#so like maybe if i end up getting topaz ??? so this set could go on her or ratio

[narwhalandchill]

pov you have to skip acheron 😔

[xhikatsu]

Topaz's Awareness

I feel like people don’t give Topaz enough credit on how aware she is about her surrounding… It is easy to think she just blindly believes the IPC is good, or that Jade means well based on what she states. But there’s some nuances that shows her thinking is far more complex than that.

For example, just in her character stories alone, she goes against IPC rules in what she doesn’t believe in. This is shown through her rebellious behavior of purposely failing the business formality exam, or going around the rule regarding pets.

She didn’t agree and found it won’t harm her if she didn’t listen exactly to those rules according to her contract. She also tries to beef up her reasoning by proving it won’t hinder her capabilities to get her job done, making it harder to question her “exclusion” to said rules.

In a way, despite being stuck in a lifelong contract, she seems to try and go around the system as much as possible to operate the way she believes instead of blindly following the rules set.

For someone who was molded at a young age, you would think she wouldn’t be this rebellious. Especially if she truly did think that the IPC is ultimately good (added: which she actually has never out rightly stated). It’s more like she believes you can do good in the company, and she tries to take advantage of it to try and do that.

There’s only so much she can do at the end of the day, as the IPC clearly has specific conditions and goals in mind she still has to follow. However, she tries her best to examine all parties involved and present a solution that tries to make majority happy or satisfied.

This showed quite a bit in her approach with Jarilo VI. She did start off rather roughly with her initially engagement. Though she backs off to be able to assess the planet, trying to find evidence and proof for the IPC to say they can get a better deal because they have more value.

During her talk with Svarog as well, she states that she went out of her way to do extra research on seeing if planets could recover on their own from a Stellaron, indicating the possibility of not needing the IPC’s help.

For someone who claims that the IPC can help, this little action of hers shows that she doesn’t necessarily agree with the company’s method and would rather them recover on their own without the deal as long as they have proof to backup the claim.

If the planet is able to recover on their own, why sign a deal with the IPC and possibly be put on a lifelong contract like her? Topaz goes out of her way to try and find proof that they can recover on their own. However, she states her results were all negative about that search.

Going into the end of the Jarilo VI’s case when Bronya reveals the Engine of Creation, Topaz genuinely takes into consideration that the planet has a chance to recover without the IPC, giving them her full support by even taking a demotion to her position to ensure they don’t sign a deal.

This only occurred though because the planet appealed to Topaz’s rational/logical (added: risk-averse) side with proof, something she seems to value when making decisions. Without proof, she can’t take the words at face value and treats it as a note to maybe consider with some skepticism.

Now, this leads to her dynamic with Jade. Her voice lines about her does hold her in high regards, but most of it talks about her business skills and support she can provide (with a hefty price). (Added: Note that this is only EN TL, which is inaccurate as in CN, she actually refers to Jade as a benefactor and not “nobility”.)

In a logical and business standpoint, Jade’s skills are widely known and similar to Topaz’s style of getting things done efficiently. Especially as her student of sorts, she takes her teachings of business but places her own twist to it by adding in her kindness as a factor.

However, despite seeming to “idolize” Jade’s achievements and skills, Topaz has made points to show that she is aware Jade is not exactly who she tries to present herself to be as. In 2.3, she reminds her team to not call Jade “big boss”, saying they would get punished if so.

It hints that she is aware that there’s more to Jade than what she shows, especially knowing that Jade didn’t want Topaz to see her negotiate with the Family after learning how greedy they were to try and push the IPC out.

It was further hinted as well that despite seemingly knowing Jade for a decent amount of time and even being mentored by her, Topaz creates this “distance” with Jade when interacting with her. She would stay very formal ironically to her, calling her “Madam Jade” instead of "Miss Jade" until told not to.

Even when Jade insists that they are equals and there’s no need for such titles, Topaz still mentions that Jade is her senior. Even during their other talks, Topaz seems to try and strictly keep their topics to business, seemingly a bit cautious when Jade brings up Aventurine.

This is really seen specifically when Jade mentions Topaz’s trust in him. She seems to divert the topic to her logical business reason to why she would bet her cornerstone in this mission. But the minute Jade seems to casually speak about Aventurine, Topaz tries to go back to business.

It shows that Topaz is mindful with how she should behave in front of Jade, not wanting to divulge more into personal topics and strictly staying professional. This hints that she is aware of Jade’s manipulation and tries to extract what she learns from her.

What I mean is, she takes Jade’s teaching with value in a business sense. She clearly remembers her lessons and how to approach negotiation well. However, she doesn’t follow all of it by heart, changing it according to what she believes in and how she adds kindness to it.

She does value what she can learn from Jade, as it helps her strive and excel in her goal of helping others. But she navigates cautiously and seems to keep her guard up when gaining knowledge. It’s similar to Aventurine where he knows about Jade, but values what he can gain from her.

This doesn’t even go into the Keeping Up with Star Rail trailer where Topaz was co-hosting. She has always been good at analyzing and assessing. But it’s interesting she mentions not to test Jade, even hinting she was close to being ��swallowed” by the abyss while looking nervous…

Ultimately, I just think Topaz is far more complex than she presents herself to be. I really don’t think she is that blinded as her words make her out to be, and her actions do seem to be contradicting to that as well.

This is just how I’ve come to interpret her behavior as I found it really off despite her words. She makes for an interesting character to analyze.

Original Date of Posting on Twt/X: Jul 3, 2024

[angel-gidget]

DC Plot Bunnies on my Brain

Time-traveling Kon talks to his younger self about Tana Moon. I’ve been exploring the 90’s Superboy corner of fandom lately, and boy do those guys have some thoughts about Tana Moon. Muy negative.

I think an adult Kon who had a chance to talk to his younger self might also be able to express some criticism of Tana, but he would not be harsh about it. I think he would still view his younger self as having a lot of agency, and he would still remember how much he loved her.

So how do you explain to your younger self that the current “love of their life” isn’t actually good for them? Very veeerry gently.

Kon bed-hopping fic. I actually started this one over a year ago and have snippets of it on my hard drive. Basically, after the Gemworld and multiversal hopping, Kon has a paranoia about being alone, and he doesn’t have a place to stay. (I wrote this before reading about the Kents remembering him after all, so this is written with the assumption that he has nowhere to go.)

So Young Justice takes turns housing him. And then the sleepovers end up being a pretty effective way of catching up with old friends like the core four and getting to know the new ones like Amy, Naomi, and Jinny.

Kon/Lophi slow-burn. In my current Kon fic, I imply that if YJ had showed up later than they had, Kon would have felt duty-bound to stay on the Gemworld to raise baby Martha. I could write a story exploring that as well as his and Lophi’s relationship. However, core four fuzzies would still be involved, bc the team would 100% find a way to visit Kon on the regular if he were stuck in another dimension.

Kon/Amy slow-burn. Set after the YJ multiverse hopping storyline. With no way to return to the Gemworld, Kon and Amy are left to mourn it together. This leads to bonding. Amy does, however, have some experience with going between worlds and have some coping mechanisms to offer Kon. In turn, he’s able to make her feel more at home with the team.

Amy Winston character exploration via Young Justice. There is a LOT to explore. For one thing, Amethyst was never a very character-driven comic, so there’s a lot of scenarios where I have no clue what Amy would do. So I gotta start writing to find out.

In her own 80’s title, Amy can go back and forth between being confidently heroic and remembering that she’s a scared kid. Part of that was the physical transformation she would go through. Turning into a physically 20-something a la Shazam made her feel more confident. But she doesn’t have that trait in YJ continuity.

So maybe her magic is the key? In the 80’s series, Amy’s magic was very strong on the Gemworld, but would fade to nothing when she crossed over to Earth.

So what if in this Wonder Comics YJ ‘verse, her magic is fading away slowly while she’s stuck on Earth and that gradually eats at her confidence? What if she does bond with the core four, but then becomes scared to tell them that the thing that (in her mind) makes her a superhero is fading away?

Post-Mini Series Amethyst story. I have a very detailed write-up of this in my drafts. I was very frustrated with Amy being turned into, like, a Gemworld deity thing at the end of her OG series. But I write out a plot taking place after it that would allow me to really come to terms with it and have fun with where the characters are at that point. Might post the outline later. Basically makes Amy, Young Princess Emerald, and Donal (Topaz and Turquoise’s son) all co-protagonists.

Tim/Cassie detective competition. In a (fairly recent?) Wonder Woman storyline, Cassie referred to herself as a detective, and asked for time to investigate the murder of Hypolyta. What if that had consequences? What if there is some kind of, idk, Teen Detective Competition and maybe Donna enters Cassie’s into it bc she thinks she’d be into it?

Of course, Tim has entered but only because he sees it as chance to get close to someone else he’s actually investigating. But as soon as he sees that Cassie is one of the entrants things get… genuinely competitive for both of them. And then the trash-talking somehow turns into flirting when neither of them were paying attention?

Tim/Cassie preboot Identity Exploration. Cassie is reveling in having Kon and Bart back from the dead. She and Kon are “just friends” now, and tho a lil’ awkward, it’s still good. But a few passing comments between the three of them lead Cassie to realize that some of the things she knows about Tim’s civilian identity are contradictory.

She begins to obsess a bit. After all, Tim was her main support through OYL and other hells, so shouldn’t she know him better than anyone?

Meanwhile, she is utterly failing to make a go of her “Drusila” identity. When Tim hears about that, he offers to help. And as Tim teaches Cassie how to be someone else, he ends up revealing things about himself that clarify some of those contradictions that stumped her earlier.

Tim/Greta set during 90's YJ. Steph gets frustrated with Tim's lecturing and breaks up with him. Secret sees this as an opportunity, and shoots her shot. Tim has had an insane day and decides "ok, why not?" Queue their relationship subtly changing events throughout the YJ and Robin series.

[one-is-confused]

TOTK Theories and Headcanons

Since playing TOTK some headcanons and theories have been brewing in my head and I just want to get it out

Theory 1 (Which turn out to be a collection of Theories) : Hyrule Kingdom was founded twice

Now I seen this theory before but I wanted to add some more stuff to it. So the reason why I think this is simple, IT MAKES SENSE. Because first of all, Rito. They only make an appearance in WW (Wind Waker) and BOTW/TOTK. So it is odd that the Rito exist in the founding era of Hyrule because the time Hyrule was founded was in SS (Skyward Sword). Or should I say it was first founded as the existence of Rito did not occur yet as SS is the First game in the Timeline, but we did see the Rito in the founding era of Hyrule during TOTK so the entire situations is weird.

But we all collectively agree that BOTW somehow manages to bring together the three timelines making it one again. Now I bring this up because if Hyrule Kingdom was founded a second time, why? Why was it founded again? Simple, the Great Flood. As in WW there was a Great Flood that drowned the continent of Hyrule. But since BOTW is at the end of all three timelines, what happen to the Great Flood since it no longer there?

This is just a guess but maybe it has to do something with the Zonai. Now hear me out what if, what if the Zonai got rid of the great flood as they are viewed to have some kind of god like powers. It also worth mentioning that the Zonai ruins in Faron. Along with the fact that these sets of ruins are much older then all of the other ruins and that they or someone else worship some type of Water Dragon (reference). So either the Zonai got rid of it or the Water Dragon did.

Since the Great Flood been removed Hyrule Kingdom needed to be founded again and most likely Hyrule Kingdom was not founded again until a very, very long time if you take the Zonai Ruins in account as these ruins are much older then the other Zonai structures.

And after some research into the Great Flood (this article) Hyrule was founded again after the defeat of Ganondorf in WW but Hyrule at that point is complete swallowed by water. But as I said earlier the flood manage to go away but it didn't specify if Hyrule Kingdom was founded again after WW as it only says that a new Hyrule was created on the water.

For more information here is a page, "Arrive of the Zonai" if you want to get more into the timeline of before the events of BOTW/TOTK or the timeline in general.

Theory 2 : Water Dragon

Talking about the Water Dragon makes me question does the Water Dragon exist ... maybe? I mean, the three main dragons (Dinraal, Farosh, and Naydra) all represent elements that we commonly see in the environment and in enemies like the Chuchu. As there are fire, ice, and electric Chuchus but there are water Chuchus but there is no water dragon. But maybe there once was in the past that is now either slumbering or dead. I don't know. I also want to mention that certain ores fused with a magic rod/staff does output fire (Ruby), ice (Sapphire), electric (Topaz), Light (if you are willing to include star fragments into the equation), and water (Opal).

Then again you could argue that there are no water keese and other water enemies beside the Lizalfos and the Octorok...... Yeah I don't know. Take this theory with a grain of rock salt.

Theory 3 (Is this a theory?) : BOTW/TOTK is at the end of all three timelines

I know I said this earlier but one, this makes sense, and two, in TOTK there are the outfits and weapons of the heroes from the other timelines. But oddly enough you can only find most of them in the Depths excluding the Fierce Deity set and Sword along with the Dusk Claymore which is in Typhlo Ruins. I bring this up because as I was exploring I came across something interesting in Sage Temple Cave. There is this small stone tablet that mentions there being a weapon stored here but it was decided to be move to Typhlo Ruins. The Weapon is the Dusk Claymore. But I do find it odd that the Dusk Bow is just on the side of the tallest pillar of Hyrule Castle. I mean it just laying there, its not even in a chest.

Now I know that there are other outfits that are not found in the Depths like the Awakening set but that makes you wonder where that thief found its original location. But why are most of them in the Depths to begin with, most of them are located in abandon mines.

And I not going to even mention how you get the Evil Spirit Armor set. Because that entire situation is a bit confusing, you can read Links thought on those quests by going to the list of finished quest and the end it just said that you are left with more questions then answer.

Theory 4 (this is something I have heard before) : The Three main dragons were once Zonai

To be honest I did not believe this when I first heard it. I was like aren't they spirits that decided to take the form of the dragon. And then I see the entry for the Light Dragon which also beings with "a spirit" but if you know the truth, you know. So at this point I decided to look at the dragons and then I saw it. That the manes of the dragons do resemble that of a Zonai, look at King Rauru hair and compare it to the dragons mane. And that they were most likely were once Zonai as Mineru did say that it is a forbidden act meaning it has occurred in the past.

Headcanon :

-- Zelda was mostly likely sent roughly about 20,000 into the past as it seems that Calamity Ganon took 10,000 years to form and since it appeared twice (I am not included that it was at bay for a century due to Zelda cause that don't count), it can be concluded that the imprisoning war took place 20,000 in the past

-- The title of the game Tears of the Kingdom is referring to the Light Dragons tears and you cannot convince me otherwise

-- Link and Zelda are at least in some type of relationship

[revserrayyu]

2.1 Penacony thoughts [part3]

**Spoiler warning** Going up until Aventurine takes the stage I guess, so if not encountered yet then look away. Keeping it rather short this time because I have a feeling things will only be getting more intense from here on out.

So with this letter from Robin to Sunday, it makes me a little worried. Yes I think it’s sweet of hear to inform her brother of what’s happening with her, but how the doctors basically turned her away, claiming that she’s fine when her voice was very clearly bothering her rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps they didn’t her condition serious enough or they knew exactly what’s going in and chose to hide the truth from her. I dunno, there’s something about Robin looking into her issues, realizing that something is wrong with the Harmony and ultimately ending up dead that reminds me of Serval and how she become too close to finding out the truth behind the stellaron and Cocolia dismissing her from the Architects (and thank god she didn’t take a more permanent measure otherwise I would’ve sobbed).

I trust him less and less each and every time he opens his mouth. These shots we keep getting from him where we only see half of his face don’t help either with how we don’t see whatever emotion he has in his eyes.

I’ll be completely honest.. I remember little to nothing about this flashback with Jade because I was too focused on how gorgeous she is. I gathered this is probably when Aventurine joined the IPC (and the poor boy is in chains! aw no!) but yeah. She. Very pretty.

Help.. tiny Aventurine is precious. And it was so sweet seeing how kind our Aventurine was to the kid too.

I love how much we learn about our dear gambler during this section. He always seems like this confident and successful businessman on the surface and yet he still has fears of losing, whether it be a bet or how his 17 remaining hours of life ticks away.

Bringing up Elation is interesting considering he does have a follow up attack in his kit, which isn’t common for a Preservation unit. I know March has one herself, but for someone focused on defenses, it’s a moves you wouldn’t think they would have you know? I remember seeing his boss form in the White Night trailer and once thought that Aventurine could secretly be part of the Fools with that mask he had on, but I guess not.

For context, he found Topaz’s stone lying around and he claims he was only curious as to why. But yeah.. I wish to learn more about the connection between these two.

I really how that whole conversation with Sunday was an act by Ratio. I know the dude isn’t particularly fond of Aventurine, but they make for a nice team I think.

Sunday is a menace, but I’m actually kinda enjoying him like this. I would’ve never expected this from him with his angelic and handsome appearance, but his borderline villain arc has me quite intrigued. I can’t wait to learn his motives.

So the stones Sunday has in his possession isn’t even the real aventurine one but a lighter one of jade? Amazing. It’s this part of the conversation that makes me wonder if Topaz and Jade lended their Cornerstones to Aventurine for this mission of his, for whatever reason I’m not sure yet. I vaguely remember him asking if Tooaz could assist him during his trip to Penacony during their phone call at the end of that Belobog arc, so maybe this was the idea he had in mind?

They’re setting me up for something real emotional, I can feel it in my bones. It better not rain at the end of this patch. Or death. I will cry.

Him wanting to put on a good show for his younger self and inspire him.. ah.

Alright, this achievement.. right away I thought Sibyl was a Psycho Pass reference, but it isn’t. Curiosity struck me so I looked up what the name of it actually meant and.. it links to another achievement where death is mentioned. And I’m not okay.

(originally written on 3/29)

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Snake Eyes chapter 2: Let the Games Begin (originally published on September 4, 2023)

AN: Now that we have our first chapter out of the way, I'm sure you're all wondering what the Crystal Gems were doing before they got captured by the Slytherophidians. Well, you won't have to ask any longer because this chapter will answer any questions you might have about what happened after the end of Little Homeworld Life and set up what's to come for the remainder of Snake Eyes. With that out of the way, let's get it started!

Synopsis: On the planet Serpentes, the Crystal Gems are forced to fight in gladiator death matches against captive warriors from across the stars.

Cast:

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Famethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, The Black Pearl Brigade, Yellow Pearl, Blue Pearl, Volleyball

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Laz, Zuli

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Charlyne Yi as Ruby, Eyeball

Erica Luttrell as Sapphire

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond

Sarah Stiles as Spinel

Christine Baranski as Hessonite

Olivia Olson as Citrine

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

Gina Torres as Andesine

Peter Cullen as Titanium

Jeffrey Combs as Mercury

Bumper Robinson as Gold

Aimee Mann as Opal

Neil Flynn as Aescul

Featuring 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

John Moschitta Jr. as Bialyoom Milamin

Stephanie Escajeda as Meinerr

Terrence C. Carson as The Decimator

Steven Blum as Earthos

Jim Ross as Jiross

Michael Buffer as Michauffer

Peter Linz as Heckler #1

And Dave Goelz as Heckler #2

--

A few weeks before the attack of the Slytherophidians, Beach City was in celebration. At long last, Black Rutile had been defeated yet again, this time possibly for good as she and her Gem supporters were taken to prison in the darkest depths of space, and now life could go back to normal. For the Gems, this moment has become even more special as now they can finally get back to planning Ruby and Sapphire's wedding anniversary. With the decorations hung back up and a new cake on the table, the party could finally get started.

"Happy anniversary!" the Crystal Gems and people of Beach City cried as they celebrated Ruby and Sapphire's marriage. Ruby and Sapphire were so delighted to have everybody come to such a momentous occasion, they both thought it was like a dream.

"I wish this moment could last forever," Ruby said as she scooped up her blue wife in her stubby red arms. "Of course, I already have you to do it."

"Oh stop, Wuby!" Sapphire laughed and started baby-talking to her significant other while Amethyst and Pearl watched from the refreshments table.

"Ah, this is livin', Pearl Jam." Amethyst sighed in relief while taking a big gulp of punch. "Maybe now, we can finally have some peace and quiet with Black Rutile out of the way."

"Don't count on it, Amethyst." Pearl shook her head in reply. "With the Crystal Gems, you just never know when danger will be around the corner. Though frankly, I'm concerned that we've been in a lot more trouble than usual lately."

"Like I said, hopefully, we can have some peace and quiet for now," Amethyst said optimistically. "Though if trouble does come our way, you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be ready!"

"Nice to see you're so positive, Amethyst." Pearl laughed at Amethyst's remark as the two continued watching Ruby and Sapphire embrace each other. "That reminds me, we should start planning for Steven's birthday soon. I think he's turning 18 now."

"Wow, eighteen, I can't believe it." Greg sighed in disbelief as he sat by the two Gems with a slice of cake in hand. "Well, better break out some of the good beer to celebrate."

"Hey, save it for when he's 21!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Though you're free to give me some if you want. I promise this won't end up like the last time I went out drinking."

"Yep, I had to explain everything to Mr. Dewey." Pearl groaned at the memory while Greg and Amethyst laughed the day away. Yes, it seemed like the Crystal Gems could finally return to their happily ever after, but unfortunately, this wouldn't last for long.

---

About three weeks later, Little Homeworld has come under attack. The Crystal Gems had received an urgent message from Peridot that a group of strange invaders had descended upon the town and were carting Gems off into their ship. The Crystal Gems raced to Little Homeworld as soon as it ended and were ready for a fight as soon as they got off the Warp Pad.

"Okay you intruders, surrender our friends now and we won't have to hurt you!" Garnet exclaimed as she prepared her gauntlets and pointed them at the armored snakelike invader pointing a futuristic blaster at Teal Zircon's head.

"Well, well, well. The Crystal Gems." The invader said, turning his head to face the Gems ready to fight him. "Hey guys, the Crystal Gems are here!" The other masked snakes all stopped what they were doing and politely greeted the Gems, ignoring the fact that just now they were holding everyone at Little Homeworld hostage. "Hey wait a sec, shouldn't there be a human sidekick with you? About yay high, inherited his mother's gem and has some serious emotional issues. Ring any bells?"

"Unfortunately, Steven is not with us right now." Pearl declared. "But that won't stop us from taking you down!"

"Then, by all means, come and get us." The snake leader proclaimed before firing from his blaster, only to be deflected by Lapis shielding the Crystal Gems with her water wings. "Watch out, they got a Lapis Lazuli!"

"Everyone spread out and get everyone away from these snakes!" Jasper commanded the other Crystal Gems before spin-dashing straight into the snakes' leader.

"Oh, you think we are snakes, eh?" the leader snake confidently said. "Perhapsss you'd like to ssssee how ssssnake-like we can BE!" Retracting his visor to reveal his reptilian face, the snake bared his fangs and bit Jasper on the neck, causing her to yelp in pain and surprise. "Here I thought you Gems were stronger than that!"

Meanwhile, Pearl and Lapis had enlisted the help of the Lapis twins and the Black Pearl Brigade to fight back against the snakes. "Okay girls, you take the 50 on the left, we'll take the 50 on the right."

"Screw you, we'll take all 100!" Braids of the Black Pearl Brigade yelled as she charged into battle against the snakes.

"That's the spirit!" Zuli exclaimed before turning her wings into a pair of water fists to punch the snakes away. "DORARARARARARARA, DORA!"

"Did you have any idea of where they came from?" Pearl asked Cap while slashing away at a few snakes.

"We have no clue!" Cap exclaimed. "Just this morning, they descended from the sky and said they were going to enslave us all or something. Well, I don't believe I'll ever be a slave again!"

"That's what you think, Pearlie." Another of the snakes said before brandishing a pair of handcuffs and trying to restrain Cap with them, but Nacre and Pearl got in his way. "Unhand me, Gems!"

"We won't let you hurt any of our friends!" Pearl exclaimed.

"You sure about that?" the snake said before pointing with his tail at Garnet, Amethyst, White Topaz, and Bismuth already restrained, with Peridot and Jasper on the run. "Face it, ladies, you're all coming with us now."

"To where?" Laz asked before she was quickly taken down.

"To meet your makers, that is." The snake smirked with a hiss. "Cuff 'em, boys!" At his command, the invading snakes had all of the Crystal Gems herded onto their ship in handcuffs and forced onboard along with dozens of other abducted aliens for yet unknown purposes.

"How did we get defeated so easily?!" Jasper roared furiously. "I could've sworn we had them in the bag!"

"I don't know, they ran circles around us!" Peridot replied nervously. "And they said we were going to meet our makers or something! What does that mean?"

"It means we have a special friend waiting for you in our world." The snake carrying Peridot under his arm like a large package said before speaking into a wrist communicator. "Maverick to Goose, how are things holding up on Homeworld?"

---

"Goose to Maverick, we got 'em pretty easily." Another snake soldier stationed on Homeworld replied. "Turns out they shut down their entire military at the beginning of Era 3 except for a few mercenaries. It's like they were asking for us to overpower them!"

"I want a lawyer, I want a doctor! I want a cheese sandwich!" Spinel yelled as she was tied up into a ball by a pair of snakes and rolled onboard their ship.

"You won't get away with his, Slytherophidians!" Yellow Diamond yelled as the Diamonds were given a special cell on the ship to accommodate their massive size. "The Crystal Gems will find you and you will soon pay!"

"Oh, don't get too cocky, because no one will miss you once you get slaughtered in the Contest of Champions." Goose sneered. "Guess that's what you get for slaughtering thousands over the years, trying to cover it up by saying you never destroyed a planet with sentient life, and brushed it all under the rug just because that pink brat is somehow still alive."

"Wait, a cover-up?" Yellow Pearl asked as she, Blue Pearl, and Volleyball were carted into a cell.

"Of course, there was a cover-up!" Goose explained. "What, you're their Pearls, you mean to tell me they don't trust you with any dark secrets? Oh wait, you're their Pearls, so they don't trust you with anything except standing around and looking cute."

"Hessonite, were you involved in this cover-up or whatever?" Citrine asked Hessonite in their cell.

"Yes, I did indeed lie about how some planets were completely barren once or twice," Hessonite admitted. "Like for example, remember what happened to Hosnian Prime?"

"I thought that was completely barren when you fired that giant laser at it," Citrine replied before the realization dawned on her. "Oooohhhhh noooooo."

"Yes, that was a part of us we refused to bring up for ages now." White Diamond declared. "I don't want to think of how Steven would react."

"We're already on thin ice with him as is, as the saying goes." Blue Diamond agreed.

"Okay, enough chit-chat, let's get this ship flying!" Goose commanded his subordinates as he pounded on the ship and ordered the vessel to start flying away from the Gem Homeworld.

---

Meanwhile, Maverick was piloting the ship that the Crystal Gems were on while his squad kept watch over their various extraterrestrial prisoners. In each specialized cell, their respective prisoners were kept under lock and key to prevent anyone from rebelling. In the Crystal Gems' cell, Pearl's face was pressed up against the glass barrier as a large hologram of an anthropomorphic king cobra dressed in regal attire activated to make an announcement.

"Good day to all my prisoners!" the snake greeted the reluctant passengers. "I am King Cobralan Jormagundr, the supreme ruler of the Slytherophidians of Serpentes, and I welcome you as the next generation of combatants in the Serpentes Contest of Champions! For those not in the know, we Slytherophidians live for gladiatorial combat, so we abduct species from across the universe to compete for our people's amusement. This was a tradition started eons ago by my beloved ancestor King Serpentes I, whom our beautiful planet was named for."

As King Cobralan continued explaining, he began presenting pictures of the Slytherophidians' home planet, which Pearl observed to have a fantasy-like architecture that seemed like a heavy mix of Indian, Egyptian, and Roman aesthetics. "You'll all be taken here to the Ouroborium, a very special arena built to suit the environments and needs of our competitors. And speaking of which, if you mess up or aren't seen as entertaining enough, there will be consequences."

To demonstrate, the scene changed to a pair of robots fighting each other before one of them suddenly blew up. And there was much rejoicing. "But don't you worry your pretty little heads, y'all!" Cobralan continued. "That's reserved for if everyone really hates you and wants you dead. But what are the odds of that happening, eh? And for our Gem friends in particular, we'll be keeping a close eye on you through your new producer! Give it up for the lovable Bialyoom Milamin and his beautiful assistant Meinerr!"

Automated clapping sounds began playing as a blue-skinned, birdlike humanoid in a fancy suit stepped forward along with a bronze-skinned woman in a power suit with her hair in a tight bun. "These two shall be your talent agents for the duration of your stay here, now play nice with them. And speaking of which, here we are on Serpentes now!"

Indeed, the ship had finally landed on the planet of the Slytherophidians, where the Gems would be forced into the biggest battle of their lives.

"I-do-declare, it-is-an-utmost-pleasure-to-be-serving-you-today-Crystal-Gems!" Bialyoom greeted the Gems. True to his last name, he was literally speaking a mile a minute. "I-had-served-as-producer-to-such-interesting-competitors-before-in-my-long-career, but-never-before-had-I-ever-dreamed-of-meeting-you!"

"Uh, could you repeat just about everything you said?" Amethyst asked, not understanding a word Bialyoom just said.

"You'll have to excuse my partner here, his species all talk faster than light." Meinerr apologized on Bialyoom's behalf before explaining herself. "What he is trying to say is that you are among the most unique competitors he has ever sponsored. With us, you are entitled to full merchandising and sponsorship rights for the duration of your stay, or however long you last in the games."

"Celebrity status again?" Pearl groaned disdainfully at the thought. "Look, we didn't even ask for this, we just wanted to live a normal, quiet life away from all of this. We literally just had this same escapade not too long ago!"

"Ah, so-you-have-experience-then!" Bialyoom exclaimed delightedly. "Then-you'll-fit-in-just-fine! Now-come-with-us, we-shall-show-you-to-your-accommodations!" As the ship landed in Serpentes's capital city of Alethinophidia, the Crystal Gems were escorted out and paraded through a crowd of cheering snakes toward the Ouroborium. In the near distance, another ship landed, and out came the Diamonds, but unlike the Crystal Gems, they were met with scorn and prejudice.

"Gems? This planet has really gone to the dogs." An elderly Slytherophidian in the crowd muttered disdainfully.

"That would require there to be dogs, to begin with!" another elderly Slytherophidian joked, causing the two to laugh at their joke.

---

At the Ouroborium, the Crystal Gems were shown to a rather lavish room where they'll be staying on Serpentes. There was a large chandelier hanging over them, a positively gorgeous rug beneath their feet, and all around them were paintings depicting the Slytherophidian royal family throughout the years. "Nice place we got here." White Topaz muttered in amazement. "I wish we could stay here forever!"

"Don't get too excited, we've been forced here against our will," Garnet said while sitting down on one of the plush couches. "Ooh, this is a nice couch. What material is it?"

"Some of the finest leathers in all of Serpentes," Meinerr answered. "But don't get too comfy, your first big battle is coming very soon!" She pulled out a tablet and began reading off of it. "You shall be pitted against three Metals in the competition, and it is absolutely recommended you slay them to gain the audience's approval."

"Wait, the Metals?! As in our ancient relatives created from the same cosmic deity, the Metals?!" Peridot exclaimed. "You have no idea what slaying them will do to our relationship with them, you clod!"

"Hey, we-don't-make-the-rules-here-Gems!" Bialyoom shrugged as a pair of snake guards grabbed Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl and escorted them out of the room. "Now-go-on-and-make-us-proud!"

---

Soon, the original three Crystal Gems were taken into the Ouroborium, where true to what King Cobralan said, it was a massive arena filled with throngs of cheering snakes all excited about the carnage that was about to take place. Towering above their subjects in a special box was what Pearl assumed to be the royal family of Serpentes, including their ruler King Cobralan Jormagundr. Alongside him were Queen Constricta, a female constrictor snake sitting on a throne alongside her husband, and their two children; a female Indian cobra named Naja and a male black mamba named Nosiop, Captain Boa and Pyth, an Indian python who served as the family's grand vizier.

"Ah, there they are." Cobralan hissed with a smile. "I see they've made themselves comfortable. Naja, my darling daughter, would you care to introduce them to our adoring fans?"

"It would be my honor, Father." Naja smiled back at her father before grabbing a microphone with her tail and tossing it into her hand. "Welcome adoring fans of all scales to the 420,000th annual Serpentes Contest of Champions!"

"420, nice," Amethyst smirked before Pearl shot her a glare. "Come on, they knew what they were doing!"

"For this contest, we have some very special guests fighting for our entertainment here today!" Naja declared. "Please put your hands, tails, and other limbs together for the Crystal Gems!" The reception to the Crystal Gems was rather mixed. Many were excited to see such intergalactic celebrities on Serpentes today, but tons of others were eager to see Gems get the karma they deserve for the chaos they brought over thousands of years. "We have been keeping an eye on our ancient foes for eons, always plotting to invite them here but never quite catching up with them. But that all changes today! Which reminds me, our guests should find their opponents very familiar! Give it up for the Metals!"

The crowd began going wild as Titanium, Mercury, and Gold were forced out into the arena by Slytherophidian guards to combat Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. "The Crystal Gems, we meet at last." Titanium declared morosely. "I hope this won't damage our relationship with the rest of your kind."

"Man, I always wanted to fight one of you guys!" Gold said eagerly, only for Mercury to give him a gentle slap on the head.

"You realize that if we lose here, we'll die, right?" Mercury cautioned the young Metal. "Hopefully they can go easy on us."

"Face front, true believers, for we are about to witness history in the making!" Jiross, a Slytherophidian commentator in a cowboy hat exclaimed. "The Gems versus the Metals, which of these sister races shall come out on top and settle this age-old debate?!"

"Well, here we are today to answer that question once and for all!" the second commentator Michauffer added. "LET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUUMBLEEEEEE!"

"So we're all in agreement that we should go easy on the Metals, right?" Amethyst asked the other Crystal Gems as their battle against the Metals began.

"Agreed." Garnet complied with the smaller Gem's idea while clashing fists with Titanium. "We need to get to the bottom of this and quick."

"Makes me wonder how Steven is doing," Pearl stated as she was pitted against Mercury. "He must be worried sick about us."

---

High above the arena where the carnage has begun, the Jormagundr royal family spectated the fight from above, each displaying a variety of emotions. Naja was hyperventilating from the stress of opening up such a big event with Boa there to comfort her, Constricta remained stoic to hide her devilish smile, Cobralan eagerly watched the Gems fight for their lives, and Nosiop reclined in his chair with a bored expression on his face. "Father, must we force these Gems onto our planet instead of visiting them in person?"

"Come on son, it's tradition!" Cobralan merrily said to his son. "Live a little and enjoy the fight!"

"I agree, but can't we break tradition just this once?!" Nosiop objected. "Come on, let's conquer a planet or two!"

"Nosey, dearie, we're already the rulers of an entire galactic empire, what would a few planets change?" Constricta stated, stroking her son's back with her tail just as she saw Garnet clock Titanium in the face. "Ooh, right in the kisser!"

"And of course, nobody understands me." Nosiop rolls his eyes before turning his head away from the action to face his family's advisor. "They just don't get it, we should be out there enslaving and conquering, not sitting here and forcing species to come to us!"

"Oh, don't be so sad, my boy." Pyth purred with a hand on the angry prince's nose. "Perhaps there are other ways we can convince them, mark my words."

"Everyone, look!" Captain Boa shouted as he pointed towards the Crystal Gems having beaten the Metals at last. "Alright Naja, now's your time again!"

"Oh, right!" Naja nervously said before picking up the microphone again. "It seems the Metals have been taken down for the count! Now, what do we say when that happens?!"

"FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!" the audience chanted vigorously, eager to see some heads roll. "FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!"

"AS SQUAMATA AS MY WITNESS, IT'S OFF WITH HIS HEAD!" Jiross yelled excitedly.

"FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!" the snakes continued chanting for the Gems to slay the Metals once and for all and win this round. However, the Crystal Gems quickly came to a decision.

"No!" Pearl announced. "We will never take a life for your entertainment!" Unfortunately for the Gems, the spectators weren't pleased and began booing them instead.

"Go back to Earth, you hippies!" one of the audience members jeered before throwing a block of cheese at Amethyst, who quickly caught it in her mouth.

"See, told you the Gems wouldn't kill." One of the hecklers said to his elderly friend.

"How can somebody die when they're barely alive?" the other heckler stated before the two laughed.

---

"Well, this is an interesting development," Cobralan smirked before taking the microphone from his daughter. "As king, I shall allow this even if it means breaking the rules a little. We wouldn't want such special guests to have their time cut short."

"Are you serious right now?!" Nosiop yelled angrily. "They aren't even respecting the rules! We should have them executed on the spot at once!"

"Come on Nosey, just let Dad handle this." Naja tried calming her big brother down.

"No, I will not allow any breaking of our rules to go unpunished like this!" Nosiop continued yelling before Pyth put a scaly hand on the prince's shoulder.

"Just let it go, young man. Now come with me." Pyth said calmingly before the grand vizier took Nosiop away. "We have much to discuss."

---

"What-was-the-meaning-of-this?!" Bialyoom yelled angrily. "You-can't-just-decide-not-to-kill-your-opponent-like-that! It's-unheard-of!"

"Let us tell you what else is unheard of." Garnet firmly stated to Bialyoom. "We would never kill anybody for entertainment, especially if they were begging for their lives."

"We understand your fears Crystal Gems, but know that your approval rating means everything on Serpentes," Meinerr explained while presenting the Crystal Gems with a tablet demonstrating just that. "And wouldn't you know it, it's falling pretty quick."

"No matter what you tell us, we won't obey!" Pearl exclaimed. "But would it be okay if we just knocked out our opponents and let them live?"

"Oh, look at that. The Crystal Gems refuse to listen to anyone but themselves." Aquamarine smirked as she, Eyeball, Holly Blue, Cinnabar, and Andesine entered the Crystal Gems' room.

"Ugh, these guys." Bismuth rolled her eyes. "What do the Rutile Rebels want now?"

"For the record, we have now called ourselves the Andesine Armada." Andesine stated. "On account of our former leader being too much of a coward to continue guiding us before she abandoned us and ran off."

"Hey, I thought we agreed that we were going to call ourselves the Aquamarine Militia!" Aquamarine snapped at Andesine.

"No, I distinctly remember that our new name was going to be the Agate Gang!" Holly Blue yelled at the other rebel Gems.

"This arguing is getting us nowhere." Cinnabar quickly shut everyone up. "What we're trying to say is that we could lose our lives in these games. If you don't toughen up and start killing a few people, you will very well be killed. Which is why we've taken the initiative and started taking a few lives for ourselves."

"That-reminds-me, Amethyst-and-Pearl-have-a-fight-coming-up-against-the-Decimator-and-Earthos, two-of-the-deadliest-fighters-in-the-galaxy!" Bialyoom stated. "Now-go-go-go-make-us-proud!"

"The Decimator? He sounds awesome!" Amethyst cheered as she and Pearl were forced out of their room and back into the arena. "Can't wait to see how he decimates us!"

"Amethyst!" Pearl yelled.

---

"Well, it seems that our Gem friends are back for another round." Jiross declared as Pearl and Amethyst were forced back into the arena, this time against the Decimator, a massive, tattooed warrior wielding a pair of blades connected by an iron chain, and Earthos, a wolverine-like alien with sharp iron claws. "In this corner, we have the Decimator, one of the most fearsome warriors in the universe who is feared for rampaging across five galaxies in search of his enemies, and Earthos, who can make claws out of iron sand beneath his feet!"

"I have butchered millions across countless moons." The Decimator boomed in a deep, intimidating voice.

"We are totally ill-equipped for this." Pearl quivered in fear of the Decimator before Amethyst took her hand.

"Not entirely!" Amethyst exclaimed before twirling Pearl around and causing the two of them to glow, culminating in them fusing into Opal.

"And it looks like we got ourselves a fusion here, folks!" Michauffer exclaimed. "Looks like an Opal too, with those multiple arms and the bow and arrow! Jiross, what are your thoughts?"

"It's gonna be a slobberknocker!" Jiross yelled at Opal aimed down her sights and fired straight at the Decimator's eye, but he dodged just in time and the arrow accidentally stabbed a Slytherophidian in the audience. "Ooh, talk about a sorry excuse for aiming straight and true!"

"Dammit, let me handle this!" Earthos snarled as he formed claws of iron sand on his hands and began slashing at Opal, giving her a few scratches in the process but nothing too serious. "That's right, away you go!"

"On your left!" Opal cried before launching an arrow up into the air, making Earthos wonder if she was crazy or something. However, the arrow quickly returned to the Ouroborium and stabbed Earthos in his left side, knocking him out for the count. "And as for you."

"This should be easy." The Decimator said confidently while cracking his knuckles and throwing his blades at Opal, but she nimbly dodged them as they smashed to the ground, climbing her way up the giant's body and dodging more of his attacks. "Hold still, little fusion!"

"Not a chance!" Opal yelled as she did a spinning kick to the Decimator's face, sending him falling to the ground directly on top of one of the bleachers, crushing numerous spectators in the process. "Oh my goodness, I didn't realize there were innocents there!"

"Now you're getting it." The Decimator laughed weakly as he lay defeated. "Now finish me."

The chanting started again. "FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM! FINISH HIM!"

"The answer's still no!" Opal proclaimed, sticking true to the Crystal Gems' principles even when the Slytherophidians started booing yet again.

"Can't please everybody," Pearl said as she and Amethyst unfused and began leaving.

"Life goes on, but I believe we'll forever carry the pain on the inside, P," Amethyst added. "Got it from that janitor on TV."

---

"Why are we still allowing this?!" Nosiop yelled angrily at Opal's refusal to kill the Decimator, even though their battle had unknowingly claimed the lives of hundreds. "We should execute them immediately; this is an utter affront to our warrior culture!"

"Oh come now Nosiop, you're being too overbearing," Cobralan stated with a laugh. "Those Gems will be very important to us when the time comes, but in the meantime, we can just enjoy the festivities."

"Your Highness, we have a message from our deep cover agent on Earth!" a Slytherophidian servant yelled as he raced to his liege and presented a crackling communicator. "He says Steven Universe is coming!"

"Is he now?" Cobralan smiled as he picked up the communicator and started speaking into this. "Hello Aescul, I trust that you completed your mission?"

"Yes Milord, I have Steven on my ship as we speak, along with a few extra passengers," Aescul replied. "We'll be within Serpentes airspace in just a few moments."

"Wonderful! It'll truly be an honor to meet Steven at last!" Cobralan laughed while his son rolled his eyes.

"If he's anything like the other Gems, I'm not holding my breath," Nosiop said before Cobralan put the communicator down and began leaving. "Where are you going?"

"To visit our special friend, so to speak," Cobralan answered, knowing that his son and heir knew what he was talking about. "Gather the rest of the family, my boy." He then snuck away into a hidden chamber within the castle to meet with this special friend.

"The one called Universe is upon us," Cobralan said as Nosiop, Naja, Constricta, Boa, and Pyth stood before a large shadowy figure. "Soon, he will tell us all that he knows."

---

Seriously, who is this guy that the royal family keeps talking to?! Well, I'm the only one who knows the answer, but I'm not telling until the time is right! In the meantime, keep those theories a-coming and I'll see you next time!

[sempsimps]

Misa Amane x fem reader bodyguard

Can't believe I'm only writing about her now. I just got the full black edition manga of Death Note, and I got really sad at the end. I also got the box set of the anime. It was so much different from her ending. so I'm finally writing something. I was going to do this during Pride Month, but I'm a little late to the party, never mind, let's get to the fic

I hated this feeling.

The feeling eats away at me every time I look at her.

I'm hopelessly in love, but she can't even talk about me.

Me and Misa were out shopping in the main city stores. I was her most trusted bodyguard since I was a girl. I held all her bags diligently and carefully. some expensive brands in every other bag, and it made me nervous at how much money she had sometimes, it was nice not hearing her constantly talk about him for once, but I spoke too soon.

"I would of asked Light and Ryuzaki to come with us so It could be a double date because come on let's be real, Ryuzaki totally has a thing for you, and I can spend some time with my precious boyfriend. But they said they had a major discovery in the Kira case and told me to go away"

Ew, I don't even like Ryuzaki ever since he literally kidnapped Misa and straight up smelt her like a rabid dog. I didn't have a good impression from the start. "Boyfriend." Yeah, right, light doesn't even acknowledge her, let alone want to date her. now look! she pouted how adorable. light couldn't see how truly beautiful she was, like a god of death. I could be a better boyfriend. I sighed, looking at Misa with a dopey grin. Her fashion was always on point and suited her. like today, a simple black skirt, long-sleeved shirt that was slightly see-through, black and white thigh-high socks, shin-high black boots giving a little height over me, and a crop denim jacket, with no arms, it looked so edgy and right in the trends right now, it's perfect on her she even had her hair down framing her clear skin and pretty brown eyes, I could get lost in them as they sparkle like topaz. I was standing in the middle of the shopping centre just staring at Misa, and she turned around, noticing my sudden disappearance from her side.

"Hey, are you okay weirdo? You're kinda just staring"

"O-oh yeah, I'm okay, misa just admiring youu-'re outfit! it's lovely today"

"Oh, I know right! Thank you for telling me, light didn't even say I looked cute today hmf"

'Saved that so well.' I smiled with a little wobble and a blushing face, my hold on the paper bag in my hand tightening as I adjusted the suit tie the bag made a soft crinkle in protest, as I caught up to her.

"Are there any more places you want to go?"

"Yes, actually, I heard about this super cute cafe in here. They put little stuffed animals on your table depending on how you look or how the waiter sees you. We have to go there, and I could use a latte"

"Yeah, sounds super adorable. I could use a cup of tea"

I smiled at her, and she giddily pulled out her phone to try and find the cafe quickly typing with her black nails and turning around excitedly, her skirt spinning with her, it lifted slightly and I saw. 'Oh my god, she has garters on - look away, look away, look AWAY!' I turned my head away quickly before Misa approached me.

"It's this way, let's go!"

She hooked her arm around mine and phone in her other hand as she quickly dragged me along to our destination, my face heating up once more at her actions 'She's so cute'.

"I bet light will love this place. we should bring the boys along. I bet they'd give Light a cute dog plushie and maybe Ryuzaki a smelly rat bleh"

She stuck her tongue out at the thought of a rat, and I couldn't help but laugh and agree with her. We soon got to the place and found a table sitting down. I placed all the bags I was holding under the table and to our side, and the blonde went into one of them, pulling out a little box.

"I got this cute ring I hope light likes it"

Light, Light, Light, Light, Light! I'm sick of hearing about him. I actually wished he was Kira sometimes so he could be away from her kind heart, but I know that would only motivate Misa more, seeing as Kira killed her parent's murderer.... she never did get time to mourn....

"Hey bestie Look isn't this cute"

I snapped out of my thoughts with a stab in my heart 'bestie'. Misa pushed her hand forward, showing me her new jewellery. It was a slim black band around her ring finger with painted skulls along it, I softly smiled. It looked fabulous.

"I'm sure Light will like it. It looks amazing, so well made too"

"Aahhh you really think so?"

"I know so"

The slow poison in my chest grew at every mention of Light, and soon, I was thankfully directed out of the silent resentment by a kind waitress who asked for our orders. I got a simple early grey tea and Misa ordered a caramel latte with extra cream, and the kind lady walked away with our order and into a back room.

"Anywhere else after this? my fair lady, hehe."

"Oh, don't be so formal, you nerd, no wonder Ryuzaki likes you, but I think I'm done here unless you'd like to get something?"

"Oh me? No, I'm okay. I'll even pay for our drinks if you want?"

"Awww how sweet of you'd really do that for little old me?"

"Of course we are friends"

'Oh god, that stung to say'. The waiter came back, placing our drinks down, and on the drink trays were small plushies. I couldn't help but grin brightly at Misa as she slowly picked up her adorable stuffed animal, it was a little bat with magnets in the wings so it could wrap around the body, and it even had a small red bow around one of the large ears. I was so focused on the girl in front of me gently holding the bat by the wings, making it swing back and forth, I didn't even see what one I got. I quickly looked down to see my own small soft toy, it was a calico cat with buttons for eyes, it lay on its stomach, I picked it up its paws had velvet beans, and had small bits of plastic in them to make it slightly weighted. I held it in my hands with awe it was surprisingly an accurate description of me. it almost looked sad.

"Swapsies, I wanna see yours!"

Misa picked up the toy from my hands, and she gave me hers she gave a little squeal, saying how cute it looked, and I laughed. Looking at her bat, I noticed it had plastic red eyes with bits of glitter shining in it 'Just as unique as her' A hand took away the soft toy again.

"Oh, I bet I could..... aha, look how cute!"

Misa wrapped the bat's wings around the cat in a sort of hug, and the magnets clicked in place to stay around it.

"Awww it's like their friends"

"Nah I bet they're dating"

"Oh yeah? Whys that"

"I don't know, just have a feeling not everything has an answer, dummy"

She giggled at calling me a dummy and took a sip of her coffee, sighing content with the taste. I took this as my chance to drink my tea 'needs sugar wait I could try a pickup line'. I raised an eyebrow as I spoke, leaning an elbow on the table.

"My tea needs more sugar, mind getting in it?"

"Was that supposed to be smooth?"

"Yeah....."

I hung my head in defeat and sighed. I felt gentle fingers on my chin, lifting me up, and I looked at Misa, losing myself in her eyes before she spoke in a smug tone

"Bet I can give you a panic at the disco."

She held a sly smirk, and I felt my face get increasingly hot. 'oh she's way too pretty to be this good at pickup lines. I think I might die.'

"Oh geez, where did you get that from?"

"A magician never tells their secrets"

"I don't think that's connected?"

"You're so mean to me"

The pretty blonde pouted again and took another sip from her coffee, pulling out her phone to take a picture of the stuffed animals hugging before taking one of me as I drank my tea, giggling like a schoolgirl as I called her out on it. The date/ hang out was calm, and we chatted and I paid the bill, we slowly made our way back to the building, we were currently staying at before Misa got a call on her phone, and she excitedly exclaimed its light.

"Mhm okay perfect see ya soon, byeee~ love you. Light says we need to talk. I hope he finally says I'm his girlfriend!"

The girl got super giddy and even did a little jump in excitement before she returned to my side taking some of the bags from one arm.

"And light tells me Ryuzaki called for you~"

She bumped my hip, making me stubble she was convinced L liked me at this point, and I nervously fake laughed.

"Oh, he did, huh..."

"Uh huh~ you two would be so cute, like a nerdy couple you see in anime"

"Hm, yeah, I guess so"

We made our way back to the building and walked into the elevator, still holding all of Misa's shopping. I'm just glad we didn't get spotted by any fans maybe because she had her hair down 'I love her hair down'. She hummed a soft tune as we waited to go up to the top floor. As the doors opened, we both saw light and L in the room. Misa dropped all her bags and ran to light in a hug, which he didn't seem pleased about in the slightest. I picked up the bags, setting all of them next to the sofa, smoothing out my suit before feeling a tap on my shoulder it was L.

"Hello miss ... I need to speak with you. Follow me"

"Okay"

my tone was cold but not harsh I just felt upset, also ew, he touched me. I followed the emo rat out of the room, but not before I got one last glance at Misa kissing Light's cheek.

It hurts to know that

You will never look at me

The way I look at you

omg finally I wrote for her and I don't like the ending and I feel like I rushed it but it's fine, it fine just gives me an excuse to write some more of this fucking queen. but I struggle writing women so I hope this is okay

[m1ckeyb3rry]

No dw it was a funny jumpscare I laughed LMAOO no literally like the lone dog left at the shelter like I guess I gotta adopt you

I’m never getting over the property line also then way he LIFTS Isagi in the air mid match is crazy like

Nagi fighting a war in his sleep LMAOAOA imagine he dreams about being in his shooter games like COD or whatever maybe that’s where he gets his workout from

LMAO lab born creation fr…which reminds me I should lowk go reread the Bible…

Yo wait imagine…if we go back to the childhood friend setting imagine they’re at a point where Otoya slowly realizes he’s in love…but then the childhood friend goes on a date or find a man (probably short term) and Otoya LOSES IT and acts like he’s being cheated on even though they aren’t even together LMAOAOAOA “how could you betray me and leave me alone??? Going out with that rat of a man” or something HAHAHA

BAHAHAHA NO WAY??? This is insane I remember looking up all the breeding guide videos trying to get all the dragons without spending my games shdgshshs (sneakily playing in class is so real LMAOAO) you’re literally freaky Friday y/n then not paying attention but still acing class girlboss fr!!! BROOO THE GEMSTONE DRAGONS I remember one time I lost my account and my topaz dragon and sent an email to the company and they were like my b bro nothing we can do and I was like???? I somehow ended up with an aquamarine dragon spawning in my island randomly and eventually got back my dragons including the topaz one!! I remember the gemstone dragons literally being like the holy grail bc wdym they give me gems???

LMAOO i remember hating on both waluigi and wario because whenever I played VS Battles with cpus they somehow were always on the opposing team and I’d get shelled by them (or at least that’s what I remember HAHAH) Hiori as toad is way too accurate I can somehow also see Otoya choosing bowser?? Thinks he looks macho or something I bet LMFAO king boo nagi is also so on brand LOLLL and Yukimiya is like the one who touches the most grass so he def just goes with the standard Mario LMAOO

I would give them smash bros assignments but I fr only played as like pokemon because back when I actually played I barely knew any of the other characters (I also used duck hunt on occasion because one time I got it randomly and was like actually this isn’t bad) so I barely remember the other options or who was good or not LMAO

I think the theory was relatively obscure LOL I saw it once in passing and was like wait…you’re onto something…but now I’m not sure LMAOAOA

HOLLYHOCK UPDATE SOON I WILL BE THERE WHEN IT GOES LIVE SHSHS (was that birdie Karasu LMFAO)

-Karasu anon

LMAOO LITERALLY like he’s tugging on my heartstrings fr!!

LIFTING ISAGI BY THE BACK OF HIS COLLAR IS CRAZYYYY WORK esp because isagi is ALSO older than him 😭 by over a year!! rin is on smth different i swear

nagi is fighting DEMONS at night i just know he’s such a kicker…absolutely insufferable to share a bed w he probably also steals the blanket

HAHAHA i won’t spoil the otoya request but let’s just say otoya will not handle it well when his childhood bff ventures into the world of dating 😏

LMAO freaky friday y/n is the closest to me i think maybe that’s why i liked writing that story sm 😓 but omg no i loved dragonvale and the gemstone dragons were always the prettiest PLUS they gave gems so they were my favs!! i also remember i got the fountain of youth thing so i could turn all of my dragons back into babies because 90% of the adult forms were ugly asf 😭

waluigi + wario + donkey kong are my unholy trinity of opps HAHAHA i hate all of them w a burning passion!! i love bowser though and i def could see otoya picking him as well. KING BOO AND NAGI JUST SPOKE TO ME ON ANOTHER LEVEL 😩 and hiori as toad too…yuki honestly yeah he just doesn’t care which character he gets so he defaults to mario 😭

i play zero suit samus whenever i play w my friends (which admittedly is v rare and i’m by no means good at the game) because i only play as girl characters!! i’m a daisy main in mario kart hehe. i think if i had to assign them smash characters i would say karasu is waluigi like i mentioned, otoya would be sheik (basically princess zelda’s alter ego as a male ninja…i think he’d actually believe sheik is a male ninja and be SUPER hype abt it until nagi or hiori made fun of him for it but he’s too attached atp to change), nagi would be mr game and watch (super weird and obscure character that’s rlly hard to get a hang of but is also crazy good once you get him), hiori would be the ice climbers (just vibes), and yuki is giving me wii fit trainer fsr?? no idea why

that birdie was in fact karasu 🤫 posting the next chap as soon as i post this YAYY

[diavolosthots]

I'm trying to knock the last 2 proposals out today (maybe do a bonus Luke friendship ring type of thing??? No clue yet we'll see.) And then start on the next 'series' i have planned 😁 after that 'series' I'll make wedding headcanons that follow up on these. I have way too many headcanons in my head its not even funny lol

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚SIMEON proposing headcanons ˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

 Ah yes, the ever dreaded question of “when will you settle down?” He’s pretty sure that everyone he’s ever met and had some sort of long-term relationship with has asked him this question

It’s not even that he never wanted to, it’s more like marriage is something special to angels and he can’t just waste himself on someone like that, you know? He has to know with 110% certainty that they are the one. Divorce doesn’t exist to angels and he’d be damned before he becomes the first in existence to have one. 

Luckily, he’s definitely 110% certain with you! Besides the fun you bring him, you can also get his head out of the clouds and bring him back to reality

Simeon is a dreamer but he’d rather be dreaming with you… about the future… which is why he’s getting ready to solidify your future 

Honestly this whole thing is nerve wracking to him but he’s also SO good at hiding it? You’d never expect it man. 

He just goes on with his days like there isn’t a giant ring in his pocket and he’s ready with a full speech to devote his life to you. This means a lot to him so he plans it out like nothing he’s ever planned before 

Meaning he’s definitely taking you up to the celestial realm to propose. He wants you to be there, in his home, while all the angels rejoice. Yes, it’s cheesy, but can you blame the guy? You make him happy! 

The ring he chose was somewhat over the top, but not too much. It’s a white gold band with diamond encrusted crystals that wrap around a few times before leading up to a beautiful topaz center. It kind of looks like a flower. Not a rose, per se, but it definitely is a sign of his love for you. 

One thing he’s noticed, though, is that he can string fairy lights like he wanted to. The celestial realm is always sunny and bright and perfect, like you, so he had to change that part of the plan a bit and instead would drag you into a flower field filled with flowers unknown to mankind. They’re special and each represents something specific. Some even have magical powers, but you’ll know about that in time. 

Getting you up there was the fun part because Simeon decided to fly you. This was the first time you had ever seen his wings and they’re nothing short of magnificent. 

Simeon spends the day walking you through the celestial realm and although they should have, your feet never hurt after the endless walking. Perks of being up here, you supposed. 

But he ends up in the flower field, like he had promised, with a picnic basket and champagne set up. Not a champagne drinker? He also brought celestial juice, which is basically just a fruity drink. Very refreshing. 

You laughed and talked with him and Simeon felt proud of himself as he talked to you about the day, answering every question you may have, up until “You’re asking so many questions, (Y/N), is it okay if I ask you one, too?” 

That confused you, of course. Were you in trouble? Simeon could see the look in your eyes and just laughed, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.”

He pulled you up with ease, a smile ever present on his face as he took your hands in his. Looking at you right now brings so much ease to him and he wonders if it’s because he’s so sure that you’ll say yes. 

“(Y/N)... my little angel…” the petname meant a lot to him and always made you giggle, for whatever reason. He never found out why, but he loves the sound of your voice so he’s not mad about it. “I do hope you enjoyed today… it’s meant for you, for us, and proof  of my love for you. I don’t show this part of me, my home, to just anyone, but I do realize it was long overdue that I showed it to you. I trust you more than anyone and I am certain that you’re the person I am meant to be with.” He paused for a moment, smiling happily and hearing that ‘I-know-what-you’re-about-to-do’ gasp the minute he reaches into his pocket to pull out the ring, dropping to his knees and then holding it up for you. “You’re everything to me, more than all three realms, and I am desperate for your life-long company by my side. My little angel… I vow to always make you happy, take all your worries away, and cherish your love wherever I go… please, (Y/N), will you marry me?”   

[drabbles-mc]

Reunited

Juice Ortiz x F!Reader

Request by Anon: Juice x female reader where he comes home from hospital after the prison incident (where she visited him almost in hysterics and pleasantly surprised him by how much she cared) and he comes into the clubhouse to see her wearing one of his shirts and some shorts - and it's so oversized, it's adorable (because he is buff and mmm) and she get's all flustered, because she missed him, and a whole panicked confession happens, ending in smoochies, and the sons walk in like "FINALLY"

Warnings: language, mentions of hospitals, brief mentions of injuries

Word Count: 1.5k

A/N: It’s been a minute since I’ve written for my fave SOA Boy. We love some soft love for Juan Carlos. Hope you enjoy! xo

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The club had been running out of favors to call in, but despite that they still managed to get you in to visit Juice while he was recovering from getting stabbed while he was in prison. You burst into his room, tears in your eyes as you looked at him laid up in a hospital gown, one hand cuffed to the side of the bed.

He hadn’t been expecting you—the guys hadn’t been able to tell him that you were coming to visit. So to say that he was surprised to see you appear in his room was a bit of an understatement. Part of him thought that maybe the drugs they gave him were stronger than he originally thought, but then he felt your hands cupping his face as you fought the urge to hug him, not wanting to make his injuries worse.

You’d rested your forehead against his and taken a deep breath, eyes closed, “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

The intimacy of the gesture caught him off-guard, but he soaked it up nonetheless. His free hand came up and gently wrapped around your upper-arm, fingers cold against your skin. You finally pulled yourself away from him and took a deep breath, looking him over once again as if to make sure he was really there in one piece.

“How’d you get in here?” he looked over to the door like he was expecting someone to burst in and pull you away.

“The guys got me in here. I didn’t ask how,” you laughed, trying to ignore the heat rising in your face.

You’d been lucky enough to get a few minutes with him, enough to reassure you that he was going to make it home at some point. But once you left the hospital room, worry immediately flooded back into your mind. It was going to feel like an eternity before he was actually back home again. You kept yourself busy at the clubhouse, fighting the urge to ask the few guys who were still on the outside how everyone was doing, how Juice was doing. But the urge to do so was constant.

A few times, when you stayed late and maybe had a drink or two too many, the guys would tell you to just crash in Juice’s dorm since it wasn’t like he was getting much use out of it at the time. You fought them on it at first, but they eventually wore you down. Truthfully, you had no objection to staying there, but you were afraid that if you gave in too easily that it would make it obvious that you had feelings for him. The guys had put that together already, but they were kind enough to not give you grief about it while Juice was laid up in a hospital somewhere.

Waking up one morning, you realized that you’d gone through all of the spare clothes that you had kept in your car. You twisted the blanket in your hands for a few moments as you contemplated what you were thinking of doing. Surely Juice wouldn’t care if you borrowed one of his t-shirts, right? He wouldn’t even have to know about it—you could wash it and return it before he even knew it was gone.

You dug around to the bottom of the dresser drawer, hoping that if it was one from the bottom that would mean it was one that he wouldn’t mind you wearing it. Pulling it down over your head, you smiled to yourself at the way it almost completely covered your shorts. You tied the bottom hem of it into a loose knot before getting ready to take on the day.

You were too lost in the music playing in your headphones as you cleaned up the clubhouse to really notice anything happening around you. It’d been quiet all morning—most mornings were anyway but especially with everything going on lately the clubhouse had been more dead than usual. You were clearing away empty bottles and wiping down the surface of the bar when you suddenly felt a pair of eyes on you.

Pulling your headphones out, you looked up to see who it was. You gasped as you dropped the bottles that you had been collecting, sending them toppling to the floor as you bounded across the clubhouse to Juice. He dropped his bag on the ground to be able to brace himself for the hug that was coming his way. You tried to slow down in order to not body-slam him, and you were partially successful. You threw your arms around his neck as you hugged him, burying your face in the crook of his neck. His arms draped around your waist and he hugged you gently, trying not to wince too much from the impact of your body against his. It was a relief to feel you against him, but he was still in pain.

“I was starting to think that you were never coming home,” you mumbled against his neck.

He chuckled, hand running up and down your back, “That why you’re wearing my stuff? Thought I’d never come back to collect?”

“No,” you pulled back, letting out a nervous laugh, “God, no that’s not it at all. I just—”

“It’s fine,” he smiled, “Glad someone got use out of it while I was laid up,” he paused, “Looks good on you.”

You felt the heat rushing to your face and you tried to cover up the nerves by talking, “I wasn’t gonna steal it, I swear. And I’ll, I’ll wash it before I bring it back. I just ran out of spare clothes to wear and I had crashed in your dorm last night and needed something to wear. Plus, I mean in my defense, I’ve missed you and been freaking the fuck out about you and if you’re alright and the guys wouldn’t tell me anything which was killing me because I love you and I just—”

He didn’t let you get another word out, and he was honestly impressed that you had said so much in what seemed like one breath. He pulled you in by your waist and crashed his lips into yours. It took you a second to realize what was happening, and that it wasn’t some sort of nerve-induced fever dream. Once you did, though, you reached up and cupped both sides of his face in your hands, moving your lips hungrily against his.

The two of you were wrapped up in the moment when the door to the clubhouse swung open, and as the guys walked in they all started laughing and clapping.

“’Bout fuckin’ time,” Chibs laughed.

“Welcome home, Juicey,” Tig chuckled as he leaned on to Chibs to support him through his laughter.

The two of you pulled apart and your face felt like it was on fire. There was a small smirk playing at Juice’s lips as he shook his head. He turned and looked at the guys who were making their way over to him, each of them pulling him into rough hugs and clapping him on the shoulder even though that was probably the last thing he needed after being released from the hospital.

“We were comin’ in to welcome you home, but looks like someone beat us to it,” Chibs laughed as he shook his head, “We’ll leave you two lovebirds to it.”

You wanted to melt into the floor but surprisingly enough none of the guys said anything more about it as they dispersed throughout the clubhouse, leaving just you and Juice standing in front of each other.

You offered up a small smile as you leaned down to lift his bag off the floor, “This going back to your dorm?”

He nodded, smiling, “Yea, yea thank you,” he trailed behind you as you both made your way towards the back hall where their rooms all were, “Gonna try and steal more stuff before I realize it’s gone?”

You laughed, turning around to face him, “If I was ever going to get away with it, now would be the time—when you’re not at a hundred percent.”

He chuckled, “That’s cold.”

The two of you walked into his dorm and he looked around, smiling when he noticed that things were a little different. It was all still clean, but he knew that you must’ve stayed there at some point while he was inside. He watched you as you set the bag down on the edge of his bed, saw the rise and fall of your shoulders as you took a deep breath before turning back to him.

Once you were facing him again, he walked up to you and gently rested his hand against your cheek and pressed his lips to yours in a kiss that was far softer than the one that had happened a few minutes before.

“I love you too, by the way,” the grin was etched permanently into his features.

You smiled, kissing him again, “That’s good to know,” you rested your hands behind his neck, “because now you’re definitely not getting this shirt back,” you laughed as he pulled you tight and kissed you again.

[opalesense]

the last appointment

zhongli & gn!reader

3.4k words • ~25 min. read

summary: as a studious and credible fortune teller in liyue, you discover something about your last client of the week that completely derails your outlook on life.

warnings: liyue arc spoilers, little bit of existential dread, slight mention of family member’s death

notes: might make more parts to this idk?  just kinda wanted to dip my toes into genshin writing for the first time!!

LIFE IN LIYUE HARBOUR seemed to be repetitive and mundane.  For the past few years, you would wake up, open your fortune telling shop, analyze the futures of your clients using your geomancy, possibly take a stroll around Liyue when you needed to run errands, and then call it a day.  You performed the same routine constantly, sometimes travelling beyond the harbor to collect crystals and magical supplies for your shop, but rarely did anything truly change in your routine.  If something was off in the slightest, it was never too exciting to note.

   As anyone would have suspected, you were tired of your state of limbo in life.  Other vision holders seemed to be going on adventures, travelling with companions and exploring the vast mountains and valleys of Teyvat.  Other vision holders seemed to be fighting against evil, helping citizens, and saving the world from imminent dangers.  You could even recall a recent event where the Qixing had evacuated the harbor to defeat a terrifying sea monster.  The Jade Chamber had been sacrificed for the safety of the people of Liyue, and yet here you were, playing with a bunch of rocks for a living.  Despite being able to grasp the glowing Geo vision that held your coat together, you could not grasp why you felt doomed to tend to this shop for the rest of your days.

   You didn’t know where or how to “start” your life.  The small, inherited establishment from your late aunt was located in the small alley of Chihu Rock, practically out of sight from most of the foot traffic in the harbor.  Not many people came to visit, though your name was still decently known.  In fact, most of your appointments were simply previous clients from your aunt, regulars that relied on her readings for years and believed you were the next best thing after she passed.  Especially considering you were the first vision holder in your family, it made your credibility even stronger.

   You still remember how you got your vision.  The morning after your aunt had passed, the elemental gift somehow made its way into your hand as if the timing was meant to be perfect.  You didn’t celebrate such a special and momentous occasion with pride or joy.  Your face stiff with tears, you instead reflected on why you received your vision at that moment in the first place.  With the shop doors closed upstairs, you gripped your vision and did what you felt needed to be done.  With your family’s legacy and tradition on the line, adventuring like other vision wielders was not a priority at the time.

   But after years alone of research, a social life consisting only of interacting with customers, and a constant state of grieving the experiences you could’ve had in your youth, you were now in your late twenties and closing the shop for the day.  Your last appointment was either extremely late or not showing up at all and you were tired of working today, just like every other day. Regret gripped you tightly as you wondered how you managed to get yourself in such a boring, slow burning loop.

   That is until the shop door opened, eliciting a gasp from you at the sudden noise, shattering the previous thought.  You accidentally dropped the basket of cor lapis you were refilling and immediately knelt down to pick up the precious pieces that thankfully hadn’t cracked on the way down.

   “Hello, [Y/N],” the tall figure practically glided through the doorway, “My deepest apologies for being late.”

   He closed the door behind him, “...and for startling you, it seems.”

   You sighed, checking for any scratches on the gems and sighed again with relief based on the good results.  You grinned to hide the fact you had just been in deep thought.  “It’s quite alright, Mr. Zhongli.  It’s kind of you to stop by at the very least, even if you’re late.”

   Mr. Zhongli was one of your aunt’s longtime clients.  Since you were a child, your aunt had always described Mr. Zhongli as a complex yet thoughtful man that had always shown kindness to your family for many years.  When Mr. Zhongli learned of your aunt’s death and began to receive readings from you instead, you quickly realized what your aunt meant by calling him complex.  Mr. Zhongli was truly a tough nut to crack in every single reading, his sessions taking longer than most other cases.  That is why Mr. Zhongli would always offer to take the last spot of the day at the end of every week as to not trouble any of your other clients.

   As you took a few of the best cor lapis from the basket, you could see Mr. Zhongli’s acts of kindness and thoughtfulness unfold in front of you.  He seemed to carry what was now clearly a gift basket at closer inspection.

   “This gift is for you,” Mr. Zhongli took a few steps forward to set the basket on a countertop.  “I brought you your favorites.  Slow cooked bamboo shoot soup, qingxin, glaze lilies, and all the crystals I could find…  needless to say, let this be a token of my appreciation for your patience and hard work from our last few sessions.  I know I am not the easiest to read, but you truly have a talent.”

   You were speechless at the gesture as your eyes sunk into the intricate detail of the handwoven basket and decorated items inside.  No one had ever done something so kind for you in so long.  It was astonishing enough that he remembered your favorite soup that you mentioned only once a few months ago, let alone your favorite flowers and crystals as well.  “Thank you so much, Mr. Zhongli!   I’m at a loss for words – this is so thoughtful of you!”

   “I even brought you that Rex Incognito series you had mentioned, although, I am not sure why you would need to read the series when I am fully capable of educating you on the history of Rex Lapis myself,” he flaunted, taking his seat on the cushioned chair in front of the reading table.

   “Now, Mr. Zhongli...” you picked out some prithiva topaz from another basket, following the usual protocol you had with such a personalized, frequent client like him. The required materials for his readings were imprinted into your memory like carvings in stone. “You know I don’t want to burden you with my curiosity.  And with such an intriguing topic like Rex Lapis... once I start asking questions I’m afraid I will not stop.”

   “I have all the time in the world,” he got comfortable in his seat as you sat yourself across from him, “I truly think it would benefit you to discuss the history of Rex Lapis with a learned scholar such as myself.  We can even have some tea as we discuss.”

   You chuckled at his eagerness.  He seemed more forward than usual. “You are too kind, Mr. Zhongli.  Perhaps I’ll take that offer someday, but at least let me put those books to good use first. Maybe I won’t need to bombard you with questions if I’m already well briefed on the subject.”

   He sighed happily.  “You make a good point. And you will enjoy them, I’m sure.”

   You settled into your seat as you arranged the crystals between the two of you.  “The usual for tonight?”

   “Yes, please.”

   Your hands meticulously placed the last crystal in its spot on the surface.  You closed your eyes and hovered your hands above the rocks, clearing your mind to make way for the usual reading: a reflection on the past, any significant events of the present to focus on, and some insight into the future.  You held this hand gesture for awhile, letting the energy from the rocks lift into the air and envelop your gloved palms.  When you felt there was enough energy to work with, you opened your eyes to reveal the manifestation of his thoughts in front of you, able to take its physical form using the powers from your glowing vision.

   No one had ever taught your this skill, not even your aunt.  If you had to bloat your own ego, one could say you invented this Geo fortune telling process yourself. The process indeed came to you naturally, a true display of pure talent.

   You slowly lifted your hands to allow the visual manifestation to settle on the table among the gems so Mr. Zhongli could watch his reading unfold in front of him as well.

   “Let us analyze the past first,” he spoke, already knowing the routine without you needing to ask him where to start.  You slowly waved your hands as if you were digging a hole in sand on a beach, the manifestation displaying ambiguous patterns that wouldn’t make sense to any commoner’s eyes but could be interpreted easily by yours.

   Two pairs of focused eyes fixated on the picture as you spoke your mind out loud.  “You have recently given up something extremely important to you, it seems.  I see you handing over something…  small, physically, yet unbelievably significant and personal.  I can’t tell what it is exactly, only that it glows like the sun with its energy.  But you have handed this important object over to a very... evil... figure?” you cocked your eyebrow, confused.  “You seem to be brooding over the fact that its aura is dark with malicious intentions.”  You hesitated, “Well, that can’t be right, can it?”

   He sighed.  “Unfortunately, that is indeed what happened recently.  But it had to be done.”

   “Didn’t we talk about a similar situation in a previous reading?  If I remember correctly, I thought I had advised you to not give up whatever that object was.”

   “I am aware of the consequences that will follow.  Especially with your future guidance, I’m sure the events following this one questionable decision will unfold in a better way soon enough.”

   “I will always be here to help you, Mr. Zhongli.  But please be careful in the future with these decisions.  The importance of this object seems to be off the charts.”

   He nodded.  “It is as you say.  Please, have faith in me now. I cannot change what happened in the past, after all.”

   You hovered over this image of the sacrifice.  You couldn’t make out what this object was, no matter how close you tried to inspect it.  It had the likings of a chess piece, but surely this wasn’t simply a chess piece, was it?

   “Let us move on, if that is alright with you,” his low voice cut the silence.

   You wiped the image from your mind and waved your hands again, as if you were slowly putting the sand back into the hole you dug before.  If the last image wasn’t enough bad news, this new one that formed was even more painful to witness.

   “You have been grieving your losses very recently,” you said gently.  “Your mind is currently weighed down by your past.  I see you looking out at the sea in deep thought.  There are flashes of…”

   You stopped as you inspected the graphic images that suddenly appeared beyond your hands.  You gasped at the terrifying horrors.

   “What is it?” the low voice tried to search for understanding of what you were seeing.  Even though the image was clearly laid out in front of him, it was still too ambiguous to tell when he lacked your years of experience.

   “There are flashes of war,” your breath stifled as you watched his thoughts splayed out in images of lifeless bodies and destruction.  “Very graphic details of war and death.  Mr. Zhongli, I believe this image of suffering has been weighing over your mind like an anchor in the sea.”

   He paused to process your comparison.  “That is... a very good way to put it.”

   “Though, I believe that despite the sorrow that emanates in this image, you are in a state of relief and tranquility.  It seems you are grieving, but you are simultaneously at peace,” you hesitated again, “Yet I wonder what these graphic images of war are meant to represent.  Surely we are not in an actual war, are we? Perhaps you are at war with your past, wanting to move on but haunted by your memories?”

  Mr. Zhongli unfortunately knew the images you were seeing were, in fact, real events he had experienced in his life time and the truth was that lately he had been reminiscing on these events.  Mortal life is kind to humans for them to be blissfully unaware and carefree of these harsh realities, he internally commented.

  He still put your analysis into thought, though.

  “I am haunted, indeed.  I have been attempting to come to terms with my troubled past, just as you advised me only a few weeks ago.  I have tried to follow your guidance, and although they resurface what I have been trying to repress, I believe I am coming to peace with what happened.”

  You grinned.  “That is very good to hear, Mr. Zhongli.  I believe you are currently making good progress when it comes to moving on.  Just remember that it is okay to remember your sorrow.  Let your emotions pass through you instead of repressing them or rushing to move on.  It is okay to take your time and let the thoughts bubble inside of you for awhile.”

  He closed his eyes as you continued, letting your advice seep in.  You continued. “Imagine the stillness of the sea.  Many creatures and lost remnants take their place in the depths of the waters, but on the surface we see constantly moving yet serene waves wash over what is hidden below.  Your memories are there to stay, Mr. Zhongli.  But your present self, the surface of the water, can peacefully coexist with whatever is hiding deep within.  Let these thoughts weigh you down momentarily, but rest assured, you will find balance and acceptance in due time.”

  His eyes fluttered open as he reflected over your words.  You always seemed to know what to say.  “Your words have truly resonated with me, [Y/N].  And you are absolutely correct.  I have been fighting these memories to avoid the pain, but it had not dawned on me that sorrow is... what I am meant to feel, not push away.  I suppose your advice has put my mind at a bit more ease, and I suppose I am focusing too much on when I will be able to move on rather than allowing my thoughts to coexist for a moment.”

  “Now you’re getting it,” you grinned with the relief that washed over his face.

  “Shall we move on?” he offered.

  You got to work on the last segment of the reading.  If manifesting the other images didn’t take long enough, reading one’s future always took the longest.  Interpreting an event that hasn’t happened yet always made you a bit nervous with your words.  You never wanted to let a client down with an inaccurate reading.

  On the contrary, this reading, despite taking quite awhile to appear on the surface on the table, was very clear.

  “That is undoubtedly an image of me,” your eyes glazed over the facial features of the person in the manifestation.  “I apologize for the delay, Mr. Zhongli, I must have accidentally let my thoughts seep into yours–“

  “Do not fret, I believe this is accurate,” he interrupted.  “Keep going.”

  Your perplexed expression remained as you continued the reading.  “I am admittedly stumped.  There is nothing left in this image.  I suppose it is simply me standing in what looks like some ruins.  I am holding a staff, or some kind of long object.”  You paused to think out loud.  “Why am I in your reading?  What could this possibly mean?”

  Mr. Zhongli chuckled as you thought out loud.  “Perhaps this is a good time to tell you why you are in my thoughts.”

  “I’d love to hear it, I have never appeared in someone’s reading in my last decade and a half of experience.  This is quite unique.”

  He folded his hands in his lap, “For some reason, I have had this strange vision of training you.  I’m not sure why, since you don’t seem like the fighting type, but there is some voice inside me that is telling me you are destined for something great and i need to take some part in it.  What do you think, now that you see this vision as well?”

  Your eyebrows rose in shock.  “Training me?  I guess this does relate to something I have been pondering as of late.  I do not want to lay out my troubles on you though, my job is to interpret your life, not mine.”

  “Our lives have clearly intertwined in this vision,” he insisted, “Please do not hold back for my sake. I have the time.”

  You thought for a moment.  How could you form the words without seeming too selfish? How could you maintain professionalism by talking about your personal problems?

  “I am not the fighting type, Mr. Zhongli.  Though, lately I have been quite depressed about the fact that I am not doing as much with my vision as other vision holders are.  My life is uninteresting.  The truth is that I am a simple fortune teller that plays with rocks.  I hope you can understand why I am failing to interpret this reading,” you apologized. “It’s because this doesn’t seem characteristic of me at all.  And with all due respect, after giving you readings for years, I would have never guessed you were versed in combat to train me!”

  He chuckled.  “I respectfully disagree.  To tell you the truth, your talents surpass the abilities of many other vision holders.  Not everyone can read thoughts or tell the future.  Now that I mention it, I know of one talented astrologist in Mondstadt, but think about that.  You are one in hundreds of thousands in Teyvat,” he reassured.  “You did not receive your vision for no reason and I truly believe you are destined for something big.  I regret not being able to realize this before.”

  “How are you so sure of this?  I would love to believe you, but I’m afraid I am not destined for much, really.  Again, I am simply a fortune teller.  What could I possibly do for Liyue other than read some rocks?”

  He sighed and connected his palms with yours, interrupting the reading and wiping the manifestation off the table.  The hovering crystals dropped onto the surface, making you gasp at the sudden sound.

  “I am not who you think I am,” his amber eyes finally met yours for the first time this evening, which sent a chill down your spine.  “Promise me you will not fret, for what I am about to show you may shock you.”

  “What do you mean?  What are you doing, Mr. Zhongli?” you slightly panicked as he firmly grasped your hands.

  Suddenly, the room was engulfed in golden light that emitted from the seat across from you.  Scattered, distorted images of a mystical dragon, a devastating war, and seven seats in Celestia flashed across your eyes as you stared at the beams of light.  Death seemed to swallow you, but not take you.  The baskets of crystals around the room shook with the surge of energy.  The world seemed to destroy itself then remake itself over and over again within fleeting moments.  These thousands of years of memories made your body tremble.  It all happened within fleeting moments, and after a few seconds of your senses being overwhelmed, you finally pulled yourself together and connected the dots.

  His expanded knowledge of Liyue’s history.  The sudden gift of your vision immediately after your aunt passed.  Grieving his losses and having flooded thoughts of war and death.  Offering combat training.  Remembering your favorites the same way he would remember Liyue’s customs and traditions.  His glowing amber eyes alone.

  Mr. Zhongli was the God of Contracts and overseer of Liyue.  Rex Lapis, a being that lived for millennia, sat in the seat across from you. He had been posing as a mere mortal for years, taking readings as if he were any normal customer. The realization shook you to your core as you sat there bewildered, grateful, and horrified at the same time.

  He let go of your hands after seeing that the information successfully processed in your mind.  He saw something in you that was yet to be awakened, where the sky was the limit under your own expectations.  This daydream of his was no simple vision – it was a calling.  Internally, whether you agreed to it or not, he vowed that he would not leave your life until your true destiny was fulfilled.

  He would see this vow fulfilled by offering you a contract that would change the course of your life forever.

[bounce-a-coin-off-your-witcher]

He Was a Sk8r Boi

Happiest of Birthdays and best wishes to one of my most beloved and darling friends on this earth, the fantastical @hailhailsatan ! May your sass never cease.

modern au - college student Jaskier - the Kaer Morons are all skater punks

tw: mild injury (scraped arm)

---

Jaskier took a seat on what remained of a crumbling stone bench and pulled his black-and-white composition notebook onto his lap, opening it to the closest blank page. He tugged his favorite pen out from its place of honor behind his ear and waited for inspiration to strike.

And waited.

And waited.

After half an hour of staring into space and getting absolutely nothing written, the frustrated college student stood from his seat and jammed his headphones into his ears. If nature wasn’t going to help finish this stupid poetry assignment then maybe he could find a person or two to observe for inspiration instead. Glancing around the otherwise empty benches and pathways of the public park, Jaskier sighed and shook his head. “Fuck this, I’ll try the other side.”

He pulled his MP3 player out from the pocket of his light autumn jacket and painstakingly scrolled through every song available until finally giving up and pressing the “Shuffle” button. As a heavy, angry guitar riff began to filter through his headphones and lighten the load of the world from his shoulders, Jaskier found himself approaching a half-hearted attempt at a skatepark.

There was one cement half-pipe to his left and a few rails and quarter-pipes scattered around the vicinity, bolted into the ground in a seemingly random pattern. Several oddly shaped cement bowls were sunk into the earth, obviously made to work like ramps but with a larger and less predictable surface area.

There were only three skaters enjoying the park on this particularly grey afternoon, zipping back and forth from one piece of equipment to the next like emo hummingbirds. Jaskier took out his headphones again as he made his way to a nearby bench - wood this time - and casually sat himself down. The skater dudes were yelling back and forth to each other as they swanned over and around the equipment on their boards, mostly insults from what the student could hear.

The loudest of the three had springy orange hair that he wore pulled back into a small, messy half-bun at the top of his head. The rest fell down against the back of his neck in an equally messy sheet, reaching nearly all the way to his shoulders but not quite touching them. He was wearing a bright red t-shirt with a catchphrase that Jaskier couldn’t read and plain denim jeans.

“What the fuck are you doing, Eskel?” he laughed, pointing to the tallest of the group and pulling a face.

“Shut up, Bert,” the brunette shouted back at the redhead, doing a quick kick-flip over the far end of a metal railing. “You can’t skate for shit.”

“I’m better than you!”

The third member of their little gang was the quietest so far and, in Jaskier’s personal opinion, also the prettiest. He had a mass of long white hair that fell all the way to the bottom of his shoulder blades, pointed and stiff in a way that meant it had been straightened and sprayed into submission. The silvery strands were being held out of the stranger’s eyes by a baggy black beanie and Jaskier desperately wanted to know whether or not that hair color was natural (though he heavily suspected that it was not).

The white-haired guy was also the most talented of the three gathered skaters, flying from one end of the half-pipe to the other and landing a few flips in between as if risking his life was as simple as breathing. He wore no knee pads over his ripped black skinny jeans and no elbow pads either; Jaskier noted with a little zing through his nervous system that the skater’s arms were muscled like a Greek statue’s and equally pale.

He was fucking hot.

“Geralt, do a three-sixty!” the redhead jeered, chucking something at the pretty one.

“I can’t land one yet and you know it,” the white-haired guy, Geralt apparently, replied. His voice was low and sonorous and Jaskier nearly fell off his bench in surprise. The student hadn’t realized how far forward he had been leaning in order to listen to their conversation and he scooted back again with a self-conscious little blush. In the distance, Geralt continued. “Why don’t you get up here and try it yourself, asshole?”

“I just fucking might, White Wolf,” Lambert huffed, turning his board back toward the half-pipe and picking up speed. The dark-haired one, Eskel, caught Jaskier’s eye from across the park; the student blushed an even darker shade of red and looked down at his lap to avoid any sort of confrontation. If any of these guys wanted to start a fight with him, Jaskier would surely lose.

By the time the anxious student worked up the nerve to look at them again, Lambert had already climbed to the top of the half-pipe and taken a defensive stance. His eyebrows were furrowed and his arms were crossed over his chest in a projection of almost childish anger. As Geralt came up the cement incline, Lambert lashed out with his foot and kicked the other man’s board out from beneath his feet.

Eskel gave a wordless cry of alarm.

Geralt wavered in the air for a moment - cartoonishly, Jaskier thought, almost like Wile E. Coyote - before plunging to the pavement and rolling limply down the inside of the half-pipe. Eskel chucked a rock at the redhead and started screaming, “Fuck off, dude! You could have cracked his fucking skull! You could have killed Geralt, you absolute cock-toboggan!”

“Fuck! Shit, I didn't-,” Lambert fell on his butt and slid down the ramp to Geralt’s side, kneeling over him with concern written all over his face. “Are you alright, man!?”

Jaskier couldn’t hear if Geralt replied or not, but he suddenly remembered the first-aid kit sitting right there in his bag. Jaskier was a total klutz and tried to keep a handful of bandages and a tube of disinfectant on him at all times just in case he ever needed them. Thank goodness they would be able to come in handy, and for a far nobler purpose than patching up yet another one of his table-smacked knees.

Without thinking any further ahead, Jaskier grabbed the strap of his bag and took off running towards the site of the accident.

“Hey!” he shouted, coming to a stop a few feet away. “I have - uh, I have a first-aid kit if you want to use it.”

“Cool, thanks,” Eskel said, glancing over his shoulder with a curt nod. “Come on over, we don’t bite. Well, I don’t.”

“Dude, I’m so sorry,” Lambert apologized to Geralt once again. When Jaskier glanced over at him, the redhead looked legitimately upset and guilty. Geralt looked up at the newcomer from the pavement, his silver hair spread out around him in mimicry of a halo - the black beanie was lying a few feet away, forgotten or ignored.

Up close like this, the stranger stole the breath out of Jaskier’s very lungs. The man's eyes… His fucking eyes were a gorgeous molten gold in the late afternoon sun, sparking and shining like gemstones. Holding Geralt’s gaze made Jaskier feel as if his very soul was catching fire.

“Do you need a band-aid?” Jaskier asked rather stupidly, holding out the little cardboard box. Geralt nodded stoically.

“I think I scraped my arm.”

“Let me help,” Jaskier said. The student knelt beside Geralt and set the box of band-aids down. He flung open the kit and retrieved some ‘pain-free’ disinfectant, then returned to the box of bandages in search of one without a Disney princess on it. “Do you guys always do this without wearing any protective gear?”

“I’ve got a helmet,” Geralt said. He pointed towards three mismatched backpacks piled near the edge of the pavement; a bright red helmet with several semi-familiar logos stuck to it sat atop one of them.

“It’s very useful over there, keeping your backpack from cracking its skull open,” Jaskier chastised lightly, trying to keep his nerves in check. He was feeling oddly protective of a guy he’d never even met before and it was very fucking weird.

“Sorry,” Geralt shrugged. He was still laying on his back, his topaz eyes flickering between Jaskier’s hands and face. The student applied a thin layer of medical cream to the shallow scrape with shaking fingers and then wiped the remaining goo on his shirt, uncaring of the damage it may have done. He bandaged the minor wound quickly and leaned back, glancing between Lambert and Eskel as if just noticing their presence on either side of Geralt's head.

“Thanks,” Eskel grinned, holding out his hand. “I’m Eskel.”

“Jaskier,” Jaskier replied shyly. “And the loud one is Lambert, right?”

Geralt chuckled from his place on the ground and Jaskier’s heart seized painfully in his chest. What a laugh, ye gods. “Yeah, that’s Lambert. I’m Geralt.”

“Nice to meet you, Geralt,” Jaskier could practically taste the name as it melted across his tongue. “Well, not the nicest way to meet you, but I’m glad I met you all the same. Anyway.”

He stood up with a little grimace and took a step back.

“Where are you going?” Eskel asked. “You came to Geralt’s rescue so I think that means he owes you like, at least an ice cream, or something.”

“Yeah,” Lambert piped up. He smirked at the man on the ground and then turned back to Jaskier, mischief clear in his expression, “Let him take you to get an ice cream.”

“I’m lactose intolerant,” Jaskier squeaked. Then he realized he’d sounded rude and held up his hands as if offering surrender (surrender for what, he wasn't exactly sure), “Not that I wouldn’t like to hang out with you more but I’ve got an assignment due and I’m sure you’re very busy doing skater things and I-”

“Am I not good enough for you?” Geralt asked, finally sitting up. He straightened his arms out behind him and rested there, reclined comfortable, a god in his temple.

Jaskier shot the older man a half-annoyed look, beating back his anxiety with a stick. “I listen to Avril Lavigne. I know not to underestimate pretty skater punks.”

“Pretty?” Geralt raised his eyebrows. Jaskier hid his face behind his hands and turned on his heel.

“Anyway, nice meeting you!” Jaskier shouted, hoping they could hear even if he was facing the opposite direction. He took off toward the edge of the park at a brisk walk, verging on a jog. He needed to go hide behind a tree and cry. What the fuck!? He was terrible at flirting and now he’d gone and ruined his chances with the guy he’d… literally just met. Chill out, he told himself - just before a strong hand clamped down over his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks.

“So not ice cream,” Geralt said. Jaskier slowly turned back to face the mostly-stranger. His lip was caught fast between his teeth and Geralt lifted one large hand to gently thumb it free again. “Maybe a boarding lesson, instead? It would give me an excuse to put my hands around your waist and you could put yours on my shoulders.”

“Are you asking me on a date?” Jaskier asked. He fluttered his eyelashes and took half a step into Geralt's space.

The broad-shouldered punk smiled down at the Little Mermaid band-aid on his arm and then turned that smile to Jaskier. “Yeah.”

[britishassistant]

Consider for the Supervillain AU: Yuu is currently playing Hostage for one of the Dorms when they hear a crashing sound from another room. Thinking it’s one of the RSA boys, they decide not to engage Prefect Time.

Turns out, it’s one of the other NRC villain teams pulling a raid on their current captors. When said raiders spot Yuu as a hostage, they take them along and end up protecting them.

After getting out the Villains base, the Raiding Team and Yuu take a quick breath at a designated rendezvous point.

Playing the role of Innocent Hostage, Yuu thanks the Raiding Villain team for Saving them.

“‘Save you’?” They say. “More like...’under new management’”

Yuu can’t even finish a word before they felt themselves getting regagged again (maybe in a different style to reflect the dorm that just ‘saved’ them). Yuu knows that they’re going to get a major headache from all this nonsense

Bonus points for the villains being petty and sending a picture to the Villain Dorm that just got raided of not only the stuff they stole but one adorable Hostage as well they found along the way

Thank you for the ask, dear anon!

Something’s... off today.

Yuu’s sitting in their cell in the lair, shuffling and reshuffling a deck of playing cards to try and pass the time.

They were trying to subtly gather information about Royal Flush’s latest heist from Ace and Deuce while playing Go Fish, but then both minions’ phones went off. The pair of them grabbed their weapons and left, promising that whatever was going on would take no more than five minutes.

That was ten minutes ago.

Maybe it’s that “Champion” hero again, trying to reclaim that topaz Royal Flush stole two nights ago. He causes enough collateral damage that his presence would certainly warrant a call for all hands on deck, especially if Niko Niko Neko has decided to lend him some help. Poor Ace of Diamonds still has a fractured collarbone from the heroes’ last “collaboration”, though at least Seven of Spades finally has the cast off her foot.

The cell block is soundproofed, so even if the reporter strains their ears, they can hear nothing of what could be going on in the rest of the base. The sound of cards flipping between their fingers is doing little to settle their nerves.

Yuu’s arm brushes against the brim of their fedora.

No. No need to be hasty. It’ll look too suspicious if The Prefect appears from the cells and it turns out to just be the RSA heroes saving the day after all. Plus the haphazard stitches from where Ace’s throwing cards cut into their ribs still haven’t healed enough that they won’t get pulled if Yuu starts running around willy-nilly, and then how will they explain the blood? There’s no need to jump to conclusions. There probably isn’t anything seriously wr—

A loud crash echoes from the entrance to the cell block.

Yuu stands, shoving the deck of cards into a pocket of their blazer. They rush to the bars of their cell, trying to peer through and see what the source of the noise is.

Thick plaster is rolling in from the entrance, obscuring their vision. They think they can glimpse the sight of the door, a twisted mess of wood and metal lodged in the opposing wall.

What in the name of the Great Seven could’ve—?!

The reporter’s blood runs cold at the sound of a low, rumbling growl.

It almost sounds like a dog warning an unwelcome intruder, if that dog were much, much bigger than even a Great Dane had any business being.

Not a dog then. Yuu exhales, and calls out in their most level voice. “Hello? Is someone there?”

If it’s a monster, it can probably already smell them if it’s growling like that, and the bars should provide some measure of defense if it attacks so Yuu can figure out how to subdue it enough to run. If it’s not a monster...

The growl grows louder, but also...less, somehow? As if it had changed outputs or something, like going from listening in stereo to through headphones.

A figure becomes visible through the dust and gloom. One that’s as tall and built as Yuuken is. Oh dear.

An angry looking man with white hair in a rough-and-tumble outfit looms in front of the cell, arms crossed and one pointed ear on the top of his head flickering. A beastman, probably some kind of canine if the growl was any indication.

The reporter fights the urge to swallow nervously. “Excuse me, but you aren’t one of Royal Flush’s minions, are you? Who are you? Are-were you being held captive too?”

The beastman doesn’t answer their questions. Instead, he barks, “You’re that reporter, right? The one who gets captured a lot.”

Yuu’s mouth flattens into a line, but they nod. Oh Seven, they hope that’s not what they’re becoming famous for. “Well, I am a hostage here, and I am a reporter for TWST local news. Yuu Radcliffe, and you are?”

The beastman grimaces, looking even angrier at the admission. “Get back.”

They obligingly let go of the bars and back up a few steps, shuffling away a few more when another growl ripples out the man’s chest. They tilt their head as he seizes the bars they were just holding. Wait, what does he think he’s—

There’s a hideous shriek of metal as the beastman’s muscles ripple and the bars bend apart like they’re no more than wet clay. The reporter can see indents of his grip left from where he pushed at the steel.

Yuu feels a little lightheaded, staring blankly as the beastman steps into the cell. They do startle when he pulls what looks like a small black sack out of his pocket, holding it out to their head. “Hey, what-?!”

“You wanna get out of here?” The beastman says brusquely. “You wear this.”

There’s a sinking feeling in Yuu’s gut, but the way he’s brandishing the sack makes them think he’s not about to take “no” for an answer. They doubt they could outrun him at this range, given that he’s blocking the new exit out of the cell. The reporter reluctantly takes the bag and pulls it on over their head, wincing as their field of vision goes dark.

They can’t help the yelp they make as they’re suddenly scooped up by a pair of unseen arms and held a little too tightly for comfort. Yuu contemplates trying to squirm out of his grip, and then remembers what his hands did to the steel bars. Instead they just try to make themselves as small as possible as the beastman starts to run.

It’s disconcerting, hearing so much noise after being stuck in the soundproofed cellblock for so long. Screams, yells, cries, and howls, the sounds of a battle they can’t see raging around them. Yuu thinks they hear their name being called out once, but it’s drowned out as the beastman picks up speed and the scent of roses and strawberries is replaced by the fresher, more noxious air of the city outside.

Their ride takes so many twists and turns that Yuu can barely keep track of where they are relative to Royal Flush’s lair, let alone where they’re headed. They honestly feel a little motion sick by the time the beastman slows down, and releases one arm to push open what sounds like a creaky metal door.

It feels like a wall of heat and noise hits the reporter in the face. There’s lots of loud complaining and ribbing from what sounds like a large and rowdy group of people, and the grip of the man carrying them gets tighter, tucking them closer to his chest.

One voice rises above the rest. “Oi, Jack-kun, what took you so long? We were beginning to think you’d run off with our little guest there.”

“Jack-kun’s” hold tightens again at the sound of that voice, to the point where Yuu is beginning to get worried that they’re going to end up like the bars on their cell back in the lair. His voice is clipped as he bites out, “Had to lose a tail, senpai. Got sidetracked.”

The world tilts oddly and it takes the reporter a moment to get their feet under them and not stumble as they are finally, finally set down. One of “Jack’s” arms remains clamped on their shoulder, steadying them and preventing them from moving too far away from him.

“Well, you’re both in one piece!” The new voice comes closer. “Now let’s see the reporter who went and got Royal all bent out of shape, huh?”

They wince when the bag is pulled off their head suddenly, blinking in the sudden light. The face of another beastman swims in front of their eyes before their gaze finally focuses, greyish eyes and dyed blond hair with much more rounded ears perched atop it. The glimmering orange jewel the size of a canatloupe he’s clutching in one hand isn’t exactly helping any with how it keeps refracting light into the reporter’s eyes.

The same orange jewel that Royal Flush stole from the pier two nights ago.

The sinking feeling in the pit of their stomach only grows.

“Well, I don’t see the appeal.” The beastman declares. “Maybe that midget just has weird taste.”

“Ouch.” Yuu forces a thin smile onto their face. Play along, keep calm, keep the levity up. “You’ll hurt my feelings at this rate.”

“Hey, truth hurts.” The beastman shrugs, spreading his hands wide. “Woulda thought a nosy journo like you would know that by heart, with all the dirt you dig up.”

“You would think so.” Yuu chuckles weakly. “Well, thank you all so much for rescuing me from Royal Flush’s lair, in any case.”

The ears on Jack’s head flatten slightly, and he glares at a spot on the floor by Yuu’s feet.

Well. That’s disappointing. Unsurprising, given that everyone here is also in an outlandish form of uniform without being clowns, but disappointing all the same.

“Shi hi hi hi hi. Oh, I wouldn’t call it ‘rescued’.” The beastman chuckles, grinning unsettlingly wide. “More like...under new management.”

Yuu stares at the minion.

“Wow. Wow.” The reporter tells him flatly. “I hope your boss pays you well to say stuff like that.”

The beastman shrugs again, grin not diminishing in the slightest. “Four figures, with holiday bonuses and healthcare. It’s a pretty good gig.”

Yuu tilts their head in acknowledgement. It’s better than their current working conditions, they’ll give him that.

“Ah, before I forget. No point in a good raid without a celebration photo, right?” The blond man pulls out a smart phone and waggles it in one hand. “That’s what that selfie junkie of Royal Flush’s likes to do, right? Jack-kun, you get in too.”

It’s sad that this barely makes it into the top five most surreal selfies that Yuu has ever taken. Even when the senior minion orders Jack-kun to curl a hand around their throat, gripping tight enough to make their breath go short, while the blond man holds the jewel up by their face in a place of prominence. “Make sure to look nice and menaced now, kay~? Shi hi hi hi hi.”

The camera flash goes off, once, twice. Then the phone comes down, and the hand comes off the reporter’s throat. They try to suck in a series of deep breaths as discreetly as they can.

“Great expression there, really selling the unwilling captive shtick.” The beastman pats their cheek condescendingly, thumb moving over the screen of the phone until there’s the ping of a Magicam upload. “Ok, let’s get your hands and legs tied and hood back on. Oh, and I’d watch your mouth when I meet the boss man, if I were you. You’ve got an audience with the King, after all.”

“Do you get a raise every time you spout off a line like that?” Yuu grumbles as the deeply frowning Jack is handed a length of rope and begins looping it around their wrists.

“Not yet!” The beastman calls back jovially as he strides away, admiring the topaz in his hand and barking orders to all the other henchpeople milling around.

“...Sorry.” Jack mutters by their feet as he finishes the tight knot binding their ankles together.

“It’s okay.” Yuu murmurs back, as he picks up the bag to place it back on their head. “You're just doing your job, right?”

And they’ll just be doing theirs, the reporter thinks to themselves as the darkness descends again and they’re hoisted up over the minion’s shoulder in a fireman’s carry.

Maybe they’ll finally get to learn why the topaz is so important to both Royal Flush and their current captor that it was worth staging a raid on another supervillain’s lair to get it. At the very least they’ll have the opportunity to interview this “King” to uncover his side of the story...

That is, if he doesn’t somehow work out whose biological child they are first.

[switch-arooni]

I’m in another simping mood nevermind the blog description so some ring headcannons I have from the proposal event based on rings I own that I never posted bc I’m ✨shy✨

Lucifer

Man is simple, reserved, and heavily traditional, but I also think he would be a bit possessive. Makes me think he prob wouldn’t want a diamond ring, but something classy like it.

Garnet or ruby for the center stone set into a silver ring base. Cut would vary based on your preferences bc this ring is FOR YOU, the LOVE of his LIFE.

Proposal would be succinct and quiet, possibly at Ristorante Six, and be followed by a passionate night should you say yes. “MC, you are everything I hold dear in this world. Your strength and compassion have given me something new to strive for, and I know this feeling only comes once in a lifetime. Be mine; be my spouse and I will give you everything I am.”

Mammon

Baby boy is so nervous. There’s a right way to do these things, but what way is it? He probably struggles a lot to find a good ring bc it needs to be perfect for his beautiful, wonderful human.

His first instinct (and mine) was yellow topaz in a gold ring base, but he’s sensitive to your style so he goes with something a little less provacative instead.

Mammon’s proposal wouldn’t be planned, particularly, because he’s more of a gut-driven kind of guy. Will have the ring in his pocket constantly until the moment is right. When it is, he stammers a bit about how he’s a greedy demon and he was your first and he rambles before catching himself and pulling out the ring. Confesses that he wants whatever time you have together. And how could you say no to those pretty blue eyes?

Leviathan

Hooooooooo boy. Fact of the matter is, if Levi comes to the decision to propose to you, he’s gonna need everything to be perfect and within his safe zone.

Finding a ring for you will be a challenge because he wants something special and not so normie-ish. He WILL try to have a ring that looks like the ring from that shoujo anime you both like. When he finds a beautiful blue opal teardrop stone set in silver, he knows it’s the one.

The proposal will be within the privacy of his room, in front of Henry 2.0 as his witness. He channels his confidence as the Grand Admiral of Hell’s Navy, but he sputters a bit when describing your romantic journey. “I want all your smiles and tears to be with me; for us to have way more adventures together with you as my Player 2. You’re my Henry.” Say yes to snek boy pls. He’s too sweet.

Satan

Mr. Cheese Meister himself, he will try to find the most beautiful ring. While he may also love tradition, he knows your relationship is not quite so traditional.

When he lays eyes on a silver dragonfly ring that’s dainty and strong with rainbow topaz wings, he knows that’s the ring he’s going for. The dragonfly represents courage, prosperity, strength, and harmony; all the things he wants for the both of you and more.

His proposal is highly romantic and sentimental. The picture book he makes for you in the event is part of it, but I think he would take you to a park instead under the guise of your regular afternoon readings on your anniversary. “I want to continue to share these moments with you, for better or for worse. Let me love you until the end of days and I promise I will make you happy.”

Asmodeus

Asmo-baby loves love, and he knows that he needs to find a stylish ring for you that will make you want to wear it every day. No outfit clashings, ever. Finding such a versatile ring ended up being harder than he thought.

Then, it hit him. It doesn’t need to be flashy or large or overly visible. It doesn’t need to make or break an outfit. So he decides to go with something simple.

His proposal does begin with flowers and a letter, and the scavenger hunt still happens. Making it playful, he leads you through different settings of your relationship without actually being there through his writings. The ending place is where he first confessed to you and you became a couple. “You see me for who I really am, and always have. I want to be by your side for all eternity so that I can be here to catch you if you fall and lift you back into your feet as you have done for me. I love you.”

Beelzebub

Our resident sweetheart is sincere and simple, always saying what he wants and never backing down. However, just asking you for your hand without a ring won’t do at all. He wants to find something just right for you; something he knows you’ll love.

He honestly didn’t know ring shopping could be this hard. There are so many settings and cuts of stones and it’s a bit overwhelming. He’s about to give up hope when he sees it. Shining brightly and with two looping hearts, it conveys the feeling he gets when you love him so completely.

His proposal isn’t terribly extravagant and he doesn’t need it to be. He just knows that he wants to be yours. The day after he gets the ring, he’s an excited puppy that can’t sleep (annoying his oh so sleepy twin). He takes the time to make breakfast in the morning and decides that’s how he wants to start his day: proposing to the love of his life in front of the rest of the people he loves. He hopes that somewhere, Lilith is watching and shining down on the two of you.

Belphegor

A secret sweetie, this man doesn’t really know what to do. Picking out a ring for someone? He has to go shopping? Fuck. But he wants to find you something that’s fitting.

Starts his search online. Maybe he can have something custom made and shipped to HoL? He’s browsing websites and is about to give up hope when he spots a picture. Clicking the link, he’s sold on the spot when he imagines the ring on your finger. The raw rainbow stone cut feels very personal for him; his jagged edges smoothed by your compassion.

His proposal isn’t lazy, in contrast to his sin. Instead, he plans a picnic date in the planetarium under the stars, specifically under the star he gave you. A blanket on the ground with pillows galore, you both are laying on the ground when he hands you the box. He gets a little shy when you look over in surprise, but his smile is soft as he proposes. “I think I know what it is that Lilith felt when she fell for a human. I know what it’s like to have things go unsaid and have regrets regarding the people I hold dear. I want you to know that I will love and protect you, a promise I make on this ring and on my star.”

I know these vary a bit from the proposal event, but I hope you enjoyed reading none the less 💕

*All of these rings are cubic zirconia or lab created stones. I found them all over the years. It doesn’t have to be a Diamond to convey how much you love someone. 💕

[waitingfortheendtocome]

Deceiving Love

This was a request idea send so all credits for the idea goes to @me-goro Thank you for the request and I promise I’ll try my best :)

Request: Enemy to Lovers where Lou meets y/n for the first time while Lou’s trying to be sneaky because she wants to get information o but Y/N is unknowingly in the way of her getting it. 

This is probably not going to be that many chapters maybe a few chapters, more or less fast pace. I tried to get it in a one shot but it would’ve been too long. 

I’m so sorry is so long I couldn’t find a stopping point and wanted to get as much info out there as well as introduction for the first chapter. I promise I’ll try not to make them too long in the future lol. I’m bad at finding good ending spots as well as writing characters hating on each other LOL. Fair warning I went for the crashing into each other cliché to create a bad start between them LOL

I haven’t edited it completely so there might be grammatic error and for that I apologize. 

Also this is my first Ocean’s 8 Lou Miller story so I’m sorry if this turns out bad 😅

Warnings: None yet except Cursing here and there. bad first impressions if you count that (is that under angst????)

Chapter One

~Lou~

Lou parked in front of the warehouse they had rented out for the job. They made sure to rent it out under a false name to avoid backtracking in case somewhere where to go wrong. They all took a flight to France for a job Debbie insisted they should do. She claimed it a really good job and the pay was good. Personally Lou didn’t needed the extra cash and rejected the job a few times over the course of a week before finally caving in due to Debbie’s persistence. Despite her agreeing she wasn’t happy and had been slightly grouchy she wanted to focus on running her club, upgrading it here and there to make it better and maybe open another club so she was very busy. 

If she did this job she had to put all the plans on hold for a while which she was upset about. She had to hire a temporary manager to run her club while she was gone, hell even Tammy tried to tell Debbie to leave Lou be but according to Debbie they’ll get caught if Lou wasn’t there. Lou had been in a bad mood that day and saying a few things that would have hurt Debbie’s feelings if Debbie had been within hearing range only Tammy heard her and the two had a lengthy conversation which made Lou wish she had a strong drink which wasn’t wise thankfully Tammy made her feel better already sensing Lou’s sudden stress. Safe to say after talking to Tammy she agreed on the job better her helping Debbie than having all seven of her friends get caught and arrested. Debbie was more than happy at Lou agreeing to do this job something Lou noticed and had to admit made her happy.

They all walked in the warehouse and looked around except for Lou who walked confidently to a chair and sat down her long legs spread out in front of her. She had already came here a week ago to get the place set up for the team she even set up a spot for nine balls with the equipment the woman needed for the heist so she didn’t needed to explore or look around. Debbie grinned at Lou proud that Lou had set the place up already Lou looked up from her phone giving Debbie a smug smirk before she finished texting her temporary club manager. She put her phone away and looked up knowing the team had gathered and Debbie took the floor.

“So, what are we stealing? You guys haven’t told us.” Amita wondered

Lou lounged back shrugging, “Don’t look at me not even I know.”

“Yo, are they diamonds?” Nine Balls wondered

“Woah, wait you haven’t told Lou?” Constance wondered shocked

“I didn’t wanted her to try and back out if I told her.” Debbie informed them earning a snort from the blonde in question who shoved a piece of gum in her mouth

“Oh now we really wanna know, spill girl what is it?” Nine stated closing the lid of her laptop

Smiling satisfied that she got everyone's attention she turned on the screen projector stating, “Hear me out first.”

The screened turned on and an drawing of three jewels popped up and beside it another image of two crowns popped up. Lou studied the items quickly wondering what was so special about them besides the lack of photograph.

The necklace collar is large and is made out of pure gold hallmarked with roses and harps made out of diamonds put to gatherer alternately. They where tied together with knots made out of pure gold and topaz diamonds. The roses where made out of diamonds and rubies. In the center of the collar was an imperial Jeweled Crown crest surmounting a harp of gold and diamonds. There was a small writing that says they're suppose to be two of them one had the imperial badge crown and the other did not other than that both necklace collars where the exact same.

The second jewel was a Grand Master diamond badge. The badge looked like it was similar to the one hanging off one of the necklaces. the badge is made out of silver containing trefoil in emerald on a ruby cross surrounded by sky blue enamel with rose diamonds writing. The crowned harp was made out of Diamonds and Brazilian stones.

The third Jewel was a simple large star made of gold diamonds and brilliants. it consisting of eight points with four lesser issuing Centre enclosing a cross of ruby and a trefoil of emeralds surrounding a sky blue enamel circle with writing in rose diamonds. The crowns was made out of pure gold, diamonds among with other jewels spread out creating a rather elegant and luxurious pattern.

Lou looked at them than at Debbie and sighed shaking her head looking incredulous. The jewels in the first image where known as the crowned jewels and the crowns where royal crowns from who knows how long ago both of which were stolen at different times ages ago. Lou was very confused as to what Debbie was planning unless Debbie decided to change her profession to treasure hunter.

“Debbie what are those jewels?” Tammy wondered confused

“Yo, what’s with the lack of photo are we downgrading or something?” Nine pointed out

“No we are not downgrading these-,” Debbie began before she was interrupted by Lou

“Those are the Crown jewels that went missing in 1906. The crowns on he right where missing in 1799 both where never seen again.” Lou explained

Debbie nodded slightly surprised Lou knows about them, “Yes, you know what they are?”

“Duh! So Indiana Jones how the fuck are we looking for said jewels are we pulling a Lara Croft or something.” Lou stated sarcastically

“If you would have let me finish Lou instead of interrupting I would have said that there was rumors that the said jewels are no longer missing they supposedly are here in this city in their most popular museum. Unfortunately we need information in order to get it that one one has but probably one person without said information there’s no way we can find them.” Debbie explained

Rose became confused and spoke up shyly, “What are they worth, don’t we usually start off by saying how much the seven of us earn?”

Debbie grinned mischievously and looked at the group proudly, “Today, four-hundred million dollars in today’s money minimum we might easily be able to up the prices due to the simple fact that the they where all stolen long ago and thought to no longer exist.”

“You’re not telling us something.” Lou pointed out casually

Debbie pressed the button on the remote and three pictures popped up, two of them where of two men one older than the other and the third of a woman Lou had to admit was the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eye’s on. She honestly could care less about the pictures of the men she was focused on the woman. Lou noticed you smiled proudly, you eyes shinning with happiness. You where wearing an outfit that was business casual, your hair styled to suit your professional style you where going for. Lou’s eyes flickered to Debbie to find her staring at her smirking smug and Lou cursed softly at being caught she knew that look anywhere. Debbie smug looked at the group and stated casually.

“These three are the ones in charge the younger man is the owner and director his name is Richard Davis, the older man’s name is Liam Moore he is the Curator, and the woman’s name is Y/F/N Y/LN she is the registrar. One or two of them have all the information we need and we need to get it out of them to find it. It’ll be too risky getting it out of Richard Davis and even Liam Moore. Our biggest chances is Y/F/N, she is in charge of what goes in and out of that place. Her job is to literally keep track of all the object, records, authenticity and borrowings so if these jewels are heading to their museum they’ll be passing through her and it'll be her job along with Liam to put them away either on display and hide them.” Debbie explained

“Don’t forget that if she has good relation with the director he’ll be giving her special tasks involving Jewels.” Tammy added earning a nod from Debbie

“So, how do we get this information out of her?” Amita wondered

Debbie grinned eying Lou again earning a sharp glare from Lou which in turn caused Debbie to laugh and look at the confused group who was looking back and forth between them wondering what they missed.

“Well Lou will be getting close to the woman and try to get information out of her she has Lou’s type written all over.” Debbie told them smug

“Like she’ll tell me the information. ‘Hey Miss. Y/L/N where the fuck are you keeping the jewels my team wants to steal them’.” Lou hissed her tone dripping sarcasm

“Please, we need the information.” Constance pleaded pouting Lou narrowed her eyes only causing Constance to pout further finally earning a sigh in defeat from Lou who all but caved she can’t resist Constance pout and she knows it she has a soft spot for the girl.

“Alright, I’ll do it. That was a cheap shot kid,” Lou pointed out getting up earning a beaming smile in return. “How hard can getting information out of her be aren’t people working in museum are boring or uptight as fuck.”

Lou without a word left the building deciding to pay the place a visit she kind of hoped one of the other’s would go in and do that after all Lou’s job was to gather anyone working for them, stealing the objects, making sure everything is going according to plan and have backup plans in case something goes wrong among other things bribing information out of someone wasn’t one of them. Granted a very attractive someone but she wasn’t going to admit that to anyone. Lou sighed realizing is been too long since she’s gotten anyone in her bed and it was starting to show. Lou climbed on a car and drove off following the GPS directions.

~You~

You rushed into the building of your workplace cursing at yourself for forgetting to set up the alarm. You moved to France from your home after finally landing a job that you actually loved for a change. You’ve always been a fan art and Historical artifacts so you began working at a big historical museum in Paris.

You walked into the building passed security and across the huge building waving hi to the security guard. You walked straight to your office that's located towards the back of the building. You barely made it in when your boss who’s also the director and owner of the museum jogged up to you looking like a kid in Christmas and you know something must have happened to get him this excited. The two of you had been friends since you started working there, you where originally the tour guide to the place before he promoted you to the official Registrar of the museum.

"Y/N right on time, we need to talk about something important that just happened." He told you barely able to contain his excitement. You honestly wonder how this man is an adult and owns this place. He is like a child sometimes.

You quirked an eyebrow at him confused, "Sure, what is it?"

He pointed to your office door, "let's go to your office to talk privately. I don't want anyone to overhear.”

Nodding more confused, you opened the door and walked in with him behind you. He closes and locks the door, tugging you into the room making you more confused if possible. The both of you sat across from each other, you barely had the chance to ask again why he was so excited when he handed you two folded piece of paper. Looking confused you opened  the first one and stared at it to find an old drawing of a three jewels. You looked confused when you saw it since it looked like a drawing of the jewels rather than an actual photo.

You looked up at your boss after you studied the two pages and the descriptions of the jewels along with what was used to create them. You remember hearing about these things going missing during a conversation you had with your coworker who was a guide here in the museum. When discussing missing jewelry or historical artifacts he had mentioned several different ancient royal jewels that had gone missing and mentioned these but you weren’t sure what this had to do with anything.

“Richard, do I want to know why you’re showing me these? These aren’t even in our museum I would know is my job to memorize anything and anyone that goes in or out of this place.” You wondered confused

He grinned excitedly, “Yes, They went missing centuries ago and we recently found them again and just so happens that they are secretly on their way here we wont put them on display of course.” 

Your eyes widen in shock, “Really? How the hell did you find them?"

He shrugged grinning, "I honestly don't have a clue how they where found the important thing is I got my hands on them before anyone else did. The jewels where stolen and sold in the 1900s someone must have found them recently the crowns where destroyed but turns out they where stolen and hidden. That's as far as I know."

You nodded processing the information for a moment, "okay that makes sense sort of but wouldn’t they be prone to thieves though?”

He chuckled, “Yes, which is why I have a plan which is foul proof. I did not wanted us to suffer the same fate as the Toussaint so I’m going to change a few things here and there around this place but more importantly only you and I will have all the information and location.”

You shook your head at that. Being the only one with specific information only added more stress on you especially if you’re going to be put in charge of it which you knew you where based on the look you where given.

“I’m listening. What’s this infamous information.” you told him slightly sarcastic earning a chuckle

He looked satisfied with your reply and sat back explaining the importance of having the word not get out that those jewels where discovered. He went into greater details on how they where going to get them in the museum, how they where going to be hidden, secured and how they where going to up the security and his crazy idea of adding a few decoys in other locations when you asked why the decoy he looked at you sheepish and said he took the idea from the Met when it was discovered Klugger was wearing a fake so he was borrowing the idea just in case. After he was done explaining which took up an hour or so you looked baffled.

“This better not backfire on us.” you sighed and got up getting ready for work to distract yourself leaving a smug owner in your office.

************

Most of the morning was uneventful and slightly dreadful. There was a tour by a Primary school which was stressful given how some of the kids wanted to run off on their own when their teacher and tour guide was not looking. At one point one of them almost knocked something over since they went past the security point forcing you to run and steady the item and pointing out to the teacher to keep a better eye on her students. You where of curse polite and respectful about it despite your patience being tested.

It wasn’t until the afternoon where everything started to go south. It was a lot busier an old lady freaked out believing that one of the old priceless painting was hers and tried to steal it not to mention she had a cane and smacked you with it a few times until she was escorted away from the area. You where pretty sure you where going to bruise a little. You could not help but wonder how does an old lady able to swing the cane that forcefully. So is safe to say you where in a really bad mood. You walked past the Egyptian wing and paused when you heard a childlike giggle. You walked over just in time to see yet another child trying to get past the safety line and getting inside the security glass. You ran over and stopped him before something tragic happened and fixed the glass. You couldn’t help but glare at the kid. The kid backed up but you grabbed his arm.

“Where are your parents?” You asked in a serious tone he didn’t say anything only pointed to the other side of the Egyptian wing. You walked him over to them to find them both on their phone you tapped their shoulder interrupting the careless parents.

“Yes?” the arrogant mother asked

“Is this your kid?” You asked trying to not sound rude and snap after earning a nod from both you spoke up before they can say anything, “Please keep your kid close to you I just found him nearly knocking over an artifact.”

The father took the kid and narrowed his eyes scolding his son for walking out of their side and misbehaving deciding to punish the kid by taking him home earning a temper tantrum.

“Bill don’t be harsh he didn’t mean it I’m sure we could have paid for the damages.” The mother scolded her husband

You rolled your eyes at that and said, “Yeah, ma’am keep him close and for the record neither of us can afford that thing. Instead of being on your phone how about showing your kid a good time if you payed attention to him he wont have any need to destroy the place. This is the third time I had to stop him.” you turned around and walked off not even bother with civility anymore.

You turned around and stormed off to keep an eye on the rest of the of the museum hoping nothing more will happen. You where in a bad mood and ready to go home. You walked around the corner only to collide with someone causing you to tumble back at that same moment you felt something cold splash all over you. Looking down you realized it was just water.

“Fuck. Watch where you’re walking.” the woman snapped

You glared up at her to find a pair of light blue eyes glaring right back you belonging to a tall platinum blonde woman. You looked down to find her shirt was also wet and she was holding a half empty cup.

“First of all watch where YOU’RE walking, second of all no cellphones and third off I wasn’t the one walking with a cup filled with what ever that was you’re not allowed to have liquids in this section only the lobby’s lounge area blonde.” You snapped right back

“What the fuck I was walking here you’re the one who crashed into me and be glad it was water and I’m allowed to take pictures what kind of fucking museum is this.” the woman snapped

You rolled your eyes, “That’s what bottles of water are for genius.”

That only pissed off the blonde even more, “First of all this use to be soda before I finished it and emptied my water in here second of all fuck you, you’re rude as fuck.”

Both of you glared daggers at each other clearly pissed off. Any other circumstance you would have admired how attractive and how her closed hugged her body just right but not right now. Right now you where actively glaring daggers' at her for being a rude bitch. Why the hell are the hot ones always rude and obnoxious. You wondered

You saw her unlocked phone and narrowed your eyes pointing to a sign, “You can’t take pictures in this section new rule only certain areas are allowed to have pictures taken put that phone away”

“What the fuck. First of all none of the other staffs have said shit the only uptight complaining is you second of all I only took some pictures.” The woman snapped

“I need to check your phone.” You told her. it wasn’t that you where out to get her but it was a rule and this particular area no one was allowed to take pictures ever since last year most museums and locations holding expensive items became more strict

“NO.” The woman all but growled

 “I need to see it.” You said beginning to loose your patients you said hell with professionalism and snatched it looking through the pictures she took earning a protest trying to snatch it back and you stopped her with a sharp glare and grabbing her free hand. You found a few pictures of statues that are pretty heavy. You looked suspiciously at the glaring woman and handed her the phone back.

“We don’t allow phones anymore miss. Put that away.” you told her for the second time sharply

Lou glared at you not appreciating the bad treatment, “Why not the other museums allow it and I don’t appreciate having my phone snatched from me.”

“Not anymore. Blame the moron who decided team up with Klugger and steal that Toussaint necklace. Lucky them the insurance agent is dumb as fuck. No one allows phone anymore let along pictures being taken. Now either chug that drink or I’m snatching it with your phone and not returning them.” you warned and stormed off to try and clean up your top leaving a very pissed off blonde behind.

What the fuck is wrong with her? Fucking rude. You thought pissed off. You spoke sharply through your walky-talky’s earpiece to have someone clean up the spill and stormed off to your office deciding it was better do paperwork than to deal with guests.

~Lou~

It wasn’t until you stormed away when Lou realized you where the woman Debbie mentioned that had all the information and cursed at that.

Great, Getting information from someone like her will be nearly impossible. Lou thought glaring at the spot you where just in.

Lou stormed out of the building determined to get something out of you but knew it will be impossible since she knew you will probably keeping a close eye on her after that horrible interaction. Lou got even more angry when she remembered you boldly snatching her phone and probably erasing some of the pictures she had taken from the interesting objects there.

“Fucking rude uptight b.” Lou complained angrily while driving only to be interrupted by her phone. Lou drove towards the warehouse clearly pissed off evident in her feature, her posture was tense, her jawline clenched and she was gripping her steering wheel tightly. She chose to ignore the phone to annoyed to bother with answering.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 24: Fragments (originally published on August 23, 2021)

AN: The end of the Alternate Future begins here! Or this story at least, I've got a few follow-ups planned after finishing this one, one of which I might set up here. But regardless, here we are at the end of Part 3 and from here on out, things will go downhill for our heroes & uphill for our villains. Can Steven be saved from both himself and Black Rutile? Who knows? Except for me that is, and a very select few as well. But I've had enough keeping you in suspense, let's get straight to the action.

Synopsis: Steven's condition gets worse and he seeks help from Jasper.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

Ron Perlman as ?

--

"Hear me my followers and rejoice!" Black Rutile declared, with Aquamarine perched on her shoulder, as she recorded herself making a grand speech to her remaining minions in her cave lair. "Our day of revengeance is at hand! No more shall that sanctimonious half-breed tyrant enforce his iron-fisted rule over our people! Because despite claiming to be a pure-hearted child, recent intel has confirmed he is far from it."

As an example, Black Rutile played the footage of Steven crashing his father's van that her satellite had gathered. "Look at this absolutely abhorrent act." She stated. "What kind of child would ever dare murder their father without any rhyme or reason?"

"Actually, there have been a few throughout this planet's history that have done just that." White Topaz leaned into view to point out.

"SHUT IT TOPAZ!" Black Rutile angrily commanded before turning back to her viewers. "Anyways, soon he will be exposed as the monster he truly is, and with the army we have regrown from the colonies some of my subordinates have retaken, we shall lay siege to the tyrannical Crystal Gems and strike them at our weakest!"

"You sure about that my Rutile?" Black Rutile's Topaz bodyguard leaned back in, much to her master's anger. "'Cause I've gotten word from Cinnabar's faction that some of your former Black Pearls have formed, like, a little squadron to fight back against her."

"Can you not ruin my speech, you ignoramus?!" Black Rutile shoved her Topaz away. Just as she was about to make a grand conclusion to her speech, Black Rutile quickly declared "End transmission." and shut off the recording. "Now look what you did, I was making a motivational speech to my allies, but you had to keep getting in the way just like you always do!"

"Always?" White Topaz replied while making shadow puppets against the cave wall. "Look, I may spoil your plans some of the time, but your ego is just as much to blame the rest of the time."

"That is indeed true Topaz, but now I must ask," Black Rutile said. "what is with this attitude? Where's the overly polite idiot that always followed my orders without question, no matter how horrible they are?"

"I'm betting she's already having second thoughts about your plans." Aquamarine advised her superior.

"You mind if I," Eyeball suggested before making a slashing noise with her mouth and pulling her chisel from her gem. "put her to rest?"

"I'm being serious you guys!" White Topaz said. "The three of you may think you're Gems of the people, but I don't think Gems like those would ever hyperfocus on ruining the life of one person instead of just focusing on something healthier!"

"Like what, forcing ourselves to join those ingrates and deprive ourselves of our way of life in favor of becoming part of a hive-mind?" Black Rutile asked, menacingly pulling out her bowie knife to threaten her Topaz with. "I have been plotting against the Crystal Gems ever since Steven brainwashed the Diamonds, and I refuse to abandon those plans just because you don't like them! Now, are you going to be a good little bodyguard, or do you want to ditch your best friend in favor of the hypocrite?"

Although White Topaz showed tons of reluctance, she nervously got down on one knee and bowed her head to her three teammates. "No, my Rutile. I am at your beck and call, whenever you need me."

"Very good my Topaz." Black Rutile put away her knife to pat White Topaz on the head with an evil smile, before turning away to tap at her visor. "Now if we have nothing else to discuss, it seems the seeds of doubt I have planted in Steven's mind that fateful night have finally begun to grow." She stated before her visor created a holographic chessboard with pieces resembling herself & her minions on one side, and the Crystal Gems & the Diamonds on the other. "Now all we need is just one last push." On that last word, Black Rutile then spawned a chess piece resembling Jasper that she put squarely in the middle of the board.

--

Far from Black Rutile's lair in the woods, Steven and Greg had finally returned home to Beach City after a father-son outing that turned rather disastrous. Fortunately, the Crystal Gems were already home to be told of what happened and as Steven gazed out over the deck, Bismuth asked Greg what happened.

"So Steven just flew off the handle because of a song?" Bismuth asked while helping Greg put his van back together. "Frankly, I could think of weirder reasons to get angry."

"No, it wasn't because of the song." Greg admitted to the blacksmith. "It was because we drove off to my childhood home in Keystone and he learned that my upbringing wasn't too different from his mom's."

"I don't think you ever told anyone about when you were a kid." Bismuth replied.

"Not that I wanted to until now." Greg stated. "But after that crash, I don't think I ever want to bring them up again. Steven started ranting about how he wished the Gems never found Earth and he had a normal human life like I had."

"Whoa whoa whoa, where did all this come from?!" Bismuth yelled in alarm, raising her hands towards the former rock star.

"That's what I said!" Greg exclaimed before turning to his despondent son. "And now that I think about it, maybe he had good reason for those wishes after all he's been through."

Steven looked down in utter shame and regret before he walked back inside the beach house, clearly avoiding a chance to speak with his father about the incident.

--

As soon as Steven got inside, the other Crystal Gems were there to greet him, but the looks on their faces told Steven things weren't going to be good.

"Sit down on the couch Steven, we need to talk." Pearl commanded the son of her deceased lover, who did as he was told before Pearl began pacing around. "I just can't believe you, Steven! Crashing the van with Greg inside?! You know how fragile humans are, young man! These pink outbursts need to be dealt with!"

"It's not an outburst!" Steven yelled, briefly inflating himself as he turned pink.

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Pearl exclaimed before Steven got back up and started walking away. "What is happening to you?!"

"It's nothing, just puberty, honest!" Steven cried as he struggled to keep his pink form at bay.

"Whoa no little dude, I've seen enough sitcoms to know that is not what puberty is like!" Amethyst declared. "Right, Garnet?"

"I can confirm, this is not regular puberty." Garnet nodded before Steven put up a literal wall between him and his guardians.

"Steven, drop the wall this instant!" Pearl ordered as she pressed against the pink, hexagonal dome.

"I'm sorry Pearl!" Steven gasped in apology before the wall disappeared. "I just need some space, okay? I'll be in my room." But as Steven walked upstairs, Amethyst rushed to keep him from going any further.

"Not so fast, my dude!" Amethyst declared. "You gotta tell us what's going on!"

"It seems like Steven wants to avoid a serious discussion altogether." Garnet analyzed.

"No, I'M NOT!" Steven yelled, dropping to his knees and pounding his fist on the stairs, creating a shockwave that shook the entire room.

"Steven, either you talk to us about what's going on, or you're grounded until you're able to explain." Garnet firmly declared.

"She's right man, you gotta chill!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"We need to do something about this before anyone else gets hurt!" Pearl stated as Steven continued struggling where he stood.

"Don't let these strange powers control you." Garnet tried desperately to calm the half-Gem down. "You're better than this."

"LEAVE ME ALOOONE!" Steven finally roared, causing a pink shockwave to burst from his body and seemingly force the Gems to move in slow motion. Or rather, he was moving faster than everyone else. "I'm speeding up again!" he muttered while gazing at his equally pink hands. "I gotta get out of here!"

Steven ran out of the house and far away from the Crystal Gems. There was barely anywhere he could go right now. Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl kept enabling these strange new powers, yet Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth probably barely knew what to do about things. Thus, there was only one Gem left he knew could help him in his time of need.

--

"The Gems tried to help me, but they just kept making things worse." Steven explained to Jasper later that night while the two sat around a campfire in front of her cave. "And that's why I refuse to go back."

"So what you're saying is," Jasper answered before dramatically removing the cloak she was wearing. "you want a rematch?!"

"What?! No!" Steven exclaimed. "I just told you why I came here in the first place. I think my Diamond powers are coming out, and I have no idea how to control them. I just want to be alone so I can't hurt anyone or be super toxic and controlling."

"So, you finally admitted it, eh?" Jasper rolled her eyes as she got up and walked away. "If you want to be alone, your definition of it is horribly wrong!"

"But Jasper, this is the last place anyone would look for me!" Steven explained before running after Jasper. "Wait, don't leave me here!" he begged the bigger Gem. "This thing with my powers is the real problem."

"The only problem you have is your friends." Jasper declared, much to Steven's confusion. "Just like how you keep holding everyone back, they're doing the same to you!"

"Are you sure?" Steven asked. "I definitely believe I'm getting them all worried."

"That's because they're afraid of you." Jasper responded. "And not just of your powers, but your control over others. And you are too! You came out here to hide, but I'm not one to hide myself. I don't need to hide my power or try to stifle it, I let everything out by training!"

"Like this forest?" Steven wondered, looking around the patch of destroyed trees he and Jasper have stumbled upon.

"Exactly." Jasper answered, walking up to a tree and making it fall over with a single punch. "And to control that power, I have to use it. Those so-called friends of yours don't understand because they always want to make you feel bad for being yourself!"

"Yeah, I do feel bad." Steven muttered to himself, gazing at his fist before walking over to punch another tree, turning pink as he landed a blow that created massive cracks on the bark and wounded his hand.

"Yeah, crush that weakling tree!" Jasper cheered Steven on.

"No!" Steven exclaimed before kissing the tree to fix the damage he did.

"Are you kidding me?! That's disgusting!" Jasper gagged at the sight when she looked down to discover that Steven's kiss caused some grass to grow around them. "No, the grass!" she yelled and rapidly pulled out the grass beneath her. "Get out of here!" Jasper then angrily turned to Steven and picked him up by the collar of his jacket. "Quit helping this planet's ecosystem and show me! Show me your power!"

Jasper harshly threw Steven to the ground, causing him to groan in pain. "No way Jasper!" Steven coughed as he got up from the toss. "I can handle myself!"

"Shut up!" Jasper yelled and lunged at Steven, who turned pink on reflex and created a barrier to defend himself from the Quartz's ruthless attack, but it proved ineffective as Jasper punched straight through it, causing Steven to fall to the ground. "This is it; this is all you were worried about?! What a rip-off!"

As Steven helped himself off the dirt, Jasper just kept on yelling. "I am way stronger than everyone you hold back and are holding you back in return!" she bellowed while pointing at Steven. "Because I'm not afraid of this, and you shouldn't be either!"

In response, Steven turned pink again and created another shield to launch at his opponent. "Yeah, that's more like it!" Jasper declared eagerly and prepared to defend herself, smashing the shield with just her arm. "Now tell me, was it good to let your anger out that way?"

"Y-yeah." Steven realized how good it felt to vent his rage on someone who could be a match for him, allowing Jasper to let out a loud laugh. "If I stay here, will you teach me how to control all this?"

"I won't teach you until you fight me!" Jasper refused the offer.

"Well, I won't fight you unless you teach me!" Steven replied.

"Ugh, fine!" Jasper groaned in resignation.

"Really?!" Steven smiled as he returned to his normal color.

"Here's lesson number one," Jasper responded. "No smiling."

"But I've seen you smile." Steven pointed out the goofy smile Jasper wore when he agreed to fight her not too long ago.

"Lesson two, shut up!" Jasper yelled before she kicked Steven into the air, and the boy landed far from where she could see him with a thud.

"Guess my training starts now." Steven declared to himself before he heard footsteps behind him and turned around to find who was behind him. "YOU!"

"Training with Jasper, Steven?" Black Rutile snickered disdainfully. "Wow kid, you're not just one Spinel, you're an entire circus of them!"

"What do you want with me now Black Rutile?" Steven asked his new archenemy as Black Rutile's three minions appeared behind her.

"We just came here to talk." Aquamarine answered. "As much as we would love to kidnap you and hold you for ransom, or maybe even kill you right here and now, we think hanging with a brute like her is much more fitting."

"Besides, we all know you'll just drive her away like you did to everyone else." Eyeball laughed. "Or maybe even something worse!"

"Look, what we're trying to say is that you should just give up now and get the help you really need." White Topaz cautioned Steven, unaware of how angry she made her teammates. "We only want what's best for you, so you won't get in the way of my Rutile's plan!"

"Are you seriously trying to help our enemy here?" Black Rutile growled with eyelids lowered at White Topaz. "I thought you were at my beck and call whenever I needed you!"

"If you're trying to ruin my life again, it won't work." Steven firmly declared as he got up to face the four insurgent Gems. "I know what you really are, Black Rutile. You're no hero to Homeworld, you're just a callous bully who will do anything to get her way."

"GROW UP STEVEN, GROW UP!" Black Rutile abruptly yelled at Steven's face. "Sociopath, hypocrite! Refusing to save a dying pet because of the natural order when he refuses to accept everyone is leaving him! Who's the real villain between us two, my boy, hm?"

"Still you." Steven remained resolute against the Rutile.

"You can't even begin to comprehend my current plans." Black Rutile replied just as resolutely. "Soon, everyone on this accursed rock will see you for the monster you truly are."

"Hey, where are you?!" Jasper bellowed from afar, and Black Rutile saw this as her cue to leave.

"Wouldn't want to keep a certain someone waiting." Black Rutile smirked. "But at least the three of us agree the Crystal Gems are the real problem."

"Aw, but I wanna turn Jasper against Steven too!" Eyeball complained. "Plus it would be an honor to see her in person again. The real deal, not an Amethyst shapeshifting into her."

"Oh, shut up, and let's get out of here." Aquamarine slapped her Ruby partner and dragged her away by the hand.

"Hey, no hard feelings kid?" White Topaz asked Steven, causing Black Rutile to slap her mouth shut.

"We'll see each other again Steven." Black Rutile declared. "But until then, I'll be watching you, just like I've always had since our last fight."

As the four rogue Gems left, Steven was left alone with his thoughts once more. And with those thoughts, a certain voice in his head re-emerged. "You know, she does raise a few good points."

"You again!" Steven said to the voice. "What do you want now? Are you another Gem working for Black Rutile?!"

"Well, kind of." The voice answered. "I'm not directly working for her, but it's thanks to her that I'm even speaking to you now. Remember that night while the Gems were out in Los Diego? She helped me grow."

"I thought so." Steven muttered in a moment of clarity. "But please, just leave me alone!"

"Maybe I'll just sit back and watch while you worry your so-called friends sick." The voice laughed deeply. "Don't you worry, we'll be seeing each other again very soon."

With that foreboding goodbye, the voice once again vanished from Steven's thoughts. Was it true, was that voice even haunting Steven because of what Black Rutile said to him? Or could it perhaps be even older than that?

"Are you dead or something?!" Jasper yelled for Steven. "Come back over here if you aren't, we got training to do tomorrow!"

"I'm coming!" Steven cried and raced back to Jasper's cave. As soon as he got there, Jasper threw her cloak at his face. "What was that for?"

"Think you might need this." Jasper stated while peering out from her cave. "Humans need to sleep, right?"

"Aw, you really do care for me." Steven blushed at the seemingly kind gesture, but Jasper just scoffed and retreated into the darkness of her home. Steven then just shrugged and laid down on the ground with the cloak covering him like a blanket, gazing up at the stars and wondering how the Crystal Gems must be doing.

--

The next morning, the Crystal Gems were now searching across Beach City for the missing Steven. Pearl had placed posters all over town while Greg helped Lion and Amethyst sniff around for him, but so far they found nothing that would help them.

"Whoa, easy Amethyst!" Greg yelled as he tugged on the leash of a purple-furred Dalmatian with an amethyst gemstone on her chest, which then turned into an exhausted Amethyst.

"We're getting nowhere with this!" Amethyst complained. "I mean, I learned how he could slow down time through Smoky Quartz, and even I don't have a clue!"

"I hope we find him soon, I'm getting worried." Pearl whimpered before she found Garnet walking up to them. "Anything from Little Homeworld, Garnet?"

"Nothing, Peridot and Lapis told me they didn't see Steven recently." Garnet answered. "However, Zuli said she did see a pink blur zoom past yesterday."

"That's the same one I saw with Bismuth while we were fixing the van!" Greg declared. "Could that be Steven?"

"It probably is." Pearl said before she began to break down into tears and hug Greg tightly. "I miss my baby!"

"We all do Pearl." Greg sniffed and returned the hug, followed by Garnet, Amethyst, and Lion joining in to comfort the Pearl. "We all do."

However, little did the Gems know, Steven was perfectly fine. But not the kind of fine they want him to be.

--

Far off in the woods, Steven had fallen fast asleep underneath the blanket Jasper had lent him. But his rest wouldn't last long as Jasper emerged from her cave and smashed a wall, shocking him awake.

"Rise and shine, your training begins today!" Jasper barked as she walked up to the half-Gem boy and picked him up by the neck. "Now tell me, what are you here for again?"

"Uh, to get a better control of my powers?" Steven answered.

"Not enough energy." Jasper shook her head in disdain. "Why don't we start with the only way you can talk to people?" she suggested and then cleared her throat. "So you're here because of your mother, kid? Well, whoop-de-doo!" the big Quartz began singing while circling Steven. "You still haven't realized more have suffered than just you! If you wanna get tougher kid, here's a tip. I got three little words for you: get a grip!"

"Shouldn't that apply to you too?" Steven asked his new mentor.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jasper growled while walking towards some boulders and picked one up.

"I mean, you're stuck here because of me." Steven continued, much to Jasper's anger. "Not to mention closets full of-"

"Do you want my help or not?!" Jasper roared.

"Yes ma'am!" Steven nervously complied before Jasper threw him a boulder.

"That's better." Jasper grinned smugly as she hoisted up more boulders on her back and walked away. "Follow me."

--

"You've been through a lot brat, but let me say something about that." Jasper began singing again as Steven followed her up the mountain with boulders in hand. "As a veteran, I've seen far messier, you should've seen the Clash at the Theater."

"I don't think I've heard of that before." Steven stated while setting the boulders down nearby.

"Doesn't matter, just giving an example." Jasper replied as she dropped her boulders too. "Now come on, throw me some shields!" Steven nodded before he turned pink and summoned multiple barriers to unleash on Jasper, who managed to break through all of them. "The fusion's all high and mighty. Amethyst can be pretty flighty. And the Pearl, wow, she's nuts, you see! They all got experience, but none like mine!"

--

"Maybe when you're done, you'll be feeling just fine." The next day, Steven continued training via splitting logs in half on a stump, while Jasper demonstrated her superior strength by knocking down a tree with just a push. In the meantime, Black Rutile whispered something into Jasper's ear without her knowing the Rutile was even there.

--

"If you wanna get tougher kid, here's a tip." As night began to fall, Jasper challenged Steven to a race, her spin-dash against his pink form's speed. "I got three little words for you: get a grip! Ya hear me!"

"Yeah, those three little words are 'Get a Grip!'" Steven joined in on the song as he began catching up to Jasper.

"Now we're talking!" Jasper cheered triumphantly.

--

"No time for healing!" As the training went on to the day after that, Steven had grown slightly taller and more muscular, and even began growing a beard as he threw another barrier at Jasper. "Who needs feeling?!"

--

"You're still reeling?" Steven caught a fish in the river with a more polygonal bubble that he cooked up to eat, while Black Rutile loomed behind him with another lie to tell him. "Well, my tips are quite appealing! Let's say it again!"

--

"If you wanna get tougher kid, here's a tip." Steven and Jasper harmonized while clashing fists in a forest clearing. "I got three little words for you: get a grip!"

"Yes, for everything to go as planned, get a grip." Black Rutile muttered while watching the two train with an evil smile, eager to see how far Steven has come and how far he'll fall.

--

The next day, thunder began rumbling far from Steven, who knelt in front of a campfire with a more muscular body that made him as tall as Jasper and a wildly different hairstyle.

"I found more rocks!" Jasper called out to her student while tossing over some more rocks for him to train with. "You won't believe how hard it is to find a good rock around here, especially since we broke most of them."

"I'm done with rocks Jasper." Steven declared while getting up to face Jasper. "I'm finally ready. For our rematch." He then put out the fire behind him with one stomp, showing the other Gem how serious he was.

"Took you long enough!" Jasper cackled as she cracked her knuckles and prepared for her long-awaited round 2. "Then come on, show me what you got!"

Steven responded by creating another hexagonal shield to launch at Jasper. However, Jasper jumped over the shield and attempted to punch Steven, but suddenly, she got punched instead. As Steven let out a gasp, Jasper summoned her horned crash helmet and slammed it into Steven's head, sending him tumbling backwards into the ground.

"What are you holding back for Steven?!" Jasper yelled while the resulting smoke began to clear. "You think you can't take it, that I'm just going to coddle you the whole way through, just like the Gems?! You still want to go back to them?"

"No!" Steven coughed from the smoke.

"You still afraid to be strong?!" Jasper continued taunting her foe. "Are you dull?! ARE YOU PITIFUL?!"

"I AM NOT!" Steven bellowed out loud, causing a shockwave that knocked Jasper back, and nearly shook a certain Rutile from a tree she was hiding in as he lunged at Jasper with fury in his eyes.

"Is that all?!" Jasper cackled arrogantly, forcing Steven to create more barriers to strike at her with, which finally landed a hit on Jasper and slammed her into a tree. "That's more like it!"

Steven let out a sadistic giggle before he lunged again, far faster than normal as he started repeatedly punching Jasper while the two soared through the forest and into the air.

"Come on, come on!" Jasper beckoned Steven as their brawl took to the skies. "Show your master what you can really do!"

Steven's maniacal laughter grew louder and louder with each punch before kicking Jasper to the ground. "You were right Jasper!" he declared while summoning more shields to trap Jasper with before forming an even larger one in front of him. "I HAVE BEEN HOLDING BACK!"

With a murderous smile and white diamonds in his eyes, Steven made his barrier grow razor-sharp spikes before launching it at his captive opponent. And for the first time in what felt like ages, as the spiked shield rocketed towards her, Jasper felt one emotion that she barely showed to anyone else.

Pure, unadulterated terror.

What had she done?

--

The cloudy skies gave way to a loud thunderstorm as Black Rutile climbed up to the top of another tree to watch the outcome of the fight, and she was more than happy with what she was seeing.

"Bravo Steven, I never knew you had it in you!" Black Rutile clapped loud enough for Steven to hear as he returned to his senses to realize what he had just done. "If I hadn't planned for that, she would've made a great bodyguard!"

With tears and raindrops staining his face, Steven hid whatever he was hiding in his balled-up fist while glaring at Black Rutile before he raced back to Jasper's cave. When Black Rutile decided to climb down the tree, she was greeted by the nervous look on her Topaz's face. "So, who were you betting on to win?"

"I was betting on Steven to curb his problems more healthily, and you just kept stringing him along!" White Topaz accused her superior, but her accusations were shut down by a bowie knife pointed straight at her face. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Would a shadow puppet make you feel better?!"

"No need." Black Rutile frowned, hiding behind the tree to watch as Steven, now wearing his jacket again, hid his fist in one of the pockets while running out of the woods. "Nothing makes me happier than seeing him squirm."

"Oh yeah, it's funny how pathetic he is." White Topaz laughed nervously in agreement. "Come on, let's head back to the cave. Don't wanna get wet."

"Indeed," Black Rutile agreed and strolled back to their lair with her arms behind her back. "wouldn't want anyone knowing what we did to him."

--

"I sent so many messages, but he hasn't replied!" Pearl fretted while pacing around the beach house as the storm continued. "Do you think he even had his phone when he ran away?! What if something horrible happened and it's all our fault because he wanted to stay away from us?! What if-" Pearl's panicking soon turned to hyperventilating as she curled up into a ball on the floor and began rocking back and forth when Amethyst stepped in to calm her down.

"Pearl, chill out!" Amethyst literally shook Pearl out of her traumatized state and picked her up off the floor. "Panting and sweating over everything won't bring Steven back! It's not like he's going to just barge in as soon as I finish talking!"

Just then, Steven finally returned home, much to the Crystal Gems' delight and worry. However, he had no time to tell them where he's been as he gunned for the bathroom.

"Steven, where have you been?!" Pearl cried out in fright for her surrogate son.

"No time to talk!" Steven exclaimed before ducking into the bathroom.

"Seriously man, we've been looking everywhere!" Amethyst added just as the door closed in front of her. "Hey, what was that in your hand?"

"Nothing important!" Steven replied, peeking out the door one last time before going back.

"The way he said that makes me get a bad feeling about this." Garnet declared ominously.

--

'This has been a horrible day.' Steven thought to himself while filling up the bathtub and snatching the three Diamond essence bottles from the mirror, taking a moment to find a dark shadow in the exact shape of his muscular self from earlier standing behind his reflection.

"I never knew you had it in you either." The shadow growled before Steven turned to dump all the Diamonds' essences in the bathwater and pulled his fist out of his pocket, unfolding it to reveal Jasper's shattered remains in his palms.

"Please work, you gotta work!" Steven muttered in total panic while piecing Jasper's broken gemstone the best he could and submerging it in the water. "Please Jasper, I'm sorry!" he began sobbing for the deceased Gem, his hot tears streaking against his face and dropping into the water.

"I'm sorry."

END OF PART 3: FRAGMENTED MIND

TO BE CONCLUDED IN PART 4: WE WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR FAMILY

--

Wow. Great googly moogly, it's all gone to shit, just the kind of shit that Black Rutile likes. Is Jasper truly gone? Okay, definitely not since next chapter after the break will be Homeworld Bound. Has Black Rutile won? Maybe. Will the voice in Steven's head take the wheel? Who knows? Find out on the epic final part of Steven Universe: Alternate Future, to perhaps begin after the usual two-month hiatus. Or maybe I should go for a shorter hiatus this time. Or maybe longer? What do you guys think? I mean, by the time I publish this, I'll be getting ready for sophomore year of college so my time will most definitely be filled up. But regardless, there are now only eight chapters left of laughs, tears and adrenaline rush, so don't even try to miss the next arc! Okay, peace!