#very spooked! very spooked baby she was not happy but she wasn't hurt. like it wouldn't have been my fault but

[wizardnuke]

i am so over today i want to go home. and sleep for a week. fuckin ouch

[thedawningofthehour]

thoughts on what atsuko's dynamic w sho was like? sho was pretty hurt by her absence. did she have a mother who raised her?

or her relationship with yoshi's father? you think was she in love w him or was he a means to an end? maybe atsuko wasn't straight ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Atsuko did have a mother in her life, she died a few years after Yoshi was born. So Splinter remembers her, but not as well as he remembers his mother and grandfather. I haven't really decided much about her-realistically, this was a very traditionalist clan and Atsuko would have been born somewhere around 1940, so her parents' marriage was likely arranged. And considering I put them in a rural mountain area-even if she wasn't born part of the Hamato clan, she was probably still related to her husband. But I don't see them as having a problematic marriage or anything. Sho was very domineering and I imagine his wife balanced him out a bit. Losing his wife and then his daughter in such a short time crushed him, but he kept it together because he had a grandson to raise.

I put the clan up in the mountains of Hokkaido, which is the northernmost island of Japan, so they were pretty insulated from modern society and mostly interacted with the same group of people they'd known their entire lives. But when Atsuko was an older teenager she moved to Sapporo for a few years to attend university and learn more about the world-this wasn't abnormal, the clan values education and most of them were encouraged to go out and learn about the world they were supposed to be protecting. This is where she met Yoshi's father. They were dumb college kids so I'm sure there was probably affirmatives of true love and talk of being together forever, but when Atsuko got pregnant he got spooked and ran. And Atsuko went "fuck him then, I can do this on my own."

I couldn't find much on whether illegitimacy was a huge deal in Japan historically, or for the Ainu people, (the Hamatos have a lot of Ainu blood, their culture is still very Yamato due to forced assimilation but I wanted to incorporate that into their world a little bit) but if it was looked down upon on the Hamato clan, it really wasn't by the time Yoshi was born. Or at the very least everyone ignored his illegitimacy because wtf, his dad just left? That clearly wasn't Atsuko's fault, she thought she was going to marry this guy. The deadbeat's the only person in the wrong here.

Sho wasn't upset about her getting knocked up outside of marriage or having a baby so young-whatever issues he had were overrun by how happy he was that he was getting a grandkid-but he was furious with Yoshi's father. Atsuko didn't really care too much, after she got over the initial heartbreak-she probably wrote to him once or twice after Yoshi was born, hoping he'd have a change of heart and want to meet his son, but after nothing came of it she basically went "his loss, we're awesome." Her father on the other hand fully planned to murder the man. He also objected because Yoshi's father was from mainland Japan with no Hokkaido blood and even had some ancestry from outside of Japan-I dunno if people are still romanticizing Japanese culture, but it's like. Really racist. Especially in the post-war period when this would have taken place, with an old traditional man like Sho. Look, the Hamatos are woke in many ways, one of them being girl power, but not with that. Man was racist.

I mean, she could have liked girls. I dunno how that would have played out, traditionalist societies promote straight marriage because they want lots of babies, but Atsuko already had a baby. And I've established that it wasn't uncommon for the Hamatos to only have one or two babies each generation. Atsuko herself is an only child, so it's not like Sho could say much. I could honestly see that going either way, either Sho being homophobic about it or going "yeah, you did your duty, do whatever you want now. Just don't ask me to remember labels I'm too old for this shit."

[hisuianhellion]

An Alpha a day keeps the doctor well paid.

To say that Rose was frightened by that experience was an understatement that would've commonly been referred to as an "outright lie". She was harrowed. She watched her Oshawott, Nanami, put up the best fight he could have, getting his licks in as the massive Kricketune dealt one, then two clear swipes. Right to the otter's chest, then head. And he was down. Unconscious in mere moments.

The fact that she had beaten Mai, the representative sent by the Diamond Clan, rather handily with a bit of work from both Nanami and Patrice, her Buizel? It gave her a boost to her confidence she hadn't been ready to accept. There was nothing that could've prepared her for just how devastatingly powerful an Alpha could be. She won... but she was down to her final Pokemon in the process of it. Mai noted that Nanami and Patrice both took some pretty nasty hits, and that rest would do them both good...

Rose quietly let her eyes scan through the pasture she had helped to fill up over the last week, gently squinting at the group of Bidoof scampering about with each other. They had a small pond and a few bits of wood for enrichment, and their little dam was coming along quite handily as a result. Practical applications for their instincts, that's all that was needed to keep them happy now that they didn't have to forage so much for food.

Beside her were the Eevee siblings. She had come to calling the boy 'Barry', sassy little biter that he was. He kept looking at her as his much more modest sister, 'Sally' as Rose named her, watched a nearby pair of Shinx wrestling happily. A faint moment of time, silence from the three of them, crept in as the human closed her eyes, rubbing at them faintly.

She sniffled.

She had gotten them hurt. Battles seemed to be something they chose to do voluntarily, yes, but she was the one directing them. They believed in her, they obeyed her commands out of respect for her. And she managed to lead them into a level of unconsciousness that left them battered on the ground. They had fainted before. She was still new to all of this, so of course mistakes would be made.

Not like this, though. Not with them still being firmly out cold even after being given proper treatment. Alphas did not hold back. They did not battle for a show of strength or a contest of power. It was a genuine fight for them. Territoriality taken to a more vicious degree, either to protect what they saw as dear to them or to simply remove competition. Permanently, if they were allowed.

It had cracked Rose upside the brain so hard, it made Cyllene's opening night seem tame by comparison. It wasn't her being harsh for the sake of cruelty. She was someone very clearly accustomed to life or death, and she did not mince words as a result. Cyllene was honest, bluntly so, and Rose should've seen that days ago. Maybe then those two wouldn't have been--

She felt something soft lightly tap at her hand. She had tears streaming down her face and she hadn't even noticed until she felt something gentle enough to shock her out of her stupor. She jumped slightly, which made the Eevee girl lean back a bit with her ears pinned back. Sally. She had noticed Rose's distress. And while her brother, Barry, was now on edge from the human's flinch... Sally looked up at her with... what couldn't be missed as genuine sympathy.

The look in those brown eyes was undeniably trying their best to convey what worry they could, and Rose realized just how distraught she appeared. She removed her glasses, using her uniform's sleeve to rub at her eyes before resetting them quietly with a shaky sigh. Get yourself together, girl, don't spook the babies. "S-sorry, you two. I... I didn't mean to spook you."

There was a gentle harrumph from the boy, who sat himself down and glared up at her. Or, well. It was less a glare. It was closer to just a frown of... thinly veiled concern. He had noticed his sister trying to bridge the gap, and he wasn't stopping her. It was working, too, as the little gal began to step forward again, and that same little paw that Rose felt before placed itself upon her leg. Gently, she lowered her own hand down to allow the Eevee to sniff at it.

It ended... with a very light petting along her head. She retracted once she felt she had gotten enough, but soon after curled herself down into a little ball and rather firmly scooted herself against Rose's leg. Barry looked on as this happened, and with a soft "Vui...", began to approach as well. He looked at Rose. She looked at him. And she tried to give a soft, reassuring smile, hands visibly placed in her lap. Which was then met by the little critter settling on a further portion of her leg, just as firmly placed against her as his sister.

Distracted as she was, she hadn't noticed that a few other Pokemon, a Wurmple, Geodude and Starly had all not missed her display of grief. A few voiced concerns in their own ways, but others just took it upon themselves to act how they typically had to support their kin, standing guard or bringing over little gifts of wood or a berry as well.

And she had just stopped crying, too.

[cutiecorner]

☆ Bad Idea ☆

Fanfic • Agere • Steven Universe • Fluff • regressor!Steven, cg!Amethyst, cg!Jasper

《 I don't think I've ever written a proper su fic! Here's a silly little idea to start us off :p also just fyi, my agere Steven stuff takes place in kind of an au. It's in the same time frame as SUF but the events don't play out the same way. It's not really important, mostly just excusing how my SU fics in particular are pure unfiltered indulgence lol, I just wanted to mention it!》

Ten minutes, that's all she needed.

Amethyst had been taking care of Steven for 2 days now, and he'd been regressed for most of it. She wasn't naturally a long hall babysitter either, as she described to Pearl the night Steven was left in her care, she's "better for short bursts, like a cheetah, or something." That sentiment didn't stop the rest of the gems from taking off on an interplanetary mission, leaving poor defenseless Amethyst with a very small, very fussy Steven.

Amethyst didn't blame him for regressing, she never did. Honestly, she was just happy he had a healthy coping mechanism. But with all the stress he'd been under, his small time could be a little intense. He needed constant attention, and she knew why, but Amethyst would kill to close her eyes for just a quick second. Just a power nap, that's all.

She lazily bobbed Steven up and down on her leg, which he was clinging to and giggling. At least she got to sit on the couch. Amethyst couldn't help it, against her will her eyes slowly drifted shut - only to be pulled open again by an innocent looking Steven.

"Ouch, bud that hurts," she grimaced, trying in vain not to hurt Steven's delicate feelings. Luckily he hadn't been listening,

"It's not bed time Ame!" He crawled to a spot beside her on the couch, grabbing the nearby pillow and bopping said Ame with it.

"Hey man, you know I love pillow wars just as much as the next guy, but could we maaaaybe do something a little more chill?"

Just as Amethyst spotted the tears threatening Steven's eyes, she was distracted by the sound of the door swinging open.

"Garnet? Amethyst? Pearl?" A gruff voice called.

"Just Amethyst," she sighed, hoisting Steven onto her hip to go greet the visitor.

"Jasper?" Amethyst was taken aback. Jasper hadn't been malicious towards the gems as of recently, but she certainly wasn't buddy buddy. What was she doing at their house?

"You've got eyes don't you?" Jasper seemed to catch herself in the snide comment, letting out a sharp breath and an eye roll.

"Steven told me that if I'm going to stay on earth without issue I'm going to have to-" she gulped, "- socialize."

"When did he tell you that?"

"Do I look like I know what day it is?"

Before the conversation could continue, Steven piped up, pointing at the gem in the doorway.

"Ja'per!"

"Yeah buddy, that's Jasper," Amethyst readjusted the teen on her hip.

"Well, Steven's sort of out of commission right now. I guess it's your lucky day, have fun throwing rocks or whatever," Amethyst turned to trudge back to the living room, but to her surprise, Jasper followed her.

"What are you doing, Steven?" Jasper studied him like an alien specimen.

"Ja'per!" Steven smiled back, reaching out to touch her fluffy hair.

"It's kind of hard to explain. He's regressing, it's a human thing? He's just, like, a baby right now," Amethyst wasn't the best at explaining, that was Pearl's department.

"A baby? You mean those weird tiny earthlings that can't do anything? Steven, why would you want to be one of those?"

Steven stared intensely into her eyes, and she leaned closer, eager to hear whatever wise words he was cooking up.

"Ja'per!" He touched her gem.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Jasper could hardly contain her voice as it crept up to a shout. The tears returned to Steven's eyes and before long he was bawling.

"Ah great, thanks a lot!" Amethyst tried in vain to soothe Steven with some rocking, but he was thoroughly spooked. She marched back to the living room to search for a pacifier.

"I just don't get it!" Jasper looked around the trashed room, utterly perplexed by the array of toys scattered around.

"Look, you don't have to get it, It doesn't have to make sense, if you're gonna live on earth you're gonna have to get used to that! Now are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help me clean up your mess?" Amethyst's own raised voice certainly wasn't helping the situation, but she couldn't help it. She was exhausted and the last thing she needed was Jasper rampaging through her day like a bull in a china shop.

Amethyst took a look back to see if Jasper had left, but surprisingly, she was still there, dumbfounded.

"I'm impressed," she finally said, "I almost forgot how even a tiny gem like you could tell me off if they got riled up enough."

"Listen I don't need your 'I'm 7 feet tall' snark right now. Look for a stupid toy or get out!"

Jasper shrugged. She stayed in place with her arms crossed, but did survey the ground for whatever item stuck out.

"What about this?"

"Jasper that's a potted plant. I'm looking for a pacifier!"

"What?"

"it's like, a blue thing he can chew on it's- aha!" Amethyst emerged from the pile victorious, finally silencing Steven's fit. Amethyst collapsed back onto the couch, Steven in hand.

"So... What do we do now?" Jasper asked.

Amethyst's tired eyes lit up.

"ohoho, I think the better question is what do you do now?" Amethyst's sleep deprived grin looked just short of deranged as she plopped Steven into Jasper's arms.

"Listen, I just need like, 10, 20 minutes to catch a reeeaaally quick power nap before I drop dead from exhaustion. All I need you to do is sit here," Amethyst sat the bewildered gem down on the couch, "watch this," she flipped on a cartoon, "and don't. Hurt. Steven. Okay?"

Jasper could barely answer, but in her desperation Amethyst took it as a yes.

"Awesome! Okay I'll be back in a jiff, if there's a scratch on him I'll bubble you for the next century bye!"

And just like that, she was gone.

Jasper hadn't moved a millimeter since she sat down. Steven didn't seem to notice, happily bopping away to the cheery tune playing from the tv. Jasper had never been this paralyzed. She couldn't even begin to comprehend how to handle this situation.

Hand to hand combat? Piece of cake. Interplanetary war? Right up her ally. But... A 'baby'? She could barely even grasp the concept. Being gentle felt against her very nature, but as much as she hated to admit it, she didn't feel like enduring the wrath of the crystal gems, especially when it came down to Steven. So she sat stiff as a board as Steven gently rocked about in her lap.

Just as she felt she had gotten the hang of this position, he left her lap and ventured to the couch. Before she could decide to turn, she felt a plush surface smack the side of her head. She investigated the source, and who else but Steven, with a pillow in hand and big dopey grin spread across his face.

"What... is this?" Jasper was less angry, more completely lost.

"Pillow fight!" Steven chirped, bopping her with the star pillow again. Jasper lit up.

"Oh, so it's a fight you want?"

"Pillow fight!" He pushed a pillow into the gem's hands.

"It doesn't hurt, just gentle, like this!" He demonstrated by once more swinging his pillow weapon. Jasper grumbled but, maybe she could take this as some sort of lesson in poise? And stars, she hated to admit it, but who could say no to that face?

• • •

Amethyst had never had a better nap. Thousands of years ago she started sleeping just to pass the time, but over the years she started to feel like she needed it. But man it was satisfying to have a good rest after an such an exhausting day. She stretched out and meandered to the kitchen to grab a snack. So exhausted. She thought. What was I doing again?

"En Garde, mighty warrior!"

OH NO.

"Jasper what did I -?!?"

She was stopped dead in her tracks by a sight she couldn't bet money on seeing in her life time. On top of the table stood Jasper, mighty commander, being playfully pummeled by a puny human with a pillow.

"I gotchu! I gotchu!" Steven giggled, leaping up to bring his foe to the ground. Jasper writhed in faux agony,

"Vanquished! Defeated! Conquered! Amethyst! Amythest?"

Jasper immediately shot up, gingerly removing Steven from her shoulders and placing him on the pillow pile before returning to her favorite oh so indifferent pose.

"Having fun you two?" Amethyst couldn't help but grin. Jasper wasn't her favorite gem, but she sure was her favorite gem to tease.

"Of course not," she huffed, "I had a job and I carried it out to the best of my abilities. Steven has been cared for. Happy?"

Amethyst mustered her smuggest expression, "Very."