#quartz writes

[quartz420]

Kitties

Choso x reader Synopsis: Choso brings a cat home to readers apartment despite not knowing what a cat is.... ☆Reader has no gender, y/n is used, total fluff, established relationship ☆words: 828 ☆(Note: needed some fluff for him, because my man deserve it🙏🙏)

The smell of tea enters the air as you pour in a cup for yourself, the calm atmosphere being the perfect one for a rainy Saturday evening. You take a sip from the cup while scrolling on your phone, enjoying the moment. That was until there was an unexpected knock on the door; you shift your attention towards it, asking yourself who could knock at these late hours. You strolled your way to the front door of your apartment, opening the door to reveal none other than your half-curse boyfriend. Choso stood there, his ponytails slightly drooping because of the rain but he held something small in his large hands. He gently clutched a soggy kitten, its black fur sticking to the tiny body. It looked fragile but the meow it let out was impressive for something of this size. “Hey Cho, where did you find that?”

You shifted aside so he could enter the apartment, his wet boots leaving traces in front of the house mat. He shuffled his way out of said boots while responding: “This creature was outside; I do not know why I even brought it with me.” You gave him a puzzled expression for his choice of words; did he perhaps not know what a cat was? You guided him to the couch while you to tell him to stay put, you were going to get a towel to dry off the poor kitten. After a few minutes u came back with a towel and some canned tuna, just in case it happened to be hungry.

He still looked confused, looking at the animal like it was a mythical creature. He lifted his hands and brought it closer to him to examine it, you sat next to him and glanced at his actions. “Y/n, what is this thing?” Your suspicions were confirmed, your boyfriend didn’t know what a cat was. That would’ve explained his actions towards the tiny thing. You let a let out a small laugh, taking the cat out of his hands. You gently patted it, trying to dry it off; Choso curiously stared at you. He was still confused about the whole ordeal, but more specifically at what it was. Until you finally answered his question.

“It’s a cat Cho; it’s like a small animal that most people have as pets. They tend to be a bit anti-social sometimes but they are great company if you befriend one.” He carefully listened to your words, still trying to make sense of it all. By that time, the cat was almost fully dry and was eating the tuna in an intense manner; the poor animal probably hadn’t eaten in a few days. “Do you intent to keep it?” he questioned as he still stared at the kitten. His glance was filled with curiosity and a bit of admiration towards it, which made your heart flutter a bit. “I can’t really return it outside, so yeah I’ll keep it.”

“It reminds me of you a bit y/n, it looks adorable.” You turn you head towards him, not expecting this to come out of his mouth. A bashful smile crept its way onto your face, your cheeks feeling a bit warmer than usual. “So what about a name, you should give him one.” You try to shift his focus to the cat instead of your flustered state. Choso looks at it for a few moments until he finally answered: “We should call it earthworm.”

A long silence followed. Your internal thoughts tried to make sense of this odd name, what would possess him to call it that. Until it finally clicked. “Isn’t that the movie Yuji showed you a few days ago?”

“Yes it is and liked the movies a lot.” Well that explains a lot. Knowing your boyfriends stubborn nature, you didn’t even try fighting this weird name. It was a bit heartwarming to know that his brother influenced this odd choice, it showed he cared about him a lot. You two spend the entire evening watching movies while cuddling with the newly named kitten, Earthworm. Next week Choso happened to bring another cat home, this time a totally gray one. The same process happened: You cleaned and fed the cat. This time you named it, calling it Garu. You pointed out the similarities between your boyfriend and the cartoon character, he wasn’t particularly happy with this choice but he let you be.

Your limit was hit when the following week, when Choso held another cat in his hands while standing at your door. The kitten purring while leaning into his palm. You sighed in desperation: “Cho, you can’t keep bringing cats into my apartment. I already have two and you got three at yours, don’t you think this is a little much?” The tall man pouted a bit while gently caressing the kitty. “I felt bad for it…” You chuckled while slowly shaking your head.

“Well I hope Shoko likes cats then.”

[quartzthequat]

uhh, I was watching a video about cologne ads and went "haha like Peter Nureyev" and ended up writing this? lmk if it makes you want to buy cologne.

You're on the job. Put on some cologne. It's a party. Your partner catches your eye from where he's talking to your mark. He smiles. You fall a little more in love. You know it cannot last.

You're back at the ship. It was a success. You smile and laugh with the rest of the crew as long as you can. What right do you have to be happy when he's still gone? You excuse yourself from the crowd. You lock your bedroom door tight behind you and sink to the floor. It's been harder to file away your thoughts recently. You guess that's just the effect he has on people. You drag your hands across your face. They come away stained with makeup, the mask you've worn so carefully over the years. The mask you've let slip around him. And for what? Because he makes you happy? Because you love him? You know your life is not your own.

You know this cannot last.

There's a knock at the door. "Just a moment." you tell him. File it away. You pull a makeup wipe from your pocket. You take off the smeared remnants of the master thief. Put on a different mask. The mask of the devoted partner you wish you could be. Put on more cologne.

[lucent-logophile]

hello :] i am lucent logophile, or quartz. my main is @antlerquartz , which is where i rb anything and everything.

what can you expect here? poetry, shortform prose. any writing i feel like sharing. perhaps some longform prose, if it happens.

you may find i post in bursts and then not at all. i write when i can, when i want, and when it hits me. those do not often intertwine. i love friends and will welcome any asks or dms!! please come talk to me <3

my posts will be tagged with “quartz writes”.

[roseetube]

ART DUMP!!! i gave up on numbering them :/,, @pogostikk we are so back!!!,, @shadow-light19 cant stop thinking abt Twoie and his stupid professor glasses :3

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

rose’s t-shirt

pearl never liked rose's mr. universe t-shirt.

everything moves so quickly throughout those last four years. she can never find the right words to express how it feels seeing rose wear that shirt all the time, day in & day out.

rose seems to wear it more often than the blanket pearl made for her. which makes sense, of course, since gems don't sleep much & people don’t tend to wear blankets around beach city. besides, she knows that rose adores that blanket; she says it’s her favourite thing in the world.

nevertheless, rose wears that shirt so often that pearl can’t help but wonder what, or… who, rose's favourite truly is. it’s all so confusing & exhausting & no one is communicating well.

(detailed anticipatory grief)

everything moves so quickly throughout those last four years.

within the blink of an eye, rose is in her late pregnancy. she’s outgrown the shirt—initially, it’s just a little snug on her, but eventually it fits so tightly over her baby bump that it's too uncomfortable to wear.

rose will never wear that t-shirt again.

now, she’s always wrapped in her favourite blanket as she grows weaker & more tired. unlike the earlier months of her pregnancy, she sleeps easily, too easily for a gem. she no longer asks pearl to make her the apple pie she used to love and eat so much of, which pearl always found adorable. throughout her last few days, she gives rose an excessive amount of strawberry popsicles (they’re said to “prevent dehydration”) as if that could somehow change the inevitable & she’d magically get healthy again, survive childbirth, meet her baby. of course, pearl is smarter than that. her gem is what she needs, and it’s becoming someone else’s.

it’s always been this way; pearl is logical until she’s in a position where rose is about to die. she’d do anything to stop it, to protect her. rose tells pearl that she doesn’t need to do anything for her because she’s okay, she’s happy because she’s with her, wrapped in the blanket that brings her all the comfort in the galaxy. this makes pearl laugh. she says that she expected something like this from rose, who is always extremely, unbelievably strong in a way that’s so soft & sweet. it’s precisely why she fell in love with her.

rose is wrapped in the blanket the night she dies.

that night, pearl realizes she can’t hate the shirt anymore. in fact, she wants nothing more than to see rose in that ridiculous t-shirt again, full of energy, just like she was four years ago (which feels like four weeks ago) when pearl believed rose would be close to her forever.

as for that blanket, she can’t bear to look at it.

[minijenn]

Story Summary: What would happen if the Crystal Gems had settled down in a place other than Beach City, a little backwoods town just west of weird…? What if, upon coming to Gravity Falls for the summer, Dipper and Mabel were to befriend Steven and Connie? What kind of magical, mysterious adventures would they have? And, how would they fare against the combined threats of merciless Homeworld Gems and a certain triangular demon?

Find out what happens when Magic and Mystery meet in Universe Falls...

Chapter Summary: With the Red Eye threatening to destroy Gravity Falls, Steven, Dipper, and Mabel set out to search for the pair of Laser Light Cannons that once belonged to Rose Quartz. “Ohhhhhh! He’s a frozen treat with an all-new taste!” “‘Cause he came to this planet from outer space!” “A refugee from an interstellar war!” “But now he’s at your local grocery store!” “Cookie Cat! He’s a pet for your tummy!” “Cookie Cat! He’s super-duper yummy!” “Cookie Cat! He left his family behind!” “Cookie Caaaaat!” “Now available at Gurgens off Route 109!” Steven brightly finished, holding his own Cookie Cat high into the air. As soon as Mabel finished her half of the rap duet, she eagerly stuffed her own ice cream sandwich into her mouth. Dipper, on the other hand, could only roll his eyes as he tore open his own frozen treat. “And here I thought Mabel was the only person who memorized commercial jingles word-for-word,” he said, grinning nonetheless. “Mm! So good!” Mabel exclaimed, ignoring the mess of ice cream smeared across her face. “Steven, where on earth did you get these Cookie Cats? I thought they stopped making them!” “They did,” Steven hopped off the couch, heading over to the freezer where his Cookie Cat stash awaited. “But the Gems got a whole bunch of them for me from the factory a few weeks ago. I’ve eaten a few already, but I’ve been saving most of them for a special occasion. And what could be a more special occasion than you guys finally getting the chance to hang out here at the temple?”

Click the link to read more; all comments are appreciated!

[bookiezzz]

can you make pearl x reader th anks best friend ever in the whole wide world 😍😘🥰 -mel

authors’ note: of course pookie bae @lesbroxy this is for you

(Rose Quartz’s) Pearl x Reader

gif for you

— If you’re a gem, you met Pearl while on Homeworld and became a part of the Crystal Gems, eventually traveling to Earth

— so you have known each other for quite some time

— If you’re a human, Steven probably introduced you or set you up 💀

— no it would actually be a little bit cute

— especially if you had both like shown interest in each other before whether it be flirting or just talking or even little glances and smiles at each other

— pearl is so girlfail probably very awkward..

— But I’d imagine she probably tries to show off whenever you’re around to be impressive

— Pearl would probably talk to Garnet or even Steven about you, her “mysterious crush”

— She is under the impression that nobody knows that she likes you

— and nobody has the guts to tell her how painfully obvious it is

— Steven would probably just come up to you one day and say something like “So what’s with you and Pearl?”

— And whether you directly tell him or not he’s going back to pearl with a smile telling her to just ask you out

— So Pearl walks to your door (how does she know where you live. Don’t ask me)

— shaking, asking “Will you go on a date with me?”

— She takes you to the beach, probably just to sit, maybe a picnic and it’s beautiful and nice.

— Pearl takes you back to the beach house after and shows you off to the Crystal Gems.

— like “hahaha lookie 🫵😂😂 look what i have and you dont!!!”

— Maybe not exactly like that but she indirectly shows you off

— either way she is a 10/10 girlfriend WOULD RECOMMEND!!

[screwpinecaprice]

She's on a hospital bed, amnesiac after an accident and she's having a crush on this man who is apparently her husband.

@dragonuva's part on an art trade with them from last year! 🥰 It's based on the first chapter of Chiptune by Newlense.

Guys. This fanfic is my favorite FAVORITE connverse fic and I love it so much I don't care if the last update was in 2020 nor if it's never going to be continued. It's so tender and the angst whalloped my guts in the right places. 😭💕

[sun-archeron]

i will always be obsessed with the thing that writers do where a character is adored like a god. when a person loves another person so much that they follow them, physically and mentally, like other people follow a religion. when they get overjoyed just for being acknowledged by the object of their adoration. specially when its to their detriment. when they know that it is unhealthy, and they are dooming themselves, but they just can't help it. pearl not questioning rose even after her death. kitay following rin to their destruction and being unable to stop her. nami saying that luffy will be king of the pirates even if it means her death. house giving up his career, his passion, to be with wilson in his last days.

[adamsuniverse1144]

So on my FB page, I posted the thing about Greg and someone’s post above mine was about Pearl and Rose 😂😂😂

[quartz420]

New beginnings

Shoko Ieri x reader

Synopsis: The reader and Shoko have been rivals since high school for seemingly no reason. But sometimes the truth comes out in the most unexpected time. ☆ reader has no gender, mentions of blood and wounds (not too graphic), a bit of angst but not too much either, Nanami makes a slight appearance

☆ Words: 1851 ☆(Note: I NEEDED to write for my main girl here, there's almost nothing bro.., and this is my first fic posted so it may be bad at first lol)

Blood soaked your uniform, the giant gash on your side sticking to the cloth. After a rough fight with a grade two curse, you return to the school but not unscathed, you sustained a pretty nasty injury on your left side. The exposed bits of flesh sting in the cold. This was unbelievable, you, a grade two sorcerer, beat by a measly grade two curse? Pathetic. You dragged yourself to your dorm. Your sorry state caused a couple of students to send concerned glances your way. You ignored them all until one particular person stepped in the way of the entry to your dorm. “I don’t think it would be wise to go to your room in this  condition.”

Nanami stood before you, eyeing your obvious wound.

 “Look I’ll patch this up myself, it’s just a scratch.” You countered, your voice trembled slightly with discomfort. Your blonde coworker sighed while his fingers pushed his glasses up. 

“If this has to do with your rivalry with Shoko-” You gave him a scowl. You try to pry open your door, fingers trembling as you grab the handle. You knew you couldn’t avoid getting patched up by her, but you would do whatever it took for you to avoid it, even if it meant slowly bleeding out in your own bed.

You and Shoko had despised each other since high school. Even now every encounter you’d have with her would be filled with snarky remarks and nasty insults. No one really knows how this started, but they know better to not let you two be alone. Your breath hitched in your throat as cold sweat collected on your forehead; this was way too dangerous to ignore and you knew it. So for the first time ever, you had to depend on Shoko, even if it repulsed you. 

“I’m going to bring you to her, hold on to me,” Nanami ordered. You huffed at him annoyingly as your fingers clutched to his dark blue dress shirt. You held on to him for dear life, slowly drenching his fabric with your oozing blood. 

It felt humiliating, you would’ve rather laid down on the floor or hell, even use band aids to cover the gash. It was humiliating, the fact your weak body could barely walk to your room, making it so that now you were being dragged by your fellow sorcerer, all because you were too prideful.

 You hated it, but you hated seeing the door to her office even more, you debated whether to just leave or stay but you knew Nanami would chew you out for even thinking about it so you kept your head low.

The man knocks on the metallic door, the sound echoing through the hallway. Your head still hung low, you refused to look at her in the eyes, especially during this moment of extreme vulnerability. “Hey Nanami what’s-” Shoko’s voice falling silent when she laid eyes on your beaten figure. When you were expecting some kind of insult, you were welcomed with an uncharacteristic tenseness, and for some reason it annoyed you. Was she taking pity on you too? Your own rival thinking you’re pathetic, how nice… “Are you going to stare or heal me; in the time you stayed quiet, I could’ve exorcised 10 curses.” Your snarky comment did not go unnoticed by her: “Yeah but you still couldn’t beat this one correctly.”

Nanami gently guides your body into her arms, they both carefully hold you to keep you in place. You felt disgusted by the fact she was even holding you, but you couldn’t do much about it since your body was too weak to even lift your fingers. She placed you in the metallic board where she usually puts corpses, having no time to place you on the proper place, you let this action slide. It’s not as if you’re unfamiliar with corpses. “I’ll take it from here Nanami; I will update you on their future conditions.” She glared at you intensely. “If she doesn’t die first…” The last part coming out as a low whisper you barely heard. The door closes and emits a loud sound before she goes to put gloves on.

You found yourself staring at her figure, her dark blue turtleneck hugging her upper body perfectly. Wait, why am I even thinking about this. Must be the blood loss, you think to yourself. She finally spoke up after a long pause: “So what happened, I thought you were an amazing sorcerer.” She mocked while dragging out the ‘a’ in amazing. But this time the insult didn’t seem genuine, a sombre undertone laid underneath it. And for once you didn’t say anything back, or rather couldn’t really do so. A few minutes go by, and she struts up to you with medical equipment in her hands.

She starts looking at your wound, but quickly backs off, sighing. “You know you have to take off the shirt right? Or I’ll cut it off since you can’t move much.” What a shame, you liked this shirt. You hum in response, too tired to issue a proper reply to her. “And you can’t even talk back, how sad.” Getting a bit angered by her comments you quickly shot back: “Just get this treated so I can leave and not see your face.” This came out a bit too soft for your liking but it’s not like you can find the energy to care. She picked up a scissor and skillfully snipped through the stained fabric, then she removed the shirt, leaving your upper body exposed to the cold air. The sudden change of temperature makes the exposed wound uncomfortably noticeable, you hissed softly at the feeling, little tears prickling at the corners of your eyes. 

The pain was starting to get unbearable but you kept your face looking stoic, just to not look weak in front of her.  “I need you to stay still and to keep your mouth shut.” The doctor placed her freezing hands on your abdomen, you were on the brink of giving her backtalk but a slightly tingly feeling interrupted that. The sensations spread from your abdomen to your torso and eventually to your side, where the abnormal pain slowly faded into nothingness, the previously deep gash being replaced by flesh and skin.

After what felt like a long moment, she took her bloodstained gloves on and threw them away. You, on the other hand, were still lying motionless on the table, feeling too beat to make any movement. Because of that, you barely heard what Shoko had asked you. “Why do you even hate me?” the blood loss made you lightheaded but you still sat up and asked her to repeat herself. “W-what did you say?”

“Why do you hate me, what did I even do?” she repeated, this time sounding a bit angry while still keeping a cool demeanour. “I don’t recall having done anything to you and yet you somehow have something against me.” Your body tensed, your fingers anxiously fiddling with your cut up shirt. You couldn’t find it in yourself to even glimpse into her eyes, you suddenly felt so ashamed to reveal your reasoning. But you felt that she at least deserved to know, she could get a cause for all those insults, backhanded comments and so much more. You took a deep breath and started explaining.

“I hated you because I was jealous of you.” Shoko looks at you with a puzzled expression. How could you, a powerful grade one sorcerer, be jealous of her? “I have a sister that could use the reverse cursed technique, and my parents hoped that I would be the same. Well, I wasn’t.” you paused for a moment, tears slowly threatening to spill. “And when they somehow found out about you, they compared me to you all the time. It’s like they wanted you instead of me, Shoko…” the salty liquid rolled off your cheek but you didn’t wipe it off, feeling too hesitant to budge. You heard the shuffling of a heavy object and glimpsed up, there you saw the doctor pull out a chair and sit in front of you. Her attentive face indicates that she is indeed listening to you.

 “I honestly…do not hate you. You’re a pretty good person, I just couldn’t stand that they preferred a stranger over me.” The silence was tense, your heart picks up speed as your tears flood your vision. You slowly start regretting what you said, your chest growing heavier with every breath. The thoughts in your mind raced at impossible speeds until her voice cut you off.

“I don’t hate you either; in fact I do think you’re nice in general.” She stated, her slender fingers gliding over her dress pants. You let a small laugh escape from your lips: “I thought you did after all those years, I wasn’t the best to you.” She chuckled as she laid back and started explaining her side. “I hated you because I felt like you were closer to Suguru and Satoru than I was, even though they were supposed to be my best friends.” Her fingers started going to her brown locks, curling the ends as a distraction for the conversation you two were having. “And when Suguru left, Satoru seemed to confide in you more than with me. It felt like you were their best friend instead and that I was just the annoying one joining you guys.”

“I honestly admired you back in high school.” She smiles softly, remembering the times she would stare at you intensely training on the training grounds. “But I couldn’t let you know that, even if I don’t hate you now.” A subtle laugh escaped your throat, and soon Shoko followed. You couldn’t believe that all these years of being rude to one another could’ve been fixed by just knowing the other person. After a few moments of laughing, you finally manage to get a few words out. “So all these years were for nothing, huh?”

“Yeah, just us being jealous led up to this whole mess.” She responded back, a little giggle erupting after every word or two. You two just sat there a moment, and for once, you felt comfortable with Shoko’s presence. Her usual scowl for you was instead replaced with a heartwarming smile, which felt oddly nice to you. “So what do we do with that info?” the question came out more awkward than you expected, but you didn’t care much. “What if we go out and talk calmly for once, my treat.” She glanced at you quickly then lifted herself up, while you stood up from the metallic table. You slowly strolled towards the door, drying the remainder of your tears from your face. “I would like that.”

“If you can even walk to the restaurant.” Shoko mocked you, but this time felt a bit different. These words cause the corners of your lips slightly twitching up as an unknown but warm feeling pooled in your chest. With an amused laugh you retort back:

“Oh fuck off ,Shoko.” 

[chaoticevilspacewitch]

RWBY Fanfic Master Post

Seeing as how this has become, primarily, a RWBY blog... and I write a lot of RWBY fanfic... here ya go:

Ongoing Stories

We May Fall (A Dance of Light and Shadow) - Weiss Schnee will do anything to safeguard the secret that she's actually a faunus. But when her long-suppressed heat cycle begins dramatically, all of Team RWBY finds out in one wild night that will bind them together like never before and change the fate of Remnant itself. (Pollination, no Enabler)

On Silver Wings We Soar - Maria died young and got her soul stuck in a weapon that Ruby found 100 years later. So now on top of the fall of Beacon, our heroines have to navigate a love triangle between Ruby, Weiss, and the ghost attached to a harpoon-axe that's also a gun. (Maria + WhiteRose, background Bees, KnightLight, Hellebore, and Renora)

Haven Trail - It's RWBY meets Oregon Trail! Yang leads a group of pioneers across a Grimm-infested wilderness. Blake is torn between Yang and Velvet, whose abusive husband is a threat to everyone, while Ruby and Weiss dance around their feelings for each other and Cinder and Emerald try to dig up ancient technological secrets. Oh yeah, and there's dysentery. (WhiteRose, Bumblebey, Black Velvet, Chaos Emeralds, Arkos, Hellebore)

The Dragon From Mercury - G Witch with Yang in Suletta's role, Blake in Miorine's, featuring Ruby as Aerial. (Bumbleby)

Scattered Petals - a canon-divergent AU focusing on reimagining the story through rarepairs. (Schneekos, Ladybug, Baked Alaska, Crosshares, KnightLight, Rainbow Quartz, Firewall)

Completed Stories

The Monsters Within Us - Fairy tale AU where maiden Blake is pursued by the cruel Baron Taurus, only to stumble into the arms of Yang... who is a half-human, half-serpent lamia. Lots of amazing illustrations, and monsterfucking with plot and feelings! (Bumbleby, background Rainbow Quartz)

Frozen Lemonade - College AU. Rivals Weiss and Yang find their one-time cathartic hate-fuck complicated when Tai and Willow meet at a celebrity therapy event and elope, suddenly tying the two of them together. (Freezerburn, Schneekos, Greek Fire, background Nuts & Dolts)

In Rainbow's Shadow - Ilia & Emerald work as a covert ops wet team, taking on missions requiring stealth and dubious morality. They confront their feelings for each other in the middle of a deep ocean research station performing nightmarish Grimm experiments. (Rainbow Quartz)

Through a Mirror, Brightly - when a mysterious Grimm traps Weiss in a ghostly, sidereal state and erases her from everyone's memory, it falls to the feelings she and Ruby had for each other to bring them back together. Lots of illustrations! (WhiteRose, background Bees)

Let's See the Sunrise Together - modern AU. Weiss's arranged marriage is in jeopardy when the bachelorette party Coco throws her ends up at a strip club where she's enraptured by the beautiful Yang Xiao Long. (Freezerburn, background Crosshares)

A Medical Necessity - Blake goes into heat over the winter holiday break, with only Weiss around to help her. Smut and feels. (Monochrome)

The Curse of the Abominable Snow-Grimm - RWBY goes on a team building mission to a ski resort, where a mysterious Grimm attack will force them to confront Weiss and Blake's past, and their feelings for their new teammates. (WhiteRose, Bumbleby)

Cold Nights, Warm Hearts - in a modern AU, Winter Schnee is very nervous about going to her girlfriend Cinder Fall's winter solstice celebration and meeting her pagan friends. (Temperature Play)

I've also got a bunch of shorts and one-shots if you're interested. Almost everything I write is sapphic, and I do a lot of smut with plot.

[novantinuum]

Fandom: Steven Universe Rating: Teen Audiences Words: 6.0K~ Summary: In another world, he doesn’t have his mother’s sword or shield to hide behind when Bismuth lands her strike. The bubble pops. Steven falls apart. Chapter summary: In which what was once hidden becomes known.

It's been a long road getting here folks, but here we are! Almost three years after my last update, we're back on the road. I will provide the first chunk of the chapter here on my blog as a preview- but later stuff is going to be weird to format here, so please follow the AO3 link above to check out the whole thing.

Enjoy! <3

__

Chapter 14: system/REBOOT, Part 2

The smoke obscures everything at first, filling this barren crack in the planet’s crust to its brim. Firmly engulfed within this plume, Ruby’s surroundings are electrified with an air of static uncertainty, an uncertainty so stark that— riding upon the wake of it— the very potential of Garnet’s future vision itself would’ve surely been rendered null and void. After all, as she’s personally experienced, such power of foresight is never completely immune to lapses in accuracy upon the advent of unexpected happenings. And she’s pretty damn certain that this… that instantly familiar warm glow she spotted, wholly enveloping Steven and Amethyst’s forms as they embraced… would count as unexpected.

Her jaw drops as a tall figure emerges from between currents of receding smoke, light pink freckles dusting their shoulders and cheeks like glistening constellations. Chocolate brown gemstones are visible upon their chest and the center of their large belly, one circular and the other irregularly pentagonal. They proudly brandish Amethyst’s leggings and Steven’s star— the salmon pink shirt having stretched into a strappy crop-top across their broad upper body. Most notably though, they appear to have three arms, two of them linked at the elbow and able to bend freely from the other. As the fusion shifts upon their heels, a thick fringe of wavy dark hair falls in front of one of their eyes… eyes which are perpetually glowing with the very same pink irises and diamond pupils Steven exhibits whenever he’s using his powers, and blown wide with shock as they attempt to process the distinct meaning of their existence for the very first time.

And boy oh boy, does Ruby sure understand that feeling. Going off of the narratives she always hears from humans, the experience of two Gems’ first dance and synchronization is somewhat akin to a baby learning to walk. It’s all untested, all brand new. And despite any amount of confusion or trepidation one might face in such a circumstance, no one else in all the universe is more equipped than you to take those first steps.

Regardless, the fusion moves right past their initial surprise to produce the most genuine, star-bright grin Ruby’s seen all week, and triumphantly pumps all three fists in the air. “What a beautiful day!” they proclaim.

Appearing suitably annoyed by their sudden attendance in this spar, their Beta kindergarten opponent harshly grinds their right foot into the soil, their face screwing into a sour grimace as they demand to know who this new Gem is supposed to be.

Now, if either one of them— Amethyst or Steven— were facing this mighty quartz’s questioning individually, Ruby’s sure they’d be doomed to crumble under the pressure. After all, Steven’s only a child, and Amethyst is cripplingly insecure. But the inherent magic of fusion is that the combination of two or more Gems is always stronger than the sum of their parts. They’re a physical embodiment of the bond held between each other, of their camaraderie and affection and love. And it’s that very love… that inner strength and belief in one other, regardless of circumstance… that blossoms into a brand new facet of existence, given life through the sheer depth of their connection.

It’s for this reason this fusion is capable of brushing off the ferocity of Jasper’s words like they’re nothing but crumbling granules of sandstone dirtying their shirt. Brimming with a renewed lease of confidence, they summon their weapons, make a grand show of fusing them into one, and proudly name themself Smoky Quartz.

“Wait— has Steven ever fused with one of you before?” Peridot asks her with burning curiosity, her expression still partially frozen in a dumbfounded little ‘o.’

“With his friend, yes— but never with a Gem,” Ruby says, her chest puffing out with considerable pride. “This is his first time!” Then, cupping her mouth with her hands, and unable to dampen that intense vindictive streak she currently harbors against their foe: “Go get her, Smoky! Make her regret she ever formed!”

The fusion serves up a snappy finger gun with their unladen hand. “You got it! One party trick coming right up…”

Flashing the two of them an almost impish smirk, Smoky doesn’t waste a single second. Immediately following a groan worthy pun about yo-yos, they catapult their weapon— a double shield linked on a central axel and tethered to Amethyst’s whip— high into the sky and back down upon Jasper, hitting her thrice in the face and gut and knocking her a few steps back.

Peridot lets out a gleeful peel of laughter as she watches this unbelievable turn of their tides, clutching a hand to her heaving chest.

Seething red, Jasper gains her bearings upon her feet once more and charges towards them with the flat of her helmet barred.

Smoky’s eyes flare wide with urgency. “Wha-oh!”

They artfully cartwheel out of the way, and manage a perfect side dodge as their opponent attempts to sling her fist directly into their face.

It’s glorious form. Absolutely impeccable by any means of assessment. In truth, Ruby thinks the odds have never been so steeply tipped in their favor while fighting against this stubborn, infuriating Homeworld Gem. So why does she still find herself powerless to quell that oh-so-familiar panic rising like coastal storm surge within her core? Why can’t she dispel the shadowy reminder of all the terrifying what-ifs that taunt her day-in and day-out, possibilities she’s unable to sort through on her own, possibilities she’s unable to truly see?

Because without Sapphire, Ruby’s just a ruby. She’s nothing, no one. It doesn’t matter how far she runs from her lowly Homeworld origins; she’ll never erase the damning, bitter fact that Gems like her were created to be replaced. And stars, everyone keeps looking to her as a leader, but she doesn’t know what she’s doing at all! Her cut of Gem wasn’t built for leadership. She didn’t come here hungering for a fight! She only followed the others to this shards-forsaken wasteland of a kindergarten because she wanted to protect them, and look at all the good that brought: an army of caged, corrupted Gems guarded by an enemy she’s grown too timid to face head-on, even though that’s literally the entire point of her!

Just, ugh—!

What a useless protector she makes.

…But maybe she’s enough to protect at least one of them. After all, her role as one of Sapphire’s guardians wasn’t all fighting and punching. The other rubies and her would also spend time discussing strategy, overseeing the whereabouts of their assignment, and keeping an eye on their immediate environment in case they need to act upon any abrupt predictions from Her Clarity. And in such moments of peril, their most important duty was to escort their assignment to a safe distance. It’s a fact of life that’s deceptively easy for a soldier like her to forget.

So, is that it, then?

Is that her purpose in this scenario?

Should she place her focus on ushering Peridot away from this battle, instead of becoming an active participant?

(Or is she just mining for ways to excuse the coward’s way out?)

Outright quivering in her boots, Ruby grabs Peridot by the arm and begins to pull her away from the heart of this battle. Her friend, however, tugs back in overt resistance.

“Wait— we can’t leave yet, I can fight!” she cries, jabbing her pointer towards the iron bars caging one of the corrupted quartzes within the excavated cliffside. “I’ve got my metal powers!”

Sweat beads on her forehead as she flushes, sinking ever deeper into the brambles of her shame. “But I, uh- I just think Smoky’s got it handled, y’know? Wouldn’t wanna get in their way, or nothin’…”

“Are you kidding?? They’re brawling against Jasper! They can use all the help they can get!”

With zero warning whatsoever, the business end of their fusion friend’s yo-yo zips towards their heads, only narrowly leaving them time to duck. They watch with slack-jawed amazement as Smoky utilizes their weapon’s stored inertia to securely wind the cord around Jasper’s torso and launch them clear into the sky. Gravity’s most primal nature dictates that what goes up must always come down, however, because mere seconds later the Homeworld Gem plummets into the chalky ground so hard that she leaves behind a small crater. A plume of rusty brown dust explodes from the collision point, entirely engulfing Ruby and Peridot.

The two of them cough as the powdery soil settles once more and visibility is restored.

“On second thought,” the former kindergartener proclaims as she brushes the debris off her unitard, “perhaps we should give them some room.”

She nods, grabbing her by the hand once more and leading her up the path to safety. Perfect, one friend protected. And as an added bonus, they can stand on the raised shelf at the far edge of this natural amphitheater (the one Amethyst treaded across before getting the sneak on Jasper a few minutes ago) and still have a clear sight of the battle.

…A battle which, going off her years of combat experience and her intimate knowledge of the parties involved, just might roll to a victorious end for Smoky in the near future. For the obvious reasons she can’t offer this prediction with any degree of confidence, but regardless, its likelihood seems to be surging skywards with each and every failed retaliating strike Jasper attempts. She’s panicking, Ruby can tell. That stubborn, reputation-obsessed Gem can attempt to hide it all she likes, but if one knows what to look for the signs are obvious. Her eyes are blown as wide as her own exit hole as she scries her surroundings for any possible advantage, and her stance has grown awkward and stiff— the very image of a traditionally offensive fighter who has been forced to assume defensive strategies for the first time in her existence.

Which is to say, the brute’s been violently knocked out of her comfort zone.

Fuming with obstinate desperation, Jasper flicks the dirt off her uniform with the back of her hand and throws herself into a viciously fast spin dash, molten bright embers trailing behind as she surges straight towards Smoky Quartz. Thankfully, the fusion sees this potential strike coming a mile away. Licking their lips, they launch their yo-yo so that its body wraps around a narrow outcropping of stone jutting out from the cliffs above them. The weapon grips the dense rock like a grappling hook. They whoop in well-earned victory, swinging up and over Jasper’s attack as effortlessly as a petal dancing on the wind.

Helpless to halt her momentum, the Beta Kindergarten quartz slams headfirst into the far cliff wall. Despite her deep-set animosity towards her Ruby can’t help but cringe at the awful clash of the impact, clutching her own vulnerable gem ever tighter within her palm. Chaos explodes. Hand-dug prisons are torn apart. This forsaken crack in the Earth is filled with clamoring footsteps once more as Jasper’s corrupted Gems claim their long-stolen freedom, fleeing in every direction.

“No!” the soldier hollers, arm outstretched as she clambers to her knees. “My army!”

Smoky lands on the ground in a sturdy crouch a few feet away. “You ready to chill out, yet?” they ask with slitted eyes, Ruby sensing a hint of Amethyst’s bitter anger seeping into their otherwise affable demeanor. “Or d’ya need another few rounds?”

Jasper falls to her hands, seemingly too exhausted to push herself to her full height at this time. Breathing heavy, she lets out a wry peal of laughter, a sound that quickly warps and bends into an emotion that’s as unrecognizable as it is unnerving as she drags her fingers inwards, scouring thick gouges in the rusty soil.

“Jaspers… never… give… up,” she huffs, her orange irises glowing like the rejuvenating embers of a rebounding wildfire as she tilts her face up to regard them head-on.

And this is where the winds of fate begin to shift.

The embers catch.

The dry brush underfoot erupts into a violent rush of flame.

Jasper quickly averts her eyes from Smoky, her wanting gaze falling upon the lone cage still left intact, its metal bars not destroyed by her prior collision with the wall. Within… stands the last Gem of her corrupted army, roaring in clear displeasure at the frenzy of commotion occurring outside. The quartz delivers a devious, knowing smirk as they slide their zealous glance away from that captive Gem and back to Smoky.

Ruby hates to admit it, but she knows exactly what she’s planning. She’s already seen this type of emotion flit across Jasper’s features before, months back when she emerged from the burning rubble of her ship— humiliated by her defeat at the hands of a being she deemed impure— and caught a fleeing Lazuli by the wrist. She’s seen it from Pearl, who— feeling just as inadequate and small as she herself does this very second— ultimately stumbled under the pressure and made one of the biggest mistakes of her whole life. Hell, Ruby’s experienced this desire herself, albeit in a far different context… lovely and love-sick amidst Sapphire’s abrupt departure, briefly entertaining a fleeting, selfish thought that she dares not act upon.

Fusion-lust.

Jasper intends to force a fusion with the last corrupted quartz still held captive in her prison.

She grits her teeth, thousands upon thousands of possible futures full of her own cowardice and hesitation burning to blackened cinders under the heat of her fury. Fusion is special. Fusion is sacred! It’s like… a feeling brought to life, a spellbinding rush of togetherness, the mystifying sensation of becoming someone who— on the metaphoric scale of things— must’ve burst into some intangible form of existence the very moment a fusion’s partners first met. Despite whatever twisted rhetoric Homeworld may spew to the Gems chained under its rule, fusion definitely isn’t meant to be a means of increasing one’s power. It isn’t meant to be used as a mode of control or coercion. And stars above, she’ll be damned if she lets anyone abuse this special type of relationship on her planet.

No more hiding.

No more hesitation.

The only soul in this entire Kindergarten who can put an end to this is her.

“Peridot!” she calls, grasping her friend by the shoulders to capture her full attention. “There’s no time to explain, but I have a plan. When I call for you, use your metal powers to break open that last cage, right down there!”

Peridot’s expression— halfway obscured behind her tinted visor— spins with ample confusion amidst the abruptness of this request. “B-but I thought we were spectating!”

Ruby bites at her lip, averting her nervous gaze for just a moment, just long enough to contemplate all the impulsive choices that have led her to the edge of this impossibly steep precipice. All of her insecurity, her terror, her doubt. Every timid half-step forwards, inevitably followed by a full step back. In many ways, she feels as if she hasn’t committed to a single fearless act since the day she pushed her love out of a rebel’s striking range and singlehandedly changed the entire course of reality. Where’d that Ruby go? The Ruby who dares to create ripples with every fiery footfall?

And most importantly— for the good of her planet, for the good of her family— can she become that Gem again?

“I can’t just watch…” she admits, clenching her fists at her side. “Not anymore. I’m going in.”

Steeling herself for the jump, she lowers to her haunches, nervously tapping her fingers against her gem-less palm.

“This is for you, Sapphy,” she whispers to herself, and then surges upwards into a sprint.

Her toes leave the ground right at the rocky shelf’s edge.

Hollering in furious dissent, the squat Gem practically soars over the Homeworld-aligned quartz thanks to the subtle updrafts produced by the waves of flame fanning out from her feet. She barely has time to process the confusion wresting control of Jasper’s otherwise confident countenance— or the wide, knowing grin Smoky levels towards her— as she triumphantly lands upon the battlefield and sets her plan roaring into motion.

Ruby clutches her gem tight within her grasp (a long-held defensive habit she can never seem to shake), and bursts into a fiery sprint around her foe. The intense friction and heat only feeds the white hot blaze licking up around her feet as she traces a full circle around Jasper, locking her securely within a cage of fire. This ring won’t last forever, but it’s good enough as a distraction for what comes next.

“Peridot, now!” she shouts, desperately hoping her friend can hear her over the untamed roar of the inferno she’s generating… desperately hoping her new metal powers work this time and help her set that poor corrupted Gem free.

But despite the crushing anxiety of all these unknowns, she doesn’t dare take her eyes off her foe as she continues to spiral around her, pushing the scorching walls of this prison ever inwards. She doesn’t dare let up her pace, doesn’t dare allow Jasper even an inch of leeway to escape. The gemstone inlaid within her palm pulsates with an intense thrum of energy, burning brighter than it has her entire five thousand nine hundred years of existence. A breathless, lilting laugh slips from between her lips, tinged with tones of relief and sheer, boundless exhilaration. So this is what true bravery feels like, true power. This is what it feels like to genuinely be a Crystal Gem— not merely by proxy of the fusion she forms, but as her own person, too.

Far beyond her inferno’s ceaseless thrum, she can make out the rusty moans of bending metal… the victorious roar of the last corrupted quartz as it pushes free from its damaged cage and bolts away from this cursed amphitheater. She lets out a whoop of delight, pumping her fists to the sky.

And then her gambit falls apart.

Jasper’s own fist connects with her cheek before Smoky can even holler her name in warning, the impact knocking her clear out of her spiraling sprint and face first into the chalky soil underfoot. She hacks and coughs lying there amidst the resultant plume of dust, vying with every facet of her being not to crumple under the dawning prospect of having to defend herself in solo combat. Her jaw aches, but not enough to dampen her resolve. Not now. Not yet. Instead— standing stubbornly to her feet— she grits her teeth, summons her gauntlets, and swings back.

The mighty kindergarten quartz ducks effortlessly. She grins, the midday sun glinting off the edge of her helm’s visor, and then positions herself for the final strike.

__

[Continue to AO3 via link above for the rest]

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

(i’m sorry for making) headcanons about pearlrose during rose’s pregnancy

[rebecca sugar’s concept sketches of rose. in the first picture, she has her hands on her pregnant tummy, and the second picture depicts only her face as she smiles and looks straight ahead.]

“rose is sad-eyed, even when smiling” — rebecca sugar

their last winter together would be like oh ms believer. as always, rose makes snow angels & starts snowball fights. pearl plays along but she feels physically ill when she realizes that the sun is starting to set later in the day & this is probably their last snowfall together

she blinks and suddenly there’s about two days left. pearl is taking care of rose; baking her everything she could possibly be craving, encouraging her to eat really well & to sleep when she’s done because no, rose, that part’s not required but it must be good for you. she tries not to tear up when she rubs her belly because she literally has forever to cry about this, and only a sliver of time left to spend with rose. so, pearl wraps her in the pink blanket that she knitted for her, & as she speaks to her, rose smiles to herself because she knows that her child will definitely recognize pearl’s voice right away. and yeah, she feels off & weak but she also feels safe, which is something she never felt in her early years. it’s something she never even felt before she was loved by pearl

she also knows that her child will get to grow up on earth with pearl instead of on homeworld with white. & that gives her all the peace she could possibly need before she dies

[minijenn]

A fountain filled with healing tears...

Wow, hard to believe we're already to An Indirect Kiss, huh? That's the way new UF rolls though. This was always one of my favorite early chapters in old UF too, just a fun split with the twins going on an adventure with Garnet and Pearl while Steven and Amethyst hang back at the shack with the crew there. Lots of fun dynamics and of course, some general MK cuteness. It probably won't be changed too much for new UF, but it'll still be a lot of fun to revisit it all the same.

[mylittleponyauprompts]

Small head canon

The entire pie family has a "pinkie sense" type sense. I've only got Pinkie Pie herself, and Maude Pie figured out though. Pinkie Pie is basically the same as canon, vague predictions only she can understand. Maude can speak with beings turned into stone, either from a cockatrice or in Discords case the Elements of Harmony. Boulder is a fragment of a being that was turned into stone ages ago by a cockatrice.

I like to think all of the Pies would look a little cartoonish using their senses, even to others of the cartoon they are in.

Ideas for the other pies-

Cloudy Quartz- a similar one to Pinkie Pie, vague predictions. But she can only read them from cloudy fragments of crystals and in some cases mirror, which end up showing multiple outcomes because the future is never set in stone. She just shatters whatever she's using

Limestone Pie- able to find caves and caverns easier than others. Especially ones formed of mostly her namesake, Limestone. She has an easier time navigating caves and caverns as well, Limestone caves she might as well have full knowledge of its layout right as she walks in. She can't explain it either, doesn't bother trying. Similar to trying to understand Pinkie Pie, just don't

Marble Pie- able to sense cracks and similar breaking points and keep out of the way of falling rocks, broken bridges, and crumbling cliffs. She will casually step out of the way of a huge Boulder about to fall on her and carry on like nothing happened. She is immune to cartoon falling pianos and anvils