, she’s taking advantage of her sister’s nature, but seeing how the situation resolves it’s more likely that she’s just being selfish and thoughtless than cruelly manipulative. Which isn’t great, but she’s a teenager, which explains not only her behavior here but her desire to exaggerate how bad she is to define herself, especially as a twin who’s bound to be compared to her kind sister. And when Kiki stands up for herself, Jenny is fine picking up the slack (despite the perfect teen reasoning that Kiki likes running so there’s no reason not to run and deliver pizzas).

Was Kiki named so that this episode’s title could eventually work? I have no idea. But I wish we saw more of her than we do: it took ninety-one episodes for her to get a focus episode, and she won’t have another speaking role until Pool Hopping, which is an absurd fifty-two episodes away. Townies in general are intermittent figures in the show’s balancing act of the magical with the mundane, but she’s a remarkably ancillary despite her similarities with Steven. They both work hard, care hard, and joke hard, and I feel like there are more stories to be told from their friendship. Kiki ends up going to the prom with Stevonnie in the non-canon comics, but I wish these kinds of stories had more room in the show. Do I prefer Gem shenanigans? Sure. But Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service is a fine example of how Beach City shenanigans are still worth exploring, and ends up being perhaps the most important townie episode in the series when it comes to sheer thematic resonance.

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Again, the tone here is a little too varied for me to like Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service as much as I wish I did. There are a ton of great elements to it, but in terms of just being an episode I enjoy rewatching, this doesn’t quite make the cut. I obviously don’t hate it, but my feelings aren’t as strong as my gushing about its individual strengths might lead you to believe. Thematic resonance can only do so much!

Top Fifteen

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Chille Tid

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Catch and Release

When It Rains

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

No Thanks!

5. Horror Club 4. Fusion Cuisine 3. House Guest 2. Sadie’s Song 1. Island Adventure

#kiki's pizza delivery service #steven universe #su #steven universally #review

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