#Pearl - “They must perish!”

[nightmxre-univxrse]

Muses

Name: Sark the Sharpness Demon

Nickname: Traitor, Master.

Age: Around 9500 years old.

Sexuality: Alosexual Straight

Gender: Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Height: 3’5 mortal form, 10’0 true form.

How he talks: “This”

Name: Amy Rose

Nickname: Rosy.

Age: 16

Sexuality: Straight

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Height: 2’11

How she talks: “This”

Name: Sally Acorn

Nickname: Aly.

Age: 17

Sexuality: Straight

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Height: 3’5

How she talks: “This”

Name: Cream

Nickname: Pearl, Little Rabbit.

Age: 19

Sexuality: Straight

Gender: Female

Pronouns: She/Her

Height: 3’3

How she talks: “This”

[odinsblog]

When I was a little boy, the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor. It was a surprise attack, and thousands of U.S. servicemembers perished. As a nation, we were stunned. And we vowed to strike back. Revenge was understandably on everyone’s mind, including many Americans of Japanese descent who opposed the emperor and were peaceful and law-abiding U.S. citizens and residents.

In its zeal to exact that revenge, however, the U.S. government overreacted, out of fear and bigotry. They targeted everyone who happened to look like the people who had carried out the attack. Those of us who had done nothing wrong were forced to pay the consequences for the decisions of others far away and disconnected from us. We were interned for years, in open-air prisons, while America went off to fight Japan, Germany and Italy.

It’s so important that we carry the lessons of the past through to today. Merely because one group commits atrocities and acts with depravity does not mean vast hundreds of thousands or even millions of others should be lumped together with them and made to suffer. We must never paint with the brush of justice and retaliation too broadly, or the toll of human suffering will rise immeasurably.

—George Takei

[winged-self-indulgence]

Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to honour @queeniesblog, who enables the demon living rent free in my brain. Consider this an early-early-early gift. 1.9K words, AFAB!MC, Favor VN wedding night DLC lmao

Z insists on carrying you across the threshold. You’re not even sure where he heard about the tradition, antiquated as it was. Perhaps the demon had overheard one of your more imaginative bridesmaids daydreaming about it, or maybe Z had crashed some medieval wedding in Europe and liked the idea of tossing his chosen human over his shoulder and making off with them like a beast out of the darkest folktales. You hadn’t been able to get a straight answer out of the demon, which was such a common occurrence you wondered why you'd even tried in the first place.

“You only had to carry me into the house,” you roll your eyes, wrapping your arms tighter around Z’s broad shoulders. “Not all the way from the wedding venue. I didn’t have to be in your lap for the whole trip.”

He’s partly shifted, the transformation dial swinging somewhere between the mostly human veneer you met them as and the massive abyssal creature you’ve only seen when the demon slips into your dreams. Even then, the shape was unclear, leaving only the vague sense of being utterly dwarfed by a thing so far beyond human comprehension that your brain struggled to put the separate pieces together.

This form is easier to perceive. At the very least, the 7ft 5” frame didn’t make your brain struggle with the wretchedness of the chthonic depths.

Z’s arms tighten around your frame, tar-drenched hands sliding over the pearl-studded filigree of your snow-white gown – their idea of a joke – to squeeze the plush underside of your thighs.

“And let those weaklings doubt my claim over you?” Z’s lips pull down into an exaggerated moue of distaste. “Perish the thought, Dove. Besides, you were the one who vetoed the other ritual–”

“I’m not letting you fuck me in front of your entire court!” You cut him off, face hot with what you are choosing to label as pure mortification. The lascivious flash of Z’s teeth tells you otherwise and you do your best to glare right back. “It’s not happening, you horndog!”

“Mm, I don’t know sweetheart,” Z murmurs and holds you closer, pulling you flush against his frame. Curved fangs nudge at your throat, exerting a sharp pressure through the delicate collar wrapped around vulnerable flesh. It’s a heady reminder. It is also a delicious threat. You shudder, a breath hitching somewhere in your chest, and the demon laughs at the sound, breath hot against your skin and sending another shiver down your spine. “I bet I could figure out some way to convince you.”

As soon as the door to the bedroom opens, Z’s lips are on yours. The kiss is fervent, devouring, an arrogant forked tongue pressing into your mouth with intent that has you squirming in place. Your own hormones and the weight of his huge frame pin you to the bed while rough hands roam over your body, greedy and insatiable, the demon unable to control the sheer voracity of their appetite for you. They caress the shape of your body through your clothes, groping with palms that feel burning hot even through layers of beading and silk.

Their tongue traces a slick trail up to the sensitive skin behind your ear. The jagged pinch of canines against the helix of your ear has you choking back a desperate whimper, and the demon retracts long enough to click his teeth. “Nuh-uh. Whine for me, baby. I wanna hear every sound out of that pretty little mouth.”

The next bite is far less gentle, and the wordless cry that falls from your lips burns your cheeks. You want to retaliate somehow, but Z’s tail is infuriatingly out of reach, lashing back and forth behind the demon’s back in a manner that betrays their obvious excitement.

“There’s my Dove,” Z coos against your lips, smirking at your overheated expression. “Poor thing, you must be so uncomfortable in all those layers, darling. Here, let me help you get those pesky clothes off.”

A hand grabs the front of your strapless dress and yanks, filling the room with the sound of tearing fabric. Before you can open your mouth complain, Z’s mouth is on your exposed breasts, and your mind instantly goes blank. Your back arched, head falling back against the pillow as the demon laves his tongue over your nipples, drawing them deep into mouth and sucking as though by sheer dedication he can force your tits to grow swollen with milk.

Muscular arms reach down to hitch your hips around Z’s waist. It’s a stretch in this form, huge as he is, and your thighs split embarrassingly wide. You gasp, feeling the solid weight of his bulge prodding against your barely clothed cunt and you can’t stop yourself from pushing harder against the thick length. The lingerie you’d worn for your wedding night was designed more for form than actual function, hardly more than a few thin pieces of pearl-white lace held together by thinner ribbons. A single tug from your fingers would send it fluttering to pieces.

Already sheer enough to narrowly fit the definition of underwear, your juices have turned the fabric nearly transparent, moulding it against the lips of your pussy. In the face of that, Z’s cock seems like overkill – prominent veins grinding back into the motion of your hips with enough force to knock the breath from you.

“Look at you, getting my cock all nice and slick,” Z groans into your ear, an arm hiking your left leg higher while the other pinches your chin and drags your face to meet his fiery gaze. “Fuck, you’re drenched baby. Such a needy hole, huh?”

“Z!” You spit out the demon’s name, fed up with their teasing. “I need–! Just put it in already!”

“Put what in?” He taunts, blinking those amber eyes innocently while a fat glob of precum pools at the tip of his cock. You feel the obscene warmth when it reaches the sodden cloth barely protecting what’s left of your chastity. You open your mouth to repeat your demands, but another jerk of Z’s hips has you whining again. When he speaks again, his voice drips with false regret. “Whoops, I’m so sorry Dove, I didn’t mean to. Come on, use your words baby. I’m listening. Where exactly do you want me to put my cock?”

“I-Inside,” you gasp, struggling to hook your ankles at Z’s back so you can draw the demon closer to you. “Please, I need you inside!”

“Then get those pretty panties off, Dove,” Z pushes themselves up, taking the weight off their arms and off you. The sudden change fills you with a strange sense of loss, until you lift your head and find the demon still looming over your, eyes still fixed on your debauched state with terrifying intensity. It’s inhuman; a flat, hungry stare that promises to swallow you whole – bones and all.

A hand is wrapped around their cock, rhythmically squeezing dark flesh up and down and occasionally pausing to thumb the bulbous tip that oozes sticky precum. The sight makes your mouth water, until Z lets out a dark chuckle.

“Dove,” he croons, hand never stopping or slowing down, “you know how impatient I can be. Unless you want me to shove my cock down your throat instead of that pretty little cunt, I’d advise you to stop looking at me like that.”

Huffing, you manage to tear your eyes away and focus on reaching for your underwear. It’s practically tissue at this point, scarcely more than scraps clinging to your cunt, and yet the act of peeling them away feels somehow obscene. Instinctively, you try to inch your legs shut, but a large hand catches you by the ankle and drags you into the embrace of an inferno.

You catch yourself against Z’s broad chest, yelping when you find yourself back in a variant of your earlier pose – this time balanced upright in the demon’s lap instead of pinned prone on the bed. Z’s cock finds itself back against your pussy lips, this time without even the minuscule protection of your underwear. A glance down reveals the sheer difference in size between the two of you, his cockhead reaching beyond your navel.

“You can take it, honey,” Z hums, reaching down to press two fingers through your slick folds. The stretch has you gasping his name, wrapping your arms tighter around his shoulders as your pussy squeezes around Z’s pointer and middle digits. He stretches you out, whispering filth into your ear while he fondles you with a teasingly condescending sort of affection. “Aw, is it too much for you, pet? You can handle a little more for me, can’t you? Oh no, no, no, don’t you dare hide your face from me, darling. You’re so cute when you cry. That’s it, give it to me.”

Z jams his thumb against your clit, curling his fingers at the same time. Your vision goes white, blurry with tears, as you careen into an orgasm so intense that you swear you see entire galaxies spinning before you. When you manage to come back to yourself, the head of his cock his lined up with your hole. A pleading moan is all the acquiescence Z requires before it pops in, and you scramble to cling to your sanity.

The stretch burns, a pleasurable heat that arches your back and forces another inch of Z’s cock into your cunt. “Shit,” the demon curses, an arm holding up your weight and the talons of the other gripping the mattress below in a concerted effort to hold back as best he can. “Fuck don’t do that, Dove. So goddamn tight, you’ll make me come if you don’t stop squeezing me like that.”

“Feels too good,” you moan back, fighting the urge to obey gravity and sink down onto the girth splitting you open. Only Z’s grip on your waist prevents that from happening, and it’s your turn to grow impatient. “You said I could have anything as long as I asked. Are you going to deny me on our wedding night?”

“Hm, I see someone’s grown spoiled,” Z smirks down at you, unmoving despite the flush high on his cheeks. Behind him, his tail thrashes back and forth, belying his smug words. “Ask me nicely pet.”

You barely refrain from rolling your eyes, before biting back a sardonic look of your own. Leaning closer, you force yourself to balance on your knees – dislodging Z’s cock completely, causing him to curse under his breath – and press your lips to his ear.

“Pretty please, oh Great Marquis, won’t you please come inside my cunt?” You whine in the most breathy, put-upon, amateur porno actress voice you can muster. “I’m so wet for you, and I need you to shove your fat cock into my tiny little pussy and fill me up so much that I can’t even stand. Please Z, please fuck my wet little – ah!”

“Be careful what you ask for,” Z hissed, spearing you on his cock. Once again, your world vanishes, reduced to nothing else beyond broken moans and the burning pleasure of Z’s swollen cock abusing your aching cunt. “Don’t worry, Dove, I’ll make it up to you. Since you want my come so badly, I’ll make sure to fuck you niiiice and full. After all, we have all the time in the world…”

[perlen-gold]

Of Fairest Flame

Inspired by @melkors-defense-attorney and this post!

At Mairon’s heels the whole world was made of gold.

When he passed, even the black-oblivion, obsidian-sleek walls of Utumno lit brazen-bright. Pits of bonfires woke beneath the iced rocks, and gilded flame-tips licked at his limbs from the sheer walls of Angband, polished to hot embers and glowing coals in his presence.

Wherever he trod was the flame of his hair. However dark the night, its lustrous strands wove glowing rubies into the roaming night. Whatever darkness he summoned around him was pierced by the golden gaze of his eyes.

His shadow dissolved into a golden crown when his fairness shone forth, as he willed it to, as leaping water over steep stones and cleaving rocks.

And I saw him take it, this heated glow of his as he had taken the rising crown from my hands. Oh, I had stared at him, harder and deeper than any mountain flesh or gaping chasm. I could have struck him down, torn him asunder as easily as I called spitting heights and depths to my biding. And yet his flame never even flickered in my direction. Not even when, contemptuous, he took the gleaming jewels, heady with his disdain, from me. For my little flame did not shape mountains and chasms.

Gilded iron was his alloy and will his anvil.

It was beauty alone that Mairon shaped.

Patient, or as patient as I would, I watched him call forth in the forge the spearing splendor of my crown and the hideous shape of Orcs under the skies just as meticulously.

There is a fearsomeness in unpleasing appearance and Mairon knew it well. The dread Orcs inspire in the common man was of his design also-

So was the stronghold of Angband. A rock-hewn fortress of efficiency, warfare and secrecy, I never tired to wander its complexity, wondering and, with all my heart, occasionally longing to fell it just to see how Mairon would rebuild and recreate its terrible beauty all over again, though I never told him so. He knew anyway, of course, and kept his keen golden eye on me like a wolf guarding its prey.

Yes, ghastly they were, the creatures Mairon unleashed upon his foes, the heinous Orcs and gruesome goblins, mountain-trolls and blood-teethed wolves, swathed in the blinding darkness of my Balrogs and fire-drinking dragons.

Mairon, however, ceased to be fair in battle.

Oh, he could have seduced most of his adversaries, forced onto week knees with his sorcery many more and all the rest. But a cobra will not feed upon limp flesh, the cheetah must race, the falcon swoop to pierce the songbird onto its claw.

And so, with his flickering flame-smile, Sauron, as they called him, set a different trap entirely to spring.

The light upon his face was an uncanny ally of his.

Illuminating the finest of his bones to marble-cutting flawlessness.

Chiseled heights, darkness and light were there ought to be neither, glowing shades and whisper-gleaming rays of sunlight beneath a blackened sky.

His voice rang the air like silvered iron, mellifluous and haunting at once, as commanding as a furnace and as tender as a caressing hand, his laugh bright sunlit pearls and cruelly suffocating ashes.

At the dawn, on the shore of battle, the highest elven kings, fiercest queens and most spirited warriors rode for him without hesitation. Sauron, the cruel, they murmured stern-faced among them, and he was indeed wickeder than any Orc or Balrog of mine.

They set out and rode and stroke to earn their place facing him, swords held aloft, their steadfast resolve soaring to shield their people and beloved ones and let detested Morgoth’s lieutenant perish at last.

What they met utterly unnerved, unrooted, unhinged them.

Comeliness.

Handsomeness.

Fairness.

Pulchritude.

Beauty.

Those are mere words. Spoken tumbling winter-leaves struggling to paint a hail storm.

He was all and naught.

And more.

And more.

And more of it.

Both women and men trembled in mesmerized dread and eerie, bloodcurdling want, gaping upon him. Intoxicating pleasure rose in them when they first caught his eye. It was like pain to them.

 By then Marion’s battle-born strides would have become languid-long strolls. The few who still had any morsels of wit left about them tried to break away their eyes from the light-infused apparition frantically, searching for the malice of his mace, gripping their swords with their sweat-slippery fingers.

It always charmed him into the smallest, most dazzlingly curving smile. They almost never realized that to Mairon the sword tip’s deadly dance was just another art, another craft to master and shape.

The most valiant were always wild on their obedient horses to shoot like arrows at him.

Towards the end, they all fell, crawled, cursed, glowered, quivered under the tip of his iron-clad foot. I have always thought him nearly never more beautiful than when he coaxes his cruelty like a lover’s kiss before the bite.

Around them their friend’s torn faces and daughters’ and sons’ smeared lips, honeyed with crimson blossoms and singing gold flowers. The unnatural light painted the blood-gasping ground and changed their fallen comrade-in-arms’ gruesome wounds to crimson-cold brocade.

Mairon had them between his teeth till they died of bliss and horror alike.

Until they sighed and shrieked and moaned and wept.

 “You are Sauron,” they would utter, staring, accusing, spitting at him.

Oh, yes, Mairon said. Smiled. Oh, yes, yes.

Sometimes the very young ones, well-trained boys and girls, would beg him then. Then, Mairon’s rose-soft, velvet-curling lips smiled even more beautiful.

Around him the thrusting, piercing, blood-lilting, iron-soaked air was limned with gold. In this pause, this endless biding of time against the grey-spraying portrait of misting blood and blooming battle, he liked to pull off his helmet at last. Slow and delicately this one, rapidly in a great sweeping arch the other time.

It is the last thing they always see.

The reaching length of his hair curling into fire-lit waves of gleaming water ripples, his sun-shaming light pouring as endless waterfalls.

The pinkish tip of his tongue a glimpse between his curving, gold-dusted lips in the moment of his kill.

In the blink of a startled eye, Mairon’s beauty rippled into a haunting, living, wraith-like phantom.

The high-browed elven lord’s eyes always widened and their lips spit on the ground before his last smile.

Before he opened them as ripe figs bursting on touch.

When I came forth from my fortress, the ground shook with satisfying anticipation and a rumble swept through our armies, his and mine, mine and his, ours and theirs. As I stepped forward without forewarning, the roiling battle was surging under Mairon’s sway as usual.

A draught of wind … I could listen to the softness of Mairon’s petal-perfect skin in it. I could savor the unnatural shadows illuminating his brow and cheekbones whispering across his features and taste the lashing of his hair in my mouth, scarlet-sizzling as coals. On his flaming head his crown – for it was more iron crown than helmet – was a smooth black somehow enlightening the flawlessness of his features even more. His iron-slinking armor, sharp as curving wolf teeth, clung to the virtue of his shape. His fiery hair, tamed in the forge only, was afly like shimmering birds. I saw it whip through the air as Mairon turned abruptly around even before the roaring Orcs next to me blinked at my sudden presence.

At once, I saw the flare in him bright as sunlit gemstones as I set foot on the battle field, his intricate thoughts shooting like spider’s webs into a myriad of calculations at once.

The mind of any other Vala and their servants are like lily-bedded ponds. Deep their water runs but slow, and the pebble thrown barely bounces across the surface. The ripples are soon gone.

Mairon’s mind, however, darted like fire prancing, dazzling to watch its hundred and thousand swift flickers.

I seldom partook in battle and, oh, hard it was becoming already to stifle my laughter.

Promptly, I could see his clever embers stirred in their battle-focused ash-bed, swiftly and instantaneously.

Ah, how often had I thwarted his meticulous plans in the past before for no obvious reason – not obvious to him, that is – at all?

Sometimes I had leapt into action when he would have stalled my impatient hand, sought to preserve what I annihilated and at other times I had cherished what Mairon had deemed worthless.

So wary was his gaze as it first flew into my direction like a sleeping volcano’s first glimmer that I could sense a thousand thoughts ignite into a hundred interweaving sparks at once. He knew I was seldom to do what he bid me to and never to follow a plan to its end.

Oh, but he was a quick-bright little flame, and whatever havoc I wrought upon his elaborate schemes he would never be surprised nor deceived twice and what could scratch upon the perfection of his composure once never even reflected on the polished marble sheen of his features ever again.

Oh, but he knew me so well indeed, as the fire knows the logs it steadily consumes. It had become increasingly hard to catch him unawares, to make any impression upon his clever, ever-calm countenance.

A thousand wiles I had played upon him through the ages already and a thousand predictions and presumptions were lapping at his flame-spurred heels now.

As soon as I set foot on the ground it trembled and Mairon’s gold-flame hair was afly.

Instantaneously, his face turned in the direction of my arrival and, though he was far away on a lone hill, in the midst of battle, a commander of forces who would be commanded by none other, I could see his shimmering beauty whip around.

Belike, I would seek his advice or perhaps I would undo all his careful webs and sunder all his admirable designs upon a mere whim of mine – he was fascinated and loath to watch me do it.

So, as the ground rumbled beneath my iron-clad footfalls and even the darkest creatures of my armies shrank away in fright, I could see him not step back like them but instead devise and foretell a thousand things to be prepared for me, to predict my wisdom – of which he doomed little upon me – and envision the chaos I could wreck.

Bright could I see the light of his mind as he drew it, keen as the nimble blade he was wilding.

A lesser being he was, yes, so much more fragile and less mighty than I. But none of the other Vala, let alone their servants, possessed his mind’s spark-gleaming quickness, second only – or so I hoped to believe – to my own infinite-stretching mind.

Golden thoughts sparked within it, darting as light, trying to decipher the cause and – more important in Mairon’s glittering mind – the ends of my wild stepping into battle.

Again, I almost burst out laughing.

My hammer, however, dragged a gaping gorge behind me. I did not lift it nor unleash its deadly power and that, I thought, a brimming in my chest, was what drew Mairon’s suspsicion most. 

From my path, my army swayed, Orcs and darker creatures shrinking back.

But I am a god and it took me scarcely more than a few strides before I reached him.

Mairon’s face was like marble showing neither dent nor impression whatsoever. If I had knelt at his feet his splendid expression would have shattered – but in my mind the idea I carried within me was of another kind and I thrilled with the anticipation of it.

Ah, how unearthly, uncannily, unrelentingly beautiful he was!

Mairon, his sword reluctantly held, raised his gold-infused gaze to me.

Inside the dazzling gold there were cold calculation and smug disdain aglitter.

Ah.

That potent mixture of mocking smugness and complacent taunt.

I have never told him that, though lesser in being, immortality and power, Mairon’s visage bore one fruit none other in Eä could offer.

In all other beings I had seen and sniffed it, beasts and birds, elves and orcs, wild things and god-like creatures alike. The other Vala, too, I had seen the sheen of it upon them – why, even Manwë – and it had filled me with glee unimaginable.

Not him, though.

Never him.

Forest of wiles, oceans quick as arrows and mountains sharp as knives, I could see a whole world blazing in his aureate eyes.

Even jeering derision, if he had the nerve for it – and Mairon almost always did. Even, in those rarest moments when he was most unguarded, trust.

Amidst the tides of our forces I stood still in front of him. Around Mairon’s flaring hair and golden limbs curled the smoke grey of his armor, somehow illuming the brilliant symmetry of his features even more, his iron-slinking armor clinging to the sculptured fairness of his shape.

That fierce serpent beauty flashed.

Yes, my lord? What is it that drives you forward to my meek reign?

The scarlet flame of his hair tangling around him in a windless breeze, a luscious bow, mockingly coy, of curving lips and white teeth. I could hear his voice tingle in my head.

Having left your hideout, is there something you ask of me?

Ah.

Insolence and impudence. Arrogance. Amusement.

A whole world but never fear.

I could have wrapped my hands around his slender neck and squeezed without even a gleam of scare in him. I could have lifted my hammer, torn the earth beneath his feet, dictated the skies to strike him with thunder and lightning.

Ages and aeons ago, in the sweltering gleam of Aul��’s forge, he had spotted me among the darkness long before I revealed myself. His eyes shone in the dark brighter than any cat’s. Instead of raising his voice, crying wolf and havoc for help, he watched me and I could feel his gold-gaze lingering.

I went back to my underground halls that day, pondering that brazen insolence just to return the next night trying to break his unwavering gaze.

“How do you know I will not smite you where you stand?” I asked him upon the next day in the deserted forge when I let go of the shadows at last to bend over him.

He had cocked his head like a bird and returned, sleek as a raven:

“How will you know I will not betray you where you sit?”

The cheek! I was a poisonous viper and he was another and, oh, how fiercely I wanted him to be mine, mine, mine then and mine alone!

His soft neck was between my hands before even he could elude me. Instantaneously, the gold in his eyes sparked with realization and horrified shock of what I was about to do in a split heartbeat ere I was upon him. His lustrous hair flew like gold ribbons in a wind where there was none, his skin was iridescent in his otherworldly apparition-beauty.

His gilt-rimmed pupils dilated but it was already too late.

I pressed my mouth amidst the surging battle forces upon his pearly lips and kissed.

Flame-swift, Mairon’s rage was so instantaneous I had to swallow my cackling laughter just to prolong the touching of our lips a little longer before he could defy me.

A conflagration met my mouth and I, made of ice and fire, allowed him to singe me till I felt actual pain as I burnt and grinned now beholding the utter outrage in Mairon’s gold-limned eyes.

I could not fathom what incensed him more – the fact that I would do this outside the secrecy of his sweltering bed chambers or the incidental truth that I had accomplished to take him yet again by utter surprise.

Suddenly his hot-white fury came, ever more terrifying and beautiful than a thunderstorm.

He looked like he might have struck me down then and there, me, in front of everyone.

Then Mairon turned – not because he could not but would not strike me – and away he  went like an inferno to ravage the battlefield, descending upon our enemies as the sun, golden-bright and blind-burning, veiled in the light of stars and comets, and I watched him, his beautiful blaze transforming into a wraith-like furnace which he cast upon the enemy so that neither elven nor mortal survivor – if they survived – would be able to look upon a beautiful face, be it fair maiden or lovely lad or sweet rose, and bear it ever again.

As my thunder-laugh broke from my chest the ground around me shook and shuddered.

Pierced as though scorched, the swelling of my lower lip seared.

Oh, I was looking forward to golden vengeance he would spin to wreak upon me.

I laughed.

[thesweetnessofspring]

Do we know what happens to the pearl at the end of Mockingjay ? I know she doesn't really need it now that they grow back together and Peeta is actually here in 12 but I feel like this is something she would keep, right ?

Hi nonny!

We don't know for sure what happens to the pearl. As far as I can remember, the last time it's mentioned is when Katniss puts the key to Peeta's handcuffs in her pocket, where it clinks against the pearl.

So knowing that Katniss sustains burns on her body from the bombs, it's likely either it perished or got lost in the fire (which for fanfiction, I am more than happy to ignore).

I know this isn't a prompt, but this question gave me an idea, so do you mind if I share?

i.

I can feel Peeta's fury burn into me as my prep team comes to adjust my make-up. It's different than early in his hijacking. He's not attacking me or set off by the sight of my face. He loathes what I just did, the monstrosity I released in the world.

Peeta is escorted out the door by Peacekeepers in their white uniforms and the absence of his gaze removes some of the numbness I feel. The only thing that has the power to hurt me now is what I lost with him. What we might have had, if not for Snow.

Will he understand? I wonder. He's already thought the worst of me and it will be easier for him if he continues to hate me. Still, as the final bit of powder is brushed on my face, I grab Venia by the wrist. Venia, who has been the strongest.

"Venia," I say. "When you see Peeta again, will you please give him this from me?"

The pearl I'd been rolling in my fingers for months now finds their way into Venia's hand, her fingernails unpainted but shaped and buffed.

"You can give it to him yourself," Venia says.

"I think you'll see him sooner than I will," I say.

And although strong and capable, Venia is still a little too airheaded to understand what this means. But I'd always intended to return the pearl to Peeta after my death. I may never undo the hate Snow put into him, but I can still give him one last gift. To let him know what he meant to me.

ii.

I've never been to the visiting room before. Haymitch is caught up in legal battle after legal battle for both Katniss and myself, and there's no one left in the Capitol who would bother coming to see me. Not hijacked Peeta, unstable and dangerous.

In a plush velvet armchair, a spindly woman with gold tattoos over her eyebrows and hair that has been chopped to her chin with aqua ends sits perched on the edge like a bird. It takes me a minute to place who she is. Someone from Katniss's prep team, though I'm not sure what her name is.

The woman stands up as I come in, nervously looking at the nurse who closes the door.

"It's all right," I say. "There are cameras here. It isn't as private as they like to pretend it to be."

But what really is private here in the Capitol anyway?

"I'm not sure if you remember me," the woman says. "I'm Venia, I'm--"

"Part of Katniss's prep team," I say.

She gives a shaky smile. "That's right. I would have come sooner, but I'd hoped circumstances would change."

"Thank you for coming," I say.

"I have something for you," she says and draws from around her side a purse so small, I think only a rock could fit inside.

"I don't need anything," I try to refuse.

"I promised Katniss I would get it to you," Venia says. "I promised her before...it all happened."

Venia sticks her forefinger and thumb into the small opening of her purse and draws out an iridescent pearl the size of a pea. Sometimes, something I come across is familiar to me, even if I don't remember it. This pearl strikes me with this same familiarity, and I know if Katniss wanted me to have it, then it must have been important.

Venia walks over to me and drops the pearl in the palm of my hand.

"I'd hoped I could give it back to her," Venia says. "But I'm not sure if that will be possible now."

"Thank you," I say, closing my fist around the pearl.

Venia's crying silent tears now. "I hope you two get to see each other again."

After she leaves, the nurses inspect the pearl as to whether or not I'll get to keep it in my room. It's determined that, even if I swallowed it, it's small enough not to choke me, and poses no other danger.

In my room at night, I roll the pearl between my fingers, brush my lips against it. Think of the girl who in what she thought would be her last moments, found someone to deliver this pearl to me. The girl still on trial, who I might never see alive.

One night, the memory comes back. If you put enough pressure on coals, it turns into pearls!

I laugh out loud, the first laugh I've had in a long while. And it unlocks a derangement in me and I laugh until my stomach aches and tears drip down my cheeks.

My pearl, my girl, I think as the laughter subsides. I'm going to give it back to her someday.

iii.

A soft knock sounds at my door, followed by Peeta's gentle voice calling my name. I don't answer. I don't move. Whatever improvement I've been through these past six weeks are gone now.

Peeta opens the door a crack, peering in and making eye contact where I lay on the bed. He pushes the door open more and then treads with his heavy step across the carpet and sits down on the floor by my pillow.

"Bad day?" he asks.

I nod. It's my birthday. My first birthday without her. I had only cared about a birthday as much as it brought me to the end of being of reaping age. Now it doesn't matter. She won't be getting any older. When her birthday comes in a couple of weeks, she'll stay thirteen.

"I have a present for you," Peeta says. "I haven't been sure when to give this to you, so I thought now would be as good of a time as any."

He's piqued my curiosity enough that I sit up in bed and scoot over to make room for him. He settles so the sides of our bodies touch, a perfect line from leg to hip to shoulder.

"I don't see anything," I say. His hands are empty, and I start to doubt him.

Then his hand goes into his left breast pocket and he withdraws from it our pearl. Our fingers brush as I pick it up and hold it out. In the room with my shades drawn, its shine is dulled and its color dark. But I know once I go out, its brilliance will be captured once more, the pink and cloudy blue shifting as I roll it between my fingers.

"I gave that pearl to you in the Quell," Peeta says. "Real or not real?"

"Real."

"Coal can turn into pearls, real or not real?" But by his smile, I know this one is a joke.

"Real," I say, teasing him back. "I think that one is definitely real."

[naaijas]

♛ → THE NORTH present(s) NAIJA JANNAT MANDERLY, the LADY of WHITE HARBOR. when the dragons danced in the sky they thought the BLACKS would still fly, but in the blink of an eye, they would all die. the TWENTY-EIGHT year old FEMALE who was REVERENTIAL & BENEVOLENT before they saw the first of the flames, is now ALOOF & RETICENT after seeing the last. they’re often associated with the glimmer of a freshly plucked pearl, the nurturing pressure of a tightly wrapped bandage, and a lingering cloud of sea salt, vanilla and cinnamon. ( antonia gentry fc )

- every notable action that naija's taken to date, has been on her own time, and her birth was the first to be seen of it. she'd been born only a few minutes after amir, but it was enough to strike fear into those who witnessed. they feared the babe would perish, but she emerged with an ear-piercing cry, awaking one of the same pitch in her older brother. the manderly twins had finally arrived, healthy and mighty as they would be for years to come.

- being the last born child of hashim and manal manderly has given naija plenty to look up to. she holds her parents ahind siblings in the highest regard when she gets the chance to verbalize it, with her late father and sister being the focus of those conversations. while she may not agree with everything they do, (and will respectfully let them know her displeasure), she will defend them until her last breath. marriage may be wading within the tides, but naija will always be a manderly at heart.

-while all known efforts in war to come from the youngest manderly are quiet acts of service and aid, she was very vocal during the search for manal, going as far as to try to venture out herself. heavy guard kept her plans from coming to fruition though, and without her twin there to anchor her she fell into a deep darkness. her recovery didnt bring much alleviation to naijas mental state. it broke whatever was left of her soul to see manal in such a state, and she exhausted every effort to help her return to some semblance of the sister she admired so dearly.

- the death of manal manderly ii dealt a devastating blow. with her father since passed, and amir seemingly silent in skagos, she found herself clinging to the shreds of family she had left. shes become fiercely supportive of nasir despite the deep rooted respect she already had for the way he led the family through hashims death and every other tragedy since. it strikes a new fear in her when he must leave for his duty as hand of the king, often inventing reasons she should come along. she far from possesses the physical traits to protect him, but she still feels as though she must try.

- naija focuses a busy mind on humanitarian efforts, first and foremost. her most cherished act of charity is the education of lowerborn girls. she teaches them to read and write, using stories of the seven as the framework of her lessons. they bring comfort to both teacher and pupils, and it helps her feel connected to her faith during hard times. during times of war, she can be found nursing wounded soldiers to health and distributing food to those who come to white harbor from battle-ravaged villages.

- the arts hold a special place in the youngest manderly's heart, and that love extends past mere spectation. naija often associates sounds and feelings with colors, and will paint what she feels if the pull is strong enough. tucked away in a chest of drawers are countless works, most are vivid recollections of conversations that elicited an emotion from her, and acts as a catalyst for her to understand them better. amir may be the only one who can even begin to decipher the meaning behind them.

- matters of the realm are far beyond her knowledge, but she can say that her support for owen and his vision for the north are strong. she tends to fall in line with the eldest manderly's views, but this is decision shes made for herself. the time for change in north has been brewing, and she's prepared for a shift in the tides.

[alwayschasingrainbows]

Anne Shirley and the symbolism of pearls:

Pearls as a dream of a luxury:

"Now I’m going to imagine things into this room so that they’ll always stay imagined. [...] I am tall and regal, clad in a gown of trailing white lace, with a pearl cross on my breast and pearls in my hair.”

Anne of Green Gables

Pearls as a symbol of a sympathy and kindness:

"Ruby Gillis gave me an apple and Sophia Sloane lent me a lovely pink card with ‘May I see you home?’ on it. I’m to give it back to her tomorrow. And Tillie Boulter let me wear her bead ring all the afternoon."

Anne of Green Gables

Pearls as the most prized possession:

"I must do it. My honor is at stake,” said Anne solemnly. “I shall walk that ridgepole, Diana, or perish in the attempt. If I am killed you are to have my pearl bead ring.”

Anne of Green Gables

Pearls as a symbol of home:

“Well, I don’t want to be anyone but myself, even if I go uncomforted by diamonds all my life,” declared Anne. “I’m quite content to be Anne of Green Gables, with my string of pearl beads. I know Matthew gave me as much love with them as ever went with Madame the Pink Lady’s jewels.”

Anne of Green Gables

Pearls as a symbol of happiness:

“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”

Anne of Avonlea

Pearls as a symbol of love and marriage:

Anne’s engagement ring was a circlet of pearls. She had refused to wear a diamond.[...]

Pearls as a symbol of tears:

“But pearls are for tears, the old legend says,” Gilbert had objected.

Pearls as a symbol of joy and life:

“I’m not afraid of that. And tears can be happy as well as sad. My very happiest moments have been when I had tears in my eyes [...]. So give me pearls for our troth ring, Gilbert, and I’ll willingly accept the sorrow of life with its joy.”

Anne's House of Dreams

Pearls as a symbol of love and sacrifice:

"Jem, I never thought you supposed they were real pearls. I knew they weren't...at least in one sense of real. In another, they are the most real things I've ever had given me. Because there was love and work and self-sacrifice in them...and that makes them more precious to me than all the gems that divers have fished up from the sea for queens to wear."

Anne of Ingleside

[lunar-eclipse-bunnies]

My piece is about a Japanese boatwoman navigating the sea surrounding Mount Oyamaand meeting the nature spirit responsible for the waves there. The boatwoman is grieving, as every fiancé she’s had has perished in some way, leaving her an outcast in her village, and considered a bad-luck charm for the young men there. In her grief, and to leave her village, the woman cut her hair, stole her father’s hakama and joined a fishing boat’s crew under the guise of being a man. Her presence continued to cause unlucky accidents for her male coworkers, until she was the only fisherman left on the ship. She decided to sail until the sea took her life as well, but instead of a watery grave the woman found a chaotic and bored nature spirit, responsible for the choppy waters and waves she had purposefully sailed into. The spirit’s kimono was made of the sea, her otaiko the Mount Oyama itself, her crescent hair stick is the moon. Her kimono sleeves frothed at the edges, flinging pearls into the sky. The woman saw as the spirit apathetically transformed random pearls into swirling balls of light that floated lazily up into the sky and past the clouds. She realized that those must have been the souls of those who died at sea, and some of them must have been her fellow fishermen. She stood in awe on her boat, just watching, waiting for her own turn to become a pearl. My piece was heavily inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night as well as the Japanese woodblock that inspired it, Hokusai’s Great Wave off Kanagawa. One of my personal interests is the effect of Japanese woodblock prints on the western art world, especially the on the post-impressionists (some, including van Gogh, were so into Japanese culture that they were called the newly-coined French term, “Japonisme.”), and I especially adore Hokusai’s work. I took the iconic moon and stars from van Gogh’s piece and the composition, boats, mountain, and wave from Hokusai’s print, molding them to fit together. Instead of a cypress tree in the foreground, like in van Gogh’s piece, I instead drew in a human form holding some oars, putting it in the same place in the foreground as van Gogh’s cypress tree; both are meant as symbols of death and mourning.

my art history prof gave me 100 for this and the essay i turned in with it :3c her class is the only one im not dying in this quarter lmao

[ya-bug-boy]

I saw your rescuing Ingo from a Alpha Pokemon attack story and I'm here for pt2 please and thank you

Part 2: Rescuing Warden Ingo from Alpha Pokemon attack.

The storm died down before the stranger ever woke up. You tended to his injuries with your homemade herbal remedies and medicine you acquired through the Ginkgo merchants a long time ago. In his hazy state of consciousness, you made sure to make him drink your herbal concoctions and some bone marrow soup. You did not live with the Pearl Clan, taking residence in your own cabin in the Alabastar Wastelands but that did not mean you were on bad terms with them. Your hunting expertise made you a valuable trader of meats and fur pelts and your ways with the pokemon and nature seem to excel higher than their traditional tribal ways.

When the stranger wakes up, he finds himself, aching with pain. He noted that his clothes were removed and he was blanketed under a soft fur pelt blanket. He senses that there were eyes watching him from the windows but could not muster the strength to sit up on his own. "Ah, you're awake," you say as you enter the room. To Ingo, he sees a strange man enter the room wearing the pelt of a Pokemon he had never seen before. Where your face should be is instead the face of a fox pokemon. "Good. Let me see your injuries," you tell him as you walk over in smooth strides before plucking the blanket off of him, revealing his naked body. "W-what are you-" "Be not afraid, and stay still. Your injuries are still fresh." While Ingo is alarmed by your boldness, your attention is focused on his injuries. You had stitched up a wound on his left hip. You then hold his head still, turning it to the side and looking at the stitches there. "Your stitches. I did them. Don't touch them." You let go of his chin, your lingering warmth leaving Ingo's body. "Who are you?" Ingo finally musters the strength to say. "Nobody too important," you respond back. "Just a fox man who found you in a blizzard. You be glad I found you when I did. You were to be otherwise eaten by who knows what."

"Where am I?" "In my cabin. You would have perished outside otherwise. The weather outside is mighty frightful for someone ill prepared such as yourself. Now then, tell me your name?" "I....I am Ingo..." Ingo finally says but then a horrifying comment soon after, "but I don't remember much of anything else."

Your eyes widen in shock behind the pelt. Sabi was correct in her prediction, as much as you'd hate to admit it. "I see...." You say, putting the blanket back on Ingo's body. "What a predicament. I'm sorry. You must have memory loss. Your head was bleeding when I first found you, it must be linked to that." You give a soft sigh, standing up and turning around. "I'll make you something to eat. You haven't had a proper meal." "W-wait," Ingo says weakly as he tries to sit up. "Who are you, truly? What is your name?" With your pelt still on your head and shoulders, you turn to glance at him. "Call me Zoro," you say gently. "Now rest. When you recover, we're going to make a journey to the Pearl Clan. They can provide more for you than I can."

[ontrackmeals]

Why Ready-Made Meals Are Essential for Backpackers

Backpacking is an adventure filled with challenges, breathtaking views, and unforgettable moments. But as every seasoned backpacker knows, maintaining energy and staying nourished can make or break your trip. Ready-made meals have become a game-changer, offering convenience, nutrition, and a hassle-free way to enjoy delicious food on the trail. Here's why ready-made meals should be an essential part of your packing list.

The Backpacker’s Dilemma: Food vs. Weight

When backpacking, every gram counts. Carrying bulky ingredients or cooking equipment can weigh you down and take up precious space in your pack. Ready-made meals are compact, lightweight, and perfectly portioned, ensuring you get the fuel you need without the added burden.

On Track Meals offers a range of options tailored to backpackers, such as starter packs that include everything you need for your outdoor culinary experience. For example, the Australian Starter Pack is filled with hearty, ready-to-eat meals like Mexican Spicy Beans and Slow-Cooked Australian Steak, ideal for any adventure.

Convenience on the Trail

Preparing meals while hiking can be challenging. Ready-made meals take the hassle out of cooking, allowing you to enjoy a warm meal without the need for complex setups. With On Track Meals Flameless Heater Bags, you can heat your meals quickly and efficiently without requiring a stove or fire. This innovative solution is not only practical but also safe and environmentally friendly, making it a must-have for any backpacker.

Nutritional Benefits of Ready-Made Meals

Backpacking demands a significant amount of energy, so your meals should be calorie-dense and nutritionally balanced. On Track Meals are designed with this in mind, providing the right mix of proteins, carbs, and fats to keep you energised throughout your journey. Meals like the Lamb and Pearl Barley Meal or the Sweet and Sour Pork are perfect examples of nutritious, flavourful options that cater to backpackers’ needs.

How Ready-Made Meals Save Time

Backpacking trips are all about immersing yourself in nature and enjoying the journey. Ready-made meals allow you to spend more time exploring and less time worrying about meal prep. Whether you’re hiking through rugged trails or setting up camp after a long day, having a meal ready in minutes is invaluable. Additionally, these meals double as excellent camping food, offering versatility for multi-day trips.

Pack Smarter with Ready-Made Meals

Ready-made meals are a backpacker’s best friend, combining convenience, nutrition, and portability. Whether you’re planning a short weekend trip or a multi-day hike, On Track Meals has everything you need to fuel your adventure. Explore their Australian Starter Pack and other meal options today and experience the difference for yourself.

FAQs

1. Why are ready-made meals good? Ready-made meals are convenient, lightweight, and require minimal preparation. They save you time and energy, which is crucial during long backpacking trips. Plus, they are designed to provide balanced nutrition for active lifestyles.

2. What food is good for backpacking? Good backpacking food includes lightweight, calorie-dense, and non-perishable items. Ready-made meals like those from On Track Meals, trail mixes, nut bars, and dehydrated fruits are excellent options.

3. How much food should I bring backpacking? Plan for 2,500–4,000 calories per person per day, depending on the intensity of your activity. For a multi-day trip, On Track Meals’ starter packs provide a convenient way to plan meals without overpacking.

4. Are pre-made meals healthy? Yes, pre-made meals can be very healthy, especially when designed for active individuals. On Track Meals prioritises quality ingredients, offering meals that are high in protein and essential nutrients without compromising on taste.

[frozenjokes]

Check out my current and finished projects!

Boatem Ghosts (Pirates SMP Scar + Crew)

Signing Off Fic Link (Finished. 6k words)

in which the crew of The Flying Jellie perish

—

Signing Back In, Apparently Fic Link (Finished. 50k words)

in which Mumbo must come to terms with his own grief after dying by the hand of a close friend

—

Signing In (Work In Progress)

in which Scar recruits a couple of misfits into his pirate crew

Impulse - Grian - Pearl - Mumbo

—

To Keep Fic Link (Finished. 25k words)

in which Cub attempts to find Scar after he disappears on Hermit Island and ends up biting off more than he can chew

Watchers Are Dogs AU (Watcher Scar)

Sheparding Wolves Fic Link (Finished. 4k words)

in which Scar is starving and must look after his flock. Grian tries to help, but gets caught up in supernatural forces he does not understand

—

Sharp Ears Fic Link (Finished. 9k Words)

in which Martyn hears something he can not explain, and hunts Scar down for answers

—

Would A Monster Do THIS? (yeah, probably) Fic Link (Finished, 6.5k words)

in which Scar reflects on his time as a Listener, and the centuries after he became a Watcher

—

So Is Anyone Going To Tell Me What A Watcher Is Or Do I Just Have To Figure That Out By Myself Fic Link (WIP 7k Words)

in which Jimmy discovers why he’s been hearing things and what’s been going on

will be reworking this soon. Not updated.

[useless-sack]

One Quiet Moment

(Decided to take a crack at my own tale from the eyes of Sugar Globe Cookie, based on the work of the brilliant @brittle-doughie. CW: Implied self-deletion) ...If you're reading this, Cookiekind as we know it is extinct.

A few weeks ago, one of my old comrades breached their prison. Looking him in the eye felt weird, I must say. Seeing him in such deranged joy as opposed to me just feeling nothing but disappointment... it's truly jarring. My allies and I tried to fight him off, but it went wrong. It went so, so terribly wrong.

Pure Vanilla was the first to perish. Seeing him be bound in those strings and torn apart just like that was one of most gut-wrenching things I've ever witnessed. I'll never forget the wail I heard from White Lily at the sight of it before she too was strung up and dismembered before us. Next was Elder Faerie... that man had guts, I'm telling you. The Brave Gang was about to be annihilated before he jumped in and took the full brunt of the assault for them. Nothing remained of him after that... and it didn't even matter.

Have you ever had to hold a kid in your arms in their last moments? Because that's what I had to do with Gingerbrave. Poor kid was laying there, bleeding out, and he thought I was the one who needed the emotional support. He told me not to worry, and that even if we couldn't defeat the Beasts, he was sure there'd be someone out there who could see the world through. He uttered those words to me, took one last breath and... that was it.

And then Shadow Milk managed to free the other four.

It's quiet now. Nothing but the trees over my head rustling like the whispers of what once was. Occasionally, I find the crumb piles of those who I fought alongside, left there by the others like broken toys. I always make sure they're given as proper of a burial as they can have. I've searched all the other kingdoms I can find, hoping against hope that at least someone is out there... but I've yet to find anyone. What I did find on one trip, though, has just... broken me.

The forge hammer of the one I held dearest to me. Sometimes, as I look at it, I hear her hearty laughter brush past my ear... though that's most likely just the trees again. It's a miracle that I've even been able to go out on these searches anyway. You try going on search missions while five all-powerful Cookies are constantly breathing down your neck, like that one drunken flirt at a party you refuse to talk to.

First, Silent Salt Cookie. Likely the least unhinged of the five, but that's not saying a whole lot. They act as a bodyguard of sorts around me, not even letting a dust particle brush past me without swatting it away. I've tried to convince them to at least leave me be... but come on, like that'd ever work.

...Would it be strange to say that I'd find consolation in someone hating my guts in these times? Because I was certain that's how Burning Spice Cookie felt about me before all this went down... but no. They're just as ridiculously in love with me as the others are. Really should've seen that coming, huh?

Turns out, Mystic Flour Cookie actually spared a select group of Cookies. Great, right!? No. She did it purely so she could threaten and indoctrinate them into forming a cult for me. Attempts have been made to dismantle this cult and save those in it. All of them have failed.

Shadow Milk Cookie. For the love of the Sugar Swan, when will this little rat leave me alone? He's always dragging me into his little shows, and they're all the exact same; "Oh, look at us, we're soooo much better than the Cookies we've slaughtered, including your GIRLFRIEND!!". Never have I wanted to punch someone more than him.

...And then there's Eternal Sugar Cookie. Good. GOD. If I'd known what that twitching ball of madness was gonna do to my family, I'd have jumped back into the arms of White Lily or Black Pearl in a heartbeat in order to ensure my own safety. I don't even wanna write down the things she's done to me here, just know it's BAD.

I've tried to escape sometimes, y'know? Ascend to the clouds where I could find my loved ones again, apologise, try and make amends, and I've actually succeeded in the past... if only for a few minutes. Then I'm dragged right back down to the barren hell I tried to run away from. They won't even let me die. I guess that's why I'm writing this down. Because I'm one step away from snapping, and I have to vent somehow. So here I am. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you all, I'm sorry that this is how it's all ended, and I'm sorry I can't be there to apologise to your faces. Maybe one day, we'll all get to meet again in an uncorrupted world, but for now... this is it for us.

This is it for me.

~ Sugar Globe Cookie.

[love-sapphirerose]

In Japan, by the year 2001, InuYasha was at its peak and several themed products were released, including teddy bears, cards, comics, etc.

But there were also videogames that incarnated us in the skin of the half-demon and his team, such as the case of the video game for the Play Station 1 dessert console; "InuYasha JRPG" the story is basically the same as the anime, follows the plots and chapters presented there, Boss fights and features several other typical aspects of role-playing games. It should be clarified that this video game is exclusive to Japan and was never exported to America or Europe.

However, what draws attention is that even though at the time the anime hadn't finished yet, the company responsible for the game wanted to give it its own ending, a bit out of place if you ask me.

After Inuyasha and Kagome defeat Naraku, this one; who still had the complete pearl in his power, decides to flee to strengthen himself (typical of Naraku), while he runs away with the pearl in his hands is hit by an arrow that we later observe is from Kikyo, who instead of shoot directly at him, shoots the pearl that breaks into thousands of pieces, then Kikyo with his soul hunters snakes catches Naraku and descends to where he was and hugs him on the back while telling him that to no longer exist the pearl, he and she no longer have motives to continue existing and making use of a kind of enchantment both burn in flames and both disappear in a wall of fire so it is understood that he purified ending his life and by the way she dying in the process.

The videogame ending is criticized for being anti-climate, as really the attitudes of the characters are not portrayed correctly, for example the terror and screams of Naraku when near Kikyo are not his own, as well as Kikyo's stubbornness in preferring destroy the jewel when his whole life mission was to want it to disappear, also Inuyasha's passive attitude and his comments about Kikyo, since the next day, Kagome and Inuyasha approach the place where Kikyo and Naraku had perished and he simply says that she already did not belong to that world and he sacrificed himself so that they could be together in a new tomorrow (Inuyasha and Kagome) finally Kagome answers him that yes and that now they must put the pieces together again.

Far from the controversy with the cinematic; the game is entertaining, interesting and its graphics are good for the time being, something to highlight is that it is completely true to the anime and they even redraw some existing scenes for this project, even the original Seiyus participated lending their voices.

Did you know this ending? I read them.

--Sammi Sweetheartts Bonnet.

[shannyh25]

"Then I dare you to do it," said Josie defiantly. "I dare you to climb up there and walk the ridge-pole of Mr. Barry's kitchen roof."

Anne turned pale, but there was clearly only one thing to be done. She walked towards the house, where a ladder was leaning against the kitchen roof. All the fifth-class girls said, "Oh!" partly in excitement, partly in dismay.

Don't you do it, Anne," entreated Diana. "You'll fall off and be killed. Never mind Josie Pye. It isn't fair to dare anybody to do anything so dangerous."

"I must do it. My honour is at stake," said Anne solemnly. "I shall walk that ridge-pole, Diana, or perish in the attempt. If I am killed you are to have my pearl bead ring."

Anne climbed the ladder amid breathless silence, gained the ridge-pole, balanced herself uprightly on that precarious footing, and started to walk along it, dizzily conscious that she was uncomfortably high up in the world and that walking ridge-poles was not a thing in which your imagination helped you out much. Nevertheless, she managed to take several steps before the catastrophe came. Then she swayed, lost her balance, stumbled, staggered and fell, sliding down over the sun-baked roof and crashing off it through the tangle of Virginia creeper beneath — all before the dismayed circle below could give a simultaneous, terrified shriek.

If Anne had tumbled off the roof on the side up which she had ascended Diana would probably have fallen heir to the pearl bead ring then and there. Fortunately she fell on the other side, where the roof extended down over the porch so nearly to the ground that a fall therefrom was a much less serious thing. Nevertheless, when Diana and the other girls had rushed frantically around the house — except Ruby Gillis, who remained as if rooted to the ground and went into hysterics — they found Anne lying all white and limp among the wreck and ruin of the Virginia creeper.

Anne, are you killed?" shrieked Diana, throwing herself on her knees beside her friend. "Oh, Anne, dear Anne, speak just one word to me and tell me if you're killed."

To the immense relief of all the girls, and especially of Josie Pye, who, in spite of lack of imagination, had been seized with horrible visions of a future branded as the girl who was the cause of Anne Shirley's early and tragic death, Anne sat dizzily up and answered uncertainly:

No, Diana, I am not killed, but I think I am rendered unconscious."Lucy Maud Montgomery quotes. Anne Of Green Gables.

Follow me for more inspiration! 💜💕

[definitelynotshouting]

 (he can't say it's excitement, because he isn't actually keen to die– but it's something. A bit like hope, a lot like loss, in the shape of grief and threaded, ultimately, with desperate relief)

this sentence means everything to me, it is so

im speechless, what can i say? it's written so. it's so descriptive. it's so simple for such a complex feeling. it hits me in my lungs in a way different but similar to whenever im re-reading the little prince and especially the part when the geograph describes the boy's rose ephemeral

shouting, what are you doing to me? /pos

[asks continued past readmore]

He appears at what this world's spawn must be. It's a lovely place– all lush trees and flowing water, meadowgrass filling the air with the heady scent of spring. After so long in darkness, it makes his eyes burn with the adjustment, his senses flooding him with a deluge of new information. Grian trembles, curling his hands into fists, and begins to walk, following the vague trail that this server's owner has left for him to follow.

the same little princes rose anon

your writing is so amazing actually, like ive already thought so from the moment i met you but now im stopping and thinking back and taking it in anew.

your writing i mean, the way you describe things is so unique and high level and your words bring some kind of satisfaction trailing behind them

it is a joy to read i love how you interlace inner emotions with world building together like braids

if your writing was a braid it would be full of sunshine and pretty flowers, while the hair remains lustrous and royal and golden :)

Somewhere in front of him, Mumbo actually swears. The rapid rustle of cloth is his only warning before hands are on either side of his face, lifting his head and grazing into his hairline. "Grian?" Mumbo's voice is sharp. "Hey now, you– come on, open your eyes, alright? Don't be a spoon about this, please. You're not– come on. Eyes open. Grian, listen to me."

you are so sick for this, nobody even died and yet im shedding tears. that is mumbo. that is mumbo and he's horrified for grian. i love you - 🥀

your writing is so amazing i wish there was a compliment boost section, where someone could chip in to let those 1000 people absolutely gut wrenched, staring into their ceiling processing, madly in love with your writing unleash their inner demons by reminding you that you're amazing and there is no one else like you on this earth, and you mean so much to random people <3

- 🥀

Another rustle to his right: "Grian," another voice pipes up, and Grian's heart does that funny, agonizing flip again, because Scar's voice is shaking in a way he hasn't heard before. He sounds scared. "Grian, hey– hey. Look at me?" Grian looks at him, struggling to focus, the fog clouding his mind in one thick blanket. He's unfairly lovely with this backdrop of stars, and his face is pale too. "Grian, what are these?"

scratch that you deserve the thousands of soldiers marching into your dm's as if loverboys just send out by their wifes into the heart of the battle, dutifully complimenting you complimenting you and complimenting you, you deserve to open your mail to so many letters they will explode and cover your entire lawn and it will so much worse than the chicken/dragon pranktastrophy grian himself will blush, and doc will perish.

(they'll bury him in a chicken onesie) - 🥀

your writing is so intricate actually, binge drinked the whole fic and I have to say I'm so impressed with your Pearl characterisation

good nutritions my lovely spinning yoyo girl, she's shaped like those vitamin gummies you want to stick a handful into your mouth as a kid

also there is something so? distinct about the way the work passes through chapters. it feels as if everytime im switching onto the next one the theatre room curtains close, just to reopen to a different scene.

it feels like it takes moments, and weeks at the same time- the passing between the scenes. like if Grian breathed one moment and he was here, and then he breathed next one and he was...

still here? how long has passed between those moments? time seems to not hold much meaning here, like it runs on it's own rules despite anything.

maybe it was as long as it takes for an update, that's how much time has passed since one meeting till next one, maybe it's been a milisecond. - 🥀

ANON HOLY SHIT A WHOLEASS LIVEBLOG AND MULTIPLE COMPLIMENTS THROWN INTO MY ASKBOX????? OH MY GODS /POS THANK YOU SO MUCH THESE ARE SUCH LOVELY AND KIND WORDS IM GOING NUTS!!!!!!

Oh my gods the Little Prince comparison is making me INSANE thats like one of the highest compliments i could possibly receive i think, i love that book it fully changed my brain chemistry as a kid. Ive written things before that have drawn on that as thematic source material but to receive it on something i wasnt even intentionally trying to emulate makes me feel like all my insides got turned into bubbles. Ohmygods!!!! Holy shit!!!!

Also all these things you have to say about my writing being unique and just ;;;;;; wtf /pos this is so sweet to say, holy shit what do i do with all these compliments?!? Thank you so much, this is the most lovely ask ive gotten in a while and thats saying something bc ive been getting a TON of really nice people in my inbox lately. Im just so touched by what youve said here and how free you are with your praise-- it means a lot to me truly. Also ngl slightly stunned (/pos) at your comment about meaning so much to random people-- i guess its easy to forget that people dont just pay attention to the story that i post, but also to the person sitting behind the screen actually writing it. Its hard to conceptualize making such a personal impact on strangers when im not directly talking to them, but man im gonna be sitting on that comment for a WHILE just turning it over in my brain.

I am INCREDIBLY glad you like the fic, and especially Pearl's characterization. Tbh i have my friend @/cosmic-nopedog to thank for that one-- he was a big reason why i chose to give her such a meaty role, and he helped me come up with some of the emotional plot for her to begin with. I honestly think Pearl's role here is one of my absolute favorites in the entire story, and i cant wait to write more of it out :DDD

As for the time aspect, i do admit some of that probably has to do with the fact that i generally only update once a month 😭😭😭😭 but also, i really like episodic chapters!!! I sorta view scenes as film reels in my head, so i often write them accordingly, and im a real big stickler for ending chapters in a way that rounds them off satisfyingly. I tried explaining this to my partner about a month ago, but yknow how songs typically end on that one closing note to mark that theyre over??? Thats the sort of beat i always try to emulate when im finishing a chapter off. I just really personally find it satisfying to tie each chapter up individually, only to introduce a new "episode" in the next one so each one feels fairly complete and like it could almost stand alone. This is just a personal preference, though, and is likely influenced by all the specific books i read growing up <- almost exclusively read 70s fantasy novels 😂😂😂 either way, im really glad you like it and think its unique!!! These messages were so sweet to receive, i am sending you Beams rose anon, i hope youre having an AMAZING DAY and thank you so so much for making mine❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 11: The Ultimate Fusion (originally published on November 6, 2023)

AN: Happy tenth anniversary to Steven Universe. For my anniversary present, I bestow upon thee the penultimate chapter of not just Steven Universe: Snake Eyes, but also the entirety of Steven Universe: Alternate Future. It truly is a pain to let this story go after three years, but as a wise man once said, all good things must come to an end. With the plotline involving the development and redemption of Black Rutile now come full circle, it's time we finally address Steven's relationship with the Diamonds before they go off and save the universe from a planet-eating snake demon. It's going to take an awful lot of work to forgive beings as powerful as the Diamonds, but if Steven was able to accept Black Rutile's apology, then anything is possible, right?

Synopsis: In a last-ditch effort to save all reality, the Diamonds must fuse together in order to stand a chance. However, Steven still has some baggage with the other Diamonds to deal with.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond, Gem

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Samantha Newark as The Lapidarist

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Matthew Moy as Lars

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Ron Perlman as Inner Steven

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundr

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Jormagundr

Cissy Jones as Princess Naja Jormagundr

Keith David as Pyth

Henry Rollins as Captain Boa

Kari Wahlgren as Envyrno

Nicole Sullivan as Sylvia Spectre

Peter Cullen as Titanium

Steve Blum as Sheriff Spiegel

Dominic Armato as Captain Gearfeet

Wally Wingert as Rigby Starglow

Ray Porter as Squamata

Tim Curry as Velhallen Beo

Featuring Elton John as Stars

Weird Al Yankovic as Stevaldo

And Jack Black as Rutilated Quartz

--

Steven was still processing what he had heard earlier. Him fusing with the Diamonds? Perish the thought! Sure, he was always up for helping others, even former enemies. Still, after all that the Diamonds had done to him, his family, and most of the known universe, it was way more challenging for Steven to accept that they were coming to him for help rather than him coming to them. He needed some time to think about this while everyone was preparing for the final battle with Squamata.

"So now they want my help after all they've done to me?" Steven angrily muttered to himself while pacing around the throne room. "Oh sure, I've allowed Black Rutile to repent, but it's going to take more than just saying sorry to make up for thousands of years' worth of genocide!"

"Problems, Steven?" Inner Steven asked from within Steven's mind. "Frankly, I'm quite surprised that those Diamonds are asking you for help for once instead of you asking them. And they couldn't have picked a worse time to do it, too."

"And now I have to fuse with them in order to save the universe!" Steven agreed with his darker half. "While I'm more than happy to find a way to stop Squamata once and for all, I'm not sure how this can work, given all my baggage!"

"Worst case scenario, the fusion fails astronomically, and we all die." Inner Steven proclaimed. "Just being realistic here. But then again, no one ever listens to the darker impulses of the self. And speak of the devil. Look who it is!"

Just then, Black Rutile stepped into the throne room, obviously still adjusting to her reforming into a Crystal Gem after sacrificing herself to protect Steven. In addition to the blank spot where her diamond symbol once was now being filled by the star of a Crystal Gem, Black Rutile's cape was now replaced with an all-white trenchcoat with pink details and a star on the back, dark gray trousers, and her original green visor to replace her red one.

"Hello again, Steven." Black Rutile awkwardly greeted. "It's me again, Black Rutile. I always come back and all that. Something the matter?"

"Go ahead; I'm sure you can trust her now." Inner Steven advised while figuratively shoving Steven towards his former enemy. "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

"So, Black Rutile, how are you adjusting to things?" Steven asked Black Rutile.

"I'm slow to adjust, like always." Black Rutile replied. "Love the new look, though. So, you have to fuse with the Diamonds to save reality, huh?"

"Exactly." Steven added sourly. "You know how fusions must involve total cooperation between its components to stay fused? Yeah, I don't think that's possible between me and the Diamonds."

"I can totally understand where you're coming from." Black Rutile stated. "I felt utterly betrayed by the Diamonds, too, but if they could give me a second chance, then surely you can do the same to them!"

"But you're different!" Steven exclaimed to his now-former enemy. "You were at least able to recognize that you hurt me and are working to make amends for that. They're focusing more on everybody else they hurt and always act like they've been friends with me from the beginning!"

"You're kind of vindicating one of the reasons I hated you right now." Black Rutile snarked. "The universe doesn't have to revolve around you, you know! You have to consider everyone else in this world, too!"

"Yeah, maybe I can be selfish, but at least I don't have an entire planet forced to worship me, or else they'll die!" Steven argued. "Why can't they just focus on what they did to me for once?!"

"Because it's not as simple as you think, Steven." Black Rutile stated with her arms folded. "This kind of stuff gets messy, and everybody's got issues, especially the Diamonds." She then looked down at where her diamond symbol used to be, nostalgically reminiscing on her time as a member of White Diamond's court. "And sometimes, they screw up. But that doesn't mean they won't just pretend like it didn't happen." Black Rutile offered a tender pat on Steven's shoulder. "Try to cut the Diamonds some slack. They may not always get it right, but they're trying. That's more important than you think."

"Wait, I think I got an idea!" Steven exclaimed in realization while he ignored Black Rutile. "What if I don't need to fuse with the Diamonds to save us all?!"

"You have got to be kidding me." Black Rutile grumbled with a facepalm. "Okay, fine, let's see whatever harebrained scheme you have, I guess."

--

"I admire that you made me take time out of my schedule to bring me here, Steven, but what is this for?" the Lapidarist asked as she sat in front of Steven, Black Rutile, Lars, and Ronaldo at the abandoned Ouraborium. "Whatever you have planned, please make this quick. We are preparing for war."

"Listen, Miss Lapidarist, I know we don't have much time, but I want to show you some alternatives to fusing with the Diamonds." Steven announced.

"It's his way of saying he's not ready to fuse with them yet because of his leftover baggage." Black Rutile snarked before Steven pushed her aside and then turned to Lars.

"She raises a good point, you know." Lars agreed with Black Rutile. "You can't just ignore your feelings about someone like that!"

"No, no, I bet people have wanted to see this for a while." Ronaldo said as Steven took Lars's hand and the two fused into a tall, pink-skinned man with crazy, 1970s-styled hair and dressed like he was the leader of a lonely hearts club.

"Oh, my stars!" the newly formed fusion of Steven and Lars gasped in amazement with a British accent. "Hey, that sounds like a pretty good name! That reminds me, I wanna test something." With a loud yell, Stars created a portal he jumped into, with another allowing him to land on the Lapidarist's shoulder. "Pretty impressive how I'm thinking with portals, eh?" He then summoned a large bass guitar from his hair to swing through the air like a sword before crashing down onto the ground with a big 'TWANG!'

"So cool!" Ronaldo cheered. "Do me next, do me next!"

"Okay, love, don't get so impatient." Stars laughed before un-fusing into Lars and Steven, who gave Ronaldo a high-five before the two merged into an equally tall man who was very bizarrely dressed, fitting Ronaldo's eclectic interests, with outrageously curly hair.

"Whoa, I look so stupid!" the fusion of Steven and Ronaldo laughed jokingly. "Wait, I am Stevaldo! I dare to be stupid!"

"Guys, where are you?" Peedee called for Steven and Ronaldo as he entered the arena. "The Gems want everybody together to stop the Lapidarist. Don't keep us-"He stopped himself immediately upon seeing Stevaldo in front of him with a big goofy grin as he began playing the accordion. "What just happened?"

"Check it out, Peedee, it's me, Ronaldo!" Stevaldo eagerly said. "I fused with Steven, and it feels super cool! Check out what I can do!" With his fingers to his temples, Stevaldo manipulated the rocks beneath him and used them to form a message saying, 'I AM STEVALDO!' "Pretty cool, huh?!"

"So when are you going to fuse with me?" Peedee asked.

"Maybe when he realizes he's using fusion to get out of making amends with the Diamonds." Black Rutile answered with a smirk. "But what do I know?"

"Is this true, Steven?" the Lapidarist wondered as Steven un-fused with Ronaldo. "Are you that uncomfortable around the Diamonds?"

"Yes, you got me, I am uncomfortable." Steven confessed. "I'm happy that we were able to convince them to heal all the corrupted Gems, a little easier than I thought, but that still doesn't distract from the fact that they were this way because of the Diamonds to begin with! And that's not even getting into how their treatment of Pink led to the rebellion, which led to so many lives being ended over thousands of years!"

Steven resisted the urge to cry as he poured his feelings out until the Lapidarist patted him on the head with her giant hand. "There there, Steven." She calmed him down. "Forgiveness and compassion shall always take time. So until the time comes for everyone to apologize, it's best to remain optimistic. In the meantime, you should be helping your friends save the universe."

"You're right." Steven sighed in resignation. "I can't dance around this any longer."

--

"Okay, everyone, double time, we ain't got much left to do here!" Amethyst yelled as she gave orders to all the members of the army of Gems, humans, Slytherophidians, Metals, and other assorted creatures from across the universe, all vastly different but still united against a familiar foe who desired nothing more than to destroy everything he saw. Friends, families, planets, and even entire galaxies were all in danger of being consumed by this mad god and his heralds. "Come on people, let's go go go!"

"Already got all the Gems ready!" Lapis declared with the Little Homeworld Gems behind her. "You ready, guys?!"

"YEAH!" the Little Homeworld Gems all cheered in reply.

"So this is it." Envyrno proclaimed. "These are the end times."

"At least we all had fun while we lasted." Sylvia Spectre answered sweetly as she contacted her superiors at the Coalition of Galaxies to assist in the final battle. "Now then, are you ready to help others for once?"

"Guess I got no other choice." Envyrno responded with a smirk.

"In any war, there are calms between storms. There will be days when we lose faith." Titanium gave a rousing speech to the other Metals. "But there are also days when a few brave souls unite to save the universe. We can be heroes in our own lives, every one of us, if we only have the courage to try. Now, we must take strength in kindred spirits, not of our species, all true warriors. If not in body, then in spirit. I am Titanium of the Metals, and I send this to the fearsome Squamata. Leave this universe alone. Because we're coming for you."

"Rigby, it's been an honor meeting you." Captain Gearfeet said to Rigby Starglow with a grin. "Say, can you sign my arm? I want to prove to my crew that I was lucky enough to meet you!"

"Okay, you got me." Rigby smirked as he took out a pen and wrote his signature on Gearfeet's cybernetic arm. "Who knows? Maybe we'll run into each other again someday."

"One last call before the apocalypse, everyone!" Sheriff Spiegel said while passing around a flask of alcohol to Deputy Edward, Monty, S-L1M3, Lady Imagineer, the Decimator, Earthos, and Michelle Angelon. "Anybody care for a sip?"

"I'm good." Jasper said as she turned to White Topaz. "Now, are you sure you're comfortable having to work alongside you-know-who again, dear? If you want, I can poof her again."

"No, don't be such a worrywart, honey." White Topaz said before kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. "If she says she wants to change, I trust her with all my heart. Besides, if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be wearing this sick number." She did a twirl to show off her new reformed outfit, now a black wrestling singlet with a big white star on her chest. "You like it?"

"Really fits you." Jasper said before she saw Steven and Black Rutile reunite with the others. "Steven! I've been wondering where you ran off to."

"Is everything alright?" Pearl asked. "We know you're a little uncomfortable around the Diamonds, but we're also aware that you really don't have a choice in the matter. If you're ready to talk with them, we'll make sure that they have enough time to- "

"You're too late, Steven." Garnet bluntly stated. "The Diamonds are already shipping out with the Jormagundrs to face Nosiop." As Garnet concluded her sentence, Steven turned to see the Diamonds, along with Spinel, Hessonite, Citrine, and the royal family, flying off in a big warship outside the castle walls. "Tough break."

"Doesn't matter, as long as all of us are still together." Steven declared. "The Diamonds can wait; we got a universe to save!"

"You got that right." Black Rutile said as she drew her sword and stood alongside the Rutile Rebels, both past and present. "Buckle up, Lucent Gems, today's the day we make a change!"

--

Within an hour or so, more warships began arriving from Alethinophidia, carrying the defenders of Serpentes toward the final battle with Squamata. One ship housed the Crystal Gems, the Rutile Rebels, now dubbed the Lucent Gems, Lars and the Off-Colors, the various competitors in the Contest of Champions, Bialyoom & Meinerr, Aescul, and the Fryman brothers. Another carried the Diamonds, Spinel, Hessonite, the Jormagundr royal family, the Universal Lords, Captain Boa, Flipso, and the Black Pearl Brigade. Finally, a third ship was transporting the Metals into battle.

Squamata and his heralds all turned to discover the three ships in the distance as they descended to the ground and their respective passengers disembarked for the final battle. Meanwhile, the Lapidarist appeared from above in a flash of light to lead the resistance against Squamata.

"So, you finally show yourself, my dear creator." Squamata sneered with a hiss. "What can one speck of light illuminate within the dark abyss that is I, Squamata? Countless stars. Countless worlds. Countless lives. All fell to me, all brought to nothing, and all because of you." With an ominous glow in his eyes, the god of snakes summoned an unstoppable army of darkness to aid in his destruction of the universe. "You and your kind have tried so hard to keep your sins hidden away that you had no idea that there would be souls of darkness who wanted to unleash my wrath upon the universe. You simply could not live with your own failures, and where did that bring you? Back to me."

"You will find that mortals are far more resilient than you believe, Squamata." The Lapidarist declared with a speech of her own. "Look at these people, these mortal beings. Consider their potential! They have done so many amazing things with the short time they have in the universe, yet they always made the most to ensure a brighter future for all! And that future involves you dying once and for all!" She raised her arm to the sky. "CHARGE!"

With that, the Lapidarist's armies raced into battle for the fate of all reality. In the process, Lapis and Jasper fused into Malachite, Cat's Eye and Holly Blue fused into Chrome Chalcedony, Cinnabar and her crew combined into Painite, Black Rutile, and White Topaz fused into Lepidolite, Aquamarine, and Eyeball fused into Bluebird Azurite, and Steven and Lars fused into Stars.

"Okay, just gotta tell the Diamonds I'm not interested!" Stars muttered to himself as he tried running over to Yellow Diamond. "Uh, hey, Yellow, can we talk?"

"Not now, Steven, saving the universe here!" Yellow exclaimed while repelling an army of shadow creatures with a wave of her hand. "Blue, back me up here!"

"Already on it!" Blue replied while firing lasers from her palms. Disappointed that he couldn't talk to the Diamonds yet again, Stars instead focused on helping the other Crystal Gems against Squamata's heralds.

"Hey Steven, neat new fusion!" Peridot complimented Stars's look.

"Thanks, love." Stars replied before summoning his star-shaped bass to fight off the invading army.

"Wait, Steven can fuse with humans other than him and Greg?" White Topaz asked while she and the Lapides held up a water shield to help defend the Metals.

"I guess so." Connie replied. "Bismuth, on your left!"

"Got it!" Bismuth yelled while smacking Velhallen Beo away with a hammer fist.

"Blast you, Gem scum!" Velhallen snarled before lunging at Garnet like a predator. "I've waited centuries to kill a Gem! And you have the honor of being the first!"

"Not quite." Garnet smirked in response. "Malachite, now!" Malachite then took Beo by surprise by snatching him from midair with a water claw and tossing him straight at Torius Vosania.

"Playing hardball, eh?" Beo smirked while firing a giant purple energy beam from his hands that White deflected with her laser eyes, prompting a beam struggle between the two.

Meanwhile, Cobralan, Constricta, Naja, and Boa all stood face to face with Nosiop, Pyth, Mr. Manco, and Torius, the royal family ready to free their son and brother from the Serpent Society's clutches and be a normal family again. "Nosiop, I know you're still in there, my boy." Cobralan reached out to his son. "Please, let your old man into your heart and listen to him."

"Me listen to you?!" Nosiop yelled angrily. "You never listened to what I had to say, so why should I do the same? I legitimately wanted to change our society for the better, but you were so stuck in your traditional ways that you never noticed your own family's feelings!"

"You know, father, he raises a good point." Naja stated.

"And that's why I wanted to talk to you, Nosiop." Cobralan added. "A human told me that I wasn't the best parent towards you. He knows from experience, for he is a father much like me, a father who also debated with himself on whether he was a good parent to his son. But at the end of the day, he accepted that no matter how much he treasured his child, he still needed to grow and change as a man himself. So please, my boy, let me try to be a good parent, and maybe we can work things out. Let us slay Squamata, and together, we can work towards a brighter future for our people."

Nosiop's face dropped as he gazed at his father, now repenting for his past problematic treatment of his son. He finally acknowledged his ignorance of his son's wants and now wanted to make amends. It almost brought a tear to Nosiop's eye and made him want to drop his weapon and return to his family with open arms. But unfortunately, destiny had other plans.

"I believe you've talked with your boy long enough." Pyth smirked while grabbing Nosiop by the shoulder. "Perhaps before you two are reunited, he should slip into something more comfortable. Oh, Squamata! I got a new vessel for you!"

"Excellent, my priest!" Squamata grinned eagerly before he zoomed straight into Nosiop's body through his mouth, forcing his spirit into the young prince and possessing him like the demon he was. As Nosiop was now possessed, his original self was locked away within his mind, and Squamata took control, allowing his new body to grow exponentially in size. With a sadistic grin, Squamatia took his body for a spin by laying waste to the rebellion surrounding him, smacking his tail around and firing lasers from his mouth. "Oh, this is most excellent!"

"Nosiop, sweetie!" Constricta yelled in horror before running for cover.

Before Squamata could cause any more harm to the rebellion, one fusion was brave enough to stand up and defend his friends from harm. Steven immediately un-fused with Lars and fused with Ronaldo so Stevaldo could summon a giant shield to protect them. "Stay away from my friends, Squamata!" Stevaldo announced. "I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the one character in a superhero comic who is genuinely skilled in his own right yet is useless compared to the gods he surrounds himself with! I am Stevaldo, ally to good and nightmare to you!"

"Oh, another fusion with a human?" Squamata smirked in Nosiop's body. "I must admire your creativity, Steven Universe, but it shall not be enough! Bring me the ultimate fusion!"

"Now is your chance, Diamonds, become Gem!" Squamata urged Steven and the Diamonds. "Of course, there is something you need to address first."

"Right." Stevaldo said before un-fusing as Steven continued holding up the shield. "I know you've heard this way too many times before, but the reason why I'm so uncomfortable around you guys is that even though you're trying to make a change, you still don't understand what you've put me through with how you treated Pink and what you did to all those species through covering up what you did!"

"We don't understand? Are you kidding? Us? Of course, we understand. I mean, do you call this a war, this funny little thing?" Yellow declared, snapping Steven out of his funk. "This is only a small scuffle compared to what we endured!"

"We did worse things than you could ever imagine! And when I close my eyes, I hear nothing but the screams of the Gems who gave their lives for us!" Blue added worriedly.

"And you know what you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it?" White added, clenching her hand for extra emphasis. "You hold it tight till it burns your hand! And you say that no one else will ever have to live like this! No one else will ever have to feel this pain! Not on my watch! So go on, hate us all you like, but that won't change the fact that you would never exist without us! We need you as much as you need us! We're sorry for abusing you for what Pink did! Please forgive us!"

"That's all I needed to hear." Steven smirked in acceptance as he held out his hand to finally make amends with the Diamonds. The other three Diamonds each placed their finger on the hand, and in a brilliant flash of white, yellow, blue, and pink light, Gem was finally reborn after thousands of years.

"I-I'm whole again." Gem gasped while gazing at her massive hands and her surroundings. "I know what I must do." Without even thinking first, Gem zoomed towards Squamata with speed rivaling that of the speeds of light and sound combined before grabbing the possessed prince of Serpentes by the tail and spinning him around in the air before slamming him to the ground. "TAKE THIS!"

"Ah, the original Gem, long have I waited to see you!" Squamata snarled in joy before charging at Gem and attempting to bite her in the forearm, but Gem thought quickly and slapped him away. "Yes, this is just the fight I wanted!"

"It's time for you to surrender, Squamata!" Gem boomed while preparing another. "Let Nosiop go, or we will make you pay the price!"

"However, there is but one mistake you Gems fail to notice." Squamata smirked. "You never know when you'll be taken by surprise." At that moment, Squamata seemed to disappear, and in the next moment, the Lapidarist let out a loud shriek of agony as she keeled over while poison began to spread through her body. "Let us see how you fare without your god to save you!"

"Oh no, Rebeugar!" Gem yelled as she raced back to where the Lapidarist had fallen and un-fused into Steven and the Diamonds to try and save her.

"Thank goodness you got here in time." Captain Boa stated. "I don't think she has much time left after an attack like that took her by surprise."

"Hold on, I can fix this!" Steven exclaimed as he tried using his healing spit to cure Rebeugar of the poison, but to his shock; it didn't seem to work. "Oh no, what's happening? My spit isn't working!"

"That's because Squamata's poison is so lethal; not even your spit can stop it from killing its victims." Cobralan said remorsefully as he laid the Lapidarist to rest. "You can rest now, milady. We'll take it from here."

"I do not know what'll happen after I die. But I know that you are reality's last hope." The Lapidarist said weakly while gazing at Steven and Black Rutile one last time as the poison began killing her. "I was wrong. You two shall make the ultimate fusion that will save us all. My time is short, but I shall leave you with one final message. Everyone, I urge you all, one final time. Believe in Steven."

As the Lapidarist finally died in a flash of light, Steven and Black Rutile looked at each other, knowing exactly what to do. "Are you ready?" Steven asked while offering Black Rutile his hand. "Do you trust me?"

"I do." Black Rutile answered before taking Steven's hand, and the two danced together, glowing so intensely that the light could be seen for miles. The two began to fuse, something neither of them ever thought would've been possible in the past, and the result was an androgynous figure dressed in a conventional superhero costume with intense pink skin and large, curly hair. Could this be it? Could they be the ultimate fusion thousands of years in the making that will destroy Squamata once and for all? Whatever the case, the newly formed Rutilated Quartz had only one thing to say.

"Awesome."

--

Dear god, this chapter was a massive undertaking, but it was all worth it in honor of the show that changed my writing career forever. Well, that along with Gravity Falls and FLCL. Happy anniversary Steven, hope it's a good one. Next chapter will be the final chapter of Snake Eyes, and as I stated earlier, the long-awaited finale of Steven Universe: Alternate Future. Until we meet again for one last adventure, let's see how far we've come and how far we'll go.