#I am sssssso mad about this one for so many reasons

[rawliverandgoronspice]

ooooo I'm having Bad Adventures in the video games making factory ooooooo!!!!

[psychosistr]

Fearsome Facets- Preview

It’s been a while since I posted anything about this story, and I don’t normally like doing previews (my anxiety screams at me if I post things that aren’t finished and haven’t been reviewed at least 5 or 6 times >~<”), but, in honor of my good friend @abbythegamergirl ‘s birthday, I am obliging her birthday request to me and giving you guys a brief preview of the first chapter. Hope you like it! ^.^

Far away, in a solar system light years away from Earth, sits a broken planet filled with a multitude of beings of different shapes, sizes, colors, and functions. One thing they all share though, is quickly obvious:

Gems. Each creature on the planet, no matter its appearance, has a gemstone somewhere on its body.

Amongst the crowds of gems going to different locations or performing different jobs, a pair of gems walk calmly through the crowds towards a majestic blue palace. Well, one of them walks calmly- the other appears to be a bundle of nerves and emotions.

“Do you think she’s mad at us?” The nervous one asks. “I-I mean, we did a good job on that last planet, right? Camille even said we finished ahead of schedule!”

The more anxious of the duo has an interesting appearance compared to the other gems around him. His body is green and appears to be a cross between a plant and a duck- his head even has a petal-rich purple flower instead of hair like other gems around him and his arms are two vines with large leaves at the end to serve as his hands. The stone on his face is a round-cut green sapphire that matches the hue of his body and would easily blend in if not for the way it caught the light as he moved. He has one visible and vibrant blue eye that darts about anxiously as he speaks, the other hidden by a long strand of his purple petal-hair that hangs down over half of his face. The oddly long “hair” actually goes surprisingly well with his outfit: His outfit is a vibrant green dress that looks like it is made of various plants. The main body of the dress looks similar to a type of dark green foxglove flower with the way it billows outward at the bottom to cover his feet, while the puffy-sleeved over-coat on his shoulders that hangs down past his hips with an opening down the middle appears to be made of dark green moss. Accenting the dress nicely is a bouquet of light green-tinted baby’s breath creating the illusion of a frilled collar around his neck, a variety of succulents sprouting up over the middle of the dress to give the colors more depth, and, surprisingly, a cluster of vibrant blue gentians growing closely together over his chest to form a blue diamond shape that angles itself perfectly so that it lines up with the opening of his mossy overcoat.

“Are you asking yourself too many questions? Stressing yourself out for no good reason?” His companion asks with the tone of an experienced salesman about to pitch a product or service to a customer, but with a quiet chuckle to his voice that shows he’s just joking at his friend’s expense. “Then you may be experiencing signs of ‘overthinking your situation and freaking out over nothing’! But, don’t worry, there’s a simple but effective way to alleviate your paranoia and put your mind at ease: Try gem-tested, and gem-approved ‘calming down’, available for a limited time only!”

The calmer of the two gems also has an interesting appearance compared to those around him- even taking his companion into account. For starters, his entire body appears to be made of water and has more of a tall, buff canine look to it than that of a smaller duck like the sapphire. His own gem is also visible further down on his body compared to the other, a rather large royal-blue colored tear-drop shaped lapis lazuli gemstone floating in the water of his right hand. Aside from the more obvious physical differences between the two with their base-species and physical make-up, another glaring difference lies in the lapis lazuli’s outfit and how he carries himself: While the sapphire’s dress is decorative and delicate in nature, the blue gem’s outfit is far more stream-lined and adds to the imposing figure he cuts (well, aside from when he smiles at the sapphire, that is). His clothes consist mainly of a long royal blue colored robe similar to a yukata with midnight blue trim and a subtle rippling wave-pattern in sapphire blue throughout the garment that culminates around a shining blue diamond-shaped insignia on his chest that matches his partner’s, the outfit tied shut with a dark oxford blue sash at his waist. The whole outfit appears to be made of the same water as his body, constantly moving and rippling at the same rate as the rest of his form with the bottom of the robe just being part of the puddle that makes up his feet.

“Oh, ha-ha, very funny.” The sapphire laughs sarcastically while shoving the lapis lazuli’s shoulder, frowning when his leafy hand simply goes through the water before pulling it back out. “Not all of us can be as ‘cool’ as you, you know.”

The lapis lazuli grins and bends his body around so that his upper half is fully facing his friend from the front while his lower half continues walking beside him. “Then maybe you just need to be more flexible.” They share a good-hearted chuckle at the jokes after making sure no one else is within earshot. “Besides,” The liquid gem continues once their laughter subsides. “If we were in trouble, I don’t think HE would be here.”

“Huh?” Looking up to follow his companion’s line of sight, the sapphire lets out a relieved sigh. “Oh..yeah, that’s a good point.”

Sitting on the stairs at the entrance of the palace with a bored expression on his face while idly tinkering with a small light-bulb shaped yellow device is another gem- this one a citrus-colored peridot with a more rodent like appearance and beady black eyes. His triangular-cut gemstone catches the light as he tilts his head to inspect his invention, the corner of his mouth nearly touching the stone on his cheek as he gives it a pleased grin. Unlike the other two gems with their more regal appearance and cool colors, his clothing is brighter and more practical: His outfit is a sleeveless royal-yellow jumpsuit offset with a few decorative lines in goldenrod, ecru, and mellow yellow that look like circuit-lines. The sharp turns and stretches of the lines culminate in the center of his chest to form a multi-colored border around a bright, glittering-gold colored diamond. The few accessories he has are less colorful, consisting of a cyber-yellow belt shaped like an electrical cord, a Dijon colored scarf speckled with a few goldenrod colored spots, and, oddly enough, an ochre colored hat with two gold colored prongs coming out of the top that makes it resemble an electrical plug.

It takes a while for the peridot to notice the arrival of the other two gems, as he’s too preoccupied with his small device. It isn’t until the lapis lazuli poignantly clears his throat that he even bothers to look up and notice the other two, squinting briefly as he looks at them. “Oh, hey…Bushroot, hey Liquidator.” The pause in his speech was apparently him trying to verify who he was actually looking at.

Liquidator grins at the yellow gem. “And hello to you too, Megavolt. So, tell us, are you here for another joint-expedition? Operators are standing by!”

“I guess so.” Megavolt shrugs as he stands up, sticking his tools and the device in a pocket on his jumpsuit for the time being. “That zultanite said something, but I don’t really remember what it was.”

“Camille.” Liquidator reminds him while leading the other two into the palace. “Sources say she would know better than to leave any important messages with you, so let’s go get the product information in-person.”

“I hope they’re not sending us anywhere dangerous again.” Bushroot huffs and folds his vine-like arms. “That last planet was supposed to be easy, but every other creature tried to take a bite out of me!”

“They just knew quality when they saw it.” Liquidator says teasingly with a smirk cast back in the sapphire’s direction. “It must be hard being in such high-demand all the time.”

Bushroot rolls his eyes with a sarcastic tone to his voice. “I could live without the inflated consumer-demand, thanks.”

“But you’re ssssso popular around here.” A voice with a distinctive hiss to it speaks from somewhere high above the trio. A pair of yellow eyes soon appear out of nowhere on one of the nearby pillars. The rest of the body soon follows, revealing a female duck with a long neck and, surprisingly, a white reptilian tail with a marquise-cut color-changing zultanite right in the middle of the extra appendage. Her wild and messy dark blue hair is pulled back into a barely kept together ponytail, making the elegant long-sleeved Egyptian-blue ball gown with its glittering white swirls that frame a blue diamond shape in the center seem out of place with the general energy she gives off. “You sssshould be honored to get sssssso many misssssionsss.” The zultanite teases while climbing down the pillar like an actual lizard, jumping down to the floor with ease once she’s close enough.

“Honored? Sure, Camille. Happy to get chased around by gigantic plant-eating organic monsters half the size of the diamonds? Not so much.” Bushroot shudders at the memory of their recent mission.

“Well then, you’re in luck.” Camille chuckles at the sapphire’s obvious discomfort before turning towards a huge double-doored entrance to another room. “Thissss next one isssss much sssafer……probably.”

At a snap of the zultanite’s fingers, the intricately detailed doors covered in blue diamond-shaped stones open to reveal a grand throne room. At the end of a long blue carpet stretching from the doorway to the elaborate blue marble throne on the opposite end of the room, there is a large figure more than five or six times the size of the gems currently entering the room. The much larger gem is clothed in a long black hooded gown with navy blue lace trim along the sleeves, hood, and the long trail of the dress, making it look lovely but obscuring all but the gem’s blue duck-like beak from view while her head is tilted downward.

Once all four gems have crossed the distance to the throne, they cross their arms in front of their chests with their hands folded back so that their fingertips touch in a way that frames the diamond insignias on their outfits.

“My diamond.” The gems with the blue diamond insignia say in unison.

“Blue Diamond.” The single yellow gem says at the same time.

Blue Diamond lifts her head to regard the four gems properly, blue eyes lined with dark black mascara and equally dark eyeshadow peering at them from within the darkness of the hood around her face. “Oh, you’re here…thank you for arriving so quickly, I know you two just returned from your last assignment and it was a bit more trouble than we anticipated.”

“Not to worry, my diamond.” Liquidator replies with a bow of his head. “Liquidator-brand service is guaranteed arrival in thirty minutes or less, no questions asked!”

“Your promptness is always appreciated, Liquidator.” Blue Diamond’s previously calm voice takes on a slightly more serious tone as she speaks. “You three are the most efficient elites between myself and Yellow Diamond, and you work quite well together. It may be difficult, but I have a mission that I believe the three of you would be perfect for.”

At the larger gem’s words, Bushroot’s eye widens slightly. Images of a green and blue planet flash in his mind, along with a pink gemstone and scarred battlefield. “I foresee…a planet…a place with a pink gem…and..a battlefield…? No…an abandoned battlefield…a place where a lot of gems lost their lives…a place…a place we know…” The words flow from his mouth absentmindedly, as if he is unable to stop himself from voicing what his mind shows him.

“You’re foreseeing is correct as usual, Bushroot.” Blue Diamond’s beak turns down in a heavy frown. “It has been many years since the three of you last set foot on that planet…but there were certain treasures and a very valuable ship left behind in that chaos when…when Pink…” The large gem’s voice breaks off into a choked sob and she covers her face with one hand as large tears fall from her eyes.

“!!” Before the other gems have time to brace themselves, a wave of blue energy leaves Blue Diamond’s body and tints the entire throne room blue. Instantly, each of the smaller gems end up crying as well, trying to stay standing despite the heavy feeling of depression weighing down on them, with only Liquidator succeeding in his attempts.

“My…My diamond..” The lapis lazuli manages to get the larger gem’s attention, though just barely before a wave of tears leave his dark eyes.

“……” Blue Diamond takes a deep breath and calms herself, the blue energy receding and relieving the others of the depressing feeling so that they can stand properly once more. “My apologies.” She takes another deep breath, picking up where she left off. “There were many things left behind after the war ended. I need you three to recover what treasures and weapons you can from that place. From the Earth.”

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Notes: And there you have it, the first scene of the first chapter. I know it’s not much, only about 2200 words, but that part was the easiest to show without breaking off in the middle of a scene ^^” Hope you guys like what I have so far and, I promise, I do have the first chapter in production among everything else that I’m working on ^^”