#Peridot Caste Signs

[ticktockstuck-ezodiac]

OPHIZEUS Sign of the Knight

OPH(I)* = Peridot Sign • *ZEUS = Derse + Vim

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#832: The sign for bearers of noble arms. Proud, chivalrous, and brave, they confidently bear sword and shield for that which they believe in - a country, a homestead, a population, etc. Sign 18 of 22 in an ongoing series of signs inspired by the job system of Final Fantasy III. Today's inclusion is for the Knights, and takes some design cues from the Warrior's sign, Tucacles, since the Knight is a straightforward upgrade to the class. The central feature is a sword-like element in the center, enclosed in a shield-like 'U' to represent the classes' defensive aspects (with the full arrangement resembling a knight's helmet with visor).

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Peridot Signs • Vimbound Signs • Derse Signs

[stepmarchen]

wanted to ask about asm physical volumes covers they have a lot of signs and Symbolism especially Richelieu's cover , any thoughts abt them ? i love your analysis + btw i noticed an Eagle flag behind leon in the Vol.5 cover , is that the streife flag ? and who do you think will be in the next cover ? personally i think it would be ali

sure! let's get into it! but first, for my vol. 8 cover prediction! i'm also pretty inclined to think that ali will be the next cover. he's the last one on the roster for our main cast, so it's preeeetttty likely. unless Orka throws us a fastball and gives us a Letran cover for whatever reason... (i'm nervous for the day we'll get a johannes/ludovika cover)

Annnyways! So far we've got the korean/english physical releases of ASM vol. 1-6 (7, if you include Orka's teaser for vol. 7 featuring Ohara). for the sake of the length of this post, i won't be covering the japanese edition covers (they're mostly all the same, just simpler)

i'll be deep diving below the cut! Spoiler warning! be warned! it's a lot of text! (at the least, check out my vol. 6 richelieu analysis!)

Vol. 1 features our protagonist Shuri in all of her beautiful glory! This cover is so beautifully... generic (as it was meant to be) so we don't get a lot of info but.... here's what we got

The golden lions crest: I'd like to think that the family crest is symbolic of how her newfound family will come to back her up in the first volume.

Jeremy, his siblings, and Nora: The framing of the Neuschwansteins on the left and Nora on the right is both foreshadowing to their early conflict and a way to show that they're all watching over her shoulders. Whether in judgement or in protection is what new readers will come to find out.

The peridot brooch: We all know the implications of the brooch and it's connections to Shuri's death in the 1st timeline. It's a looming warning above Shuri's head, but also behind her, just like how Shuri's death is a memory that she can't seem to shake.

The red ribbon: It's the red string of fate that links eeeeeverything together. And it's also the symbol of the Empire. The red petals are a symbol of romance and violence, something that sums up ASM quite well.

Vol. 2 features a young Nora holding his sword. This is where the fun starts and Orka sneaks in more narrative symbols. The cover is bathed in blue, Nora's key color and his family's color symbol.

Broken peridot brooch: On the leftmost frame, we see Shuri's peridot brooch shattering in a pool of blood. It's a violent red flag on an overwhelmingly blue cover. It's a direct reference to Nora's investigation of Shuri's death in the 1st timeline

Knight's armor: On the right, we have a suit of armor, stoically framed in glowing blue light. Becoming a knight for the Imperial Family is the fate for Nuremberg nobles.

Shuri's portrait: In the back is a frame of Shuri as the Spider Widow. Her head is cut off ominously, another reference to her death. There's a small spotlit corner of the portrait flickering behind Nora, like he's always thinking of her.

Blue roses: Blue roses are a mysterious symbol. Shuri also happens to meet Nora under mysterious circumstances and doesn't even learn his name until their fateful second encounter.

Vines: The wrapping vines in the background are a fairytale symbol for danger and fate.

Overall, my take here is that Nora must choose between the three framing elements, aka Streife (the Brooch), Love (Shuri), or Family (Nuremberg Knights). Shuri was never a choice for him in the 1st timeline, but her ending isn't over just yet! So maybe Nora will finally get to explore his 3rd choice.

Vol. 3 features Jeremy in a much simpler setting. This volume is almost completely centric around Jeremy's trial and the cover reflects that. His pose centers focus on his right hand (the hand he almost lost) as he unsheathes his sword.

Chains: Jeremy's imprisonment. that's it

Golden Lions and the Peridot: We've gone over this. If you see a peridot, it means Shuri. She's what is holding together the Neuschwanstein estate.

Shuri and Johannes: There are two silhouetted busts of the current and former head of the Estate. Johannes, in white, has passed on his burdens while Shuri, in black, inherited the burdens of the estate. The Neuschwanstein manor is overlayed on top of the two, as the real subject at stake during the trial.

Lilies: White lilies symbolize purity and rebirth. Jeremy believed he would lose his hand that day, and knowing that Shuri was going to sacrifice herself for him was Jeremy's rebirth. The trial was reshaped the trajectory of Jeremy's entire life, which had been written from birth.

Vol. 4 features Elias and the twins. From this point forward, I don't own any of the physical volume copies, so I can't be 100% certain about it's contents... but it's a bright cover for a new season and kicks off new arcs and new characters, but i'm not sure if it includes the epilogues.

Golden lions crest: of course we can't be without the crest again. I don't think it needs any more explaining.

Streife: The eagle on the left is the Streife symbol, the Empire's secret police force. It may be in reference to Streife reporting Shuri's death but i'm honestly not sure of the relevance here, especially when i don't know which chapters are in this volume.

Golden amulet and Safavid: On the right we have a golden amulet hovering over a bird's eye view of Safavid. It's a little teaser for when we finally get Ali's first appearance

Devil's trumpet and bellflowers: The white devils trumpet flower symbolizes danger and power while the bellflower symbolizes calm. You could say that it's the calm before the storm. Season 2 introduces itself with Leon returning from boarding school. Everything seems happy and cool until Shuri reminds us that political strife has risen over the 3 year timeskip.

Vol. 5 features Theo in a sinister red, gold, and purple palette. I should note that the Japanese releases are behind from the Korean/English releases. Specifically, Vol. 5 includes the missing epilogue episodes that were not included in Vol. 4. However, the Guardian arc and the Family Trip arc (included in Vol. 3 of the english release) are included in the Japanese version of Vol. 5. TLDR, I'm not sure which arcs are included in the official Korean/English Vol. 5 volume.

Violet roses: The violet roses are a symbol of Theo's mother, Ludovika. In the Japanese version, Theo's childhood flashback appears in this volume and we get some insight on Ludovika.

Mirrors and Richelieu: There's a strangeness in the way Richelieu, who appears a surprising 6 times, faces away from the audience. Mirrors should mean self-reflection, but Richelieu faces away from the mirrors. He's so focused on enforcing his beliefs on others and in the process, becomes the greatest sinner. He's aware of this, but he doesn't seem to care.

Cherubs: Two twin cherubs frame Theo, as they seem ready to stab him with their arrows.By season 2, Theo has already fallen for Shuri, in a toxic obsessive love.

Upside down crown: A flipped crown can mean a lack of authority or a change in power. Richelieu manipulating Theo strips away Theo's power as a royal. It also foreshadows Theo's depleting support pillars (Nuremberg and Neuschwanstein)

Vol. 6 features a young Richelieu. Like Vol. 5, the Japanese volume contains the flashbacks of Richelieu's past, which is the only main moment we see a young Richelieu. Anyway, there's a lot here.

Richelieu: This exact depiction of young Richelieu never actually appears in the manhwa (his forehead is bandaged, not his eyes). But there is significance in him being "half blind." Not to mention, there's a huge glowing iris on fire behind him.

There's a saying "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king." It's about a seeing man who comes across a town of blind men. He attempts to preach his seeing knowledge to the town, knowing that he is a tier above the people. However, the town cannot understand the meaning of sight and peck out his eyes, because after all, "the king must be of his people." Richelieu's seeing eye (in the background) is going up in flames in the same way. Richelieu literally calls himself a "king" in his youth, fully aware that he is cut from a different cloth. On the cover, he sits on a throne with a divine halo behind his head. Exemplary of how he feels "chosen" by God to strike punishment onto sinners. There's even meaning in the way he is holding his book. In art history, hands on a book in this specific manner is an allegory for great power in knowledge (think Aristotle).

Wolffe: I'll be honest, I'm not entirely sure of Wolffe's significance in the cover, but wherever Richelieu is, Wolffe follows.

Apple: Another symbol of knowledge. Adam's first sin was eating the fruit (apple) of knowledge.

Raven: Ravens are a symbol of transformation, prophecy, and intelligence. I've gone further into Richelieu and his connections with ravens here!

Windows: The windows in the background reference Richelieu's divine awakening. To the moment he woke up from his coma after drowning and the window light shone onto the church pendant on the wall.

Bubbles: The bubbles reference his drowning and eventual "rebirth."

Dogwood Leaves and Thorns: The red leaves can be likened to blood, sure. But did you know it's believed that the Cross of Jesus Christ was made of Dogwood? Richelieu believes his self-flagellation is a form of early repentance for his future sins.

The Vol. 7 teaser features Ohara, but it's highly filtered (for good reason) but we can soooorta only make out some things. There's a jewel? and what looks like Jeremy? I can't say much yet, but let me know what you think?

[alexanderlightweight]

I am tired. I mean I did work 12 hours today but I’m just like bone deep exhaustion and I want to pass out but also write.

And Cat is amazing okay. I love Cat and Ragnor and Magnus’ dynamic and I will forever be salty that we got half the casts girlfriends on the show (I’m looking at you terrible seelie queen and Heidi) unnecessarily and we didn’t get more Ragnor and Cat. Like they could have flash backed Ragnor or brought him back or anything. And Cat was deprived of showing off her glory and wisdom.

Snippet of unnamed fic

—

“A moment, lovely.” Magnus says and accepts the call.

“Yes, Cat? Why on earth are you calling, it’s your day off?” And Magnus has to pull the phone away from his ear as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “They couldn’t handle being quiet for twenty minutes?” Magnus asks, and signs in irritation, “well did it work? Because I’m busy and they can either simply stop breathing and see if that helps or continue to hold their tongues. I have more important things to take care of than their need for gossip.”

And Magnus rolls his eyes as Cat mutters threats she doesn’t actually mean.

“Catarina, you would never set my library on fire. You’d be much more likely to drunkenly try to abscond with my medical texts, like that one time in Sweden.”

Alexander snorts in his lap and he’s looking up at Magnus softly, like he’s the best thing to see.

Which Magnus knows, but it’s nice to be visibly appreciated.

He preens and his thumb passes over Alexander’s tempting mouth.

“No, I am not busy with my ‘flavor of the month’.” Magnus adds air quotes, knowing it makes his shadowhunter laugh. “Alexander is moving in and we need to pick out his things.” Alexander looks startled and a little wary and Magnus shushes him with a single look. “Darling, I can see your grumpy pout under that lovely smile of yours. You can keep what you have at your place for emergencies and I can get you all new things for mine.”

And Magnus delights at being able to dress Alexander in whatever he wants.

Alec is squinting up at him, eyes shards of peridot and Magnus summons an oak tree to shade them, wanting to enjoy Alexander's hazel eyes under the dappled and soft light of leaf filtered sun.

“Oh yes, Cat.” He says to the silence on his phone, “sorry. The sun got in the way.”

“Does it still exist?” Cat asks, in a snarky tone that Magnus would appreciate so much more if directed at anyone else.

“Of course.” Magnus says immediately and then frowns, “Hyde park may be missing an English oak. I almost went with a weeping beech, but I was worried the shade would be too strong.”

Catarina makes a noise like Ragnor’s incredibly ancient —bordering on heirloom— tea kettle.

“Magnus.” She groans and she sounds in pain, “why?”

And Magnus wonders how he hasn’t made himself clear.

“I was missing out on the wonder of Alexander’s eyes because the sun was in the way.” Magnus says slowly. “So shade was required.” And Cat finally seems to get it as she says nothing else for a moment.

“Your Alexander, huh?” She says leadingly, “I think you owe me brunch and some bottomless mimosas as we catch up. I’d heard some chatter but didn’t pay it mind since you didn’t say anything directly.”

And Magnus rolls his eyes but hums, agreeing to it, because he and Ragnor make it a point to argue with Cat as little as possible.

She is nearly always right, and gets very smug about it.

[saturn7162]

The Gemlings

Another fucking SU thing I wont stop unless someone asks me to write abt smth else

I love SU so much so here is a 7 page google doc on my 2 favorite gals and an oc

I could totally add more on this btw

The Crystal Gems walked over to the barn in the dead of night after hearing what sounded like a fight. As they stepped closer, the sheer smell of hormones flooded their senses. Along with the sound of hissing, chirping, growling, grunting and spitting. 

“Guys?” Steven said, grabbing Garnet’s arm and looking up at her and Pearl. 

“What’s going on? Is everything okay there?” He asked, worry filling his gaze. 

“I’m sure it is. I recognize this type of environment. I think Lapis and Peridot are going to have geodes soon!” Pearl squealed, happily jogging up to the barn. As she came closer, she heard the sound of a deep snarl. 

“Peridot? Lapis? Chrysolite?” Pearl called out to the trio that lived in the barn. She used her gem to cast light into the room, illuminating the large nest in the middle. The gems looked at each other as they saw Chrysolite, the male, being batted at by Lapis and Peridot. They hissed at him loudly, hitting his large muzzle as he tried to help with the nest. 

“Chrysolite, you know you can’t be in here while your mates are nesting.” Pearl chastised, crossing her arms as she glared at him. He let out a creaky roar, sitting down with his legs out and his hands on the floor in front of him. As he reached a paw out, Lapis reached hers out, smacking it away with a growl. He gruffed and tried again, only to be hit by Peridot. He groaned and flopped onto his back, presenting his belly as a show of trust. Again, only to be met with the glares and growls of his mates. 

“Come on Chrysolite, you’re spooking them.” Pearl stepped closer, only to be hissed at by all three of them and batted at by Chrysolite, who reluctantly got to his feet and left the barn, making sure to scent everything he came across. Once he was out, he closed the barn door and sat in front of it, staring at the doors as he slouched angrily.

“It’s going to be my nest too!” He shouted, crossing his arms as the two gems inside hissed at him. 

“Why won’t they let me stay? They’re going to be my gemlings!” He grumbled, falling onto his stomach as he asked Pearl.

“You know why Chrysolite, it’s because they’re hormonal. You’re the sire, and sires’ hormones make them incredibly quick to violence, they just think you’re too aggressive to be around.” Pearl said, helping him up.

“But it’s my den too! I should at least get to stay!” He pouted, crossing his large arms across his chest. He bared his teeth and lashed his tail, clear signs he was not to be agitated.

“Look, you’re about to be a father and your body language is showing it too, you’re upset and until Peridot and Lapis allow you in there, you can’t be in there!” Pearl responded, looking up at the gruff looking male.

“So you’ll just have to stay with us! It’ll be like a sleepover!!” Steven shouted happily, hugging him tightly.

“Yeah, yeah I guess it will.” Chrysolite smiled and hugged him back, now walking back a little more willingly. When they got back to the temple, Chrysolite leapt into Steven’s room, snatching blankets, sheets, and pillows off the bed. 

“Chrysolite?!” Pearl shouted, shocked at his actions as he threw the bedding onto the floor below. He grunted in response, taking the mattress in between his teeth and tossing down as well. He leapt off of the loft and spread the materials out, his instincts taking over as he began to build a new nest. He took the cushions and pillows off the couch as well, carefully arranging them in his new nest in the middle of the living room. He purred and walked around it on all fours, admiring his work.

“Ohhh…” Pearl exclaimed, understanding what just happened.

“You’re just nesting!” Pearl smiled and rummaged through the cabinet next to the couch, fishing out more soft textile things for Chrysolite to use. He happily took them and sprawled them out in his nest, before softly clambering inside and turning in circles, soon stretching and flopping down into it. 

“U-uhm? Chrysolite?” Steven said, walking up awkwardly. Chrysolite grunted and opened one eye, peering up at him.

“Could I, y’know… Come in? I-I need to sleep too..” Steven said before Chrysolite snatched him by the front of his pajamas and softly tossed him into the nest before curling around him, giving him just enough room to breath as he fell asleep. Steven giggled and soon fell asleep as well. 

In the morning, Chrysolite yawned, nudging Steven awake. As Steven crawled out of the nest, Chrysolite stretched out like a cat and trotted out of the nest. He looked around, checking if Garnet, Amethyst, or Pearl was there before he quickly walked out the door. He ran down the stairs and ran down the beach, kicking up sand as he ran to the barn. 

“Chrysolite!!” Pearl shouted, causing him to glance back at her in shock before running quicker. He panted, quickly trotting over to the barn, speeding through Beach City. 

“Chrysolite! Get back here! You’re going to scare them and end up most likely causing problems to their clutch!!” Pearl shouted, having Garnet and Amethyst chase after him as well. He ran through the streets, almost running into people as he ran to the barn. He hopped over the fence and scrambled over to the door, the gems right on his heels. He dashed through the open doors and skidded to a halt in front of his mates. He purred loudly, chirping as well as he rolled onto his side, presenting his soft belly, the most vulnerable part of his body. He flicked his ears and shook out his fur, emitting pheromones to soothe his mates’ nerves. He knew not to get too close to the nests, but he did scent the room, covering it in his scent so when the gemlings arrived, they could get used to it. Once he was finished, he purred and rolled around, taking in the attention that his mates gave him before they sent him out. 

“What are we going to do with you?” Garnet said as Chrysolite was sent out, purring as he scented his mates briefly before they swatted him away. He smiled as he trotted out, scenting the outside as they left. 

“You’re going to scare them if you lose your temper around them, your fuse is shorter than normal..” Pearl said, causing him to snarl. He sighed and stepped on the warp pad, activating it and going home. 

After months of this, going over, scenting, being chased out, and repeating, Chrysolite grew tired. He lay in his nest, snuggling Steven close to him. However, they both were jolted awake at the sound of wails, and bright blue and green lights coming from the barn. Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst quickly bolted into the living room to see Chrysolite shaking Steven off of his leg and bolting out the door. 

“Pearrrrrl!!!” Steven yelled, falling back into the nest.

“Where is he going!?” He shouted, quickly dashing in and out of the bathroom in a new change of clothes. 

“Peridot and Lapis are getting ready to lay, and Chrysolite’s sire instincts are going haywire! We need to stop him before he gets himself hurt, Peridot or Lapis hurt, or the clutches hurt!” Pearl explained, bolting after him.

“Chrysolite! Stop!! You’re going to scare them!” Pearl yelled as she sprinted after him, trying to catch up and stop him from interrupting. He dove onto all fours and ran faster, running down the empty dark streets to get to the barn. He panted as he ran on, leaping over the fence and diving into the barn, being met with the wails of his mates as they laid their clutches in the nest. He instantly began producing calming pheromones, purring and chirping to soothe the nerves in the room. He quickly trotted over to them, licking their skin to calm them. He rubbed their back, enjoying the time they had before they got angry at him being there. Pearl’s squeals filled the barn as she laid her eyes on their clutches, counting nine whole geodes in total. 

Chrysolite purred loudly, rubbing his scent glands onto each geode. They laid together for a few minutes, tending to their young. Once the geodes’ safety was ensured, Lapis let out a growl, signaling for Chrysolite to leave. He grumbled as he got to his feet, rubbing against the clutch one last time, earning a slash and a hiss from Lapis. He retreated from the nest with a chirp and gazed at his offspring. He trilled and flicked his ears and throat fur, presenting a show of green-blue color. He purred loudly and pranced for them, giving into his needs as a sire. Lapis and Peridot giggled to themselves and sent him off. He trilled and jogged out after giving them a kiss, purring wildly. He closed the barn doors and turned to face the other gems, Pearl and Garnet looked at him, slightly disappointed in him going to see the two carriers, despite Pearl’s warnings about what might happen. However, he just gave them a smug look and pranced off. 

Around two weeks later, Chrysolite was woken up by someone leaving the house. He yawned, stretched, and turned over, going back to sleep. Twenty minutes later though, he was jolted awake by the loud and angry cries of his mates in the barn. He was up in an instant, the instincts of a sire needing to tend to their family flowing through him. Garnet and Pearl ran in, causing Steven to wake up as well. Chrysolite grew angry quickly, fangs growing in his mouth as he snarled and spat, his eyes glowed as he bolted out the door, sprinting towards the barn once more. Pearl groaned, having to chase after him again with Garnet. He leapt onto all fours, running faster to get to his new family. He ran through the fence, smashing it to pieces as he tried to get to Lapis and Peridot. He slammed open the doors and panted roughly, observing the geode in Amethyst’s hands. Pearl and Garnet stormed in behind him, and saw what Chrysolite was upset at. Amethyst laughed awkwardly, placing the geode down just as Chrysolite leapt on her. 

To him, Amethyst was not a friend. All he saw through his instinct clouded mind was someone trying to take away his baby. He roared and was on her in a millisecond, holding her down and slamming his clawed hands into her. He bit, tore, slashed, punched, beat, and screamed. At the moment, he was not Chrysolite, he was only a hormonal sire protecting his young. He attacked her so violently, she poofed and even then he was still angry. He raised a hand, getting ready to slam it down on Amethyst’s gem and shatter her. Though, just before he could, Steven ran over and grabbed it, running out of his reach before he too could get hit. As Pearl, Garnet, and Steven ran, Chrysolite ran after them. He growled and hissed, chasing them away from the barn and back into Beach City. He let out a deep roar, completely intent on viciously attacking them if they came back too soon. He spat as they ran back to the house, keeping Steven safe. 

He grunted and stalked back, still on all fours. His teeth and other sharp assets shrunk back to normal. As he walked, he scented the area around the barn, marking trees and rocks by slashing into them. He did this for at least an hour before he heard the calling chirps of Lapis and Peridot. He eagerly ran back, before slowing down and carefully entering the barn. He heard their soft purrs as he padded in, his puffed up fur laying flat back on his body. He purred back, much louder and deeper as he smiled at them. They smiled back and started shuffling around, making room for his large body to fit in. He trilled happily and softly slipped in. He purred louder, his breathing syncing with theirs as he snuggled in, tucking them both closer along with their clutches. They laid like this for hours, falling asleep together. They lay like this for weeks, never moving from their spots. 

“Hey Chrysolite?” Lapis said, shaking him awake.

“Yes, Lappy?” He smiled and gazed up at her, licking her cheek softly, causing her to giggle. 

“Me and Peri were wondering if you could watch the clutches for us? We want to go out together but we can’t leave them..” Lapis said, stroking his hair softly.

“Of course! I’d love to watch them, I haven't seen them in so long.” He cooed and leaned into her touch. 

“Thank you!” She purred and hugged him tightly. 

“Peri! He said he’d watch them!” She shook Peridot awake, who chirped happily, getting up from the clutch. 

“Here, lay on your side Chrysolite.” Peridot instructed.

“Okay, what now?” He asked softly, gazing up at her. 

“Alright, here we go.” Peridot carefully gathered up the geodes and slid them closer to him, slipping their sturdy forms under him. 

“The outsides are incredibly durable, so they won’t crack if someone of your size helps with brooding.” Peridot explained, covering him with a blanket. 

“Alright, thank you Peri.. Now you two go have fun. They’ll be safe, all nine of them.” He purred, shifting to make himself more comfortable. The two nodded and stroked him softly before leaving the barn, closing the doors and leaving it pitch black inside. He smiled as he curled around them, making sure every last one of them was safe and accounted for. 

“Hi there babies.” He cooed, chirping and trilling happily. 

“I’m your carrier's sire, so I’ll protect you and your mamas. We’ll all be so safe together, me, Lapis, Peridot, and all nine of you. Oh!!” He squealed, his incredibly loud purrs shaking the walls. He laid on them for hours, using his body heat to keep them warm and using his insane amount of fur to keep them safe. He had his back towards the barn doors as he snored, his chest rising and falling. He let out a snarl as he heard the barn doors open, his ears turning towards it. He turned himself over, crouching over his nest and geodes as he growled. 

“Chrysolite?” Came Pearl’s soft voice. He opened eyes to look at her, snarling as his eyes fell upon Amethyst. He hissed loudly, his lips curling to show his gums and sharp teeth. He growled and puffed up his fur, making him look impossibly larger. 

“Where’s Peridot and Lapis?” Pearl asked, stepping closer slowly. 

“Out.” He responded coldly, pinning his ears back against his mane. Though still softening up around her. 

“And you’re covering for them? How much longer do the geodes have?” Pearl asked, sitting in front of him with her legs folded under her. 

“Yes, I’m taking over until they return. And I would say around a week or so.” He answered, starting to purr quietly. They talked for a while, Pearl calming him down and chatting about the clutch. 

“Ow!” He yelped and raised his body up, watching one of the geodes begin to crack.

“Or today! Or they could erupt today!” He panicked, letting out a loud deep Sire Call, calling out to his mates for help. He carefully set all the geodes out in front of him, watching them as he called to Peridot and Lapis. Pearl walked him through the process of the erupting of gemlings, explaining how she used to be a midgem, the gem version of a midwife. He squealed as he saw a small furry blue hand poke out of the blue and teal geode, its tiny claws swatting around at nothing. He carefully took the top of it between his teeth, slowly removing it for the small gemling to poke out of. Its gem was on its chest, and was shaped like Lapis’s. 

As soon as he helped it out of its geode, it started crying. Its small naked fluffy body wiggling around. He held it in his paws, licking it clean and cradling it on his bare chest, yelping as it clawed him unconsciously. Its cries lessened and it sniffled before it began chirping. It peeped as loud as it could, grasping onto the soft warm fur of Chrysolite’s chest. Pearl clapped her hands wildly, congratulating him on his first gemling’s eruption. Minutes later, Peridot and Lapis came rushing into the barn just in time to see Chrysolite licking two others clean. Both were blue, looking the exact same. Same green hair, same shade of blue on their fur, same cries, and both of their gems were on their left shoulder they were practically the exact same gem. 

“Chrysolite!” Lapis shouted, quickly running over with Peridot to help calm their cries. He purred and set both of them on his chest with the first one. They purred loudly, helping the others erupt from their geodes and giving them to Chrysolite to clean and soothe. They sighed as the very last one erupted and Chrysolite took its small spotted body to clean it. 

“She’s so small!” Chrysolite cooed, softly setting her with her siblings. 

“Alright, Pearl, Garnet, Amethyst? Leave please.” Chrysolite said tiredly, shooing them away as best he could as he stroked the gemlings' backs. Pearl nodded and quickly herded the gems out of the barn, making sure to shut the doors. Chrysolite sighed, purring loudly as Peridot and Lapis curled up next to him. 

“You’re so lucky we agreed to this. This entire process hurt.” Lapis jokes, softly stroking the sleeping gemlings. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around them, rubbing their bellies softly. 

“OW!” He yelped, curling his toes as one of the small gems bit at one of the small pinkish bumps on his belly, sinking its sharp tiny teeth into it. Lapis laughed, carefully picking up the small baby and bringing it to her chest, helping it feed from her instead of trying to feed from a male. The baby chirped and took one in its mouth, feeding itself as it squeaked. The other babies raised their heads, chirping and squealing. Lapis and Peridot smiled, reaching out for their babies and having them latch onto them. They purred in sync together, slowly falling asleep with their babies. 

A few weeks passed and the gemlings grew bigger. Their eyes have opened and almost all of them have Chrysolite’s yellow eyes. Some of them have Lapis’ wings but they can't control them and all parents have to keep an eye on them to make sure their wings don’t dissipate in the air. Whenever the gems came over, the gemlings, sometimes labeled ‘cubs’ by Chrysolite, loved to climb on Garnet. Whenever they clambered onto her, she’d have the goofiest smile on her face, sitting extremely still. Sometimes, they’d go outside, but only ever with Chrysolite, if he wasn’t there, they don’t go outside. When they were outside he never took his eyes off of any of them, even if he couldn’t see them, he knew EXACTLY where they were. They also really liked being picked up by Chrysolite. Since they didn’t know how to speak, they would waddle up to him, raise up their arms, and chirp wildly until he noticed them and picked them up. With the help of Steven, he taught them how to speak, even if it was only around 10 words a baby.

[muppeteyes1001]

continued from here...

Kitt gave a mildly puzzled look towards Alex as he gently moved away from her touch. His somber expression seemed to sink even more as the late evening shadows began to cast over the common room .. And over the pair. Straightening up slightly in her own chair, the felinoid's attention clung to every word from the draconian's lips as he began to disclose things to her. Things that she had never been aware of .. Nor even fathomed.

When he promptly stood up and approached her, clutching the sides of her chair and seemingly entrapping her between his large, muscular arms ... She couldn't help feeling a glint of tension as his bright crimson eyes stared deeply into her verdant ones .. Despite how intimidating this would be for most folks, Kitt could see there was anything but aggression in his gaze. To her, she could almost feel the distress and anxiety behind those eyes .. Something she very rarely sensed from Alexander .. And it made her feel all the more perturbed.

As he spoke further into his past, Kitt could only listen in shock. Her peridot eyes widened and her ears were fully pricked up at the harrowing tale of his beginnings all those centuries ago. The wars he fought ... His transformation ... And the inevitable betrayal that came from the very people that supported him. She had always known that Alex had gone through rough times for as long as she's known him ... But never imagined it had all stemmed from such a complex and tragic past.

Seeing Alex's face showing more signs of distress, she wanted nothing more than to try to console him .. Yet, when he continued, the felinoid felt almost frozen to her seat, simply watching him pace back and forth in front of the hearth, listening to everything he felt the need to say.

At end of his tale, Kitt kept silent for a moment longer. Giving herself some time to process it all. She couldn't help the sudden wave of guilt that fell over her. After hearing his story of how he came to be, her own plight felt so miniscule compared to what Alexander went through. Next to her, the enchanted tea set softly trembled from the tension in the room as she tried to collect her thoughts.

"Alex, I .... I'm truly sorry that you went through all that ... I never knew .. I ... Why haven't ya told me any of this before? .. That you used ta be a human! ... And .. And .. Oh gods!" Kitt stammered, brushing back her hair still in disbelief. She would then look back over at the king, speaking again with a little more firmness in her voice.

"You honestly think this is the only place in the world where brighter futures came out of such dark beginnings? ... What happened to you was clearly out of your control, Alex ... And the fact that the people you once knew attacked you because of it!? .. You defended yourself! ... Not only that, they would've continued ta hunt you down for generations if ya didn't do what you needed to" Kitt added, trying to reassure that his actions were justified considering the circumstances from his tale.

Her own eyes began to shimmer as tears threatened to spill as well. Everything became a whole lot clearer to her now. She fully understood why Alex had been so hesitant to get closer to her despite their courting. He felt ashamed for what he'd done long ago and didn't feel comfortable keeping something like this from her.

"Look! .. What happened way back then was awful, truly! .. And it must've been so incredibly difficult for you .. Your world is just soo very different from the one I've come from ... An' I can't imagine what things were like back then .... But, you've managed to make Xandora as it is now .. A prosperous place where those who make their home here wouldn't need ta worry about bein' enslaved again ... Your subjects clearly admire an' respect you as their king ... I've seen it myself every time you hold audience with 'em ... Especially at the Eventide festival ... They're grateful to you, hon .. Though they may not show it all the time" she continued, bringing up points that Alex had failed to bring up. She then gives a deep sigh.

"I'll give you space if you feel that's what you need right now!" Kitt gently offered, not knowing what else she could say to him. However, a sudden thought did pop into her head .. And it made her heart drop and her fear start to creep up on her.

"But ... If you're plannin' to run away an' disappear again .. Then, at least, tell it to my face this time" she somberly added. This time, the tears she had been holding back began to trickle freely as she glared back at the one she loved. Though her eyes looked angry, there was only hurt and worry behind them.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 3: Here Comes a New Challenger (originally posted on September 11, 2023)

AN: Buckle up ladies, gentlemen and every other gender in-between, we finally go back to Steven as he reaches Serpentes and comes face to face with King Cobralan, who I argue might be just as much Steven's opposite as Black Rutile was. Though unlike Black Rutile who wears how much of a sociopath she is on her sleeve and is not ashamed to show it, Cobralan is a pretty okay guy who has a very strange view on morality where anyone who doesn't like what he does can take a hike unless he can convince them otherwise. The Jormagundr royal family will all be very interesting characters for me to write, so I don't want to waste your time any longer.

Synopsis: Steven, Connie, Greg, Black Rutile, and Ronaldo finally reach Serpentes, where Steven is welcomed by the royal family.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, The Black Pearl Brigade

Jennifer Paz as Lapis

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Grace Rolek as Connie

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Aurelio Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundr

Shirley Millner as Queen Constricta Jormagundr

Jason Marsden as Prince Nosiop Jormagundr

Cissy Jones as Princess Naja Jormagundr

Henry Rollins as Captain Boa

Keith David as Pyth

Neil Flynn as Aescul

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond

John Moschitta Jr. as Bialyoom Milamin

Stephanie Escajeda as Meinerr

Nicole Sullivan as Sylvia Spectre

Kari Wahlgren as Envyrno

Featuring JP Karliak as S-L1M3

Dominic Armato as Captain Gearfeet

Wally Wingert as Rigby Starglow

Britt Baron as Michelle Angelon

Julissa Aguirre as Lady Imagineer

Rob Paulsen as Monty the Moarchean

Steven Blum as Deputy Edward

Beau Billingslea as Sheriff Spiegel

Christopher Lloyd as Batsputin Vosania

Anna Akana as Dionna of the Sands

Peter Stormare as Reximillian

Elizabeth Maxwell as Vigrid

James Earl Jones as Wobbla the Butt

Barrett Wilbert Weed as Ezlipsia

And Anthony Stewart Head as Solaris Noctua

--

"Well, here we are on the Slytherophidian home planet of Serpentes!" Aescul exclaimed as his ship returned home at last and landed in Alethinophidia. "Ah, it's good to be back home after so many years. Now watch your step as you get out, everybody."

"Wow, I haven't been on an alien planet in this long." Connie gasped in amazement as she took in the sights and sounds of Serpentes. "This is the place where they took the Gems, right?"

"Seems like it," Steven answered as he followed Connie out of Aescul's ship. "I thought Ronaldo was just talking crazy when he said the Slytherophidians existed, but I never realized they were real all along."

"Finally!" Ronaldo cried as he burst from the spaceship and began harassing Slytherophidians for their knowledge. "Excuse me, sir, do you have any holidays you celebrate on your planet?" The snake awkwardly slithered away in response. "Okay, I'll ask you later." Ronaldo then walked over to another snake. "What kind of food do you eat here?" The snake slithered away as well. "Hm, tough crowd."

"Okay big guy, now that we're here, I think it's about time we see your boss," Greg said to Aescul as the two walked out of Aescul's ship. "The Crystal Gems are getting us real worried, and I do not want to see any of them losing a head or two. Then again, they can just walk it off."

"Don't worry, everyone will know he's here," Aescul assured Greg as Steven quickly became surrounded by Slytherophidians wanting to meet him. "See what I mean?"

"Uh, hello everybody." Steven nervously said to the Slytherophidians surrounding him. "My name's Steven Universe. Nice to meet you all."

"Oh my gosh, it's Steven!" a young female Slytherophidian squealed eagerly. "Sign my face, please!"

"Hey now, no need to get too obsessed over me, I'm just here to get my friends back." Steven laughed. "The last time I discovered my fans, they chased me all around the country."

"Is that Steven Universe I see?!" Pyth asked as he arrived on the scene and gently pushed his king's subjects out of the way. "Greetings my boy, I am the royal advisor Pyth and I'm here on behalf of his royal highness Cobralan Jormagundr to collect you and bring you to him. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to fight for survival in the Ouraborium if you want your friends back."

"Wait, fight for survival? You mean you want me to kill people in this world?" Steven gasped in surprise before being wrapped in Pyth's tail and taken away.

"Unfortunately for you, yes," Pyth explained. "More will be revealed once you meet our ruler." He then turned to look back at Greg, Connie, Ronaldo, and Lion. "And take those four along with him and throw them with the other competitors."

"Wait, you want us to fight too?" Greg asked before the three humans were seized by the royal guards. "But we're just puny, squishy Earthlings, we'll all die in there!"

"That's the idea," Pyth replied with a villainous sneer as he turned back to Steven, who was looking at him with a face full of worry and suspicion.

"Looks like our new arrival is gathering quite a crowd." King Cobralan said as he watched the commotion with Captain Boa from above. "As expected for the legendary Steven Universe."

"My enforcers tell me that Pyth should be here momentarily with Mr. Universe." Boa calmly stated. "Plus, his plus-ones shall be sentenced to the Ouraborium until further notice."

"All I needed to hear, Captain. You are dismissed." Cobralan stated and commanded Boa to leave before taking a glass of Slytherophidian alcohol and taking a sip before Steven was escorted into his quarters. "Steven Universe, we meet at last! Apologies for the way I had to get your attention, but I know you love those Gems so much!"

"Enough with the pleasantries, just give me my friends back and leave my planet alone!" Steven abruptly yelled at Cobralan, shocking the king of the snake people at how curt his guest was.

"Wow, I'd thought you'd be way nicer than that," Cobralan said before offering his drinking glass to Steven. "You look stressed. Care for a drink? Finest snake oil on the planet, aged to perfection."

"Sorry, I'm not a drinker." Steven turned down the offer. "I just want to get in, get my friends back, and get out. That's all I want."

"All you want?" Cobralan asked before sitting Steven down at a bar and ordering his servant to pour another glass of snake oil. "Well, what are you willing to do for it?"

"What do I want to do for it?" Steven muttered before he heard music playing. "Wait, are you going to do what I think you're doing?"

"Right here, right now, come on, just hear me out. I don't wanna strike you down, I hope you come in peace." Cobralan began singing to convince Steven. "You fight for me, and I'll set your friends free. Out of the carnage and the violence they're trapped in." The bartender serving as the king's backup passed Steven a glass of snake oil. "Just trade your life so peaceful, for something more colorful. If you think it's crazy, well sometimes, crazy works. You can play it normal, you king of traditional. Or you can risk your life and see!"

"Don't you want to get away, from the boring life you live every day? Because I have just what you need, so come with me and you shall see!" Cobralan exclaimed as he slithered on the walls and spun around a flagpole. "All you need to do is fight for me! I'll let you do as you do, or you can do it like me. Fight in my games and I'll surely give you the key. Oh dang, the audience will be filled with glee! All you have to do is fight for me!"

"Thank you, but no, I don't want in on your show. I hate to tell you, but I'm not the killing type." Steven objected to Cobralan's offer while pushing the glass away. "Thank you, but no, just let all of my friends go. I don't want to slaughter just for the hype. I'm not sure if I like you, and this whole show you do. Without violence, you're nothing. Yes, you're nothing." Cobralan wasn't sure if he should be offended by the remark or impressed at Steven's audacity. "But I just want to live in peace, and not covered in grease. What would make me reconsider you?"

The servant quickly took the glass away as Steven continued singing. "Don't you think I'll be okay, with murdering innocents every day? I still got what I need, count me out of your crew. I would never fight for you!" Cobralan started nodding along to the song while banging the floor with his tail to the beat. "But you can still do as you do, just do not involve me. Just let my friends go, I don't even need a key! I am rubber and what you say won't stick to me like glue. What makes you think I'll fight for you?"

"Now, is this how you'd prefer to spend your days," Cobralan asked with a scaly arm on Steven's shoulder while Boa played the piano in the background. "With songs and ice cream and playing it safe?"

"If I were joining you, people would never let me live it down," Steven responded. "Disgraced and regretful, with a big ol' frown."

"But you'd finally see my point now, stop with that furrowed brow. Sometimes, fighting's the only thing we need." Cobralan replied while twisting Steven's mouth into a smile with his hands. "I'll finally wake you up, and stop your heart from breaking. Keep that little organ from aching." Putting his hands away, Cobralan turned around and stood back-to-back with Steven to await his answer. "Now, is my deal a little worth taking? I guess I'll leave it up to you."

"The answer is still no." Steven firmly declared, much to Cobralan's anger.

"No? NO?!" Cobralan asked, furious at the rejection while baring his fangs to intimidate Steven with. "I put on this whole song and dance number for you, and you still refuse?!" His face then perked up. "Oh wait, you must be joking! Well, don't make me laugh!"

"Your offer's intriguing, but I don't know how it would cost me." Steven began singing again. "I'll do whatever you want, just as long as you set everyone free."

"Oh, fair enough. I can free you from the action." Cobralan replied. "Just name your price, we can shake and make it happen."

"I wasn't born this morning, do whatever I think is fine." Steven declared while crossing his arms.

"Okay, just tell me already!" Cobralan urged his guest.

"Fine, I'll fight for you." Steven caved into Cobralan's requests, much to the snake king's delight.

"I knew you'd come through." Cobralan smiled happily before the two shook hands and became a duet.

"Don't you want to get away, from the boring life you live every day?" the half-Gem and the Slytherophidian king began singing in harmony. "Because I have just what you need, so come with me and you shall see! All you/I need to do is fight for me/you!"

"I'll let you do as you do, or you can do it like me." The two continued as the song reached a bombastic conclusion. "I have to fight for you! All I have to do is fight for you!"

"Wow, you're a surprisingly good singer," Steven said to Cobralan.

"Why thank you, I'm classically trained by my servants," Cobralan replied before summoning more guards with a clap of his hands. "Guards, bring Steven to his friends at the Ouraborium! And try not to be too rough on him, he's going through a lot right now."

"Okay guys, do your worst," Steven said as the snake guards took him away from Cobralan while he wondered just what went through the alien king cobra's head. He seemed nice on the surface, but he also forced species from across the stars to fight in his twisted gladiator games. Was Cobralan truly evil, or was Steven simply misunderstanding this new alien race and their morality? That would have to wait as Steven would soon be reunited with the Crystal Gems in time to fight in the Contest of Champions.

--

"Steven!" the Crystal Gems, Greg, Connie, and Ronaldo all cried out as Steven was thrown into the dungeon with the other competitors in the Contest of Champions, after which he was greeted with a big group hug.

"We're so glad you came for us!" Pearl exclaimed as she hugged Steven the tightest out of everybody in the dungeon.

"Yeah, really wish there was a better way to celebrate your birthday, little man." Amethyst laughed nervously before the hug dispersed.

"It's great that you came to rescue us, Steven," Garnet said with a smile before looking at Black Rutile, who was sulking in the background with her back against the wall. "Now what's she doing here?"

"Oh yeah, funny story," Steven said with a blush. "Black Rutile crashed on Earth at the same time I came back to Beach City because her team was abducted by the Slytherophidians, and now we've been forced to team up against a common enemy to save our friends."

"WHAT?!" the Gems all shouted in alarm at the idea that Steven would team up with someone like Black Rutile.

"Why are you so shocked? Half of you tried to kill him at some point in his life." Black Rutile deadpanned. "But yes, we had no choice but to align our interests to combat our new enemy and return everyone to Earth. Unfortunately," she shot Ronaldo a disdainful glare. "We picked up an unwanted passenger along the way."

"Hey, I volunteered on this adventure!" Ronaldo shouted, utterly offended.

"But in the meantime, while we wait for our turn to fight for our lives, allow me to introduce to you the other competitors." Black Rutile turned to face the many colorful characters forced to join the violence. "These are all the other individuals abducted by the royal family to fight in their games from across the universe. And I must say, this is a very stacked roster."

"Oh, saints be praised, I thought I was going to be dragged out to fight for a second!" a grasshopper-like alien gasped in delight as he skittered towards Steven to greet him. "Hello, my name's Monty! I'm a Moarchean from the planet Caelifera. Pleased to meet you, little one."

"Nice to meet you too," Steven replied to Monty while shaking his foreleg. "Who are the rest of these guys?"

"Oh, I believe we can help with that," Cap said before walking over to Sheriff Spiegel. "These are Sheriff Spiegel and Deputy Edward from Sergione-29."

"Howdy." Edward tipped his hat to Steven.

"These are Sylvia Spectre and Envyrno, who we fought before." Tails introduced the Coalition of Galaxies officer and the Magman mercenary next.

"Hello, Crystal Gems." Sylvia waved to the Gems, trying her best to keep a polite smile on her face.

"Oh great, their friends." Envyrno rolled her eyes.

"'Ello, I'm Rigby Starglow, I'm the biggest rock star in the universe." Rigby Starglow introduced himself with one flashy pose after another, making Greg think of the rock stars of his youth. "I got kidnapped here on my way to my next show."

"Call me Captain Gearfeet, mighty pirate and the third most feared pirate in the seven galaxies!" the cyborg Captain Gearfeet declared. "My crew and I accidentally raided a Slytherophidian ship, and I sacrificed myself to make sure they all got away."

"Call me Earthos, and the big guy above me is the Decimator," Earthos stated. "We fought your friends before you got here." The Decimator growled while nodding in agreement.

"You may call me S-L1M3." A cybernetic blob creature introduced himself. "My species has dedicated itself to self-improvement since the day we emerged from the primordial soup thanks to our advanced technology."

"I am Michelle Angelon." A figuratively and literally angelic-looking young woman with large white wings sprouting from her back added. "I am but a humble angel forced against my will to fight in such sinful battles while being separated from my home planet."

"And I'm Lady Imagineer." A jester-like humanoid stated as she took a break from her imaginary flute playing to meet Steven. "I can make your dreams into reality."

"They have abducted the Metals as well, but unfortunately, they're elsewhere in this arena." Black Rutile revealed just as Bialyoom and Meinerr entered the dungeon. "Oh, a servant. Let's make this quick, I don't tip the waiter."

"Ah, you-must-be-Steven-Universe!" Bialyoom greeted Steven. "It's-a-pleasure-to-meet-you-young-man. Here, my-card." He then lent his business card to Steven. "Here-in-this-arena, you'll-be-fighting-for-survival-against-a-variety-of-opponents-from-across-the-universe, and-your-reputation-means-everything-in-here-too."

"Hey, you kind of sound like that fast-talking guy from those old toy commercials." Greg pointed out Bialyoom's voice.

"Please, he's-nowhere-near-as-fast-as-I-am!" Bialyoom bragged.

"Now that you are here Steven, you will be pitted against your first opponent," Meinerr said while looking at her tablet. "And it shall be Miss Sylvia Spectre."

"Wait, me?!" Sylvia yelped in surprise as the guards grabbed her by the arms and dragged her away, while another pair did the same to Steven.

"Wait, I have to fight and kill people here?!" Steven cried before being separated from the Crystal Gems yet again.

"Them's the rules, my boy, whether you like it or not." Meinerr bluntly replied.

--

"And now ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for!" Naja announced to the excited fans of the Contest of Champions. "In this corner, all the way from planet Earth, is the one, the only, Steven Universe!" The audience began cheering as Steven was shoved out into the arena. "And in this corner, representing the Coalition of Galaxies, one of the last survivors of Invisibo-9, the illuminating invisible icon of justice, Sylvia Spectre!"

The crowd continued getting excited as Sylvia Spectre appeared from thin air, ready for a fight. "Now then, are you ready for some MORTAL COMBAT?!" Naja continued yelling, causing the crowd to cheer louder than ever. "That's what I like to hear! Heaven or hell, let's rock!"

As soon as the bell rang, Sylvia charged towards Steven and landed a furious punch to his face that sent him flying into a nearby wall. Although Steven was able to summon his shield to protect himself, Sylvia barely gave him any chances to fight back. "What's the big idea? I know we have no choice but to fight, but why are you so violent?!"

"It's because of you and your kind!" Sylvia declared while delivering a roundhouse kick to Steven's hip, causing the boy to fall over and run. "The Black Pearls may have taught me that you're not all bad and I took it to heart, even helping them a few times, but that doesn't mean I'll ever forgive you Diamonds for taking away my home and my family!"

"Oh, she just had to go there." Yellow Diamond groaned in disgust.

"Listen, I understand what you've been through, but revenge will only get you nowhere but down!" Steven said as he began throwing some punches of his own, but Sylvia was far faster. "Didn't the Black Pearls also teach you this?"

"Yes, but you think that simply forgiving the Diamonds and having them apologize will make everything better!" Sylvia said before trying to deliver a strong uppercut, but Steven dodged before her hit could connect. "And what's more, there are still Gems out there who refuse to accept what you've done!"

"Yeah, I know, I've dealt with them before!" Steven replied, utterly frustrated with Sylvia's anger before summoning his shield again and tossing it at her face. What he didn't realize however was that he was slowly starting to glow pink.

"And look at them, still running around because you think we should give peace to terrorists a chance!" Sylvia exclaimed, gesturing to Black Rutile and her rebels watching from afar, eager to see Steven be given the judgment he deserved and possibly killed too. "In my line of work, I've had to fight and defeat people who are no better than you are!"

"SHUT UP!" Steven burst into a pink-colored fit of rage and initiated a nonstop assault on Sylvia, managing to see right through her powers and attack every possible weakpoint she had. When Sylvia eventually lay beaten and bruised on the ground, Steven finally returned to his senses and realized what he had done before the audience started cheering.

"FINISH HER! FINISH HER! FINISH HER!" the crowd of Slytherophidians cheered as Steven looked around the arena at the audience urging him to land the killing blow. Although Sylvia was very harsh in her critiques of his worldview, Steven couldn't help but feel sorry for her because of how her prejudice was rooted in tragedy.

"No!" Steven firmly declared to the spectators. "I will never take a life for your amusement!" Everyone started gasping, and then they started booing Steven as he helped Sylvia up.

"Well, he's dead," Monty said flatly.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened just now, it's just my powers that make me go crazy when I'm under extreme stress." Steven apologized to the Invisibon heroine. "I've been trying real hard to keep them under control, so please don't hold this against me."

"Wow, you really aren't anything like the Diamonds." Sylvia wheezed in surprise. "At least they're willing to admit their mistakes."

"Hey, hold on a minute," Steven said before he licked his hand and slapped his saliva-covered palm on Sylvia's injured wrist, making her cringe in disgust before the spit suddenly healed all her wounds. "There, all better!"

"You can do that?" Sylvia gasped in wonder at Steven's abilities. "Please, tell me more of what you can do!"

"I'll talk later." Steven replied. "But right now, I'm sure certain people have some choice words for me."

--

"WHAT-WERE-YOU-THINKING?!" Bialyoom shrieked angrily once Steven returned from his fight. "The-Crystal-Gems-sparing-their-opponents-was-embarassing-enough, but-you-had-the-power-to-kill-Sylvia-Spectre-right-then-and-there! There-are-three-ways-to-win. One, you-knock-your-opponent-out. Two, the-opponent-quits, and-shouts-'Uncle!' Three, you-kill-them-right-on-the-spot!"

"I know the rules, but you should know that Sylvia here lost her family years ago." Steven objected. "She was so lost and angry at Gems for destroying her home, that she decided to take her anger out on me even though she learned Gems aren't all bad."

"We're very proud of you for sticking to your morals, Steven." Blue Diamond sighed in relief, prompting Sylvia to give the Diamonds the stink-eye before Steven calmed her down.

"Oh, she's got a temper." White Diamond declared with a joking smirk.

"So what do we do now?" White Topaz asked. "Are we just gonna keep killing people until they let us go?"

"I guess we have no other choice." Yellow folded her arms in acceptance. "Steven, you tried convincing the king to let us go, correct?"

"Yeah, but he got really mad that I didn't like his way of thinking while we were singing together," Steven replied. "I just want to know what goes on in that head of his. Does he have some kind of generational trauma he doesn't want to talk about?"

"Steven, you know not everything can be solved by talking to people." Black Rutile crossly said to her archnemesis. "Oh forget it, I'm too good for all of you anyways." She then turned around and stormed off. "Call me when one of you dies looking like a total fool or something!"

"Are you sure she's teamed up with you to save us?" Blue asked Steven.

"I'm sure, but I can't help but feel she probably has some kind of ulterior motive," Steven replied as Black Rutile retreated into the shadows.

--

"What's taking everyone so long?" Cobralan muttered to himself while pacing around his throne room and looking at his watch. "They should've been here in time for the opening ceremonies, but they're running late!"

"Don't worry my darling, they never once refused to come to the Contest." Constricta tried easing her husband's worries. "Why should they do so now?"

"Your Majesty, the other Universal Lords are here." Captain Boa stated as he slithered into the room with Dionna of the Sands, Batsputin Vosania, Reximillian, Vigrid, Wobbla the Butt, Ezlipsia, and even the long-retired Solaris Noctua behind him.

"Sorry, we were so late, Cobralan." Solaris apologized on behalf of his former fellow Universal Lords. "Space traffic was an utter nightmare."

"We've heard word that you have captured a vast assortment of Gems to compete this year," Vigrid stated. "Could we perhaps get a look at them?"

"Wait a second everyone, you all just got here!" Cobralan laughed. "Why not stay a little and I can treat you all to lunch? You must be starving after the long trip here!"

"Well, I am awfully famished," Dionna replied while stroking her stomach. "What have you got to eat?"

"That reminds me, where is Nosiop right now?" Batsputin asked, trying to listen out for Nosiop with his massive ears.

"No dice, everyone." Constricta replied. "He's been missing ever since the games began."

"I'm sure he'll come up at some point." Wobbla said with a loud, disgusting laugh.

"Ugh, charming as always, Wobbla." Ezlipsia groaned in irritation while using her parasol to protect herself from Wobbla's gross bodily fluids.

"Oh come now, let's have some fun this year!" Reximillian exclaimed as the Universal Lords prepared to sit down to lunch. But little did they know that Nosiop was still involved with the Contest of Champions, and he was going to make his presence known in a big way.

--

"I could've had a worthy ally in Spectre, but of course, Steven had to mess everything up with his dumb talk-no-jutsu or whatever!" Black Rutile grumbled as she walked deeper into the arena, not realizing how far she had gotten until it was too late. "What the? Where am I?"

"You must be Black Rutile, correct?" the voice of Prince Nosiop asked for Black Rutile as he and Pyth emerged from the shadows.

"Of course I am," Black Rutile answered while cautiously drawing her bowie knife. "What's it to you?"

"We've heard you also desired to upend your people's current status quo and turn them into what you think they should be." Pyth declared with a sneer.

"Wouldn't you know it, I think the same way," Nosiop said as he took Black Rutile's hand. "Come with me. We need to talk."

--

Now that Steven and Black Rutile are finally on Serpentes, things can really get going as dark secrets of the Slytherophidians and their connections to the Gems are unveiled while the Crystal Gems fight for survival in the Contest of Champions. But what does Nosiop have planned for Black Rutile, you may ask? You'll have to find out next time on Steven Universe: Snake Eyes!

[stevenuniverse-described]

[Image Description: three digital drawings of various characters from Steven Universe cast in a pink-toned pallette.

The first drawing depicts Steven curled up in Rose Quartz's lap, squeezing his eyes shut. Rose holds him gently with a small smile. Fluffy clouds dotted with stars curl around them.

The second drawing depicts Garnet, Amethyst, and Peridot wearing casual street clothes. Garnet has long braids, wearing a baggy, white tank top and loose pants. She is blowing a bubble of gum, flashing a peace-sign from her crossed arms. Amethyst is wearing a backwards baseball cap, ripped leggings, and a plaid flannel tied around her waist. She is sticking out her tongue with one hand on her hip and the other holding up a peace sign. Peridot is wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts, holding up peace signs on both hands with a wide grin.

The third image depicts Pearl and Lapis standing back-to-back. Pearl is wearing a ruffled tutu over a leotard with a sweetheart neckline, standing en-pointe with both arms curbed over her head. Lapis Lazuli is wearing a feathery, black tutu with puffed sleeves. She bends one leg behind her, holding both arms outwards. Lapis is cast in the shadow of Pearl, standing in stark contrast to her pink pallette.

End Description.]

su stickers

[shopofthemoment]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: new Alex and Ani ꥟ Lobster Expandable Bangle Bracelet ꥟ Rafaelian Gold ꥟ Retire.

[ticktockstuck-ezodiac]

OPHACO Sign of the Algorist

OPH(I)* = Peridot Sign • *ACO = Prospit + Greed

◈≫༻──◇──◇──༺≪◈≫༻──◇──◇──༺≪◈

#760: A sign for those who stick to the program and don't take well to glitches in their systems. Exact and precise, they're prone to get over-heated when confronted with unfamiliar syntax.

◈≫���──◇──◇──༺≪◈≫༻──◇──◇──༺≪◈

Peridot Signs • Greedbound Signs • Prospit Signs

[holdharmonysacred]

I keep seeing a really weird uptick in posts dunking on SU discourse shit and arguing that the show never did anything wrong, and I think that’s pretty unfair to both the actual complaints being made and SU itself, you don’t do a show good by acting like all criticism of it is inherently invalid. It usually happens in the context of shitty old “UGH people can’t handle MORAL COMPLEXITY” (read: Diamonds discourse), so I think it’s worth saying:

The problem with the Diamonds is at the end of the day, they are a victim of not just mechanical issues like bad writing and poor time management, but of horrifically clashing themes and metaphors. The Diamonds are introduced as metaphors for a whole host of real-world oppressive authorities - they are queerphobes, they’re racist, they hate disabled gems, they run a caste system that enslaves people, they’re colonizers who destroy other planets - and the show commits to these metaphors onscreen in detail for most of the series. The Crystal Gems fighting against the Diamonds is a metaphor for activism and resistance against real-world oppression, like Garnet’s entire thing being a metaphor for the fight for gay rights. And this is the metaphor that a lot of SU’s fanbase signed up for in the first place, particularly with the show’s hype as a progressive piece of media, which caused some problems when the show just up and yeeted the whole thing into the garbage can in the latter half of season 5 and swerved into “Actually the whole show was a metaphor for reconciling with shitty bio family members the whole time". Had the show committed only to the themes of family from the start, rather than hamming up “and the diamonds are oppressive tyrants who hate marginalized people” for basically the whole series, the firestorm when the Diamonds got redeemed at the end probably wouldn’t have been as bad because the audience wouldn’t have spent the past several years of watching getting primed for “the Diamonds are tyrants and metaphors for real-world oppressors”. By committing to these clashing metaphors though, the show blundered into an end message of “If you want to end homophobia, activism isn’t the solution, you should instead try to convince your homophobic grandma to Just Stop Being Homophobic, and she’ll magically change her mind! Also if you instead cut ties with your homophobic grandma due to said homophobia, you’re a baaaaaaad person”, and that is what actually set people off. (It also doesn’t help that the show had the bad luck of airing during a time in history were all the shit it was using as metaphors was getting way way worse IRL, and the audience was growing keenly aware of just how much “just talk to bigots to make them stop being bigoted” does not work).

How could they have avoided all of this? I have no fucking idea. Honestly I think the thematic core might’ve been a time bomb waiting to go off regardless, because marketing a message of “you should reconcile with your shitty family members!” to a queer audience when more often than not said audience has very good reasons to cut ties with their own shitty family members is just setting yourself up for failure. I do think though that if the crew was that set on the family themes, they shouldn’t have committed as hard to “the Diamonds as oppressors” as they did, because it really is a little silly to have, say, the conclusion of Peridot’s arc be “You cannot simply talk Yellow Diamond out of doing colonialist, oppressive bullshit, you have to fight back”, only for the end of the series to do a 180-degree turn and say “Actually you can talk Yellow Diamond out of doing colonialist, oppressive bullshit!”.

[anistarrose]

Image description: pink-toned digital art of the Steven Universe cast, as they appear in SU Future. Steven stands in the center, smiling and holding up two fingers in a peace sign. He's flanked by Peridot, Greg, Amethyst, Pearl, Garnet, Lion, Connie, Bismuth, and Lapis, who are all smiling brightly. Text above their heads reads: "Happy 10 Years Steven Universe." End description.

happy 10 years ⭐️

[beaconfantasies]

Peridot try outs for a part in a human movie not knowing that she actually signed up for a bang bus/casting couch adult film.

“Greetings humans! I, the great and lovable Peridot, am here to preform in one of your motion pictures!” The green gem stood proudly in front of the producer

“That’s…nice…? Uh, could you get on the couch?” He asked, clearly confused by the short alien who just waltzed in on their set

“Certainly! Though you should send all the other actors home, for I, Peridot, am about to blow you-“

One hour later

“AAAAHHHH!!!” Peridot screamed as the cock pumped in and out of her tight asshole. The stud with whom she was performing with had picked her up and locked her legs behind her, putting her in a full Nelson and fucking her hard.

“Shit! You’re fuckin’ tight!” The man grunted. Peridot only squealed in response

“HHHGHNN~” She clenched her eyes tight as her pussy squirted onto the camera lense. “Mmmooore~” the thicc gem purred.

The producer of the film cut the recording session there, one hand between his legs after jerking off to the amazing sight before him.

“Damn! What’d you say your name was again?” He asked

“P-p-Peridot~” Peri mewled as the stud threw her to the couch, her asshole gaping and dripping a fresh load of cum

“Well Peridot, how would you like to be a star?”

[dulce-pjm]

30 Questions Tag Game

tagged by @softbobamilktae​ my beloved <3333333

name/nickname: call me naomi !! 

star sign: capricorn

height: 5′8″ (and getting closer to chim every day muhaha)

birthday: january 15!

favorite band: ummm bts, txt, twice, every day lol (and like any musical theatre cast ever lol)

time: 8:35 pm 

favorite solo artist: taeyeon, baekhyun, agust d, jhope, rm 

song stuck in your head: signal by twice :))

last movie you watched: the princess diaries !! iconic

free space!: hmmmm i’m giving you a big hug can you feel it !!!!

last show: the great british bake off (paul f*cking hollywood i hate him but i love the show)

when i created this blog: february 2021 (i think?)

what i post: bts fics and weird not quite shitposts?

last thing i googled: huening kai side profile (i was texting a friend it was relevant uh yeah)

other blogs: @naomis-library​ for fic recs !

do i get asks?: sometimes!! and i treasure every single one you guys make my day <3

why i chose my url?: @kidcoredreamz came up with it !! i explained a bit in this tag game

following: 43 blogs :)

followers: more than i deserve !!!

average hours of sleep: um like  5-7? but then i’ll make up for it once a week and sleep like 10 hours lol

lucky number: hmm 7, 10, 15

what am i wearing?: a hoodie and pajama shorts lol (i was dressed cute earlier though haha)

dream job: oh gosh i don’t know still figuring that out lol

favorite food: just one ????? probably my grandma’s cavatelli (alternatively cold pad thai i don’t know i don’t know)

tea or coffee: oh my gosh don’t make me choose >.< i guess tea bc it won’t give me the jitters?

nationality: american 

favorite song: seesaw !!!

top three fictional universes i would like to live in: ugh okay before i decide this is so annoying bc to me my motivation is more the characters and friendships and relationships but i feel like this has to purely like the universe itself so i’m gonna do that and probably explain why for each lol (but also all the worlds seem so scary if you aren’t connected right ahhh !!)

1. harry potter obvs i have always wanted to be a wandmaker !!! i have a fic in the works (she says, having like a bajillion wips and ideas lol) kinda about that but i just think it’s such a cool career and it sounds so rewarding !!! i also just love kids and helping people so i think i’d love it someone pls hire me as a wandmaker 

2. the mcu i guess ??? but i’d spend most of my time wandering nyc looking for a radioactive spider LOL having superpowers is the actual fun part (idk if i wanna be an avenger though that’s a lot of responsibility !!! i like the friendly neighborhood role a lot more i’ll take over for peter parker lol)

3. steven universe !!!! i really hope i could be involved with the gems but like even if not the whole show makes every scene and landscape and location look so gorgeous !!!! i’d love to explore that world if i could, but i’d also be just as content to hang with sadie at the donut shop <3 (but i’d very much like to move in with lapis and peridot at the farm LOL)

okay i went way too in depth with the last question but it was important and my answers would be different if i could like choose my life and friends and stuff haha (i ramble a bit more in the tags lol)

anyway~~~ i’ll tag @hyungieyoongi (sorry if you’ve done it already) and @kidcoredreamz my love <33

[danceworshipper]

Ida Sommer - HPHL MC

Info subject to change as more game information is released. All of my HPHL ocs exist in the same universe

[profile template by me]

Personal

Full Name: Ida Marie Sommer

Gender: Female (cis)

Sexuality: Pansexual (closeted)

Birthday: August 20th

Birthstone: Peridot

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Age: 14 (at beginning of game)

Blood Status: Pureblood

3 Positive Traits:

- Charming

- Spiritual (nature oriented)

- Resilient

3 Negative Traits:

- Childish

- Uncommunicative

- Vain

Usual First Impression: When first meeting Ida, people often assume she is immature, ignorant, and easy to take advantage of due to her sheltered nature and cutesy appearance. This impression is highly incorrect

Location

Birthplace: Germany (exact location TBD)

Current Home: Her father's estate in one of the richest areas (Germany)

Future Home: A beautiful cottage secluded from the world, near a mountainside (Germany)

Favorite Place: A cliff overseeing the sea in Japan, close to the little shop where she got her wand

Disliked Place: Her maternal grandparents' home, simply because she doesn't enjoy their company

Appearance

[image created using the Live Portrait Maker app]

Face Shape: Roundish jaw, soft features with a strong brow bone

Eye Color: Yellowish green

Hair Color: Light blonde

Hair Style: Ida wears her hair down or in a single braid. Her hair is mostly straight with side bangs, and is parted in the middle

Skin Tone: Light

Freckles/Spots: A few freckles on her cheeks, more visible when she's been out in the sun

Scars: None during her schooling. After graduation, Ida marks her arms with runes only she and Sebastien can make sense of to strengthen her connection to the world around her

Piercings/Tattoos: Single earlobe piercings.

Final Height: 5'9"

Final Weight: 137lbs

Physique: Thin with long legs, slightly wider than average shoulders

Clothing Style: Ida is a rich kid, so her clothing is always of high quality material and her jewelry is noticeably unflawed. She dresses modestly until she turns seventeen, when she stops caring what her parents think. Her favorite colors to wear are pastels

Carried Items:

- her wand

- a locket with a picture of her and her parents in it - not worn, but kept in her satchel

- a silver pocket watch stuck at 11:18 pm, handed to her by the same Seer who told her where to get her wand

- a handful of candy

- extra quills for her roommate who keeps forgetting hers

- a book from the Restricted Section about Elementals, written by Elementals and charmed so no one other than an Elemental can ever figure out what it says

Magic

Wand: 12 inches of firm Ebony wood with a koi-mer hair core. A pitch black, rounded wand with a pattern of scales carved into the handle. This wand was custom made in a small, almost unknown shop in Japan after a Seer she bumped into on the street told Ida that her perfect wand would be created there. It would seem foolish to go all the way from Germany to Japan on the word of an unknown Seer, but it was Ida's turn to plan the summer trip, so she picked a place in Japan close enough to the mentioned shop

Animagus: Loon

Boggart Form: A headless figure easily recognizable as herself, crumbling away into dust. A failed attempt to merge with nature resulting in her demise

Riddikulus Form: A statue of her like the one in her parents' back garden, over glorifying her features, that has been attacked and is crumbling away. She hates that statue

Amortentia (to others): Someone smelling Ida would smell lime juice, fresh water, and static electricity

Amortentia (to her): TBD

Patronus: Ida has never been able to cast a Patronus. Not for a lack of happy enough memories, but because of her powerful soul. The Patronus can never escape her magical core

Patronus Memory: N/A

Mirror of Erised: A tree so big it grows up an entire mountainside. The tree bark is covered in swirling patterns Ida recognizes as Elemental runes. She doesn't yet know what exactly this tree is, but she feels an undeniable longing for it

Family Spells: The Sommer family has no special family spells

Inherent Magic: Elemental

- Ida has all the magic of a normal witch, but on top of that has a deep connection to the earth and the magic stemming from it, even beyond the earth into the universe. If not properly trained (or if driven to a great enough temptation), an Elemental could vaporize the entire planet, or bend it to their will. They could also leave humanity behind if they so wished and become nature itself

- Elementals are theorized to have fragments of Merlin's soul fused with their own, hence why they feel strong connections to each other and can't ever fatally harm one of their own. Most Elementals also fall in love with each other as well, and the connection is thought to be stronger than a normal human's love could ever be. These connections help ensure no Elemental gives in to whichever temptation has the strongest pull on them. Only one Elemental has ever yet gone evil, and this is how it was discovered that they cannot kill one another

- This special magic is not hereditary. In fact, no one knows what causes someone to be born an Elemental, only that there have been less and less of them in the recent centuries. There are only two known Elementals left: Ida and Sebastien

Family

Mother: Lina is a warm hearted woman who wants the best for her daughter, misguided though she might be. She often has to shout at her husband to trying to hold Ida back, or discourage Ida's dreams. She noticed Ida's growing power long before her husband did, and was the one to finally contact someone for help when Ida grew so strong and uncontrolled she couldn't stop floating

Father: Elias is a business oriented man who, though he loves his daughter, up until her reveal as an Elemental wished she was a son. He's the reason Ida was homeschooled for so long, as he didn't think a girl was worth the tuition money. He refused to believe that Ida was anything other than ordinary until a man in a high position told him otherwise

Sisters: None

Brothers: None

Pets: A screech owl named Goldig, meaning 'cute'

Other Important Family: Ida's paternal aunt, Ingrid, is one of the biggest influences in her life as a child. Ingrid is an independent witch who lives fabulously by herself with her dead husband's fortune. Ida used to yearn for a future where she wasn't tied down by a man and could do as she pleased

Family Values: The Sommer family as a whole is mainly concerned with two things: remaining pureblooded, and growing richer. Most of the Sommers are decently good people, but they have period-appropriate prejudices and are willing to leave someone behind to save themselves, metaphorically and literally

Opinion on Family: Up until entering Hogwarts, Ida really only knew her family, so she loved them and thought very highly of them. As she becomes more socialized and learns more about the world, she starts to notice her parents' many flaws and though she never stopped loving them, she does resent them for homeschooling her and ignoring the signs of her being abnormal, because she used to think she was broken when in reality she's nearly a god

Friendships

Introverted or Extroverted: Extroverted

Best Friend: Sebastien Parr - another mc of mine who is also an Elemental, and an exchange student from Beauxbatons

Worst Friend: TBD

Friend She Didn't Expect: TBD

Who She Wishes Was Her Friend: TBD

List of Casual Friends:

- Sophia Burton @gcldensnitch

- Charlotte Grant @weasleysandwheezes

- canon friends TBD

Romance

Current Crush: None

Current Partner: None

Past Partners: None

Future Partners: TBD - will likely be picked from the game's characters, but could possibly be someone else's mc

Her Type: TBD

Hogwarts

House: Slytherin

Prefect Status: No

Quidditch: Never played, but loves to watch

Clubs: None

Organizations: The fake Headmaster's Apprentices organization that she and Sebastien use to hide what they're really doing

Favorite Class: Herbology

Least Favorite Class: History of Magic

Favorite Professor: TBD

Least Favorite Professor: TBD

Timeline

Young Childhood: Ida is kept at home. She knows no children her age, and spends most of her free time roaming her father's land. No matter how far she wanders, she never seems to get lost. Ida has strange dreams where she watches the world as an outsider. After being told by a Seer that her ideal wand would be created at a small shop in Japan, Ida convinces her father to spend a month there over the summer, and her mother takes her to the shop to get her wand. Ida sneaks out one night and climbs a cliff that looks out over the ocean. In later years she can't remember whether rising up over the waters and hearing the stars call to her by name was a dream or not, but she knows the moon smiled at her.

First Year: N/A

Second Year: N/A

Third Year: Ida's uncontrolled Elemental magic reaches a breaking point, and Ida explodes her little study room as she lifts up in the air, unable to come down. Her mother sends for help: two healers, a historian, and three government officials later, Ida is brought down and informed that she will be enrolled in Hogwarts the following year. She is not informed why, though her parents are

Fourth Year: Ida enters Hogwarts with no social skills. She meets Sebastien and they're both informed of their true nature. As Ida struggles to catch up on her studies as well as train her Elemental magic, she also learns just how wonderful having friends her age is

Fifth Year: TBD

Sixth Year: Ida grows suspicious of Sebastien's "friend" Dorian. Other details TBD

Seventh Year: TBD

Post Graduation: Ida marks herself with ancient Elemental runes and her father gifts her the cottage. She spends a year and a half where almost no one hears from her, before appearing back in her friends' lives as if nothing happened, looking healthier and happier than ever

Career(s): Ida doesn't live long enough to have a career

Marriage and Children: Ida marries (TBD) from school, someone who had always had a crush on her that she eventually returned the feelings for. They spend a beautiful three years together before her end. Ida manages to give her love a son, but only after she's gone

Death: Ida sacrifices herself to stop Sebastien and Dorian from destroying the world. Ida's biggest temptation as an Elemental was always to leave her humanity behind and become nature, so she does. She traps the two men inside of a ridiculously large tree that grows out of the mountainside near her cottage. This tree forms from her body, and has a notch where her favorite necklace can be inserted to be allowed entry to the chamber Sebastien and Dorian are trapped. However, she hid the necklace in Japan, where no one will find it until a century has passed and her friends have passed away. Ida can occasionally gather her spirit into a physical form to communicate with her love and child that she left behind

Notable Facts Not Previously Mentioned

- Ida is the ancestor of my main hphm mcs, Gracie and Tessa Chiva, on their father's side

- The reason Ida is sent to Hogwarts and not Durmstrang is the fear of bad influences. No one wanted to risk her being corrupted

- Ida does feel guilty about leaving her love behind, but since she couldn't kill Sebastien and she still loved him and wanted him to be happy, this was the only way she could think of to stop him

- Her love watched her leave humanity behind. As they wept, Ida's spirit gathered to say her goodbyes, and point them to their son, who had been born from Ida's final breath at exactly 11:18 pm

- Ida thinks very highly of herself. This is both from being praised so much as a child and hearing so much about the good she can do as an Elemental

- She throws a graduation party so extravagant that it's talked about for decades after her death

- No one but her love knows what truly happened to her. All anyone else knows is that she and Sebastien disappeared at the same time

[kristallum]

"Multiple points of contact is what I assume, exactly," her voice echoes down the way, torchlight now revealing the end of the passage ahead—in actuality, the stretch had been a lot shorter in length than one could've assumed at its mouth. Tricks of the torches and the shadows they cast.

"There is entirely too much evidence pointing to that being the case, like– say, when using the Galarian stone circles as a point of reference, right? Those formations began appearing around 2500 B.C.E., which, as I mentioned, was two millennia before this palace's construction was completed... safe for me to say, I believe we've been under observation for far longer than we, as a collective society, can fathom."

Much more than food for thought—the two Champions are assembling a buffet. It brings Crys to chuckle, oblivious to the fact that Peridot senses something mechanizing behind the walls to both sides of the three explorers. And, chilling as the implications are behind Brendan's conjecture, the Johtonian bears a sheepish grin.

"Look at the two of us—musing over hypotheticals, all while not knowing where in the hell we are." Though it has been worth swapping around theories; the woman is left with a lot to notate once breaking out of the castle's labyrinthine depths.

The end ahead nears, and the upcoming way out of the dungeon becomes visible: oddly slanted for a passage presumably meant to be navigable, to their right appears to be a hatch of some sort—intraversable, making the downward slope leading towards the left their only option.

Crys leaps from the end of the previous hallway, a short jump down but one that forces her to balance against the slight tilt of the flooring below. "Strange, the way this corridor was designed. I wonder if this slope was built with the intent to drain excess rain water? Seeing as this region wasn't nearly as arid back then." She hesitates to express aloud the idea of the tunnel being built to dispose of waste.

A tiny tug at her sleeve, and Crystal's gaze meets Peridot; the Illumise's entire aura seems sour, and very displeased.

Her trainer simply takes this reaction as a sign to what they are all experiencing, flashing the pokemon a sympathetic smile. Best she can do is be reassuring in times like these, to be the rock for her entourage. "It's gonna be alright, Peri. We'll be out of here as soon as possible, no need to fuss."

Joined by Brendan, the two steady themselves downwards, banter continuing to be a welcome source of distraction. "This chute could've served to assist in the transport of materials, back before the empire's prime... it's pretty plausible, don't you think? Despite their proficiency with ancient technology, they were still a primitive people..."

Brendan's lips pursed and he nodded a little. He'd never actually asked May how her encounter with Kyogre had gone - he barely spoke of Groudon and what he'd felt during the battle. How powerless he'd been.

He kept an eye on Groudon, but nothing else. If he was honest with himself, he had no interest in making any sort of accord with Pokemon of such power. Let sleeping gods lie, as it were. Primal Reversion, though, was another matter.

"No, no, it is interesting." He agrees with her. "Don't worry about that, either. Truthfully, we barely know anything about it. I've actually still got the Orb. Not on me, but given everything-- I felt like returning it to Mt. Pyre wasn't ideal. The family are wonderful people, but their duties are ceremonial. Nobody was ever actually expected to take the orbs, nevermind use them."

It sounded harsh, but given what Aqua and Magma had managed to do, what good was it to give them a potential second chance? That had never felt like much of a choice. Besides, it kept it away from Groudon, too.

His eyes drift over the carvings again as he listens, nodding along with her thoughts. Its certainly interesting, that these Pokemon would tie so strongly to places of human spirits, or sciences. There wasn't an obvious overlap he could find there - not on the spot - but that didn't mean there wasn't one.

Still, that would take a lot more deliberation - and this wasn't the place for that, really. Not if they didn't want to starve to death or dehydrate. They only had so many rations, after all.

"The question then becomes, what was the point of origin? While these carvings suggest Unova - as do the landing rumors - that doesn't mean they weren't elsewhere though?" He muses. "Though this may point to the fact that they had multiple points of contact.."

Brendan scratches his cheek as the pair begin to walk down the only exit available. At first he assumes its a dead end, but as they get closer he realizes it isn't; there's just a drop at the end.

Odd design. Damage, maybe? Either way, he has some time to keep talking - which is why he misses the soft sounds of gears turning in the walls. He is, however, at least careful to keep an eye out for any murder-holes.

Which he doesn't see!

"We know how intelligent some Pokemon are, and these ones are capable of building ships. That must mean they have a whole civilization out there." He folds his arms over his chest, guided as he was by Illumise and Crys herself. "-- If that is the case, it'll certainly throw a wrench into entering partnerships with these Pokemon, on some level."

[arkt-nehrim-archive]

                            A Story in Spring: Renewal {2/3}

A chill, gentle breeze rustled pleasant ambience out of the surrounding evergreens, peace nestling the hearts of those who occupied one of many small glens hiding away between the rough, rocky terrain of the Northrealm's Darlan County. 

Arkt remained still, relaxed with his eyes veiled as he peered across the surface of a still frozen lake- only a stubborn, thin layer of ice where the cold winds could touch the surface. He released a tiny ball of golden light to float over the little lake, joining many others to dance with twinned reflections on the ice, all to satisfy his idleness.

While watching them bob and sway of their own accord, his thoughts could not help but meander to his own twinned shadow; the woman settled behind him in a manner most of Nehrim would consider rather intimate, her legs tucked under his arms so her form was near flush to his back, granting close and easy access. She of course, remained well occupied with what had commanded her attention for some weeks now, the fruits of her labors showing clear as what was once scorched bone was now a beautiful set of feathered wings painted in clashing tones of iridescent black and silver; yet small, not serviceable for flight, but she had steady growth well in hand.

Wisps of gold and silver intertwined between pulsing circles of light as Lithirill remained focused, but her strain clearly showed. Much as she had been vigilant in knowing the signs of Arkt reaching his limits when this arduous process had begun, he too had grown wise to her tells. While fully revitalizing bone, and reconstructing flesh had been far more taxing than the simple act of regrowing feathers, she had still been weaving her magics for a pair of hours. She hid it quite well, but she needed a break.

He'd turn his head to watch her, a small unbidden smile crossing his features as he admired all he could see; the intensity of her focus, the fascination that never faded, the relief that she had made it well past the riskiest parts. His eyes fell to her fingers stroking the soft plumage at his shoulder, speaking gently.

"Hanging in there?" 

Peridot hues shifted slower than usual to meet circles of warm gold. Cradling a wing in her hand, she tilted her head, letting her gaze drift back to the figurative sea of silver she'd not expected when she first saw them emerge from otherwise dark feathers. "Well enough."  she replied, sounding more out of breath than she would've liked, "A little sore, given our arrangement, but I'll manage. I've only another row before-" He watched her sway a bit in place, the effort to speak and cast clearly a bit too much. He'd only shake his head, supposing he should be flattered she continued to be willing to push her limits- but he'd not let her do it when bereft of sound reason. A singular act of will fettered her spells, the myriad pulses of light fading. Before she could say anything in retort, he squeezed her calf, seeing the entirety of her leg shift up as she drew in a breath. "Too much longer of that and we would be trading places on who was tending who.~" he continued, the expression of entertainment growing on his face.

Overcoming the sensation of her spellwork coming to a halt so quickly, she settled his wing upon the grass and fumbled with her flask, taking a swig of ambrosia, eye twitching in brief disgust at a taste she'd never fully get used to no matter how hard she pretended to stomach it. To save Arkt the misfortune of smelling her breath, she rummaged into a pocket pouch and plucked free a bit of candied sugarmint, pressing one to her tongue and offering another to him. He only raised a brow, seeing her hum with a chuckle as she rolled the candy over her tongue a few times.

"And here I thought I was the mender, well within my scope of knowing precisely when to halt my machinations." she answered, loose fingers idly playing with feathers now mingling with the short, early growths of a Spring clawing its way from Winter.

Ignoring her overstaying gestures and teasing, Arkt decided to insist. Test a different sort of limit, more his own than her's.

"One of many things you've proven to be, yet all you'll be if these scales do not balance out between us is spent and miserable. -That- won't do. Come, take your deserved respite...Perhaps by the water's edge? Wandering deeper into the forest?" he carried on, pondering as he idly plucked at the laces of her boots before raising a finger in the air, adopting a playful expression. "-Ah-. I could carry you all the way back to the castle, where I'm sure a warm fire is waiting."

The entire offer was beginning to sound too good to be true. Arkt was a cordial creature, generous and open with her since the first, in his own mysterious way. Even so, there had been a boundary anyone with sense could read- and that was before considering all the legends implied, pushing Arkt closer to the threshold of a nameless entity than a man of flesh and blood.

Of course...He would not, and did not push that expectation upon her. Even standing before the very champion of Fate itself, did he only refer to himself as "a free man".  

Swallowing, Lith wetted her tongue, wavering curiosity in her eyes.

"If you think the notion of -any- of that will do anything beneficial for me..." she hovered over the words, off put that he wasn't only engaging with a warmer flavor of conversation, but -instigating- it rather fervently; so unlike him, "...you'd be right to a degree, but the tone of the evening would shift rather drastically."

"Yes, that was something of the point in saying all I did~." he returned, tilting his head just so, wavy raven locks shifting to dangle over his face, breaking off the subtle glow around his irises.

The fingers at his shoulder faltered a touch as Lithirill leaned back a little, so obviously flabbergasted and growing stymied by thoughts of what could follow that Arkt could -barely- contain the laughter.

"...You -are- flirting." she stated the obvious in baffled amazement, daring to dance as she tucked her ankle closer to his thigh, curling fingers round his arm as she leaned precariously close to resting her chin on his shoulder, "...I'll risk the embarrassment in asking you to pinch me. Whatever brought this on?"

"You're quite lucid, I assure you." he returned, shrugging gently as he abided her closeness,  resting his arm over her knee,  "Gratitude? Inspiration? Perhaps it's even -delirium-. Much as you puzzle over me, my mind still balks at knowing without a shadow of a doubt that my -wings- are resting between you and I. That evokes much..."

Lithirill's lips were caught between that confident smirk and the rarer nervous simper as he trailed off, cheeks growing warmer. She looked akin to a hare about to get pounced on by a hawk.

These games of idle coyness had become commonplace from his companion, at least since the conclusion of events that had named her Tel'lmaltath, but she knew them to be just that, a simple expression of her nature that receded the moment it ever hinted at offending him.

They had grown closer over the weeks of her tending, but never once had it played out like this when they did dance their short little twists and turns around one another.

She had strode atop the corpses of "Gods". Clutching the forces of Life and Death in her hands as if she alone were the scale to balance them.  Yet in humbler times, she had also been the withdrawn scholar, who took solace in pining over tales of fallen champions turned embodiment of untamable wrath. Twas a nostalgic feeling to be more the latter, quite too stricken to speak as she stared at the individual who had been such an entrenched inspiration to her. It would take another gentle pat atop her knee to pull her back to reality as Arkt actually half-barked a laugh.

"I expected some manner of stuttering your step Lithirill, yet as ever you exceed my expectations.~"  he admitted, eyeing her up and down as best he could at their odd angle,  "Are you quite all right? I feel as if your legs might give if you tried to stand at the moment." The flare of embarrassment had finally caught up with her as she blinked, scoffing out a laugh at her own expense. Reaching up to rub at her eyes, she showed teeth in an lopsided half-grin, the fatigue of the evening's work settling in.

"I won't pretend as if your accusation isn't dead on." she sighed in plain defeat,  "To one such as you, I'm sure I'm -quite- predictable, toying with you as I have been. You'll forgive me if I continue to be confounded by you in the meantime?"

"Hmmn. I like the predictability. Knowing all you've achieved that I could do no more than gamble on or hope for, the certainty of moments such as these are a comfort." he confessed, "Though, I can do nothing for your rattled humors~."

"Ahah...Don't be so sure..."  she hums  along, continuing to play gently with his feathers, very much tempted to pull herself flush to his back as she droned on in a playful tone, "Well then, I suppose I should find some courage, lest I bore you with my -quite- uncharacteristic, girlish stammering? It's unbecoming, truly, I can all be feel the whole of Qyra groaning in disappointment."

"I happen to be thoroughly enjoying myself, if it's any comfort. Though, you could stand to get under a wing at this point, you're starting to shiver." he murmured, leaning that little bit closer as to let his hair tickle her nose, "Or is that the nerves?"    

She scoffed, her eyes veiled as she turned her head up, resting brow to brow with him, "...Well now you're just -teasing-."

The seraph could only chuckle gently, nodding along, not missing the look in her eye.

"Oh absolutely." he near whispered, a lurching chill settling in his chest.

"...and what do you intend to -do- about that?"

He barely heard her, though the shift in her tone was still perfectly clear, a certain expectation slipping past her jitters. Finding the edge of how far he could dare to wander, he hovered over her lips a moment before swallowing, sighing through his nose and resolving to press a kiss to her hair instead of anything more tempting.

An apologetic smile met her fluttering lashes and tilted head as the air of their saccharine courtship turned to numbing concern.

"Nothing. Yet." he admitted gently, "In the similar vein that I am not ready to fly, I can guess neither of us are -truly- ready to do anything about this in a way we might not later regret. Curiosity plays us as one might a lute, to be sure, but..." 

Just like that, Arkt was at a loss for words.

Understanding what he likely meant, Lithirill's thoughts drifted momentarily to how the seraph regarded the grave site of the woman who had changed his life for all time. That estranging familiarity washed over her yet again, Zelara's image overwhelming her mind's eye for just a moment before she exhaled away the sensation.

As much for his comfort as her own, she brushed the back of her fingers along the spot where his feathers were there smallest, near transluscent plumes decorating the edges of his shoulder blades. She willed the roused appetite in her to settle, offering an understanding smile, lopsided though it was in the touch of disappointment she let slip.

"No need to explain, Arkt. As you told me when we set off on this little task of our's, we've nothing but time; that goes for more than just your wings." she spoke, turning her gaze north toward the off-the-beat path they'd meandered onto to find their surroundings, "For the moment, we may as well return to the castle. It is a touch chilly, and I won't lie. I'll need a bath after -that- particular bout of testing the waters."

An empty spot of last-minute insinuations and the signal their dance was over, placing them confidently back where they had begun;  Lithirill testing his boundaries and Arkt waiting patiently behind them, watchful. He'd join her again when he was ready.  If she knew one thing now, -she- certainly wasn't going to be when he did. 

                                                       ~Fin~