#spinel town is funny

[zakura-ss]

Yo Decibel, where are the drugs?

[quiirrel]

you guys have no idea how much space reborn inhabits in my brain. every day nothing but the same shit get out of my head boy

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 40- Part 15

Really making Nostra out to be a true menace, huh-

I don't like that at all…what does that mean…

But aren't you standing by the doorway too?? Ah, whatever-

Not stronger than a poisonous snake, I guess! But regardless, let's head up to the bed and heal up.

And now, we can finally get the usual team back in order! Save the others for Noel proper…assuming Noel is still the seventh Gym Leader.

I also used my remaining Exp. Candies to get Prong, Crater, and Kirin up a little more.

Now, let's at least get back to Tanzan Mountain, and-

Huh- that really is a prominent hole. I wonder…

Oh, it is a new entrance- okay, that's kinda funny, I kinda love that.

Anyways, that…was definitely one of the chapters of this Let's Play! It turned out to be super eventful, just…not at all in the way I was expecting. A little embarrassing to spend all that time preparing for a Gym battle that wound up being completely postponed, but in my defense! I did not expect an entire surprise attack! I thought Team Meteor would come back sooner or later, but not like that!

So I suppose next time's gonna be seeing what exactly Team Meteor's been up to in Tanzan Mountain- hopefully, whatever it is, we can put a stop to it and finally get those stupid tremors to go away! Or maybe my theory about a PULSE causing the teleportation problems in Spinel Town will be confirmed. Either way, seems like the action's not over yet, so I'll see you next time to see how it all concludes! 

…but let’s be real, Saphira’s probably gonna be carrying us all the way, and she’s the kidnapping victim-

CURRENT TEAM:

Riptide

Species: Feraligatr

Gender: Male

Level: 55

Ability: Sheer Force*

Item: Protective Pads

Brave nature; Alert to sounds.

Glare

Species: Arbok

Gender: Female

Level: 55

Ability: Intimidate

Item: Black Sludge

Naughty nature; Highly curious.

Bloom

Species: Roserade

Gender: Male

Level: 55

Ability: Technician*

Item: Big Root 

Docile nature; Alert to sounds.

Prong

Species: Vikavolt

Gender: Female

Level: 51

Ability: Levitate

Item: Zoom Lens

Rash nature; Loves to eat.

Crater

Species: Camerupt

Gender: Female

Level: 51

Ability: Magma Armor

Item: Quick Claw

Hardy nature; Often scatters things.

Kirin

Species: Girafarig

Gender: Female

Level: 51

Ability: Sap Sipper*

Item: Odd Incense

Quirky nature; Thoroughly cunning.

CURRENT BOXES:

NUMBER OF RELOADS: 30

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[emilyrox]

I got tagged by @intothewickedwood to do this :D

Three favorite ships: I think my favorite ships at any moment change depending on which media I'm currently obsessed with. But I think in general, my top 3 are:

Captain Swan (Emma Swan and Killian Jones) *Canon*

Lumity (Luz Noceda and Amity Blight) *Canon*

Darkstache (Darkiplier and Wilford Warfstache) *Not Canon But It Should Be*

First ship: uhhhhhh...I wanna say my first ships were from Total Drama. But I have NO IDEA which one it was.

Like, yeah, I liked Gwen and Trent (before they broke up) and Duncan and Courtney (before they broke up) and so on, but idk if I "shipped" them, or if I just liked them because they were canon at the time. I guess out of all the pairings I liked, the one that I consider myself actually "shipping" was Aleheather (Alejandro and Heather).

Last movie: I recently rewatched the Steven Universe Movie with some of my friends! Yeah it's not perfect but it's still fun and has some banger music (and Spinel is best character fight me).

Currently reading: That's really funny 10/10 comedy the person who made this tag game got jokes fr

Ok but for real I haven't read much since the semester ended. My honors history class had us do a LOT of reading and I was like uhhhhmmmmm.....

BUT, I think the last thing I read for that class was part of "Utopia for Realists" by Rutger Bregman. It was one of the few readings for that class that actually interested me and gave me a new perspective on poverty and how it affects people in ways we don't usually think about. I may finish it some day idk.

Currently watching: Rewatching episodes of Spongebob and the og iCarly with my sister. I also saw a few episodes of the new iCarly too. Apparently Spencer has 11 kids???

I saw S1 EP 8 of Helluva Boss when it came out (twice), and I heard the next episode of season 2 is coming out on Saturday!

But mostly I've been watching stuff on YouTube.

(I really need to finish OUAT with my mom and the reaosn why we haven't is because the series finale is all that's left and we're both like 'if we don't finish the show it'll never be over' and it's just aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)

Currently eating: I ate two donuts for breakfast does that count?

Currently craving: I've been craving slushies for the past couple of weeks. I got a cherry one yesterday from an ice cream truck at my town's 4th of July celebration and it was gooood.

I did it I completed the tag game!

Tagging: @zee-the-zebra @kazoosandfannypacks @wispy-fox @thermodynamic-comedian @pirateprincessofpizza @fromthedeskof-darkiplier @wilfywarfy and anyone else that wants to do it :D

[chipsncookies]

Ep 14 sorta review (copied on twt and i post this here since im shadowbanned on there 😢) pls excuse the grammar and the length i have too much thoughts

Ok i finally watched it with subs!! Now I understand things better.

First things first we have new reaction image

Roy's part is straightforward, im glad he's so supportive and helpful to wattrell, and eventually captured it. murdock giving him a pokeball to catch it is so sweet, he knew it was coming!! Also him and liko going shopping and having ice cream together is cute, and him thanking her for letting Dot make sandwich is heartwarming :'). But never thought his comment about wanting a certain spice will backfire...

In last ep i thought spinel was ready to act when he came out in disguise, but no he was still trying to gauge the rvt's strength. I wonder if he's trying to lull friede into a false sense of security since the signal problem has been addressed (speaking of friede, rant incoming)

Friede oh my gosh. after watching the ep i can't blame friede 100% since liko went to town on her own without company, but it's still irresponsible for friede to not tell his team what happened.

He knew something was wrong but he chose to ignore it in favour of focusing on takeoff. If he'd told the team about it they'd be on high alert and less likely to do things on their own. It reflects badly on friede's leadership (and cpt. Pikachu as well?). Him not telling liko he's hired by her mom was funny before but it's harmful now. And given how he just met liko's parents.. this stings more 😬

That said it's also a risky gamble for spinel to attack friede because what if friede is responsible and told his team to be on alert instead, did he know friede won't tell? 🤣 and Liko really need to be more careful, i think she's been under protection so much she got careless. If there's a silver lining i think this incident could be a learning opportunity for rvt, they've been getting Ws so much they got overconfident.

Onto Spinel, DID HE REALLY NEED TO ASK THIS?? THE AUDACITY?;"?#!'

He just love mocking people isn't he? Even in disguise his personality shows through 🤣😭 alternatively he could be making sure liko actually lost her memories, but knowing how smug he is it's hard not to read it that way.

He succeeded getting the pendant but it's clear he didn't care about liko, going as far as wiping her memories (he's being safe but it's overkill imo) and leaving her in levincia.

Did he not know the pendant won't activate without her?

He saw what happened back in arboliva forest since he's been spying on them, but it seems it didn't register to him (possible spinel L?). I think now is a good time to confirm if that testament is true.

Also reminder, it was amethio who made this observation and decided to get her along with the pendant, at the expense of his time and gibeon's patience (lol). He made this conclusion right as it happened. So both spi and ame have seen the pendant react to liko, but only ame made the connection (possible amethio W?). This also highlights amethio and spinel's difference, ame is more observant and will deviate from orders if he deems necessary, meanwhile spinel is more focused and follows orders as is. I love this tbh it makes them more interesting.

Liko's memories got wiped right after the ep where she reminisces and being thankful about her adventures and new friends feels kinda cruel lol, poor girl... Not only liko, sprigatito also lost its memories, but seeing the preview, they somehow stayed together until night and then they saw the moon together. This is a callback to the scene where she trained with sprigatito back in ep 1! I think this is an important milestone 🥹💖 i hope they remember.

Overall, it's insane how the story goes from high (roy helping wattrel and catching it) to low (likos pendant got stolen). We (or at least me) were on a rollercoaster of emotions the entire ep, it's amazing. Story-wise I love that this anime is constantly challenging the status quo by having the pendant actually got stolen and liko got attacked. It keeps me on the edge of my seat bc i don't know what to expect, because anything can happen!!

Ok i think I've finished talking abt ep 14 dang that was long🤣 That said, in next ep preview...

Is this spinel? Is spinel still there ?? I thought he leave already??? He's risking his position if he stayed there for long, what's stopping him from leaving already? He didn't need to worry about them finding liko anyway since she's not important to him, he already got the pendant so why is he preventing them from finding her? But maybe it's not spinel but someone else. Maybe even pokemon, we can never trust previews 100% lol.

The ep title doesn't really give a hint since apparently it focuses on Dot and quaxley? Iono will also appear, but I can't tell what's the correlation between the two, other than they're both influencers. They're definitely going to find liko, so maybe dot will ask for iono's help? Her gym test does revolve around looking for people after all. But 'someone getting in the way' makes me feel nervous.

That's all my thoughts, this was a great ep, explorers fans are fed well, see you next week!!

[prettycdds]

hello 🏠

{{ Hello hello !! Another Spinel! I've never interacted with another one before, let's see--- }}

Sardonyx !

{{ My other gem muse, and another comedic performer type! She's more talk show host than jester, but I feel like if she met Spinel she would immediately want to perform with her. And being that she's half Pearl... there might be some part of Sardonyx that feels guilty about what happened to her, which reflects in the fusion in a weird way that makes her a little bit... eager to make up for it. }}

Peacock !

{{ Peacock, a human turned toon, has a very similar personality to Spinel, or at least sense of humor, and being The Biggest vintage toon fan in the world, she might even geek out about them like the little kid she is. And its rare to see her acting her age! }}

Betty Boop !

{{ If you want to meet a real toon, Betty-- funny enough-- has a habit of mistaking gems for toons, due to their distinctly not human attributes. Being mistaken for a toon can be both fun... and dangerous. But Spinel, especially, would be right at home in Toon Town, whether she's made of ink or not. }}

Spinel ?

{{ I'm also open for a doubles thread of any kind!! They can be two of the same kind of gem, her meeting her past self, silly crack stuff, anything that sounds fun! }}

Of course if there's a muse you like that i haven't listed here that never means you can't write with them too!

[two-sides-halved]

It seemed like all was going well, people were being evacuated from the town by Nanafua and other gems from Little Homeworld.

Rose was wearing Gem Steven's casual clothing, while headbanging to some really old rock music that Greg had on hand. He had figured she was distracted enough for him to slink away and use the bathroom.

Human Steven and Spinel emerged from the house, the words were muted and mumbled as the music played over them as the pair passed by, the track had soon ended.

Rose stretched out. "That was so fucking fun, Greg... If the world wasn't in danger, I would really like to stay longer." She paused and looked around seeing as Greg was no longer by her side. She hopped out of the van curious as to where that funny little musically talented human went off to... he soon wandered from the house back up toward where the injector was, her eyes had zeroed in on Human Steven and Spinel talking yet Spinel didn't look like the bubbly self she had been nearly all day, she was taller, she was spiker, she looked dangerous. Rose had that spark of worry, and of course taking her sword she leapt into action without a second thought.

However, while Human Steven was talking with Spinel, he didn't get enough time to react or to stop Rose from slicing her in half in front of him. Rose looked over worry in her eyes. "Are you ok? She didn't hurt you, did she?"

Human Steven twitched, looking at Spinel's gem then looked at Rose's worried face, and his immediate reaction was anger, and lost of it, like finally a dam had broken after all these years. "OK? OK?? I WAS THIS CLOSE TO FIXING THIS WHOLE MESS!!"

Rose seemed surprised by the other's volume. Human Steven continued, "I AM SO SICK AND TIRED OF YEARS OF YOU AND THE GEMS ALWAYS PUTTING ME IN THE SIDELINES BECAUSE YOU ALL HAVE THE POWERS AND YOU ALL THINK I'M SO GOD DAMN FRAGILE. I AM NOT THAT SICK LITTLE KID ANY MORE. I HAD TO DEAL WITH THIS WHOLE MESS BY MYSELF WITHOUT THE GEMS,... WITHOUT MY BROTHER AND NOW, YOU THINK YOU'RE HELPING BY POOFING THE ONLY PERSON, WHO COULD HAVE REVERSED THIS WHOLE MESS!" Human Steven yelled back his cheeks glowing a slight pink, his eyes changing to pink with white star shaped pupils.

"OH WAIT, I FORGOT YOU DON'T THINK BEFORE YOU ACT, YOU NEVER HAVE... YOU JUST DO WHAT YOU WANT ALL THE TIME AND THE GEMS JUST LET YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE A DIAMOND AND THEY COULDN'T POSSIBLY SAY NO TO YOU..." Human Steven huffed, some tears falling from his cheeks, landing on the dying ground and making roots that grabbed around his ankle.

"Why don't you just leave? I can handle this mess, besides my brother and I have always had to deal with cleaning up every mess you made... why should now be any different?" His voice was uncharacteristically dark, cold and distant.

Rose was quiet before she turned away from him to leave him with dealing with Gem she thought was danerous... she traveled slow as she reflected on what had happened, pausing to turn around to see if Human Steven was still upset with her.

Human Steven was turned away from her, his eyes following Spinel's gem as it reformed on front of him. He started with an apology for Rose's actions explaining that it was only an accident and that she didn't know any better. However, Spinel wasn't so easily swayed this time around, she barked back with theories about how he just wanted to use her to fix the damage the injector caused and then poof her again and send her away again to be all alone again!

Human Steven tried to get her to see reason, only for her to kick him in the face, and bounce onto the top of the injector. Rose was watching this interaction go on, a thought came to mind of how she should help him, but then she remembered how he had yelled at her for helping before... that she would only make it worse.

But something had sparked in Rose's mind seeing the pink glowing goo, the sparkle of the gem in the distance and Human Steven struggling to move. It flashed part of their childhood in their mind, specifically their fight against a Corrupted Nephrite.

Rose's gem glowed and she ran back at human Steven at full speed, her form glowing entirely pink before Gem Steven formed back in his proper form before tackling his brother out of the way and forming Steven Squared once again.

The fusion having a brief moment of glee as they realized that Gem Steven was back to being himself again before they summoned a shield to protect them from the explosion of goo that was terraforming the landscape, sitting on the water like a thick oil, melting the terrain.

Then it all went down hill from there. The two began fighting, only for Steven Squared to keep getting his ass handed to him, over and over again before Connie had joined in the fight. Things looked up until Connie was sliced in half in front of the fusion.

That sinister bone chilling laugh was in the air. It even sounded like it was doubled. It was all going wrong... Steven Squared was being mocked for his feelings over what Spinel had called another meaningless broken toy and the fusion's tears had caused a cacoon of vines to envelope the fusion while Spinel continued to laugh and laugh.

Meanwhile, the real Gem Steven was fighting off the mental manifestation of all his guilt of what happened to Earth, he looked like he was still going through the ringer, his skin a dark pink, his wings and horns fully sprouted it had looked far worse than it did on the surface. The horrid cackling of this gem was echoing through out his mind, cracking the ground more and more around him.

Raspberry Tart couldn't focus past all the negative energy that was concentrated into this one moment of the memory. A loud beastial ROAR was heard breaking through all the laughter as the cocooned figure broke through its bonds, revealing Mega Steven.

"Yea, yea, that's understandable, Classic's the same way." Raspberry Tart replied. "Granted Classic has never seen him poof before, he'd probably have the same thoughts in his little teen brain."

Raspberry Tart looked over, "I'm glad you'll try to not get so panicky about seeing Pink, but remember she's only gonna be like this until the concert later in the memory... then you'll get to see Rose... who I'd think you're probably have the same ammount of problems with...." he sighed. "I'll stay by your side ok..."

[midnight-drawing77]

Simple Joys of Life: [2] Auburn Cycle

(Spinel x Reader)

“WOOHOO!!!”

Spinel joyfully shouted out with her bubbly laughter following behind. Her twin pigtails ruffled wildly in the forced wind and her noodle like arms falling behind as well.

“Spinel! Slow down!” Your voice called to gem who is also more than a few yards away after descending the mountain roads. Luckily, this road was made for people to bike or hike for fun. “Bicycles can only go a certain speed!”

The handlebar shook at the lack of contact from Spinel’s hands, but she grabbed it before it could get more violent. “You worry too much!!! I’ve got it!” She winks back at you.

That caused you to roll your eyes and you began watching as Spinel stood up to move her bicycle side to side. You couldn’t see, but you can tell her smile was one of full happiness. Freedom.

Until she gets careless....

“SPINEL!!!”

The gem opened her eyes and panicked at the very sharp turn coming up. Her fingers reach for the brakes.

“Don’t pull the breaks!!!”

It is more dangerous if she were to pull the brakes at the speed she held on the bicycle. You had told her that before, but it’s reasonable that anyone would automatically reach for it in panic. Now, the action caused the bike to flip and launched Spinel through a thick group of trees.

You were glad you had held your speed to a minimum as you skid your bike to a stop with ease. Parting the leaves, you notice there’s a big pond and a small part of the surface was bubbling.

Suddenly, Spinel popped up and spouts out a stream of water from her mouth. A tiny fish had also fell out of her mouth. Her expression turned to comical shame, a faint blush dusting her cheeks.

“Oh, thank the heavens you’re a gem.” You say with relief.

It didn’t take long for her to phase the water off her form and the two of you are now back on the road. Although, this time your strolling with your bicycles to your sides.

“That was so embarrassing.” Spinel complained.

You snickered, “I told you to be careful.”

Spinel puffs her cheeks and became defensive, “No, you didn’t! You said slow down! There’s a difference, (Y/n).”

With a gentle and playful nudge, you just smile it off, “Either way. I’m just so glad you didn’t get hurt.”

Her magenta eyes caught sight of your close eyed smile which made her gem swell with happiness. “It’s gonna take a lot more than small bicycle crash to take me down.” She boasts.

You hum in response and stop to mount your bike, “Yeah. I bet that poor fish was so thankful that you saved it from drowning.” With that said, you immediately pedal away in laughter.

“HOW DARE YOU!” Spinel began to pedal behind with a bright embarrassed face.

“You can’t stay mad at me for long!” You grin at her as she catches up and you’re riding beside each other. A thought crossed your mind at how a gem like herself had been complaining earlier that day and she said that riding a bicycle is boring. Maybe it’s because there had been a tiny bit of adventure while heading up the mountain.

Why was it a tiny adventure?

Well, it had been funny and worrisome when teaching the gem how to ride a bicycle, but she handled it faster than you thought. Plus when you two stopped at an old campsite to rest, a bear had been roaming around. Of course, you panicked and ran, this also made Spinel run with you.

“You’re a gem!!! Why are you running?!” You shout.

Spinel realized and giggled sheepishly, “Oh yeah!” She wrapped her arm around you while swinging amongst the trees and the along the way she grabbed your bicycles. Spinel lands on a ledge where nothing can reach you two and it so happens to overlook the entire tree land.

“Wow.”

That was the only breathtaking response from the pink hearted gem. She sits down as a gentle breeze rustled all the leaves of each tree, seeming like the sound of far ocean waves. “I didn’t realize that trees have their own waves.”

You pull out a small packed lunch from the basket of your bicycle. “There’s tons of surprises Earth has to offer. Unfortunately, most of the population can’t see the most prized and precious thing they’re given.”

From this view and somewhere between those trees, the small town that you and Spinel are staying at had a reason to call their town, ‘Auburn Well’. The trees are a mix of fall and spring colors, mostly autumn colors.

“I’m lucky then. Especially when the first surprise was you.” Spinel slowly tips to the side to lay her heading on your shoulder. Her eyes lock into a stare with your own before they close into a close eyed grin.

You feel your face heat up.

“Wanna know why?~” She sings and boops your nose. “Because I WHEELIE like you.”

Your eyes twitch and you fall back, laughing hysterically. She laughs with you and her cheeks flush brightly, seeming embarrassed. You start to snort and try to slow your laugh, “Almost... You almost had me.”

Spinel shrugs with a smile, “I tried. Give me some credit.”

You mount your bike and roll your eyes with amusement, “Nah, I’m just TWO-TIRED for this.”

“Oh-ho-ho!” Spinel laughs and springs up to hug your head. “That was bad. Leave the puns to the professional, Sweetie.”

That’s when it all lead up to both of you wrestling and nearly rolling off the edge to your rooms, if Spinel hadn’t sprung back up to the top with you. The lunch had been forgotten and the sun was nearing the late afternoon, so back to the present;

The sun is slowly disappearing and Spinel brought out the small lanterns to hook onto the bikes. A few cars pass by while heading onto the main road and you began to watch as Spinel started doing tricks with the bicycle. Bouncing it on one wheel, turning in midair in a 180, until she bounced the front wheel.

Spinel backflipped hard onto the leaf covered ground and a broken wheel rolling off somewhere into the forest.

At this, you face palm and let her ride on your bike. Her arms are now around your middle and you can feel your squeeze you gently like a long lasting hug as you start pedaling back toward town. Recalling all of Spinel’s fails today, you couldn’t help but snicker.

“What?”

“Ah, nothing. I just realized how much embarrassing fails you did today.” You muse playfully.

Spinel buried her face against your shoulder with a pout, “Oh quiet you.”

You giggle and take one of your hands off the handle to pat her hand that’s resting on her coil of arms. She softly squeezes you to show that she understood your playful manner.

Riding more slowly through town, the two of you stop at the bed and breakfast place that Steven’s dad rented for you and Spinel. Well, Connie and Steven were here too for Connie’s break from college. By now, it’s dark, but there’s still people out and about to enjoy this town’s historic buildings.

“There you two are! Do you realize how late it is? Seriously, how far did you guys take our bikes out riding?” Steven scold softly.

You park the bicycle as Connie waves from the top window while you wave back happily.

“Wait.....Spinel....where’s my bike?”

Spinel freezes as her pigtails stood straight up before they droop. She laughs nervously, “Well, you see, Steven. Your bike got TWO-TIRED and decided to take a stroll to find a new ATTIRE.” She jazzy hands and cringes at her joke. “Oh, that didn’t turn out too well. I’m gettin’ rusty. AH!”

Steven began chasing her around the block as Spinel just springs around with loony laughter at his lack of capture.

You watch them and take an auburn leaf from your hair. It laid there on your palm before a breeze swept it off toward the sky. It wasn’t long before Steven walks up to the door, giving Spinel a noogie to her head and she snickered.

“And you’re not getting of it either, (Y/n)!” Steven grinned playfully and pulled you into a headlock with his other arm. “You two took off with our bicycles when we had the day planned with them.”

You and Spinel glance at each other and smirk. “You know what they—“

“—The early bird gets the worm.” Spinel finished.

Both of you laugh and quickly hold Steven down to get him a noogie.

An Auburn Cycle through the autumn leaf mountains had been another amazing memory with Spinel.

[mimik-u]

Fragments III, 1-100

300 drabbles about Steven Universe/Future, 100 words each! These are the first 100 prompts and writer’s choices that have been fulfilled.

Asterisks are placed next to my personal favorites that I’ve written.

Baggage* — Steven meets his new therapist!

Eternity —How about a Bellow interaction you've always wanted to see in canon but didn't get to?

Foe —Jasper is simultaneously satisfied and yet left deeply empty inside by her self-isolation on Earth, and doesn't understand how to even begin to process this dichotomy. (So she doesn’t.)

Letter — Young Greg's POV when he wrote those letters to his parents Steven found on Mr. Universe episode.

Sword —Connie interacting with someone she doesn't usually talk to by herself (ex Jasper, Bismuth, Lapis, etc.).

Reconciliation — Idk about you but I wanna see more Mega Pearl. The others have not met Mega Pearl.

Marks —How about... Spinel, and the tiny, everyday baby steps towards healing?

Tangled — Peridot finds out/is told about PD/RQ? (And is confirmed in her guess that Pearl is fancy...?)

Challenge* — How is Steven’s TubeTube channel doing?

Bruises — Priyanka tends to Connie's wounds after training sessions with Pearl. [Writer’s Choice]

Rest* — Yellow Diamond gets to relax. (She's the one who most expresses regret and real understanding. Let her take a nap! She deserves it!)

Barbecue* — Post-movie, during cleanup, Steven and Lars talk and plan the BBQ we got a glimpse at during the final song.

Ghost — Yellowtail and Greg talk about fatherhood and how it can be ruined (mentioning Marty and Greg's father subtly).

UNO* — Date between Pearls (platonic or otherwise).

Height — The pebbles!!! They're so small???? Where are they? *Sobs, points at the Heaven and Earth Beetles.*

Embrace — Steven gets a well-deserved cuddle pile from family and friends.

Constructs — Bismuth and Peridot have a lot more in common than they think.

Horns — Amethyst makes an unexpected new friend at Little Homeschool. (Whichever other character you feel would fit best!)

Garden — Pre-show scene. While having a funny chat, Greg mentions something that reminds Rose about her abandoning Spinel, which makes her regret more of her choices.

Advice — Garnet can tell when Stevonnie has a lot on their mind. [Writer’s Choice.]

Hum — Yellow and her relationship with music.

Love* — Pearl considering her romantic feelings towards someone and thinking about how she's finally moving on from Rose. (Doesn't mean she'll ever forget her.)

Kid — A glimpse into “Sadie Killer.” Maybe when they played their first show, while Steven was still in the band. Celebrating afterward or a discussion on why Steven didn't stay IN the band?

Troubleshooting* — Integration of gem communication networks and Earth Internet and phone lines and the resulting inevitable disaster.

Fairytale — Connie gets a tour of Little Homeworld.

Hope — Jasper finally starting to let her guard down and realize her self worth.

Song* — As for prompts... Steg? Like, him in general, just being himself. It's a bummer we only got to see him in the movie.

Mistakes* — Steven talking to someone (not a therapist, just another character) about his trauma?

Forgiveness — The Topaz fusion reconnects with the Crystal Gems at Little Homeschool and apologizes for her role in the kidnapping all those years ago.

Visions — Sapphire and Ruby reflect on the events of "Together Forever." [Writer’s Choice]

Reunited — Maybe a scene where Yellow comes home from a long escapade and is reunited with a worried Spinel?

Beginnings — After CYM, Lapis and Peridot discuss where to live since the barn is destroyed.

Pet* — White Diamond happily announces one day that she has decided to take in a small creature (of your choosing) as a pet.

Together — What were Doc, Army, Navy, and Leggy doing during Future?

Desert — Steven meeting Lion from Lion's perspective. I dunno, I think it could be neat.

Freedom — For a post-CYM/SU:F prompt, what do you think about the exact moment it hit either Blue or Yellow Pearl that they were completely free to follow their whims?

Apologies — Greg apologizes to Steven due to the incident in “Mr. Universe” and both have the talk they should've had in that episode.

Change — Blue and Yellow Zircon's relationship has improved even if they are now rivals in the new democratic Homeworld. This last tiny bit is related to the “Homeworld Bound” episode.

Hug — Bellow cuddling. Yellow has no idea what to do, but Blue is loving it.

Valentine* — Steven gives Peridot a Valentine's Day gift. [Writer’s Choice]

Spite — Aquamarine and Eyeball are distraught at knowing they won't be rewarded for their actions because their worst enemy, Steven Universe, has been labeled a hero and royalty by the Diamonds.

Reevaluation — How about more Peedee and Steven friendship? Like, Peedee noticing Steven’s change in demeanor the farther along the show we get?

Camp — Connie kicking ass at space camp.

Family — The night after the events of the movie, Steven gets some quality family time.

Homestretch — Peridot, Lapis, and Bismuth spend time together while preparing Little Homeworld.

Enough — We know what Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck are gonna do for their futures, but what's Kiki been up to? Is she gonna take over the pizzeria?

Spillage — Vidalia and Amethyst catch up after Steven's monster episode.

Reformation — White Diamond has learned how to be so extremely empathetic to the point that she literally becomes another person, but has she really begun to understand others?

Comment* — Sardonyx makes some Internet videos.

Unicorn — While traveling through California, Steven encounters two fishermen arguing about unicorns. [SU/GF crossover.] [Writer’s Choice]

Worry — Andy and Greg stay in touch.

Homerun* — I hopal for Opal—perhaps she will attempt some baseball.

Skydancer — Post-CYM, Pearl getting to “truly” take Steven out for a joy ride through the cosmos in a properly operational ship of her design.

Mercy* — The shattering-is-wrong discussion between Rose and Bismuth that led to Bis being bubbled.

Happy — Smoky Quartz hasn't made a self deprecating joke in a while—is it Steven's therapy?

Electric* — Yellow’s gloves—I feel like they’re covering something up, maybe.

Cake — Fusion Cuisine 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Belonging — The Rose Quartz sisters visit again.

Transcendence — Fluorite offers someone wise caterpillar grandma advice.

March — Connie and Steven reflect on changes in life after the pandemic. Not canon compliant. [Writer’s Choice.]

Understanding — Onion be doing Onion things.

Ocean* — Andy and Steven post-”I Am My Monster”? I love their relationship, lol.

Ignorance* — Does Lapis even realize Bismuth was probably the one who poofed her?

Reflection — Did I already say more Mega Pearl? ‘Cause there can never be enough Mega Pearl.

Possibility* — Yellow deciding she should try putting shattered gems back together. (She probably broke the most.)

Storyboard — Peridot’s budding career as a storyboarder.

Fall — Lapis and Steven talk about trauma and recovery. Pre-The Future.

Limbo — How the dismantled gempire has affected the lives of noble gems like Emerald, Holly Blue Agate, and others.

Now — Garnet reminds herself to live in the present.

Grief* — Alexandrite forms for the first time. [Writer’s Choice]

Inauguration — Wait, did Connie's parents ever meet Stevonnie?

Please — Did Kevin ever learn anything? Naaaaaah....unless...

Friend — General prompt? A sequel/prequel to this, please [White D’s panther].

Treatment — Greg starting to learn more about gem stuff to be more involved in Steven's life if something ugly happens.

Numbers — Pearl, please do something with all those phone numbers in your head.

Generations — Rose continues to discover the wonders of Earth, even after all this time. (No angst allowed in this one, just pure wonder.)

Survival — The Off-Colors used to have more members in the past.

Acting — How did Rainbow 2.0 even get invited to babysit Onion?

Kindness* — Former Mayor Dewey coming to terms with his new position in town.

Play — The Gems and Greg try to capture Steven's first moments on a bike. [Writer’s Choice]

Documentary — Ronaldo makes a real actually informative documentary about Little Homeworld.

Rain — Blue Diamond still cries sometimes.

Zoophobia — Also, I saw Z and my immediate thought was "Zoophobia.”

Echo* — Why does the tiny floating whale have Rose's voice before Steven ever heard it in the tape?

Sketch — Steven and Connie discover an anime character/mythological figure who bears an awfully similar resemblance to Obsidian.

Unironically — Why does Buck wanna be a doctor?

Club — How did Bismuth, Lapis, and Peri become such tight friends?

Nostalgia — Greg considers a comeback tour.

Pressure* — The creation of the Diamonds, maybe?

Coping — Amethyst and Pearl grapple with Rose's pregnancy. [Writer’s Choice]

Theatre — Sugilite, meet Rainbow 2.0.

Dadhood* — Whatever happened to Mrs. Fryman? IS there a Mrs. Fryman, or was it only a passing on-and-off thing that resulted in kids?

Lingering — Jasper finally lets Malachite go.

Human — Steven talks to his therapist about his mom, the feelings of before and the now. (It was left open-ended—his relationship with his mother.)

Words — Kofi is proud of his daughters.

Quest — [Letter prompt] Quest.

Picture — Sour Cream and Steven talking about absent parents and bad parenting. Post-The Future.

Bittersweet* — Shep finally gets to meet the notorious Lars.

Gemini — Spinel discovers memes and we're all doomed.

Weird — When he's younger, Steven doesn't quite know how to label the Gems.

[fivefeetfear]

Chapter 4

.............................

(Y/N) spent about an hour showing Spinel around the small town, giving the pink gem a rundown of the tiny metropolis. At some point Spinel stopped processing the words the short girl was saying since her brain seems to be on the fritz as alarms went off in her head. Because at this very moment (Y/N) was holding her hand. She was holding (Y/N) hand. They are holding hands! This was all she could think about for the last hour; they're laced fingers locked together. It felt nice. However, as a means of distraction from the hand holding, the pink gem began to pay attention to (Y/N) facial expressions. The taller gem admiring every smile line whenever she smiled, or the way her eyebrows knitted together or the way her cute nose scrunches up! This isn’t helping. Spinel averts her eyes when the (Y/G) would glance up at her. She could feel her cheeks glowing pink. Shit she was almost caught staring! Little did Spinel knew, she was, a few times, and it only made (Y/N) smile as she walked closer to Spinel; their arms brushing against one another every so often.

"Ok, I think it's time for us to take a break. I'm going to take you to my favorite ice cream shop! They have the best (F/F) ever! It's so creamy and sweet, I know you'll love it." She sighs softly ready to have her favorite frozen treat.

"There it is!" The (C/G) gem calls out happily, (Y/N) picks up her pace as she tugs the pink gem along. Spinel grins to herself eagerness; she had a feeling she has to get used to the idea of her arm possibly be dislocated. And she was ok with that. The two approached a cute yellow shop with a large neon sign reading "Scoops". Before the two made it to the door, the tall gem used her stretching abilities to open the door and gestured for (Y/N) to go first.

"After you ." Spinel says softly.

"Thank you." Y/N replies as she walked into the chilly shop. The two made their way to the front, standing at the register was a short teal Opal gem, she waves at them politely as she glanced at the familiar (Y/G)

"Would you like your usual Ms. (Y/N)?" Opal asks getting ready to punch in the order.

"Yes!" the (Y/G) answers nearly rocking in place, eyes wide with childlike wonder. The teal Opal looks over at Spinel and asks her for her order too.

"I'll take a raspberry cone please." The magenta gem orders. The list was huge so she just called out the first one she could see. Food wasn’t her thing but she enjoys sweets.

"Ok, your total will be $7.45." Opal confirms with a bright smile. Spinel reached into her sweater pocket to pull out her money, Steven had given her some for the outing. The slim gem then glances over sees (Y/N) pulling out her wallet from her dress pocket. Um no? She was not about to let this cutie pay for her, not on her watch. With a heavy sigh, Spinel begrudgingly releases the short gem's hand. The pink gem stretches her arm around (Y/N) and swipes the wallet from her grasp. (E/C) eyes widen as they followed the hand as it springs back to Spinel. The pink gem tucked it away in her sweater for safekeeping.

"Spi-"

"I gotcha covered." She says coolly giving the cashier the proper amount of money.

"But you're my guest; I'm supposed to treat you." The (Y/G) explains as she pouts gazing up at the pink girl. God, she's too damn cute for her own sake. It wasn't fair on how big of an impact (Y/N) has over her already. Spinel averts her eyes away as she rubs the back of her neck.

"It's the least I could do for you for being so nice to me." Spinel informs as she gives (Y/N) a shy smile. (Y/N) chest tighten as her cheeks lit up. This was the first time she has seen Spinel smile! And it was so cute! The (E/C) eyed female could feel the gem on her neck grow warm as she memorized the wrinkles by Spinel's eyes. The short gem hums thoughtfully before taking the frozen treats.

"Fine, but next time I'm treating!" she says, playfully bumping hips with the taller gem. Spinel's left brow quirks up as her orbs followed her retreating figure. Next time? She wanted to ask what she meant by that but decided against it. Maybe when they were lone.

................................

The pair made their way across the street to a large park in the middle of Little Homeworld. They sat on a bench as they finished their frozen treats in a comfortable silence. Spinel watched as other couples wander the park enjoying the warm weather. Her eyes spotted two gems holding hands as they sat on the swing beside each other. Her eyes drifted down towards (Y/N) petite hands that rested next to hers. Feeling warm under the collar, Spinel tried to summon the courage to touch her hand, but she couldn't do it! The pink gem was in an internal war with herself as she trembled in her spot wanting to have physical connect with her again. UGHHH why was she so pathetic!

"Spinel?"

"Yes!" the pink gem shouts nervously startling (Y/N).

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean t-to shout." (Y/G) waves it off as she leans in closer into Spinel's personal space.

"Don’t worry about it, I just wanted to make sure you were having.” (Y/N) hums sweetly as she swings her short legs, her feet barely touching the ground.

"Y-yeah, I'm having f-fun, but I've b-been meaning to ask y-you something. S-something that d-doesn't make any sense." Spinel informs, her voice trailed off at the end. (Y/N) stops swinging her feet and turned her body to let Spinel know she has her full attention.

"Sure, what is it?" Spinel could feel every atom in her body shaking with fear, her chest constricting tightly with each second that goes by. Relax, she needed to....relax. The pink gem took in a deep breath holding it for ten seconds and slowly releasing it. Ok, she could do this. Spinel lifts her head higher as she shifts her magenta orbs to look directly into (E/C) eyes.

"At the ice cream parlor you said, you’ll be treating next time. What did you mean by that?” (Y/N) blinks her eyes several times as she tilts her head to the side.

“Well it means I would like to hang out without with again.” The curvy gem answers like it was obvious. Or at least she thought SHE was being obvious about her crush towards Spinel.

“See thats what I don’t get? Why do you want to hang out with me again?” Spinel quips anxiously back needing more clarity. Why would she want to be around her! Spinel knew (F/N) and everyone in Little Homeworld knew who she is! They have to know what she has done! And if she does why does she wants to be even near her!!

"Because you're nice." (Y/N) answers simply as she waited for the slender gems reaction. The (Y/G) didn’t understand why this was so important to Spinel. It seems like she wants a life altering answer on why she wants to be spend time with her but she doesn’t have one.

The dots were not connecting for the pink gem and it was beginning to irritate her. Spinel sat unmoving on the bench as she stared down at the (Y/G), her expression completely unreadable. (Y/N) began to shift her eyes around growing nervous under the magenta hues. Did she say something wrong? Before (Y/N) could speak, Spinel started chuckling to herself, it gradually got louder and it threw (Y/N) completely off guard. It was not a happy laugh either, it was a laugh empty of joy and filled to the brim with bitterness.

"W-what's so funny?" (Y/N) asks meekly. Spinel quicks her laughing then snaps her attention back to the short gem as she frowns in disdain.

"You. You're what's funny!" she responses mockingly. Ok? The short girl's eyes widen with confusions as she grips the hem of her dress in firmly completely confused what is happening. Spinel resumes her spiteful laughter as she leans forward placing her elbows on her knees. The pink gem felt like she had completely crashed and could not help the uncontrollable laughter that erupted from her form. Spinel has spent the majority of the day thinking about why a talented and beautiful gem such as (Y/N) wanted to hang around her? A gem that is twisted and completely unstable! And to hear her say it was because she thinks she is nice! What a joke! Where on earth would she get that idea from? Spinel hasn't done anything nice in her life! All she has ever been was a burden!

The self-hatred laughter died down, she then sharpens her eyes in a scowl. Her teeth gritted down as the pink gem felt the fire of distrust burn within. Was she toying with her? (Y/N) has to know who she is and what she has done, right?! Of course, she knows! She is friends with the Crystal Gems! Maybe this was a setup! Was she using some form of reverse psychology? Maybe this was all some elaborate plan to see if she is still as unhinged as the day she left.Why else would she be gaslighting her like this? Paranoia floods her mind drowning any rational thought she had left. Spinel felt her eyebrows twitch uncontrollably as she let her insecurity devour her.

"Did you hit your head or something? Or are you always this full of shit? Why would you think that? I know you heard about me and what I've done. I gave you no reason to believe I am nice. Was it because I bought you ice-cream, mmhm!? If that's your only proof then you set the standards for yourself pretty damn low! It's sad really! If that's all that it takes for you to consider ME nice to consider hanging out with me, I can’t imagine what I have to do to get between your legs." Spinel cracks with a sadistic grin.

(Y/N) eyes widen in anger as she stood up from the spot on the bench, her hand glowing a bright (F/C) as she reeled it back as far as she can and swung it forward with all her might. She refused to let anyone talk to her like that.

SLAP

Spinel head swirls around from the powerful impact as she hisses in pain. Damn, that really hurt, she knew it was going to leave a nasty bruise. The pink gem unwind her neck as she cupped her injured cheek, her eyes meeting teary (E/C) ones. (Y/N) breathed heavily in anger as her tiny hands shook with rage.

"You are such-"

"A bitch? Asshole? Monster?!" Spinel suggested with a crooked smile. The pink gem felt her figurative heartbreak knowing this was her defense mechanism trying to protect her. Protecting her from any more pain. The hatred that she harbors for herself had completely overruled Spinel's hope for any potential relationship with (Y/N). She knew she was already attached to the (Y/G), and it scared her on how quickly it happened. The magenta gem refused to let anyone have that kind of hold on her again.

(Y/N) seethed in rage as her fists glowed once more, angry tears building up in her eyes.

"To t-think you...you...fuck!" (Y/N) growls under her breath, choking on her tears. How did this happen? How did this day take a wild one eighty!? (Y/N) saw a crowd begin to form and it took everything inside her to ignore the stares.

"To think what? That I was NICE?" Spinel snaps as she reaches over and grabs (Y/N) wrist.

"Oh I'm a swell gal alright. I'm sooooo nice that I brought an injector to earth filled with Bio-Poison to kill your precious Steven! To completely wipe him out from existence right along with the planet and his friends! YOUR friends! So please tell me what it is that you?!” Spinel demands as she glared harshly at (Y/N). The furious gem began to tower over the (G/C) girl as she grabs her other wrist to yank her closer, staring directly into (E/C) hues trying to figure out what her aim is.

"ANSWER ME!" She screams into the short gem's face, panic laced within her words.

"To think you were the one that found me!" (Y/N) roars back into the Spinel's face refusing to let the pink gem intimidate her. Spinel's face contours in confusion when her words-processed in her head. Found her? What did she mean by that?

(Y/N) growls as a blinding white light consumed her form, this startled Spinel as her grasped loosen around her wrist. The (G/C) gem latched her hands onto Spinel's forearms keeping her in place.

"Let go of me!" Spinel yells frantically trying to escape the iron grip of the short gem, but no dice. The light then creeps up onto the base of Spinel's forearms and spread to the rest of her body. This kicked her into panic mode as her eyes dilated in fear, feeling her skin heating up.

The two then vanished into thin air.

[spinelwritings]

Story font please. Thousand of years have gone by. Steven and the original residents of beach city have died of old age with only their future children/bloodline to go on living. Human S/o is gone too so spinel avoids humans by staying on home world. One day, spinel finally goes to back to beach city, seeing all the new humans and the original crystal gems. She sees a human that looks exactly like her s/o with the same personality too.

Spinel hadn’t been to Earth in thousands of years. It hurt too much. All the familiar sights and sounds and smells and faces, they all reminded her too much of Y/N. She had promised both herself and them that she would move on after they passed, wouldn’t let herself get stuck up on them. Clearly, that wasn’t what happened. Better late than never, right? That’s what they always said.

So, she went to Earth for a little visit. 

And wow, it had really changed. She had forgotten just how quick humans changed and grew. Beach City wasn’t a big town, it never really was, but it had grown a bit. The buildings looked different, the humans dressed differently, even the way the humans spoke sounded different. But as different as it was, there was still a lot that stayed the same. The reminders of what everything once was were still there and her thoughts always seemed to go back to Y/N. She was reminded just how much she loved them. 

Little Homeworld was far more familiar than Beach City was. Unlike the human town, it had hardly changed. The same gems roamed the streets, laughing with each other, going about their lessons, doing whatever it is they were doing. It hurt a lot more. 

She remembered all the times she would run through these streets with them. They had the most beautiful laugh and would flash her the most stunning smile. Why did it still hurt so much? Shouldn’t she be over it by now? Sure, it didn’t hurt as much as it used to but it still hurt. 

She sighed, finding herself a spot under a tree to sit down. She spent some time just watching the gems and humans walk past in a blur. She wasn’t really paying attention to any of it, just letting her mind wander.

Then something caught her attention. Something stood out amongst the blur of movement in front of her. At first, she didn’t know what had caught her eye. She stood up, scanning the crowd, and just managing to spot the back of a human as they turned a corner. That had to be it. She followed them, trying to catch them before they vanished into the crowd.

Before Spinel had really thought any of this through she found herself grabbing their wrist and they turned to her, a look of confusion on their face. She froze completely. It became very apparent just why this human, in particular, had caught her attention. 

They looked so much like Y/N. It wasn’t exact. Their hair was a different style, their nose a slightly different shape and they were a bit taller. Still, When she looked into their eyes it was like Y/N was looking back, gaze just as intense as ever.

“Um, can I help you?”

Spinel snapped out of whatever trance she had been in, snatching her hand back and holding it close to her chest.

“Oh, um, sorry, you just … You reminded me of someone. I guess I kinda lost myself for a bit.” She forced a laugh, wincing internally at just how fake it sounded. The human just smiled at her, one far too similar to Y/N’s. It made her chest ache.

“Oh, you’re fine! You just surprised me is all.” They said, then tilted their head as a thought struck them. “Where does this person live? I’d love to meet my own doppelganger! Wouldn’t that be funny?” They chuckled but quickly stopped at the look on Spinel’s face. 

“They used to live in Beach City, actually.”

A look of understanding passed over their face.

“I see. I’m sorry.”

Spinel just shrugged.

“All humans die eventually.”

“Yeah, I guess. But it seems that it’s easier for humans to accept it then gems. Probably because we have to live with it.”

It sounded just like something Y/N would have said. 

She knew she should probably leave now. She didn’t actually know this person, even if they did look and act so much like Y/N. But for some reason, her feet remained rooted to the spot. Her mind raced as she tried to find something to say. The human beat her to it.

“Do you wanna hang out sometime? We could talk and stuff.”

Spinel didn’t bother trying to fight the smile that spread on her face.

“Yeah, that might be fun!”

And she knew it wasn’t them, but what was the harm in learning more about them?

[spinelxreader]

Spinel wakes up Y/N with the clown shoes because she knows it terrifies Y/N

Okay, Listen, that sound really fucking funny lol it reminded me of a idea i had when i got spooked at a Wal-Mart's Halloween aisle.

So the idea was basically

Spinel loves scaring you at least once everyday during the month of October and one day you had both went to the store to get candies for the kids but suddenly spinel goes off on her own. you didn't worry much seeing as she had made alot of progress since being with you; so as your shopping you start to hear squeaking from time to time but you know her game, she isn't gonna get you this time.

So your basically on your guard the whole time being super paranoid.

Jokes on you tho the circus was in town and the clowns came to shop

[prospitdaydreamer]

For u anon <3

HOOOOOOO ok i’m trying to gather all my thoughts

Ok so fair warning, a lot of these stories stem from like... 5th grade and some are revamped to not be as bad, but others I’m STILL working on so... it’s gonna be a littlw rough and they’re all rlly a little WIP (especially since I never finished Naruto.... so like a lot of the characters backstory might clash with the lore. But tbh these character’s entire existence clashes with the lore in the first place so rlly?? W/e i guess)

Ok ok here we go, i’m gonna put it under a readmore so I’m not assaulting everyone’s dash.

Maku - (This is my most developed oc out of all, mostly because she’s my fave lmao) So, Maku is a runaway from her clan (I don’t have a clan name yet, but it’s gonna do smthn with cats lmao). Maku is the daughter of the head of the clan, so she was raised as a princess and the heir to the throne. However, her parents are not... great :/ They put a lot of responsibility and pressure on her, while her younger sister got to get off shinobi training early and hang with her friends. Despite this, she didn’t hold resentment for her sister and loved her very much, but she grew distant from her parents. Not long before her coronation, she actually ended up running away after having a breakdown from the pressure. She had no plan where to go or any money, but she felt finally free. Until she met Miyuka, who tried to sacrifice her to Jashin. She was able to make a deal that if she let her live, she’d help her find sacrifices. Somehow they became friends through that. They joined the Akatsuki together. I’ll definitely post more about her soon I’m sure!

Her Akatsuki partner is Miyuka, of course.

She got paired with Kakuzu. Their relationship is a very quiet one, but she doesn’t mind. She’s not like Miyuka, who is very touchy-feely. She just wants a relationship built on mutual respect. She treasures the nights where she’s curled up and warm next to him, while he reads whatever book he’s reading.

Special abilities and weapons: She inherited her clan’s kekkei Genkai. She’s able to transform into any species of feline, but the bigger the species, the more chakra it uses. As long as she’s able to maintain the form of the feline, she also gets it’s abilities ( e.g. if she’s a cheetah, she gets speed, lion gets far leaps, etc). Bonus fact: if she had stayed in her clan and became the leader, she would have been granted the ability to summon a catlike creature, much like the Sannin’s animals. However, since she dipped out, her sister got this connection instead. She doesn’t use weapons very often, her claws usually do the trick.

Miyuka: I don’t have much down about Miyuka, but she was an orphan who was taken in by Jashinists, so of course she grew up to be one too. She met Maku while finding sacrifices and made a deal with her that if she’d help her get sacrifices, she’d be allowed to live. She actually grew fond of Maku because she was always respectful of her religion and practices. It was actually her idea to join the Akatsuki. Much like Hidan, she figured it’s a great opportunity to get sacrifices. She’s definitely hot, but don’t get too close unless you’re into knifeplay ;)

Her Akatsuki partner is Maku, of course.

She’s paired with Hidan, obv. They’re definitely under the impression that Jashin destined them together and they have NO problem showing that off to the world (Much to Kakuzu, Maku, and everyone’s disdain.)

Special abilities and weapons: Before meeting Hidan, she actually hadn’t unlocked her immortality. Hidan helped her unlock it and now they share that ability. Instead of a skeletal form, though, her form is more ghostly. She uses two sickles as her weapons.

Gashiyo: Gashiyo actually wasn’t technically a shinobi, but her grandfather was and he taught her everything she knows about fighting. She lived on his farm her whole life, and she was very close with one of the cows, Yumi. She grew up with Yumi since she was a little calf. Because of her, Gashiyo grew fond of cows, and they’re her favorite animals. When she was 17, she met a boy who came to work on her grandpa’s farm, and they fell in love. They became attached at the hip, and spent a whole summer together. One fateful night, she awoke to ruckus. When she went outside she found her grandfather dead and Yumi too. Standing over Yumi’s body was the boy she had fallen in love with. Turns out he had been working for a local gang that her grandpa owed money to. She ended up killing him for what he’d done. Ever since, her heart grew cold and she became a very angry person. She joined the Akatsuki, since she had nowhere to go and she needed money. 

Her Akatsuki partner is Koki.

She got paired with Deidara. She found him extremely annoying at first, but he wormed his way into her heart. Because of her past experiences with love, it was very difficult for her to open up to him. She’s pretty waspy, but she’s grown softer since. He even made her a little clay cow (It was very difficult for him to resist the urge to blow it up, but he managed.)

Special abilities and weapons: Her stampede jutsu causes a stampede of bulls made of chakra to charge toward her opponents. She also has brass knuckles with bull horns on them.

Koki: I honestly don’t have a backstory for her yet. I can tell you what she was like before I revamped her though. She literally just looked like Kisame, but a gorl lol. They were from the same village ig. Also she was a princess too excerpt it made no sense. I just wanted a princess (this was actually before i changed Maku’s story. She wasn’t originally a princess.) character i think. 

BUT i swear she’s waayyyy better now

Her Akatsuki partner is Gashiyo

She was paired with Kisame. If ever she had a weakness, it’s muscles. She saw him with his cloak off and it was OVER. Koki is anything but shy, and i think Kisame appreciated that. She doesn’t just like muscles on her men, she loves them on herself too! They often work out together.

Special abilities and weapons: She’s a puppet master, but her puppets are rather unusual. They’re more like little spider robots she’s infused with her chakra to do her bidding. She’s very fond of them, despite everyone finding them creepy. She usually uses small ones but she has them in all sorts of sizes.

Shiitake: Shiitake used to be one of Orochimaru’s experiments. Because of this, she has amnesia and doesn;t remember much from before her time with him. She somehow got away and joined the Akatsuki to, hopefully, gain protection from him. In all honesty, she doesn’t really want to be there. Her heart was never one for murder or crime, but she doesn’t really have a choice. She’s very quiet and rarely speaks unless spoken to.

Her Akatsuki partner is Anara.

She’s paired with Itachi. When he found out she used to be one of Orochimaru’s experiments, they bonded over their experiences with him. He told her about how he was targeted to be one of Orochimaru’s bodies. Though they know they don’t have a lot of time together due to Itachi’s sickness, they still try to make the best of the time they have. ANd until then, he promised he wouldn’t let Orochimaru anywhere near her. He felt it’s the least good he could do for someone.

Special abilities and weapons: WIP, i literally have no idea yet. 

Anara: I actually never came up with a backstory for her until like…. A year ago. Funny enough, her back story was inspired by Spinel’s from Steven Universe ( I kind of even want her to be voiced by Sarah Stiles too, but I suppose that’d be too on the nose! Still, that’s how I hear her voice). Anara never really knew what love was really like, considering her mother never cared for her much. Her mother never wanted to be a mom, but she met a man she really loved and he wanted a family. However, before Anara was born, her father died. Left as a husk from the depression of losing her lover and having a baby she never really wanted, her mom became very cold and distant. She kept her daughter alive, but that was about it. Anara tried very hard to make her mother happy, or really make her feel any emotion at all, but nothing worked. One day, her mother told Anara to stay home, and that she’d be back later. She left, and never came back, silently hoping maybe her daughter would just die. Well, she didn’t die. She eventually came to the realization her mother was never coming back for her, and she left that house and found her way to the nearest town where she was taken into the orphanage. She joined the academy to become a shinobi, but her heart was also in the arts. She performed plays for the other orphans, and loved the attention she received, the attention she craved. When she became older, she was both a shinobi and a theatre performer. Unfortunately, she still never really felt what it was like to be truly loved by someone. One day, she cracked from remembering the trauma of her mother and feeling like she may never receive the love she craved dearly, and ran away from the village, becoming a missing-nin. Tobi found her, and she became enamored with the mysterious masked man. She agreed to join the Akatsuki, hoping that he could fill the void in her heart. A chance to find a place where she belongs, whisked on an adventure by a mysterious masked man who promised to give her all she wanted? What else could a theatre girl want, lmao.

Her Akatsuki partner is Shiitake

She’s paired with Tobi, but it’s not clear if he feels the same or if he’s just using her. Doesn’t really seem to matter to her either way, she’s just happy to feel some sort of love.

Special abilities and weapons: WIP as well, lmao

Kimako: Kimako isn’t a shinobi, but she is the daughter of one. She’s the only one who has a definite village right now, she’s from Sunagakure. Her story is the one that's probably the dumbest but I have a very strong attachment to it for some reason, so w/e. 

She has no partner.

She’s paired with Sasori. They’ve known eachother since they were little, as she lived close to him and their parents were friends. Her heart broke for him when he found out his parents weren’t coming home. She always had a crush on him, and he was ok with her, since she was always kind to him. When he became a shinobi, she stayed by his side to encourage him. She’d always been proud of him. Before he lost interest in emotions or w/e, he cared for her in his own little way. He even gave her a ring and promised to be hers. Her love for him was very strong, and when he ran away, she vowed to find him, no matter what it took. When she found out he had joined the Akatsuki, she did everything she could to find a way to join and get close to him again. She somehow succeeded, and she pleaded to join, despite having no fighting abilities. She said she’d do anything, and they took pity on her, and found SOME use for her (though i haven’t figured out what that is yet… wip). Once she was accepted and finally reunited with her love, she was devastated to find out he no longer had any feelings for her. All those years, wasted. Not only that, but she now was in debt to the Akatsuki and had to do work for them. Anara did her best to comfort her, so they kind of became friends, so that’s something. DOes Sasori ever regain his feelings? Maybe, maybe not. Guess we’ll have to see ;) Though I do think, for him, she’d agree to become a puppet too. If that was his price or smthn.

Special abilities and weapons: None, just one sad little broken heart.

[tiggyloo]

I posted a few paragraphs from this before, but now I’ll give you the first three pages of this long-ass connverse thing I’m going back to work on. Note that this is part of the rough first draft and some things will likely be changed to flow better etc later

~~~

It’d been many months since Spinel showed up, but at long last everything was cleaned up. All the grass had started to grow back on the hill to the lighthouse, and the fishermen were noticing an increase in their catches again. They hadn’t actually been keeping their catches for a while, and were really only doing it to keep track of the population of creatures in the waters of Beach City.

Steven, finally having some actual free time, had called Connie to see if she wanted to hang out. It’d been a little while since they had the chance. He was really excited to see her—Lion had left to go get her not long ago, and Steven was left to wait, sitting on the beach. The sun had started to go down, and it was nice to see a sunset on a clean ocean again.

He heard Lion’s portal open and jumped to his feet, hurrying over to it as Lion jumped out with Connie clinging onto his mane. Lion skid across the sand and crouched down to allow the girl to dismount, who ran over and happily jumped into Steven’s arms. They laughed and Steven spun her in a circle before letting her down.

“Steven! It’s so nice to see you again,” Connie said, a big smile on her face. “I’ve really hated having to be stuck talking over the phone. I mean, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the same, you know?”

“Yeah, definitely. Sorry I couldn’t find time to hang out earlier.”

“Hey, it’s okay. Couldn’t be helped.”

The two sat on one of the benches along the beach, with Lion sprawled out behind them in the sand. Steven had brought some snacks with him and a few cans of soda, which Connie accepted gratefully. They talked for a long time, a few hours past sundown. Eventually they both slowed down, preoccupied with watching the stars. Every few minutes one would point out a group of stars, and they’d make up a silly constellation.

After that they stopped talking altogether, simply listening to the waves and watching the stars shine. It was nice to just sit together like this again. Then Connie broke the silence with what Steven found to be a little bit of an odd question, and quite out of nowhere.

“Hey, Steven…have you ever kissed anyone?”

Steven gave her a funny look. “…Have you? Is there something I need to know about?”

“Wha—no!” Connie huffed. “Friends can talk about this stuff without there being a reason. It’s normal. And, I’m also just kinda…curious.”

Steven raised a brow and looked back to the sky. He supposed it wasn’t the strangest topic that she could have brought up. Did friends really just talk about stuff like that? Huh.

“So?” Connie prompted, interrupting Steven’s thoughts. He glanced at her and gave a shrug.

“Well, yeah. I guess? Technically?”

She sighed. “No, you know what I mean. A real kiss.”

“Um…I think you know the answer to that, don’t you? After all, the only people in town that are my age are you and Peedee. And I’m not going to kiss Peedee,” he said jokingly before taking a sip from his soda.

“Would you kiss me?”

Steven just about choked on his drink, subsequently throwing him into a coughing fit.

“Oh! My gosh, I’m sorry, I didn’t—” Connie started to apologize, but was cut short when Steven held his index finger up. He coughed some more, hit his fist against his chest a couple times, cleared his throat, then—

“What?”

They stared at each other.

“What,” Connie said after a few seconds.

More staring.

“Connie, did you just ask me if I’d kiss you?”

“Huh? No, I—”

Wait.

Her eyes widened and a blush took over her cheeks.

“Oh, geez, that is what I asked isn’t it?” she groaned, covering her face. “I am so sorry, I-wasn’t thinking. Uh—”

Silence.

“I-okay I’ve made it weird,” Connie stammered. “I’m, um, s-sorry. I, er, I’m, really tired. S-sorry, I should probably go.” She was talking a lot faster now, and looked rather stiff as she stood up. Steven watched her, dumbfounded.

Connie walked around the bench to Lion, who had already gotten to his feet, and climbed onto his back.

She muttered a strained “good night” and before Steven could reply Lion had taken off.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The door opened and in came Steven, looking quite out of it. He made a sound of acknowledgment when the Gems greeted him and walked over to the couch, which he just…fell face first onto and groaned into the cushion.

“Not really what I was expecting after spending time with Connie,” Pearl commented from the counter. Garnet hummed in response.

“Uhhh, you okay there bud?” Amethyst asked, plopping herself onto the couch next to Steven.

The boy mumbled something into the couch.

“Huh?”

“Is everything alright?” Pearl asked next, which got the same response as Amethyst.

Garnet sighed. “Steven-”

“Connie asked if I wanted to kiss her!” Steven said, a bit too loud, and finally sat up. “We were out for a while and we were starting to get tired and she just started talking and she said she wasn’t thinking and didn’t realize what she asked? And it just got awkward after that and she just left-”

He took a deep breath and dropped his head onto the back of the couch.

“Ugh, I’m so dumb. I couldn’t even say anything.”

“Hey, Steven,” Amethyst said, and he heard her shape shift, which probably wasn’t good but he still looked over at her against his better judgment.

“Gimme a kiss, big guy!”

“Gah-!”

And Steven was on the floor with a thud while Amethyst, who had shape shifted into Connie, was laughing hysterically from where Steven sat just a second ago.

“Oh, honestly, Amethyst! That wasn’t funny, stop being mean.”

“…It was a little funny.”

Pearl gave a disapproving look to Garnet, who shrugged, before walking over to the couch. She held her hand out for Steven, who did not take it, because apparently he liked lying on his back with his legs in the air, scowling at the ceiling.

“Suit yourself. So, do you have an answer for her?” Garnet asked, sitting down beside him. He didn’t reply.

Amethyst shifted back and crossed her arms behind her head. “Come on, Garnet, you know what his answer is already. At least, I sure do. I’ve heard how he talks to her over the phone at night.”

Steven’s scowl turned to the purple Gem.

“What are you implying?”

“Watch your mouth, Amethyst,” Garnet cut in and Amethyst held up her hands before hopping off the couch and walking over to the fridge, all the while being followed by Steven’s squinting glare.

“Don’t mind her. You know how she likes to tease you,” Garnet said, patting Steven’s arm. “Also, Steven…”

“Yeah.”

“Sit up. You’re going to hurt your back.”

He grumbled but sat up all the same, and now Pearl was coming over to sit on the couch.

“Um, Steven…do you think that, maybe, you should…talk to her about this?” she suggested. “It sounds like she really shook herself up. I imagine she’s quite embarrassed about all this, don’t you think?”

“I…guess,” Steven sighed. “I don’t think I should bring it up so soon though. Maybe tomorrow. She probably wouldn’t answer tonight anyway. Honestly she’s probably already asleep.”

“You should sleep too, Steven. It’s almost midnight, after all,” Pearl told him.

Oh.

Steven nodded and stood up, rubbing his neck. “Okay, so. I’ll talk to her tomorrow then. I guess. Uh, good night.”

The Gems said good night in return and Steven walked up to his room.

[ick25]

How Steven Universe broke my heart.

So Steven Universe has finally come to an end and people are so happy and crying because of how the show had such a beautiful ending that dealt with real life issues and personal matters that we all relate to at some point in our lives... But I am not one of those people.

I have nothing against teaching children life lessons on how to deal with trauma and anxiety, but what made me interested in the show in the first place was the fantastical elements, the action mixed with comedy, and heartwarming scenes from time to time. From the very beginning, I was never a fan of Steven’s interactions with the people of Beach City who don’t even seem to care about what the gems actually are or why they should be more careful around him. They just feel like characters in a Slice of Life show since they barely make any contribution to the real plot of Steven Universe. It’s like the entire show is split into two different genres, the town’s people only exist for comedic purposes and whenever Steven needs to learn something that the Crystal Gems can’t teach him because of their lack of communication with each other. I know the gems were not fans of making friends with humans, but they’ve had like 1000 years to understand how human society works! Have they been living under a rock all this time?!

Anyway, the show has been infuriating to me many times, but deep down I was hoping that all those questions I had were gonna be answered in a very clever and exciting way in future seasons... That never happened. 

Every time the show woke my curiosity, it disappointing me hard, and now that it’s over I have come to realized that maybe the story that attracted me in the first place didn’t matter at all. This was my emotional struggle throughout the show.

Season 1.

Up: The show started out like a funny cartoon with great promise, likable characters, and an interesting background. My first impression was that the Crystal gems were like part of a secret magical society that travels to other worlds to keep peace in the universe. 

Down: It is revealed that they are actually aliens and that the other worlds where actually places on Earth where the monsters they fight are corrupted gems. This let me down because, being such a nerd, I couldn’t stop thinking about the odds of another planet having the same minerals with the same exact  names and characteristics given to them by humans on Earth.

Too much of a coincidence.

Up: I decided to accept the alien thing and keep watching because I thought it was really cute that both Lapis and Pearl wanted to return to their Homeworld which awoke my interest again.

Season 2.

Up more: Peridot’s secret mission, Malachite coming back again and the introduction of Yellow Diamond got me excited.

A little Down: The slow pacing when we were supposed to be worried about the Cluster.

Season 3.

Down: Finding out that the forced fusion experiments where not relevant anymore because I wanted that to be explored more.

Up: The revelation that Rose Quartz shattered Pink Diamond. I liked this because I thought that Steven was going to learn about the hard decisions his mother had to make in order to keep Earth safe. Oh how naive was I.

Season 4.

A little boring until Blue Diamond appears who I cant help but like.

When I saw her crying for Pink I thought, Ok, she is not what I was expecting but she might become an ally later on. (Turns out she’s my favorite character now)

Up: Pink Diamond’s human zoo intrigued me.

Down a little: Yellow Diamond appears to cheer up Blue and it is obvious that both are gonna become good later on.

Up: Aquamarine and Topaz appear to kidnap humans for the zoo, The town’s people are finally important to the plot.

Season 5, when I started to lose hope.

Up: The mystery that came out from the trial episode to the Off colors being introduced.

Down: Lars basically turns into lion and becomes a shortcut for Steven to go between worlds easily.

Down again: Lars and the off colors suddenly become a parody of Captain Harlock ruining my illusion of having Steven and the Crystal gems traveling to Homeworld to save them.

Slightly Up: Steven gets visions of Pink Diamonds past and how it seemed that it was Pearl who shattered her.

Super Down!: Rose was Pink Diamond and faked her own shattering for no good reason! Everything we were told throughout the show was a lie!

Up: Great battle against Yellow and Blue Diamond, and White Diamond is finally mentioned, and I was like “good, she must be the ultimate evil and maybe we’ll learn more about corruption.”

Crash and burn: White Diamond is forgiven and instantly becomes good.

But a glimmer of hope appears when the movie is announced.

Movie.

Slowly up: New cool villain appears, will we learn more about Pink Diamond’s past?

Down again: Spinel goes to live with the Diamonds which sounds like a terrible idea at first.

Steven Universe Future.

Steven is having trouble with his new power, will we finally address how Pink Diamond was really like?

Down forever: Who cares about Pink Diamond or the origin of the Diamonds, what matters is that Steven is a teenager that finally acknowledges that his life has been terrible and that his family has to comfort him because he is going through puberty and already has a midlife crisis at age 16.

In conclusion, Steven Universe’s main focus ended up being about talking things out in a peaceful matter and that family is the most important thing... But that doesn’t work if you already established that said family consists of aliens who don’t know anything about communication and or have been destroying life forms in the Universe for thousands of years! The message does not fit with what already has been established in the show to the point that it’s unrealistic. It’s nice and all that they’re teaching kids that violence doesn’t solve anything and that talking things out is better, but the truth is, that is not always the case in real life. Even if they are family, some people are not willing to change and won’t listen to reasons. You can’t force someone to “Change their mind” , because you think they are in the wrong, and even if they are, you can’t expect them to accept that what they’ve been doing all their lives is suddenly wrong. The Diamonds had to change for themselves not because Steven tells them to. SU Future showed that they eventually changed for the best and even discovered new powers but it was already too late for me to accept that.

This show really wanted me to believe that the gems were the only advance alien race in the entire universe, nobody fought against them? What was the point of making the Cluster which was referred to as Geo Weapon? Doesn’t Homeworld have any enemies? Apparently not, and all that matters in the end is to make amends with your love ones, avoid toxic relationships, and only talk things out when a family member is threatening to kill you and destroy everything you love. ¬ ¬ 

[starscheme]

Change My World

Chapter Six: Thank You

Spinel and Steven had settled in the tent that was set up for them. Their supplies had been brought from the lake and Spinel was sitting in this small inflatable pool that they had given them. It must have been how the other mermaids handled being on land like this.

“These are pretty convenient,” Spinel commented as she laid herself back in the shallow water.

Though Spinel seemed content, Steven couldn’t quite calm down. These people didn’t seem bad at all, but he had a sinking feeling about these Gems they spoke of. Pacing the floor of the tent, he tried to think of some way to talk Spinel out of it.

“You don’t have to worry so much. If this is something Peridot came up with, I’m sure it’s not as bad as they described it.”

“They said it’s like a big target,” Steven replied. “If that Gem happens to break, you’ll die. Doesn’t that scare you?”

Spinel sat up, her tail swishing lightly against the water. “I guess…it’s a little worrisome, but what’s the alternative? You can’t just carry me all over the place. It will make travel so much easier if I can walk too. I think it’s worth the risk.”

“…if you say so,” Steven replied with a long sigh. His main concern had been Spinel’s safety all this time. He just wanted to make sure she remained unharmed during this journey, but Lars was right, he hadn’t thought this completely through. He didn’t think about all the security they had near the shores or the ships they had out in the water to watch for Mermaids. In his small little beach village, they didn’t get much mainstream news. Spinel coming to town was the biggest thing to happen there in a long time and the only reason they used that harbor was because the ship couldn’t travel further in with the supplies they had. “…Well, they said it might take Peridot a little while to get here. …were you two close?”

Spinel flinched lightly, she only just now thought about it, but what if Peridot wasn’t happy to see her? “…Not too close. She was a part of a different tribe, but when everyone joined together for the war, that’s when I met her and Lapis.”

“If you two weren’t that close…how do you know this Gem thing of hers is really a good idea?”

“Why are you so against this?” asked Spinel. “I’m the one taking all the risk here.”

Steven’s cheeks burned lightly, “I’m just worried about you. They said the transformation into a human is pretty painful as well.”

Spinel stared up at Steven with a blank expression before she found herself stifling a laugh.

“It’s not funny,” Steven insisted, more embarrassed now than before, “I just don’t want you-“

“—No, no. I’m not laughing at you,” Spinel corrected with a smile and a wave of her hand, “it’s just, you’re the first one, human or mermaid that has shown so much loyalty so fast. I laughed because I was surprised at myself and because you’re still surprising me.” She finished with a giggle.

“…what do you mean,” asked Steven, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced away from her. Her cheerful expression only making the blush at his cheeks burn brighter.

“I believe I said it many times before, but you’re a strange one. You gave up your entire way of living for a complete stranger. You became a criminal…ensuring that you’ll never lead a normal life again…and you’re still just thinking about my safety. You’re a complete idiot…” Spinel muttered at the end.

Steven sighed and sat down beside the small pool she sat in, “You know…” he began, as if they were about to argue.

“...and I never thanked you for any of it,” continued Spinel quietly.

Surprised, Steven glanced at Spinel, who seemed rather embarrassed, hugging her tail close to her chest and averting her eyes from Steven, hoping he wouldn’t see her reddened cheeks.

“…So…even though I still think you made a stupid choice. ...I…want to thank you for making it.” Spinel finished, daring to turn her gaze towards Steven. He appeared dumbfounded by her words and said nothing in return. “I mean—it’s not much,” Spinel went on, feeling like a fool, “but I can’t offer you anything else. So—so my gratitude will have to do.”

Steven was honestly stunned to silence. He never expected Spinel to thank him so sincerely. At least, not this soon. He couldn’t help but smile, watching Spinel trying to hide her blushing face. She reminded him of a stray cat he once found. At first it would scratch and hiss at him, but it was so cute that he just couldn’t leave it alone. “Your gratitude is more than enough,” he replied finally, leaning over and wrapping his arms around Spinel’s shoulders as she continued to hug her tail. It seemed that they were finally becoming friends and Steven was overjoyed by the prospect.

Spinel was only able to make a small squeak as Steven hugged her, frozen in place over the shock of it. How long had it been since anyone hugged her so happily?

“Am I interrupting something?” asked Lars with a smirk as he stood at the entrance to their tent.

“Yes,” Steven joked while Spinel panicked and shook her head rapidly.

“Can we talk for a sec? I’d like to show you something,” continued Lars as he waved Steven over.

Though Steven let go of Spinel, he stayed in place sitting next to her. “You can’t talk to me here?” It wasn’t that he thought Lars was going to hurt Spinel. They’d done nothing but help them so far, he just didn’t really like leaving her alone.

“Go on,” Spinel insisted, eager for a chance to calm down on her own. “I’ll be fine as long as I’m in the water.”

Steven sighed a bit and got to his feet. He was still hesitant, but he didn’t want to be too overprotective. Lars smiled and led Steven from the tent, leaving a Spinel alone to watch their backs as they walked away. When she was sure they had gone, the mermaid brought both her hands to her cheeks, panicking internally as she held back the urge to scream. That was so embarrassing she didn’t know how to react properly. This human was honest, kind, and seemed completely unabashed when it came to showing affection. How was she supposed to deal with a human like that?

“You and that human seem rather close…” one of the Rutile twins commented as they stepped inside the tent, “…we wanted to ask you a few questions about him if you don’t mind…”

While Rutile was attempting to have a conversation with Spinel, Steven had followed Lars back to his tent, but while Lars said he wanted a word, he hadn’t said anything on the walk there. “So, what is that you wanted to talk about?” asked Steven finally, becoming a little impatient.

“You were pretty cut up by all those thorns in the woods before,” began Lars, “but the scratches I saw when you first got here are gone now.”

“…yeah? I’ve always been a pretty fast healer.”

“And carrying a mermaid? That’s an easy task for you? I was told you carried her all the way to the lake and I even watched you carry her to camp. A Mermaids tail is pure muscle you know. It makes them pretty heavy.”

“Did you ask me here to just state facts about me?”

“Do you know what they do at the Capital,” asked Lars, disregarding Stevens question. “They don’t capture Mermaids just to put them in a Zoo. They experiment on them.”  

Steven tensed up. People were experimenting on the Mermaids? “…how…”

“You saw one of the members of my crew, right? The Rutile twins. You may have noticed that they’re sort of joined at the hip. Well they weren’t always that way. They were just a pair of twin Mermaids that got caught before they were brought to the capital. I don’t know what the humans were trying to do, but the end result…was having the twins stuck together like that. That little Mermaid you saw? Padparadscha. She was also used as a learning tool for the humans. Her specific type of Mermaid are adapt at predicting the future. The humans were probably trying to extract that skill from her, but the experiments damaged her beyond repair. Now, the visions she sees are things that have already happened. As if she’s a few steps behind everyone in time.”

“…that’s…horrible…” Steven breathed out, unable to imagine going through something so awful. Who knows how long they were tortured at the hands of human beings.

“It is,” agreed Lars, “which is why I promised my crew they would never be caught or used by humans again.”

Steven suddenly realized where Lars was going with this and he deflated. “…I’m not gonna—“

“So here’s the thing,” Lars continued without allowing Steven to finish. “You should go back to your home. Tell the authorities that the Mermaid enchanted you or something. You’ll be questioned for a few days, but eventually they will let you go and everything will go back to normal for you. You won’t be a criminal anymore and we’ll even give you money for your trouble.”

“You guys may not trust me because I’m human, but I’m not going to leave Spinel alone,” insisted Steven.

“She won’t be alone. She’ll stay with us and her own kind. You won’t need to worry about her anymore.”

Steven thought for a moment. Would Spinel be happier that way? She did seem a lot more comfortable now that they found other Mermaids and an old friend was even on her way. “If Spinel doesn’t want me around, she can tell me that herself. Until then, I’m going to stick with her.”

Lars didn’t seem surprised by Steven’s reply; instead, he shrugged his shoulders with a sigh. “Fine, but it’s like you said, you’re a human. You’ve already seen a lot and if you keep traveling with Spinel, you’ll learn even more about the Mermaids that might potentially harm others if you suddenly decide it’s too much trouble. I don’t think you’re a bad kid, but there’s a lot at stake here. So, if you really want to keep going…I’m going to have to insist that you prove yourself.”

“Prove myself, how?”

“It’s going to sound a little extreme, but we don’t have any other way to make sure you won’t betray us,” began Lars, “it’s a spell, something like a contract. If you agree to it, there really won’t be a chance to turn back.”

Steven wasn’t sure what kind of spell this was going to be, but he was certain if he didn’t agree to it, Lars and his crew would most likely force him to leave Spinel somehow. “Fine, tell me what I have to do.”