#[[ lars: i thought **i** was fighting with emerald >:( ]]

[humanboomerang]

Okay, now I’m lost. I thought I was Emerald’s rival.

[devildomimagines]

I live to make these bois into whores 😎

Can I get head cannons of the boys meeting MC’s family; the catch is, MC is attractive as hell and so is their family? Literally everyone is hot. Their Dad is a whole dilf, their Mom is a milf, their older brother and sister are both sexy as hell, and MC’s just casually introducing them to the demon boys who could barely handle being around them.

They have a storm coming hehe 🤭

Sorry for the long wait but what else is new on my blog ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The older brothers are under the cut because this ended up longer than I first planned. I hope you enjoy~

Belphegor

It might take some bribing to get him to promise to be awake for the whole day but he gave in because it was important to you that he meet your family.

As you two approached the house, your mom was out in the front yard gardening.

When she turned around and caught the sight of you two she beamed a bright smile and waved.

You giggled as you waved back and looked at Belphie to see if he was waving too.

He was waving like a robot.

You have to elbow him to make him focus again.

He blushed as he admitted, “Your mom is really pretty.”

“I know,” you looked proud of the fact.

Your mom had called to the rest of the family and soon they were all outside to greet you.

You started greeting and hugging everyone.

Your dad clapped Belphie on the back and you caught his blush as he watched your dad head back towards you.

He mouthed the words, “Him too?” and you nodded.

Your brother and sister wasted no time in teasing you about bringing someone home.

Your brother tousled Belphie’s hair and your sister draped herself off you as she assessed Belphie.

“He’s cute,” she finally decided, “Be careful or I’ll steal him away,” then stuck her tongue out at you as she went inside.

You responded with your own tongue out at her retreating form.

Belphie fixed his hair and straightened his clothes, “You didn’t say your whole family was so handsome?”

“I thought it would be obvious, where do you think I got it?” You teased as you grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

Beelzebub

You had thought maybe he wouldn’t fall victim to your family’s charm. You were wrong.

When the two of you entered the house, your mom greeted you two with a hug.

Beel blushed at the contact but recovered quickly. That is until your dad came up and patted him on the chest, “What a solid guy you caught, MC.” 

You rolled your eyes but you caught Beel’s eye sparkle at the compliment.

Your sister introduced herself to Beel and he shook her hand before she pounced on him. He caught her in surprise.

“Ok, that’s enough, get off him!” You pulled your sister away with a huff.

She made a face at you before retreating.

Your brother was sizing Beel up from across the room.

“Are you gonna say hello bro?” You asked.

“How much can you bench?” Your brother stood up.

Beel wasn’t prepared for the question, “Uh…”

“Probably a lot by the look of it,” Your brother supplied.

Beel looked at you for help. Leave it to your brother to make a demon uncomfortable. “Can you cool it and get out of his face? Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Hm,” then a wicked smile flashed on your brother’s face, “Arm wrestle for the loser’s dessert?”

Oh no.

Beel’s smile reflected your brother’s, “You’re on.”

You pulled on Beel’s sweater as he was rolling up the sleeve. “Wait, go easy on him please, actually maybe let him win? With your strength you could break his arm.”

“But MC, the dessert,” Beel looked determined.

“I’ll give you mine,” he looked like he was debating it but the enticing offer of two desserts was winning out. “And… I’ll do that thing you like.”

That was clearly the winner. Beel sat down across from your brother and gave you a quick thumbs up before putting up a compelling fight if you didn’t already know he was going to throw it.

Dinner went off without a hitch. Beel complimented the hell out of your parent’s cooking and they complimented his appetite. As he ate your dessert, he whispered to you, “Don’t forget about your promise.”

The thing Beel likes is when you two go to the gym together, don’t get it twisted!

Asmodeus

“Oh?” Asmo smiled, “This is gonna be fun!”

He immediately starts towards your mom, “Hello! You must be MC’s sister?”

She laughs at the compliment, “No honey, I’m their mother.”

Asmo lays on the charisma in his shock, “No way! I could have sworn,” he looks back at you and you roll your eyes, what did you expect?

Asmo offers his arm and your mom takes it with a smile. The pair of them walk towards the house chatting about something that you couldn’t hear.

He was a tricky demon but you laughed it off as you walked after them.

You bumped into Asmo as you entered and you caught his surprised face. He then smiled to himself as he found a spot on the sofa, he clearly felt at home.

Loud enough for everyone to hear, even those in the kitchen he commented, “MC, you didn’t tell me your family was so attractive.”

Your brother and sister snickered at your embarrassment as you sat next to Asmo.

“Because,” you lowered your voice just for him, “I knew you’d act like this.”

“Like what?”

“Can we just have a normal dinner?” You asked, taking his hand.

“Of course MC,” he squeezed your hand, “but I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

It figures. Asmo just gets like this when he’s surrounded by others that he both appreciates their features but finds them to be competition. If he can get them to like him, then he’s ‘won.’

He effectively keeps your family enchanted the whole night, he really does shine in social situations.

Satan

Interesting is the word of the night.

You had shown him pictures of your family as he was ‘studying’ for the night. He wanted to make sure he didn’t call someone by the wrong name, pronoun, or bring up a story you had told him in confidence.

The pictures did not do your family justice. They were gorgeous.

He immediately fell into his gentleman image. Satan took your mom’s hand and kissed the back of it.

She giggled but you shook your head, “That’s a bit much,” you commented.

“I don’t think so?” Satan tilted his head towards you.

“What about me?” Your dad snickered as he extended his hand.

“Dad~” You whined but Satan didn't skip a beat by taking his hand and kissing the back of it.

You dad chuckled heartily as he wrapped an arm around Satan, “Son, I like your style.”

Satan was starstruck and easily led further into the house by your dad.

You groaned, you clearly had not prepared Satan for how bewitching your parents could be.

Your sister and brother sandwiched you in the middle as they laughed. “Another one falls victim huh?”

The running joke being that the two of them had plenty of partners defeated by the magnetism your parents had. The partners often choosing the charming company of your parents and not the child they were dating when they visited.

You sighed and hung your head, you figured it’d play out like this but it was disheartening. That is until your thoughts were interrupted by a throat clearing.

You looked up and smiled at seeing Satan’s emerald eyes on you, silently asking if everything was ok.

You nodded and wiggled out from between your siblings to stand next to him as you formally introduced them.

You gave Satan’s waist a squeeze, happy he found his way back to you.

He smiled back at you softly, that is until your mom called out for him. He then blushed deeply as you let him get back to the kitchen. 

“Good luck!” You called after him with a giggle. Your parents were incorrigible.

Leviathan

It took a lot for Levi to agree to meeting your family.

He was a nervous wreck, already sweating and you hadn’t even opened the front door.

“Hey,” you took his face in your hands, “You’re going to be ok, they’re going to love you and I’ll be with you for every second.”

Levi exhaled and relaxed into your hands. He nodded and finally smiled.

Then the door opened and he was tense again.

You shift your hands from his face to holding one of his hands.

“Oh I’m sorry!” Your mom said, “Was I interrupting?”

“No,” you confirmed before she could make a big deal.

“Well, welcome!” She threw her arms around Levi. 

He squeezed your hand but said, “Thanks for having me.”

“Of course,” Your mom took his other hand and pulled him inside, “If you’re important to MC then you’re important to us!”

The three of you entered the living room and everyone got up to offer their greetings to you and Levi.

He never let your hand go.

When you got through everyone, Levi was a blushing mess.

He held you back as everyone made their way to the dining room. “I can’t do this, MC!” He whisper-yelled at you, “You didn’t say they were all so hot?! I can barely stand just you, but...” Levi looked at the dining room, “it’s like you times five now!”

You had to giggle and he gave you a pout. “Levi, we just got here. Dinner will be a breeze. Dad will probably tell stories of when me and my siblings were little, something about him in college and my mom will ask you-”

“She’s going to talk to me??”

“Well yes but she’ll only ask about your interests and hobbies. She loves anime BTW. It’ll be a sitch for you! I’m not worried at all.” You gave him a smile and you could see the gears turning.

He could talk about anime, that is manageable… “But won’t the others think I’m lame?”

“Nonsense! If you haven’t realized we’re a pretty accepting family, what other family would agree to send their child to hell for a year?”

Levi nodded, this is true. He took a brave breath and pulled you to the dining room.

Mammon

He’s overconfident in his ability to woo your family, which means he’s nervous.

It’s cute that he wants them to like him but it’s not as serious as he’s making it out to be.

You knew they would love him, they love everyone.

“Oy, this is it?” He shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked up at your house.

“Yep,” you took his hand and led him around to the side door.

“Wait, shouldn’t we use the front door?”

“We’re not guests, I lived here.”

“But I’m…”

The two of you entered the kitchen and your mom looked over her shoulder as she was pulling a large pot out of the oven, “You’re here!”

Mammon straightened up and took a step forward, “Let me help you with that, it looks heavy.” He grabbed the towel hanging from the oven handle and effortlessly carried the dish to the pot holder on the table.

“What a gentleman,” your mom snickered as she hugged you hello.

Mammon blushed and looked away but hugged your mom when she made her way towards him as hello.

“Who’s that holding my wife?” Your dad boomed.

Mammon backed off immediately as he came eye to eye with your father, “S-sir.”

With a smile your dad embraced Mammon, “I’m kidding, we’re all huggers here, better get used to it!”

Mammon blushed again in your dad’s grasp and you laughed. He shot you a look before smiling at your dad letting him go.

You shuffled up next to Mamms as he sighed, “Tired already? I know they can be a lot.”

“W-what are you talking about? I’m fine!”

“Good! Because my siblings are even worse!” As if on cue, the pair entered the room sizing up Mammon.

Your brother smiled, “I like him. He looks like he can get in some trouble.” If only he knew, but Mammon relaxed with the assessment.

“He’s pretty attractive,” Your sister said but her tone was skeptical.

“He models part time,” you offered, proud that you were making her somewhat jealous.

“Too bad he couldn’t cut it full time,” she dismissed. She moved in close to Mammon as if she was going to whisper in his ear but said loud enough for you, “If you ever want the better sibling, call me.”

His eyebrows shot up, Mammon was not expecting that.

You pushed your sister out of his space, “Go suck an egg!”

Your sister retreated with a vicious smile.

When you looked at Mammon, he was frozen in his shock. “God, she got you with just that?” You groaned, “This is gonna be a long night.”

“N-no!” Mammon was recovering, “I wouldn’t call her! You know that, right?”

“I know,” you sighed, “She’s just like that. I swear her and Asmo would have a day trying to one-up each other.”

“This is gonna be a long dinner huh?” Mammon was finally realizing it for himself.

You took his hand, “Yeah, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be!” He squeezed your hand and smiled, “The Great Mammon can handle anything!”

Lucifer

“Hm?” He would hum as you two walked up to your childhood home. “Who’s that?” 

Your dad was outside mowing the lawn. He turned the mower to start a line towards you two but stopped when he recognized you.

“That’s my dad!” You ran over to hug him.

Lucifer watched as he wiped the sweat from his brow with a cloth in his pocket before catching you in an embrace.

Lucifer steeled himself and made his way over to join the conversation.

“You must be the man of the hour! Wonderful to meet you finally, after all MC has said about you!” Your dad had extended an arm to shake hands, “I’d usually hug you but I’m a sweaty mess. Come on inside, everyone is waiting!” He led you two to the front door and announced your arrival as he excused himself for a shower before dinner.

The rest of the family entered, your mom, brother and sister, each dazzling in Lucifer’s eyes.

He was used to beautiful people; angels have their allure, demons their temptations but humans had always seemed somewhat average until he met you and now your family.

Lucifer subconsciously fixed his shirt and then ran a hand through his hair. Then he caught your gaze.

“You look fine,” you whispered as you sidled up next to him.

“I see where you get your captivating looks from, I believe the celestial lineage is from your paternal side,” Lucifer gave your returned father a long glance. “He cleans up well.”

“You’re not too bad yourself, Mr. Morningstar,” you teased as you took his hand and led him to the table.

“This will be an interesting dinner,” he murmured as he took a seat next to you and then gulped as your dad took a seat next to him with a brilliant smile. 

Is Lucifer nervous? Not that he would ever admit it, but who gave this human the right to be so handsome? With a hand on his chest, Lucifer clears his throat to regain composure.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 32: The Future (originally posted on November 1, 2021)

AN: At long last, the war is over and the story is ending. I cannot say this enough, but thanks for sticking by me since last December through all the laughs, tears, and other emotions felt throughout this story. It's been such a wild ride, I don't think I have time to type out the cast list here like I did with the past 31 chapters and will instead save it for the end. But now, it's time to close the book on this story once and for all, featuring quite possibly the most special of special guests.

Synopsis: Steven is ready to move on.

--

"Oh, everything hurts." Black Rutile groaned as she woke up lying splayed out in the sand, freshly defeated once and for all. "What happened? The last thing I remember was that other fusion tearing me in half." Her eyes widening in realization, the Rutile scrambled to search for her two remaining comrades in the sand. "Aquamarine, Ruby, where are you two?!"

However, all Black Rutile was able to find were their inactive gemstones, leaving her the official last surviving member of the Rutile Rebels. "Wake up you idiots, your master demands it!" Black Rutile yelled, shaking the gems together in her hands. "Please, we have to flee immediately before the Diamonds-"

"Before the Diamonds what?" White Diamond boomed as Black Rutile discovered her massive shadow emerging from behind and turning to discover the Crystal Gems, the Diamonds, Hessonite's team, Lars and the Off-Colors, the Little Homeworlders, Spinel & friends, and the Gems' Earth friends all looking down on her. And none of them were happy in the slightest.

"Look at yourself Black Rutile, all alone with no one to back up your lies." White sneered.

"I thought she was your best soldier." Yellow Diamond responded. "Frankly White, and no offense, you have horrible taste."

"How pathetic." Blue calmly jeered.

"Horrible taste, pathetic?!" Black Rutile screeched angrily. "I have been training my entire existence to be the best servant I can be and this is how I'm treated?! I only wanted to make Homeworld a better place!"

"For you." Steven stoically objected to Black Rutile's claims as Blue lowered him to the ground. "You only wanted to make Homeworld a better place for you."

"You!" Black Rutile shouted at Steven, tossing the gems of her two flunkies away and marching towards her. "This is all your fault! I've lost everything, my armies, my bodyguard, my status! And you took everything away from me!" In a fit of rage, Black Rutile then tackled Steven and began fruitlessly slapping at him, but the boy barely reacted in comparison to his archnemesis's pathetic flailing and crying until he summoned his shield to push her away, the shield now looking like it always did.

"Please, just stop," Steven ordered the Rutile. "You've already humiliated yourself enough, and I don't even know what happened here." He continued, looking at the damage done to Beach City from Pietersite and Orange Moonstone's fight, catching Jasper & White Topaz gathering up the poofed gems of the Lapides, Garnets, and Emerald, before turning back to Black Rutile. "If you think you can still stop me, then you need to think again. We both refuse to grow up and move on, but I'm far more mature about it than you'll ever be, and more loved too. Heck, I even finally forgiven my mom while I was a monster!"

"You, mature?" Black Rutile mused before letting out a croaking laugh. "Let's not forget how you love shoving your stupid ideals down everyone's throat and go ballistic at the slightest hint of others thinking differently than you!"

"Again, just like you." Steven declared. "So tell me, why do you keep antagonizing me?"

"I wanted you to hurt, to witness everything you've ever worked, fought, and hoped for die." Black Rutile replied before beginning another rant. "I had a dream! A dream of a perfect society ruled by actions, not words! Ruled by strength, not compassion! Where power is in the hands of those that truly earned it, not those who think peace and love should be forced onto everything while those who object are punished! You and your empire are diseased, rotten to the core, and I selected myself as the cure!"

"And some cure you turned out to be!" Jasper barked as she and White Topaz approached the Crystal Gems with their bubbled saviors in hand.

"It's okay guys, no one can hurt you anymore." White Topaz whispered to the bubbled gems while gently stroking the bubble they were contained in before glaring at Black Rutile. "So, how does it feel to be proven horribly wrong?"

"Don't you dare side with them you mongrel!" Black Rutile snapped at her former sidekick. "So, what do you all plan to do with me?"

"I say we keep her bubbled." Garnet stoically suggested.

"Nah, bubbling is a little too light for a psycho like her." Bismuth replied. "I say we just shatter her and show her how she made us feel!"

"Now now everyone, we don't want to vindicate her." Pearl stated when she got an idea. "How about we force her into Little Homeschool?"

"What, you want me to enroll in that kindergarten and live your warped view of happily ever after?!" Black Rutile exclaimed fearfully and dropped to her knees in desperation. "Please my Diamonds, give me another chance! I can even instantaneously forget all the horrible things I did to you all to prove I can change!"

"No, you won't ever get off easy." Connie boldly rejected the Rutile's pleas.

"Well, what is almost everyone here still doing?!" Black Rutile asked. "It's all because of them that Steven is suffering and they all get away with it, but I'm the bad one here?!"

"I think that's enough out of you," Jasper stated as she grabbed Black Rutile by the neck. "So Paz, care to do the honors?"

"With pleasure." White Topaz beamed and summoned her brass knuckle gauntlet.

"Come on Topaz, you wouldn't hurt your bestest friend ever, right?" Black Rutile asked with a sheepish grin as she struggled to break out of Jasper's grasp, but her begging fell on deaf ears.

"How many times do I have to tell you this?" White Topaz responded. "You're a bad friend."

And with a single punch to Black Rutile's gem, her reign of terror ended at long last. Jasper opened her fist to reveal the evil Gem's gem in her palm and encased it with an orange bubble.

--

A few months later, Beach City was in the middle of a slow recovery process. Repairs and reconstructions were made to the parts of town destroyed during the battle. The Crab Shack was completely remodeled, the water tower was rebuilt, the Big Donut had a new sign, Funland was closed for repairs, but the biggest change was that Dewey Park was now known as Crystal Park. In place of the statue of ex-Mayor Dewey, a statue of Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven was built to honor the heroics of the Crystal Gems. The beach house was also undergoing reconstruction, with the face of the Obsidian statue now resembling its current incarnation.

Outside the beach house, a now cured Steven pushed play on a stereo and began to do some stress-relieving exercises while thinking back to the immediate aftermath of Black Rutile's downfall.

--

"So all this happened while I was turned into that monster?" Steven asked the Crystal Gems as soon as he was brought home and got a fresh change of clothes.

"Yeah, you should've been there!" Peridot exclaimed. "We were all wham bam shang-a-lang, meanwhile Jasper and White Topaz were like boom, pow, slam!"

"That reminds me, hey, I'm White Topaz." White Topaz introduced herself to Steven. "You may remember me as one of the Gems that tried to kill you, but then I changed my ways."

"Some things just never change." Steven grinned and shook the Topaz's hand. "Welcome to Earth, you're gonna love it here."

Outside, Jasper relaxed on the roof she had bashed holes in, gazing up at the sky in contemplation of what to do with her life now. The Earth and her Diamond were safe once again, but what was left for her to do?

"So, where are you gonna go after this?" Lapis asked Jasper, flying up and lying down next to her. "I'm going to assume you'll keep on sulking in that cave, right?"

"You know, I'm not sure." Jasper replied pensively. "I finally got a good fight, but then what? The Diamonds are no longer in power, so I doubt they'll be needing my services at the moment." She then turned to gaze at the Diamonds as they helped Steven get caught up. "Maybe I could leave Earth and go find myself on another planet somewhere."

"Or you could stay here and finally come to Little Homeschool." Lapis suggested. "Next time something this big happens, the students are gonna need to learn how to fight. What do you say?"

Jasper took a little time to think. On one hand, she definitely needed to take a load off after fighting for her life against Black Rutile and her subordinates. But on the other, she had continuously rejected invitations to Little Homeschool time and time again. However, this time she decided to change her mind at last.

"Okay, you win. I'll come." Jasper declared, turning over on her side to face Lapis. "But we'll need to set some ground rules first. First, no begging for me when I'm not interested. Second, my space is my space, make no mistake. And third, I think I might need some help getting over this whole Pink business."

"Okay, we'll be here for you when you need it." Lapis said and held out her fist.

"Are you trying to punch me?" Jasper asked, not understanding that Lapis wanted to fistbump her.

"It's called a fistbump." Lapis explained. "Kind of like a handshake, but you know, with fists. You know you love your fists."

"That's true." Jasper replied and returned the fistbump.

Downstairs meanwhile, Steven had just been caught up on everything that happened while he was in his monster form. But now he had no choice but to say his piece in return.

"So Steven, were you really in control of yourself while we tried to save you?" Amethyst asked.

"I don't think so," Steven replied. "This, like, evil side of me took control and forced me into this creepy sitcom world in my head where I was a normal human, and you guys were too."

"Wait, a sitcom?" Pearl wondered. "Why is that?"

"That's a pretty loaded question, but I'll just keep it brief." Steven responded sadly. "It was because of what I said to Dad on our road trip, about how I wished I was human in a world where the Gems never existed, and I even saw my mom in there too. Both Rose Quartz AND Pink Diamond."

"WHAT?!" the Crystal Gems, Connie, Greg, White Topaz, Lars, the Off-Colors, the Diamonds, Spinel's gang, and the President all cried out.

"Steven, is this true?" Yellow asked.

"This is because of all of us, isn't it?" Spinel added.

"Yeah, pretty much." Steven looked down at his feet in regret. "I've said some pretty nasty things these past few months, but I think that was where I crossed the line."

"Well, you know what?" Greg stated. "It's about time we get you a therapist."

"Excellent idea good sir." President Suarez agreed. "This boy has suffered so much for someone his age. Anybody younger would've completely cracked!"

"Already got some state doctors on the horn." Vice-President Maxwell stated as she started talking on her phone. "M'yello? Oh Lily, so good to hear from you again! How's the kid's transition going?"

"No, I don't think any big government shrinks will be needed here." Connie declared. "I think I know just the person to help out."

--

Not too long after, Steven was now sitting in the waiting room of a psychologist's office, where other people who had no doubt suffered similar conditions to his. Scared children nervously holding onto their parents, traumatized adults reading newspapers & magazines, and senior citizens gently fiddling with their hands all waiting for their appointments, and Steven was no different.

"So, what are you in for?" an older man with a long, stitched-up scar going across his face, an orange vest with black stripes, and some gold rings on his fingers, asked Steven.

"I was a monster for a little bit, along with tons of other problems." Steven replied. "What about you?"

"We all feel like a monster at some point in our lives." The man sagely stated. "Me? I just saw some things I wished I'd never see again. In fact, you want to know how I got this scar?"

"I don't know, but it looks pretty bad." Steven mused about the scar.

"Big pile-up a few years back." The man revealed. "I was lucky to get out alive, but now I can't get stuck in traffic without getting paranoid." He then pulled out a box of cigarettes and offered one to Steven. "Want one?"

"Sorry, but I'm almost seventeen, sir." Steven kindly rejected the offer. "Plus, you know this is a no-smoking zone, right?"

"Sorry 'bout that." The man awkwardly replied and put the cigarettes away.

"What about the rest of you?" Steven asked the other patients. "Why are you all here?"

"I just got out of divorcing my abusive husband." A mother answered. "He kept picking on my little one like one of those fratboys in the movies, and the pain still lingers."

"Me? I'm just worried I'm gonna die alone and no one will remember me." An elderly gentleman stated.

"And you said you felt like a monster?" the mother asked.

"Well, I literally turned into one." Steven stated. "Pretty sure it was all over the news, and it made the government arrest my family after they were manipulated by a psychopath who's been plotting to destroy me."

"You're kidding, right?" the pile-up victim asked. "You're telling me you actually turned into a giant monster? How is that even possible?"

"That is a long story." Steven answered just as the door opened.

"Mr. Universe?" a doctor's assistant asked for Steven, who then got up off his seat and walked towards him. "Dr. Rebecca will see you now."

"Thanks, mister." Steven nodded before turning back to the other patients. "I'll be back to tell you more!"

"Don't be a stranger." The old man grinned while Steven was led to his new therapist.

"So, what is a therapist like?" Steven asked the man as he was led through a hallway of many doors.

"Well, a therapist is someone you can talk to about your problems, what's been eating you, and all that." The assistant said. "They in exchange offer some helpful advice and train you to become more well-adjusted."

"Kind of like how I was." Steven compared himself to the idea of therapy when the two arrived at a door with a plaque reading "DR. REBECCA SUCROSE" on it, and the assistant knocked.

"I'm coming." a woman's voice called and opened the door, revealing that she wore glasses and had her hair shaved on both sides of her head while the top was very curly. "Oh, you must be the boy Priyanka and her kid told me about. I'm Dr. Rebecca Sucrose, and I'll be your psychologist for today."

"You're gonna love her, she's really dang good." The assistant gave a thumbs up before leaving Steven to be shown into Dr. Sucrose's office. The office gave Steven the vibes of a gentle woman who was always willing to lend an ear, and he could also see pictures of the doctor with a ukulele much like his own, getting married to a black man, and spending time with a brother that looked a bit like him for some weird reason.

"So, Steven was it?" Rebecca said as she sat down on an office chair. "As I said, my old friend Priyanka recommended me to you at the suggestion of her daughter and your friends. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"

"Okay, but I think you're gonna need to hang on because things get a little weird." Steven stated sitting across from his new therapist as he began his story. "You see, my mom is actually an alien matriarch from another galaxy from a race of gem-based lifeforms who have been colonizing worlds across the universe, but she didn't want to because of how much she valued organic life which earned her scorn from her fellow matriarchs and some subordinates. Eventually, after a lot of whining, she was given her own colony, which happened to be Earth. My mom then grew attached to the planet enough to fake her death and take up a new identity as a freedom fighter who was framed as the one who killed her-"

"Whoa, slow down!" Rebecca exclaimed, stopping Steven's story in its tracks. "Gosh Becky, you really found an award-worthy patient today." She whispered to herself before going back to Steven. "Sorry for interrupting you, I just wanted to know about you. Not your mom or the alien race she fought against. Just you, and that's that."

"Just me?" Steven muttered. "Well, alright. I live in Beach City with my friends the Crystal Gems, who are alien warriors that fought to protect the Earth thousands of years ago. My mom died giving birth to me, as in she gave up her physical form to give birth to me, and I grew up never actually knowing her outside of everyone telling me she was so amazing."

"Mother issues, got it." Dr. Sucrose responded while writing down in her notepad. "What else?"

"Well, not too long ago, I learned that she shattered one of the leaders of their people known as the Diamonds, but then it turned out she was a Diamond herself." Steven continued. "You still following this?"

"Always will be." Rebecca said, continuing to write.

"Anyways, I was then forced to clean up all the messes my mom made in addition to helping my friends," Steven said. "Stuff like trying to help her servant fix her eye, convincing her former playmate to not destroy Earth, and trying to make peace with the other Diamonds even when they tried to kill me."

"So in other words, she forced all this onto you?" Rebecca asked.

"Kind of, but it wasn't what she wanted." Steven said. "She told me this herself, she didn't want to cause all this trouble but had no other choice for the good of Earth."

"Wait, I thought you said your mother was dead?" Rebecca asked.

"That is another long story." Steven declared.

--

As Steven continued exercising, he suddenly heard Lion roaring as the undead big cat emerged from one of his portals with Connie on his back. "Morning Steven." Connie greeted. "One last routine before hitting the road?"

"Yeah, I'll be sitting a while." Steven answered and turned off his stereo before going into the beach house with Connie

"Any updates on Black Rutile?" Connie asked as she pulled out a map and her laptop.

"She still believes being forcibly enrolled in Little Homeschool is a fate worse than shattering, but she hasn't posed that much danger since we defeated her." Steven answered while the two walked up to his bedroom. Steven took the map from Connie's hands and began examining it on his bedsheets while Connie began typing on her laptop and Lion rested next to them.

"I'll be in Charm City for Sadie & Shep's concert, then I'll meet up with you and Lion at Providence Island while you're touring schools, and then I'll catch up with Lars on our weekly space hangout." Steven explained to his best friend. "After that, I think I'll go and see Beckham Jordan again at Empire City to shoot a few hoops together with the local kids."

"I'll add them all to your Boogle Maps doc." Connie declared. "So, how is everyone taking the news?"

"Well, I told everyone in town, plus my dad, and they're all bummed to see me go but still wish me the best." Steven answered. "Now all that's left is to tell the Gems."

"You mean you haven't told them yet?!" Connie exclaimed. "Steven, you have to! Besides, didn't that evil inner self call you out for keeping secrets from everyone?"

"I know, but I just have no idea how they'll take it." Steven sighed. "Everyone's been so protective of me these past few months since my meltdown, now I wonder if there's a way I can let them down easy."

"Like Rebecca said, you should start putting yourself first for a change." Connie responded, looking back on how Steven got the idea to begin with.

--

"So, I think I can come to a conclusion here." Dr. Sucrose said to Steven. "The monster attacks, the disappearance of the ocean, the repeated invasions, that Cluster thing, and the monster meltdown all happened somewhere around Beach City, correct?"

"Yep, and that's not even accounting for what happened off-world." Steven nodded. "What are you saying by that?"

"Well, I think maybe it's time to perhaps see the world outside Beach City." Rebecca revealed. "You ever gone traveling before, on Earth to be precise?"

"Yeah, I've been to a few places." Steven said. "I been to Korea to learn more about my mom, I went to Empire City a few times, Keystone, Ocean Town, just places pretty close to home."

"Well, what I suggest is that maybe you should start going outside your comfort zone, maybe take a trip of the country to find yourself." Rebecca replied. "Make new experiences."

Steven's face started looking nervous and he shifted in his seat. On one hand, he couldn't bear to leave everyone in Beach City behind after all he's done for them and vice versa. But on the other hand, he's done enough putting others before himself and being a shoulder for everyone to cry on.

"Are you okay, you need to take a break?" the therapist asked Steven. "Was it something I said?"

"No, you're fine, I just," Steven stuttered before taking a deep breath. "I just can't decide what to do here. I mean, while a lot of bad stuff has happened to me in Beach City, that shouldn't ever outweigh all the good stuff either. Maybe I need some time to think."

"Okay, give it some thought and we can talk about it again." Rebecca said. "Same time next week?"

"Sure, same time next week." Steven nodded and shook his psychologist's hand. "Thanks, doc."

"Please, just call me Rebecca." The doctor said.

--

Back in the present after Connie decided to leave, Steven sat patiently at the kitchen table and faced the Warp Pad, waiting for the Crystal Gems to return. He had a special surprise waiting in a cooler sitting next to him on the table, and he was eager to show the Gems.

"Man, zipping Black Rutile's lips will always make me smile!" Amethyst sighed as the Gems returned from the Warp Pad. "Oh, hey Steven."

"Were you waiting for us?" Pearl asked the boy.

"I sure was." Steven announced, opening the cooler to reveal his favorite dessert inside, Cookie Cats.

"Whoa, Cookie Cat!" Amethyst gasped and ran over to grab one for herself.

"I thought they stopped making those." Pearl grinned nostalgically at the frozen treats.

"They still did, but now I made my own." Steven explained, holding up a deformed-looking Cookie Cat to demonstrate. "You can kinda tell."

"You still gave it your best shot." Garnet smiled and took one out of the cooler to eat. "They're still delicious nonetheless."

"Mmm-mmm!" Amethyst moaned in delight after chomping down on hers.

Pearl meanwhile took a very small bite out of the ice cream bar's ear. Amazingly, she liked it. "Scrumptious!"

"Oh man, these take me back!" Amethyst exclaimed. "Back when you were just the plucky sidekick whose biggest issue was not being able to get a Cookie Cat. Hey, remember the song?"

"Yeah, those were the days, huh?" Steven replied. "Maybe we should sing it again."

"If I may." Pearl declared and cleared her throat before beginning to rap. "OOOOHHHH, he's a frozen treat with an all-new taste!"

"'Cause he came to this planet from outer space!" Amethyst added, copying Pearl's dorky dancing.

"A refugee of an interstellar war." Garnet performed her solo.

"But now he's at your local grocery store!" Pearl yelled excitedly.

"COOKIE CAT!" Amethyst exclaimed.

"He's a pet for your tummy!" Pearl sang.

"COOKIE CAT!" Amethyst continued.

"He's super duper yummy!" Pearl continued while rubbing her stomach.

"COOKIE CAT!" Amethyst yelled.

"He left his family behind." Garnet deadpanned.

"You're right, he did leave his family behind." Steven declared proudly.

"Hey, that's not how it goes!" Amethyst complained. "Speaking of which, you ever noticed how eerie it is that the Cookie Cat song lines up with Pink?"

"I think Cookie Cat ran out of ways to grow on his home planet." Steven mused, gazing at his Cookie Cat. "And even though it was hard, and he suffered a lot of struggles home, and he loved his family so so much, he decided that maybe it was time to start moving forward."

"And this has to do with ice cream because?" Amethyst asked with eyelids lowered, a way for Steven to know it was finally time.

"Everybody, I've got an announcement to make." Steven declared. "I'm gonna move out!" The Gems gasped in shock at the boy's decision, but they let him explain himself anyways. "I have a very comprehensive plan to visit the entire country before deciding where to settle down, and I can still video chat with Dr. Rebecca while hitting the road. Don't you try to stop me this time!"

"We won't talk you out of this," Pearl said. "but that leaves the question of when you're gonna leave."

"Tomorrow, I guess." Steven replied nervously.

"Oh, so soon!" Pearl exclaimed. "Well, all human adolescents have to become more independent eventually." She then gave Steven a hug. "I'm just so happy for you."

"Yeah bro, we're gonna miss ya!" Amethyst exclaimed, getting a turn to hug Steven as well. "Peace!"

"You guys know I might never come back, right?" Steven said before Garnet placed her strong hand on his shoulder.

"We know Steven." Garnet smiled. "This will be an exciting new chapter in your life."

Despite Garnet's kind words, Steven was still left confused at how well the Crystal Gems were taking it. "That went well, right?" he asked aloud before shrugging and heading to the Warp Pad to tell everyone at Little Homeworld.

As soon as Steven left, the Crystal Gems gazed at the barren Warp Pad with varying degrees of concern and sadness on their faces, proving that their prior encouragement of Steven's decision was all an act.

"So, we're gonna tell him eventually, right?" Amethyst asked.

"I guess so." Pearl resisted the urge to cry. "We just got him back, and now he's gonna leave us again."

"Don't cry, Pearl." Garnet gently stroked Pearl's hair. "But now how is everyone else going to take it?"

--

Meanwhile, at Little Homeworld, Steven had decided to tell the Crystal Gems' B-team of his departure. How did they react?

"YOU WHAT?!" Bismuth roared in shock atop the whirly-bird tower. Combined with Peridot's heartbroken expression and Lapis's angry face, Steven assumed they didn't react too kindly to the news. "What's the matter Steven, are you mad at me? You still holding a grudge for what happened in the Forge?!"

"Of course I'm not mad Bismuth." Steven answered. "And besides, everyone else has tried to kill me before, so the Forge incident is just another day for me." Suddenly, Bismuth brought him in for a tight hug.

"Then don't leave!" Bismuth began to cry while holding Steven in her arms. "Oh no, am I smothering you?" she asked while letting go and backing away. "I get it, you need some space."

"Bismuth." Steven said.

"How's about I build you a nice vacation home right outside Little Homeworld?!" Bismuth suggested while turning her hand into a hammer while Lapis marched up to Steven with arms and wings spread out in irritation.

"Listen to me Steven, you can't just run away from yourself!" Lapis yelled at her beach summer fun buddy before her wings disappeared, and she started pointing at him. "Wherever you go, you'll be there. Trust me, I know what that's like."

As for Peridot, she was left a sobbing mess on the floor. "But you promised you'd never leave us when Pumpkin died!"

"Take it easy Peridot, I'm here." Steven said comfortingly to Peridot while taking her face in his hand.

"Where am I going to find another Steven as good as you?" Peridot asked in-between sobs. "I love this one so much!"

"I know a Steven as good as me. Here." Steven answered while presenting Peridot with his old pink shirt.

"My very own Steven shirt?" Peridot gasped elatedly.

"Be the Steven you want to see in the world." Steven said, causing Peridot to start wailing again and blow her nose into the shirt. Steven then walked over to Lapis, who had her arms crossed and eyes closed before holding up a gift for her. "Here Lapis, for you."

"What the?!" Lapis gasped after opening her eyes, discovering that Steven was going to give her an art kit. "142 pieces, 60 crayons, 24 oil pastels?! And it even has watercolors?!"

"You like it?" Steven asked the touched terraformer.

"I love it!" Lapis began crying as she took the kit from Steven's hands. "Thank you so much, Steven, for everything!"

Steven then walked to Bismuth last, who was a bit nervous to receive what he was going to give her. "Stay back Steven!"

"Bismuth, I can think of anyone who's more of a Crystal Gem than you." Steven said before handing the frayed Crystal Gem flag to Bismuth. "So I want you to have the original Crystal Gem flag."

"Oh, Steven!" Bismuth began to cry just as hard as Lapis and Peridot as the three brought Steven in for a group hug. "If it weren't for you, none of us would be who we are today! You make me so proud to be a Crystal Gem and a friend!"

"Why did you have to put it so well Bismuth?!" Peridot kept bawling.

"I'm going to use my tears to make a watercolor painting of you!" Lapis said between sobs.

"Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth, I love you all!" Steven began crying, touched at all the kind words they gave him in exchange.

"WE LOVE YOU TOO STEVEN!" the three Gems kept on crying.

--

While Steven left the B-team to let all their sadness out, there were still a few Gems that he left unaccounted for. One of whom was more than happy to see him leave.

"Well well well, Steven Universe." Black Rutile snarled. Ever since her ultimate defeat, Black Rutile had now lost everything, and the only things she had left were her sword, a new red visor in the shape of a V, and Aquamarine & Holly Blue as her remaining followers. Her cape and white diamond symbol were also missing from her new appearance, signifying how White Diamond has effectively disowned her. "Leaving all of them behind, are we? My point still stands, you're just like your mother."

"Hi, Black Rutile." Steven casually greeted his archnemesis.

"Let me finish boy!" Black Rutile yelled. "You may think you've earned your happily ever after, but I'll always be there to haunt you no matter what! You can never escape me Steven, my ideals and I are as unstoppable as a Diamond!"

"Bye Black Rutile." Steven said goodbye to Black Rutile just as casually, much to her outrage.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Black Rutile kept yelling. "I haven't finished my vow for revenge yet!"

"Hold it!" Jasper barked and grabbed Black Rutile by the neck. "You've already done enough. When are you just going to give up?"

"I'd rather be shattered than give up!" Black Rutile said defiantly.

"I wish I could arrange that," Jasper threatened by summoning her crash helmet. "But I don't think you even deserve death, you pathetic bully." After dropping Black Rutile to the ground, Jasper made her crash helmet disappear and spoke to Steven. "Heard you're leaving, Steven. Well, guess what? I'm coming with you!"

"Jasper, I think I'm gonna go this alone." Steven stated.

"But who will protect you?!" Jasper exclaimed. "You're my Diamond, I should be the one to save you from harm!"

"I can protect myself, y'know." Steven said. "Besides, you can let go of Pink now and spend time with all the new friends you can make here, like White Topaz."

"Yeah, like her." Jasper sighed in disappointment before giving Steven a small smile. "See you around Steven."

Jasper marched on over to a self-defense class she was teaching to her fellow Quartzes, who were eager to see how a veteran fought, and a reluctant Holly Blue Agate served as her training dummy.

"Now, the first step to landing a strong punch is to put all your strength into either one of your arms, like so." Jasper instructed, winding up her left fist and slugging Holly Blue in the face, knocking her over and making the Quartzes cheer.

"I hate everyone." Holly Blue groaned angrily.

"Nice to see Jasper finally making a change." Steven said to himself just as Black Rutile got off the ground.

"Like I wanted to say, I will always be watching you, Steven, waiting for the day to see you crack and become my thrall!" Black Rutile yelled angrily, but Steven paid her no mind. "Where are you going, get back here!"

"Is something the problem here?" Emerald, now having traded her shoulder pads for a simple chest piece that looked like a tank top, asked as she backed Black Rutile into a corner. She was accompanied by Morganite, the Garnets, and the Lapides. The latter pairs also had new forms created after Pietersite poofed them all.

Demantoid had a dark green vest on with matching light green shorts. Pyrope let her hair down and switched her regal attire for a casual sweater, a long skirt reaching to her knees, and flat-soled boots. Laz had a shoulderless top with a yellow star on it, a gold choker, a matching armband on her right bicep, a gold belt holding up a skirt with a similar design to Lapis's top over a pair of shorts and blue & gold boots. Zuli had a similar colored attire with her ponytail held up by a gold scrunchie, gold bracelets on her wrists, a crop-top that also resembled her best friend's top, a pair of shorts with stars on both legs and a gold belt, and matching sandals.

"Hey everyone, long time no see!" Black Rutile greeted her former minions sheepishly, though they didn't greet her back. "We're all still friends, right? Why don't we go plot against Steven just like old times?"

"You want us to keep running with a loser like you?" Laz scoffed and walked away. "No thanks."

"After the way you treated us in the invasion and your battle with Jasper, why bother?" Emerald added, just as disapproving towards her former master.

"Yes, you're all alone on this one." Pyrope rolled her eyes in disgust.

"Catch you when you finally decide to ditch your petty grudge." Demantoid declared and joined the other Gems in abandoning Black Rutile.

"What about you two?" Black Rutile asked Zuli and Morganite. "Do you want to reform the Rutile Rebels with Aquamarine, Holly Blue, Cat's Eye, and I?"

"Yeah, not happening." Zuli said and began following Laz. "Hey, wait up!"

"After the way you left me to get arrested, I'm having second thoughts about your plans." Morganite stated. "Besides, Earth has a lot of creative opportunities, surprisingly."

"No please, don't go!" Black Rutile begged on her knees as Morganite turned away. "I'm nothing without any of you! Exile has been so lonely!"

"But what about me?" Aquamarine, now wearing a denim blue sundress, asked Black Rutile.

"Shut up." Black Rutile growled at the tiny Gem.

--

"Whoa, even Jasper's upset I'm leaving." Steven muttered as he walked around Little Homeworld, examining the repairs to the damage he caused as a monster. Morganite and the Ruby Squad were restoring the Cubic Zirconias' house, Orange Spodumene assisted the Lapis twins in fixing the swimming pool, Teal Zircon and the Nephrites replanted some flowers in the greenhouse, and everyone else was cleaning up the rubble.

Suddenly, Steven discovered the shadow of his monster form appearing on a nearby wall, making him let out a loud scream. Then he began to hear laughter, and White Topaz and Larimar emerged from the bushes chuckling.

"See Steven, I told you I'd make you scream!" Larimar chuckled. "White Topaz helped with the shadow puppets."

"Oh, hey White Topaz, I see you're making friends." Steven greeted the former bodyguard of Black Rutile when suddenly, White Topaz picked him up and hugged him tightly.

"Oh, thank you so much Steven for teaching me what friendship could be!" White Topaz squealed. "Thanks to you, I've made so many new friends who can share the magic with me!"

"Don't mention it." Steven responded as he tried gasping for air while looking at Black Rutile, pacing around with Aquamarine floating behind her. "And who knows? Maybe once Black Rutile gets her act together, maybe you two can become friends again."

"Eh, maybe, we'll see." White Topaz replied. "I still can't believe you have this much of an effect on people."

"Kind of reminds me of when I first came back from my therapist." Steven replied, beginning to reminisce one last time.

--

By the time Steven returned home from his first visit to Dr. Rebecca, the afternoon began giving way to twilight. Stepping out of his Dondai Supremo, Steven was immediately swarmed by news reporters, paparazzi, and his friends in both Beach City & Little Homeworld. On the deck of the beach house, the Crystal Gems stood alongside President Suarez, his vice-president, the cabinet, Major General Grant, and General Waller, who was recovering nicely from being stabbed in the kidneys.

"Whoa, what are all of you doing here?!" Steven exclaimed, pushing his way through the excitable crowds to make it back home.

"You made it just in time Steven!" Greg approached Steven with a proud smile on his face. "They're celebrating you all for what you did for Earth!"

"Wait, really?" Steven gasped in shock.

"Yes really, Mr. Universe." Lawrence Abrams announced into his microphone and handed it to Steven. "Any words to say about this high honor, young sir?"

"I don't get all the hype, I was the monster here." Steven spoke into the mic.

"That doesn't matter." Lawrence declared and took back the microphone. "Now up you go. It's time."

The crowd began clearing the way for Steven to meet up with the other Gems at the front of the beach house like he was a king or something. Walking along, Steven could see that everyone had come out for such a special occasion. Connie's parents, the Diamonds, the Pearls, Spinel, Lars & Hessonite, the students of Little Homeschool, the Watermelon Stevens, everyone was here. Even Black Rutile was among the crowd, though she had on a nasty scowl compared to the others' smiling faces.

"And here is the man of the hour!" Eduardo exclaimed, presenting Steven to his eager audience as the half-Gem boy took his place alongside his rebel family. "If it weren't for Steven and his friends, I wouldn't be standing here giving this speech to you, my fellow Americans." He declared. "These Gems have been living among us since the dawn of man, guiding us through the darkest of hours. And recent events have proved no different. Even when we held them captive, the Crystal Gems refused to give up on their dear friend Steven Universe against impossible odds. And it's to this that we award them the highest honors possible, not just for rescuing us from the insidious Black Rutile, but for all their good deeds from over the years."

Theresa presented each of the Crystal Gems with a gold medal, congratulating each of them for their part in saving the world. As the crowd continued going wild and chanting the Gems' names, Steven couldn't help but keep himself from crying at being celebrated as one of Earth's mightiest heroes.

"So, how are you liking the heroes' welcome?" Connie asked as she and Steven got their medals.

"I couldn't have asked for anything more." Steven declared gazing out at the crowd, before he found a familiar face among them. There, standing among his Beach City friends, stood what seemed to be an exact duplicate of himself, but his voice seemed all too familiar to him.

"You earned this." Negative Steven declared with a thumbs up. Steven quickly rubbed his eyes, only to find that Negative Steven had disappeared. Or maybe he wasn't there to begin with and was just his imagination. Regardless, Steven believed he really did earn this.

"Steven, just between you and me amigo," Eduardo said, kneeling to Steven's height. "good luck on the recovery process."

"Thanks, Mr. President." Steven smiled.

Meanwhile, Black Rutile continued glowering among the throngs of excited humans and Gems, silently furious at how Steven was being hailed as a god despite barely doing anything while she was treated as the villain. She then scoffed at an uncontrollably crying Greg before walking away.

--

When Steven returned home from Little Homeworld, he found Amethyst sitting on the couch looking bored. "Oh, Amethyst!"

"What up Steven?" Amethyst asked Steven.

"I have a gift for you. Wait here." Steven said, racing upstairs and coming back down with a big box in his hands. "Want to know what it is?"

"Is it food?" Amethyst asked as she took the box from Steven's head and bit into one of the contents of the box.

"No, it's-" Steven began before Amethyst realized she nearly ate one of Steven's game consoles. "I was gonna say it's my video games."

"Ah, dude!" Amethyst laughed. "You better kiss your high scores goodbye, and your save files too! I've been waiting ages to play Golf Quest Mini for myself!" She then began to depart with the box in hand. "Why the heck would anyone play a game with one save file anyways?"

Although Amethyst was elated to receive such a gift, Steven was left a little dumbfounded at how she reacted. "Uhhh…"

--

Later outside, Steven approached Pearl as she relaxed in a chair playing her bass guitar. "Hey Pearl."

"Oh hello Steven, how are things?" Pearl asked. "Do you need any help packing?"

"Not quite," Steven answered before he presented Pearl with a certain instrument he held near and dear to his heart as a boy. "It's my old ukulele. I'm giving it to you now."

"Oh, how thoughtful!" Pearl exclaimed as she took the ukulele from Steven and stored it in her gem. "Thank you for the present."

"You know Pearl, it's okay to be sad I'm leaving." Steven said, on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry Steven, Connie told me what happened." Pearl replied. "I agree with Rebecca about how this can be a great learning experience for you to explore the world. Nothing to be sad about."

"Yeah, nothing to be sad about." Steven repeated sadly as he walked back inside. As he left, Pearl quizzically tilted her head at her hybrid ward, and wondered if keeping their true feelings a secret was a good idea.

--

Meanwhile, Garnet did the day's laundry atop the temple hand when Steven appeared on the Warp Pad carrying a big scrapbook in his hands. "Garnet!"

"Well bust my britches, it's Steven Universe." Garnet chuckled lightly. "What do you have there?"

"It's a very important and sentimental gift I'm giving you before I leave." Steven answered. "Getting Ruby and Sapphire married after the whole Pink Diamond reveal was so amazing, and I hope one day you can help plan mine." He smiled while revealing the book to Garnet, and it had "DREAM WEDDING" written on the front.

"Thank you, I'll take very good care of it." Garnet smiled as she took the album.

"Okay Garnet, level with me here." Steven said. "You used your future vision, saw everything would turn out fine, and told the Gems not to worry, right?"

"Steven, I don't need future vision to know you'll be alright." Garnet answered soothingly before beginning to leave the laundry hand. "Besides, part of the fun of leaving is learning to figure things out on your own."

As soon as Garnet disappeared from the Warp Pad, Steven began to cry alone.

--

Later that night, Greg was helping Steven pack up all his belongings into some suitcases, leaving his room now completely barren. As Steven closed the last of his luggage, he let out a heavy sigh.

"You doing okay Schtu-ball?" Greg asked calmly.

"Yeah, it's just-" Steven began.

"Just what?" Greg interrupted his son.

"Well, I told Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl that I was leaving earlier, but they don't seem that sad I'll be gone." Steven vented his worries to his father. "Heck, even Jasper is more sad I'm leaving, and she's tried to kill me tons of times!"

"Isn't that a good thing?" Greg wondered. "I mean, you're finally moving on from all the horrible things that happened to you and growing as a person, they have every right to be happy."

"But I thought they were going to beg me to stay." Steven replied. "I mean, you think that's a little petty?"

"I don't think so. You're allowed to have these kinds of feelings, even petty ones." Greg remarked before he gave Steven a hug. "The Gems still love you, I think they're just trying to be supportive."

"Thanks, Dad." Steven smiled softly when he realized he forgot something. "Oh wait, I should give you your gift!" He then jumped onto the bed and placed a poster of Kerry Moonbeam above the pillows. "Here Dad, you can move in here now. And it's also my way of saying sorry for that car crash."

"Wait, for me?!" Greg exclaimed. "I accept the apology, and I already said sorry for making you mad, but don't you think this is a little too fancy for me?"

Steven then laid down on his former bed and motioned for Greg to lie next to him. "Try the bed Dad, you're gonna love it."

Greg then laid next to his son on the bed, and he got a good idea of why Steven wanted to give him the room. "Whoa, this is some mattress! I don't think I want to get up!"

"I knew you'd like it." Steven declared. "Hey Dad, we're pals, right?"

"Always, Steven." Greg smiled. "Seems like the Gems are swapping one Universe for another, huh? You know, you leaving home and me getting to move in, well, I feel like this is kinda my reward for fathering the savior of the galaxy."

"Yeah, if you put it like that." Steven grinned. "You finally got a place to yourself and a good roof over your head. Which reminds me, what about the van?"

"I'll think about what to do with it some other time," Greg answered before pointing at one of the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. "Hey, one more thing. Every time you look at the stars at night, just remember that the Gems will always be there for you, and so will I."

"Love you Dad." Steven sniffled at the touching words.

"Love you too Steven." Greg smiled.

--

The next day, it was finally time for Steven to leave home for his cross-country trek, with Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Greg, Connie, Lapis, Peridot, Jasper, Bismuth, White Topaz, and Lion were all there to see him off one last time.

"Bye Connie, see you soon." Steven said goodbye to Connie with a hug and a kiss.

"Call me when you reach a bed and breakfast." Connie replied. "Don't breakfast without me."

"You got it." Steven obliged before moving on to say goodbye to Greg. "Bye Dad."

"Aw, I'm gonna miss you Schtu-Ball." Greg said as he and Steven hugged. "But I'm so proud of you too."

"Thanks, Dad." Steven gratefully thanked his father, then he began to give Pearl a goodbye hug of her own. "Goodbye Pearl."

"Goodbye Steven." Pearl replied before Steven walked over to Garnet.

"Bye Garnet." Steven said to the fusion while giving her a hug.

"So long Steven." Garnet declared as Steven hugged Amethyst last.

"Bye Amethyst." Steven said to his sister figure.

"So long tiger." Amethyst bade farewell. "Don't you forget about me, alright?"

"I won't." Steven answered. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."

"Have a safe trip." White Topaz waved farewell.

"Don't be a stranger." Jasper smirked.

"Bon voyage." Bismuth said. "That's what they say, right?"

"We're all gonna miss you." Peridot added.

"But we'll all still think of you." Lapis stated. Lion simply nuzzled Steven and gave him a lick.

"I hope so." Steven sighed before getting in the Dondai Supremo and driving off, watching his friends wave goodbye from the rearview mirror. But something told him this wasn't right. Why were they still not sad he's leaving? Pearl especially would normally go hysterical. As soon as the Gems were out of sight, Steven put the car into reverse, skidding back to the beach house and bursting out of the car in tears. "What's wrong with you guys?! Why aren't you sad I'm leaving?!"

With the jig finally up, Amethyst proceeded to cry ugly tears while Garnet let out a jet blast of sadness from behind her glasses.

"Oh man, I can't take this anymore!" Amethyst kept bawling.

"We tried to be strong for you." Garnet stated. "Pearl can definitely agree on that." Pearl turned to face Steven, her eyes big and watery while being rendered unable to form coherent sentences. Out of all the Gems, Steven felt his departure affected Pearl the most.

"You guys!" Steven cried and ran towards the three Gems to give them all a big goodbye hug.

"I was just kidding dude!" Amethyst exclaimed. "I'd never delete your save files; I could easily buy my own copies online!"

"And I'll never play anything except your ukulele!" Pearl added.

"I'd be overjoyed to plan your wedding," Garnet said, trying to remain calm like she always is. "In fact, I've already done it more than 300 times."

"Why didn't you guys tell me this?!" Steven yelled. "I mean, even Jasper seemed more bummed I was leaving!"

"I'm sorry Steven, but I couldn't resist peeking into your future." Garnet explained. "There were too many possible futures where we were so sad, you decided to stay to keep us happy."

"We didn't want to hold you back!" Amethyst added.

"But I also saw many paths ahead of you that we were a part of." Garnet continued while taking off her glasses. "Wherever you go, if you need someone to talk to, to listen, and to be there for you, we'll always be there."

"Til the end of the line, right?" Steven finished for Garnet as he began crying tears of joy.

"Yeah, to infinity and beyond." Amethyst replied. Greg began shedding a few tears before Connie put a comforting hand on his arm. Bismuth meanwhile began crying hysterically again as Lapis, Peridot, and White Topaz raced to comfort her. Jasper had her back turned the whole time and bowed her head in sadness, only for Lion to nuzzle against her.

"We all love you, Steven." Garnet declared.

"I love you guys too." Steven replied while wiping tears from his eyes before returning to his car and driving away, this time for good.

"Check your rear left tire before you hit the desert!" Garnet called with a single tear running down her cheek. "It's nothing too serious, but just in case before it becomes too much of a problem!"

"Later, brosalino!" Amethyst held up a peace sign.

"Bye Steven!" Garnet yelled farewell.

"Have fun!" Amethyst added.

"Bye!" Connie, Greg, Lapis, and Peridot called out.

"Happy trails." Bismuth kept on sobbing into White Topaz's arms.

"Be well, my Di-" Jasper began before she stopped herself. "Be well, Steven."

"Goodbye!" Pearl cried out as Steven began getting further and further away.

As Steven turned the corner, he passed by the restored Big Donut as it was surrounded by his friends from Beach City and a few visitors too. They all cheered as he passed by, holding up a banner saying "GOODBYE STEVEN", and Onion gave the Dondai a thumbs up while carrying Steven's old cheeseburger backpack.

"Hey Steven, don't forget to come back to Empire!" Beckham Jordan called out for Steven with Makoto and Matt by his side.

"I'll give you a call when I pop the question!" Sheena added.

--

"Gems of all courts, we have a surprise for everyone!" Aubergine Pearl announced to Gems from all the Diamonds' courts. "Today is a most momentous occasion. To celebrate the fall of Black Rutile, we present to all Homeworld and beyond with this!"

A few Aquamarines pulled off a tarp revealing a massive statue of Pink Diamond beneath, one the Diamonds and Spinel were happy to see be given such overwhelming praise by their subjects.

"Let this statue serve as an eternal reminder that though we may try our best to prove otherwise, nobody's perfect." Aubergine Pearl continued.

"Pink would've been so happy to see this." Yellow wept openly.

"And she would've been even happier to see how far we've come." Blue added.

"Indeed." White began to sniffle.

"Aw, come here you big lugs!" Spinel laughed as she bounced up and wrapped her arms around the Diamonds for the biggest hug she could offer.

--

"Well 00014, it seems our services are not needed at the time." G said to Bane Jones as he closed his lab for the night. "What do you say, drinks on me?"

"Stirred, not shaken, Geoff?" Bane smiled back at the WDA's gadgets expert as the two walked through the hall.

"Exactly." G declared.

"Oh, you know me so well." Bane laughed while the two passed by B making a report to the president's cabinet.

"Mr. President, I have a report to make on Black Rutile's current status." The leader of the World Defense Agency stated. "She is currently being held in Little Homeworld, but satellites tell me she's plotting to get her revenge."

"Thank you, Beverly." President Eduardo nodded. "We'll keep an eye out." As the transmission ended, B began racing after her two subordinates.

"Hey boys, don't forget about me!" B exclaimed.

--

"Okay, you're going to love this pitch!" Neil Michaels declared to some Hollywood bigwigs as he and Christopher Cage presented their next film. "We call it, The Pink Beast of the Bay!"

"Starring me, of course." Cage confidently said.

--

"Mommy, look what I just made!" Chloe exclaimed as she raced towards her mother with a drawing of the Crystal Gems in hand. "Look, I drew Steven and all his friends! I think they'd love it if I sent it to them."

"Oh, that would be so nice of you Chloe." Yvonne replied. "They live in Beach City, right? Maybe we can take it to the post office."

"Yay!" Chloe cheered.

--

"So Mr. Bowling, what do you suggest we do now?" Lennie said to Francis von Bowling as they and Milton sat behind bars in prison.

"Simple, we start planning revenge like a supervillain would do." Francis confidently said.

"But still, those Gems are mighty strong." Milton declared. "What can we do this time?"

"Get some help." The leader of P.H.A.N.T.O.M stated. "Excuse me, guard? I'd like to make a phone call."

"Okay, who's it for?" the guard asked while opening up Francis's cell and leading him away in handcuffs.

"I'd like to get the word out to an old chum of mine from Russia." Francis smirked. "I think The Sickle and his cohorts should do nicely."

--

"That's right Steven, you better run and never come back." Black Rutile grimaced while watching Steven drive past Little Homeworld through her new visor's binocular function. "It's a good thing you found these when all my assets were seized Holly, they're far superior to my old ones."

"Oh, you are too kind!" Holly Blue accepted the compliment.

Suddenly, Black Rutile's view was obstructed by the unexpected appearance of a massive banner that she could only see the back of, carried by Laz and Zuli. "Hey, you're blocking my view!"

"Don't bother, they won't pay attention." Cat's Eye purred while standing alongside Holly Blue and Aquamarine as the newest member of the Rutile Rebels. Or at least, what's left of it.

"So where do we go from here, my Rutile?" Aquamarine asked.

"Oh, it's quite easy." Black Rutile declared, turning to her last remaining colleagues. "Someday Little Homeworld, the next day everything else."

--

As Steven passed Little Homeworld on his way out, he caught a glimpse of the Lapis twins carrying a massive banner saying "THANK YOU STEVEN", no doubt the Gems of Little Homeworld's way of expressing their gratitude for all Steven's done for them. Just then, his phone began to ring, and he picked up to see Pearl's name on his screen before taking the call.

"Sorry Steven, I just wanted to check in!" Pearl said on the other end of the line. "So, is everything going good so far?"

Taking a deep breath, Steven slowed down the car while popping his head out the window to discover that clouds in the shape of his mother's dual identities hanging above him, as if Rose and Pink would always be there to watch him. Pulling his head back inside, Steven had one single word for an answer.

"Yeah."

--

STEVEN UNIVERSE: ALTERNATE FUTURE

BASED OFF THE HIT CARTOON NETWORK ANIMATED SERIES BY REBECCA SUGAR

STARRING:

Zach Callison as Steven, Cactus Steven, Topiary Steven, Onion, Pumpkin

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Famethyst, Blue Lace Agate, Ocean Jasper, Crazy Lace Agate, Chert

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Yellow Pearl, Blue Pearl, Volleyball, Aubergine Pearl, Mega Pearl, Black Pearls, Morganite's Pearl, Shell

Grace Rolek as Connie

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Squaridot, Demantoid's Peridots

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Laz, Zuli

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper, Cherry Quartz, Rose Trio, Angel Aura Quartz, Zebra Jasper, Skinny Jasper, Carnelian, Biggs Jasper, Flint

Dee Bradley Barker as Lion, George the Light Prism, Elaine, Cosma

Charlyne Yi as Ruby, Eyeball, Navy, Doc, Army, Leggy, Morganite's Ruby

Erica Luttrell as Sapphire, Padparadscha Sapphire

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond

Susan Egan as Rose Quartz, Pink Diamond, Rosemary DeMayo

Sarah Stiles as Spinel

WITH:

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon, Blue Zircon, Yellow Zircon

Matthew Moy as Lars

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Priyanka

Crispin Freeman as Doug

Indya Moore as Shep

Natasha Lyonne as Smoky Quartz

Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite

Ted Leo as Steg

Nicki Minaj as Sugilite

Alexia Khadime as Sardonyx

Aimee Mann as Opal

Rita Rani Ahuja as Alexandrite

Alastair James as Rainbow Quartz 2.0

Shoniqua Shondai as Sunstone

AJ Michalka as Stevonnie

Andrew Kishino as Kevin

Reagan Gomez Preston as Jenny, Kiki

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Brian Posehn as Sour Cream

Colton Dunn as Mr. Smiley

Indya Moore as Shep

Toks Olagundoye as Mayor Nanafua

Joel Hodgson as Bill Dewey

Eugene Cordero as Jamie

Ashly Burch as Rutile

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Lamar Abrams as Wy-Six, Buck

Cristina Vee as Jay-Ten

FEATURING:

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Olivia Olson as Citrine

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite, Nephrite's Crew, Lemon Jade

Ian Jones Quartey as Snowflake Obsidian, Bixbite

Michelle Maryk as Larimar

Auli'i Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Kimiko Glenn as Blue Chalcedony

Tara Platt as Heaven Cubic Zirconia, Earth Cubic Zirconia

Tara Strong as Grossular Diopside

Phillipa Soo as Chrysocolla

Anika Noni Rose as Watermelon Tourmaline (fusion), Watermelon Tourmaline

Aimee Carrero as Moonstone

Esmé Bianco as Malachite

Catherine Tate as Lepidolite

Billie Eilish as Turquoise

Susanne Blakeslee as Pietersite

Jessica Nigri as Orange Moonstone

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

Kristin Chenoweth as Sheena Synstylae

Hugh Laurie as Doctor Laurie

Neil Flynn as The Officer

Pierce Brosnan as Bane Jones

Christoph Waltz as Francis von Bowling

Andy Serkis as Neckbearded Collector

Larry Thomas as Soup Salesman

Hugh Jackman as Beckham Jordan

James Monroe Iglehart as Coach Matt Monroe

Karen Fukuhara as Makoto Fuji

Michelle Creber as Chloe

Kacey Musgraves as Yvonne

Lin-Manuel Miranda as President Eduardo Suarez

GZA as Major General Wade Grant

Tim Curry as General Lloyd Waller

Wendie Malick as Vice President Theresa Maxwell

Keith Olbermann as Kent Whitmore

Steven Ogg as J. Edgar Hoover

Ray Chase as George Ikari

David McCallum as G

Paget Brewster as B

Casey Robertson as Neil Michaels

Richard Horwitz as Christopher Cage

Diedrich Bader as Lennie

Wayne Knight as Milton

Laura Post as Gloria DeMayo

Maurice LaMarche as Thomas DeMayo

Dave Willis as Andy DeMayo

Alex Hirsch as Lawrence Abrams

Mike Pollock as Harry S. Truman

John Hodgman as Finn Ward

Phil LaMarr as Benson Quintel

David Tennant as Ben Darwin

Ashleigh Ball as Tulip Dennis

Gary Cole as Clarence Page

Alan Tudyk as Craig Levin

Ryan Reynolds as Benjamin Rouleau

Brenda Song as Juniper Winick

Sam Marin as Steve Peters

Jeff Bennett as Edward Daniels

Lily Tomlin as Beatrice McHale

Romi Dames as Chloe Chong

Ben Diskin as Nigel Warburton

Jimmy Smits as Victor Molano

Clancy Brown as Eugene Quartey

Ron Perlman as Negative Steven

And Rebecca Sugar as Dr. Rebecca Sucrose

ADDITIONAL VOICES BY: Ashley Johnson, April Winchell, Bill Farmer, Brian Bloom, Bob Bergen, Corey Burton, Cissy Jones, Chris Parnell, Christopher Swindle, Cristina Vee, Cree Summer, Chris Edgerly, Chris Jai Alex, David Kaye, Dee Bradley Baker, Daran Norris, Darin de Paul, Dan Castellaneta, Eden Riegel, Erica Lindbeck, Eric Bauza, Frank Welker, Fred Tatasciore, Grey DeLisle, Greg Cipes, Jeff Bergman, Jeff Bennett, John Eric Bentley, Josh Keaton, Jim Cummings, Jim Conroy, Jon Bailey, Kari Wahlgren, Keston John, Kevin Michael Richardson, Mona Marshall, Mela Lee, Matt Chapman, Mick Wingert, Matt L. Jones, Nika Futterman, Nolan North, Patrick Seitz, Phil LaMarr, Roger Craig Smith, Richard McGonagle, Sean Schemmel, Stephen Root, Troy Baker, Tom Kenny, Yuri Lowenthal, Zeno Robinson, Zehra Fazal

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jack8090

TheCurryAstute/Devil Dragon Stand User

Brydav-Massbear

My friends, family and teachers

The Lapidot Café Discord server

And readers like you

Thank you

"I hope to represent people who have felt a lack of representation, but I hope to also show people who have felt represented that they can also relate that are not heteronormative, and to families that are not traditional, maybe even moreso than the more generic characters and families that they've been seeing on TV."

-Rebecca Sugar

"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

-Walt Disney

"I love being with people. That's the most incredible thing in the world. That world may change and evolve, but the one thing that will never change, we're all part of one big family."

-Stan Lee

--

No joke, I nearly cried writing these credits, especially the quotes. This story has truly been an experience for me that I'm pretty sure only comes once in a lifetime, as a writer, a Steven Universe fan, and as a young adult just like Steven. At the time Future finally ended, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing and college was on the horizon, which meant I had to leave home just like Steven did, so writing this chapter in particular means a lot to me. But while this universe has lots more stories to tell, I'll just leave you with a little hint for one of the next big stories to follow this one.

--

As Steven drove further and further away from Beach City and was about to leave Delmarva behind, it seemed someone was watching him from the shadows. The Officer kept an eye on the boy from his squad car, taking extra care to not blow his cover, and smiled.

"You finally earned a true happily ever after." The Officer nodded before his pupils turned into slits. "But I can tell your adventures aren't done yet."

Picking up the police car's radio, the Officer began to show more and more of how snake-like he can be as he spoke into the transmitter. "This is deep-cover agent Aescul reporting." He spoke into the radio. "Yes, Universe is safe. Make preparations for the contest ASAP. His majesty wants a word with that boy."

--

THE END

[change-your-mind-au]

Ch 11: A Plan of Action 

A few days later, the B Team was making a plan of action to return to Homeworld along with Lars and the Off Colors. Lars and the Off Colors made it back to Earth around a week after the B Team did. After they figured out the failed mission, they were on board with help planning with going into Homeworld. 

After all, Lars was able to get pass security undetected. The same would go for Connie too...that is if she wanted to go back. They weren't sure considering what she saw happen to Steven.

"So where would be the best place to enter?" Bismuth asked, looking at the Lars and the Off Colors. "Where did you guys get out from?"

Everyone looked at each other as if trying to remember. 

"Wasn't it the west side?" Rhodonite asked.

"No, no. It was the east side," One of the Rutile Twins said.

"I thiiiinnnnkkkk it was the norrrttthhhh," Fluorite added in.

Peridot sighs looking at Bismuth and Lapis.

"You sure they'll be able to help? They don't even remember where they escaped Homeworld from."

"Guys. Remember it was the south," Lars said. "It was the one place where they didn't have too many guards."

Everyone looked at Lars for a few seconds before the Rutile Twins looked like they were thinking.

"Oh yea it was the south now that I think about it."

"H-he's right!" Rhodonite exclaimed nervously.

"I just had a vision! Lars is going to say we escaped from the south side and end up being correct!" Padparadscha says smiling.

Everyone looked over to Padparadscha before back at each other. 

"So the south side," Bismuth says. "So maybe you guys can drop us off there."

"There's one issue with that though," Peridot said. "Now that White has control over the others *and* the diamonds, I think security will be really tight now. White may believe that Steven is dead, but that doesn't mean White will up security. Who knows how Homeworld is like since we left."

Lars flinched at "Steven" and "dead" at the same sentence, and Bismuth noticed.

"You alright, Lars?"

Lars took a deep breath before looking over.

"Y-yea I'm fine," he looked back towards the others. "Maybe we could use a backup plan just in case. Peridot's right. We don't know how Homeworld is gonna be whenever we go back. And with Steven's state, it could change anytime. We need to be prepared for anything. We could go over there once or twice a month to see what is happening."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Lapis asked. "I mean like you said, Homeworld will constantly be changing."

"Hmmm...maybe we can re-engineer the ship to turn invisible and go undetected. We won't land, but try to get an accurate look on Homeworld."

Everyone looked at each other before back at Lars.

"I can help out with that if you want," Bismuth spoke up.

"Me too," Peridot added. "Whatever helps if we want to take down White Clod once and for all."

"Alright well...I think Connie will be here soon so I'm gonna go wait on the beach," Lars said.

Everyone looked at him and nodded. Lars walked off until he was standing on the beach, several feet away from the ocean. He looked out into the distance and sighed.

"Steven…"

Lars and the Off Colors were getting closer and closer to earth.

"Captain Lars, we're about to hit the atmosphere of earth!" Rhodonite exclaimed.

Lars looked out the window and smiled.

"Excellent. Everyone buckle up and embrace for impact!"

"Yes sir!" everyone exclaimed as they buckled up.

It didn't take them long before they breached the atmosphere and quickly started heading for the surface.

"We will be landing in the minus 20 seconds!" one of the Rutile Twins announced.

"Awesome!" Lars says as he looks out the window.

It didn't take long before they landed on the beach. Of course the Off Colors were looking around in amazement.

"So this is Earth?!" one of the Rutile Twins exclaimed.

"It looks so beautiful!" Rhodonite smiled.

"It cerrrrrtainlllllyyy dooooeesss," Fluorite said slowly.

"Alright. Let's head out!" Lars announced. "I'm sure everyone will be glad to see us. Heh...Steven will probably just tackle hug me."

Everyone just chuckled as Lars opened the ship's door. 

"Alright, let's go."

Lars started walking out of the ship with the Off Colors and looked up to see the B Team speaking to each other before looking up at the group. Lars was a little surprised to not see Steven or the Crystal Gems with him, but maybe they were inside or something.

"Hey guys," Lars said as he walked closer to them.

"Hey welcome back Lars," Bismuth smiled at them. "How was your trip back home?"

"Eh aside from a few bumps in the road, it was fine. Ran into Emerald since we stole her ship, but other than that, it was easy breezy."

"Well that's good," Bismuth looked at the rest of the group. "And I'm assuming these were the gems you traveled with."

Lars turned his head to look at the Off Colors. 

"Yes they are. They really helped out along the way."

Bismuth smiled and looked at the others. After everyone greeted each other, Lars looked back at the B Team.

"So I'm assuming Steven and the others are at the beach house right?"

The B Team immediately got silent and looked at one another. Lars instantly knew something was up.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"You...could say that," Peridot looked away.

Lapis looked down with a mixture of sadness and anger on her face.

"Guys?"

Bismuth takes a deep breath.

"Lars, please listen to me carefully. We...didn't succeed in our mission and...Steven he...he's badly hurt. White...well...she made Pearl impale him...through the stomach." 

The Off Colors stared at the B Team in shock as Lars stared at them for a second before he started to laugh.

"Man guys that is such a good joke! I didn't know you guys had a sense of dark humor!" he continued laughing. "That's funny! But really in all seriousness, where's Steven?"

The B Team only stared at him with grim looks on their faces. Lars only looked back as he shook his head.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that? C-come on! This is Steven we're talking about! He has that healing spit so he could just heal his injury! You're all just joking with me!"

They still stared at Lars with the same look as Lapis wrapped her arms around herself glancing away as Peridot looked at the ground. Bismuth looked at Lars with a saddened look. After seeing their expressions haven't changed, Lars's eyes widen in shock as he froze as he quickly realized that they were not joking around.

"Y-you guys are serious…? Steven's really…?"

"He's...currently in intensive care," Bismuth sighed looking at Lars. "The doctors are saying Steven even lasted through his 10 hour surgery let alone survived a week…"

"I-it's been a week?!"

Bismuth slowly nods. "Yes and he still hasn't shown any signs of consciousness."

Lars only stared in shock as he stumbled back trying to process what he's just been told.

"A-and the others…?"

"On Homeworld under White's control. The diamonds are under her control as well. We were lucky to escape without much issue. It was only us, Steven, and Connie who came back."

Lars looked at the ground, not believing what he was hearing. Steven...the person who always was his friend despite his old selfish attitude...the person who literally brought him back to life back on Homeworld...was currently fighting for his life as they speak.

"Oh my! We're about to receive horrible news about Steven!" Padparadscha suddenly exclaimed.

Everyone glanced over at Padparadscha before back to the B Team.

"Lars, are you ok?" Bismuth asked, concerned.

"I...I'm gonna need some time to process this…"

"Understandable."

Lars took a deep breath before looking at the others.

"Is...Connie ok?"

"Well...physically yes," Peridot spoke up. "But...she saw what happened with Steven so...mentally, no."

"Oh…"

Lars sighed as he continued looking out before a voice startled him.

"Lars?"

Lars flinched as he looked over to see Connie looking at him.

"Oh...hey Connie."

"Hey. I'm sorry, did I startle you?"

"Oh uh...no you didn't. Just lost in thought I guess."

"Oh…"

Lars sighs. "So...how was your therapy session?"

"It was ok I guess. Still trying to…" she glances to the side. "It's just...it's hard."

Lars sighed as he looked out again.

"I...don't know what you're going through and all but...we could be here for you you know. Sorry I'm not that good at giving advice like he does but…"

"N-no it's ok I appreciate it," Connie softly smiles. "I really do appreciate you trying to help. I know it can't be easy for you either."

"Yea...but we do have to believe in him."

"Yea."

"Now come on. Everyone else is helping make a plan for going back to Homeworld."

Connie smiles slightly and nods. "Ok let's go!"

Lars and Connie started heading back to the group, having the thought of Steven hopefully waking up soon.

End of Arc 2

[bad-at-names-and-faces]

The Truth

Chapter 27 chapter index

Inga stood in the corner watching the final preparations for the evening’s dinner and ball.  She hadn’t intended to arrive at the ballroom early, but once Gerda had stopped by her room offering to help her get dressed, she didn’t want to make her come back later. Gerda had suggested her emerald green dress, which wasn’t as tight as the one she had worn for the ball in Corona, but it was still too wide and too long to be doing anything else in, so there wasn’t much left to do but head over to the ballroom. She had stopped by to see if her parents were ready, but they hadn’t even given her a clear answer if they were going to be at the banquet beforehand.  

Every few minutes a servant would come over and ask if she needed anything, even though she was trying to stay in the background and just watch.  Finally, she told one that she could use something to drink. Other guests were slowly starting to come in.  Her parents had informed Kai that it would be best not to wait for them to begin the evening.  Inga silently laughed to herself that the Prince of Maldonia was probably expecting a more formal event in his honor. Thankfully, he had not arrived early.  Her own table was still empty, and she looked around to see if there was anyone she would want to talk to before dinner began.

“Elizabeth!” Inga called as she nearly ran over to her table at the banquet. "Where's Lars?"

"Mr. Meyer took him aside to speak privately. They've been doing that quite a lot this week. How have you been?"

"Busy," she replied, setting down her empty glass on the table. She leaned in to whisper, "I really don’t know whether my parents are showing up tonight, even after my mother promised not to leave me alone with that prince from Maldonia.  I might need to call in that favor from the ball in Corona, since you're married now and your husband will be right here.  I'm pretty much obliged to dance with the prince once, but after that-"

"I'll see what I can do," Elizabeth smiled. “Your dress is lovely, by the way. I’ve always loved emerald green, so bold.”

Inga smiled and nodded, not wanting to admit that she hadn’t put that much thought into the color of her dress. She stood quietly for a moment, looking around nervously.  She sighed.  "I don't want to bring it up, but, have you- has he made a decision? About, you know, that thing?"

"No. The Ambassador doesn't want to lose him, of course, but he also acts like saying ‘no’ isn't a real option, either."

"I can't see why,” she scowled, barely keeping her voice down. “I don't understand it, to be honest. Really, I hate it. I… I thought you'd be here at least a year or two."

Elizabeth nodded.  There was some commotion as Inga’s parents had suddenly appeared at their table, and the footmen began bringing out the main course.  Inga hurried back to her table.

***

Inga sat next to Frederick as they finished their main course. She wasn’t feeling particularly hungry, but she had accepted every refill on her drink. Frederick would occasionally tell her about his conversations with the Admiral and the various naval officers present, and Inga would try to say something appropriately encouraging, since it was all exciting and new to him. Her father was always quiet at these events, but her mother was unusually reserved this evening, looking around the room, almost nervously, with none of her usual excitement about the event, or eventhe mirth she would quietly express if the guest list wasn’t satisfactory. Still, they were here, so Inga at least wasn’t going to be left completely at the mercy of Prince Tarkan. 

When dinner was over and they were waiting for the dancing to begin, Inga wanted to go speak to Elizabeth some more, but Elizabeth’s mother and sisters were keeping her busy. Inga decided that she would give them some space since they would be leaving the next day for Wesselton.  She hoped that they would take Prince Tarkan with them.  Inga looked around the room.  

A footman came around with fresh drinks. Inga gladly took one.  She noticed a dignitary whose name she forgot whispering to Prince Tarkan and gesturing in her direction. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly why the Maldonian prince made her so uncomfortable from the one time he had spoken to her, but she wanted to avoid him as much as she could.  Nearby, she saw Kate and Edith standing around giggling about something or other, so Inga decided to go join them.

“Inga!” Kate said gleefully as she stopped in front of them.  “We were just saying, we haven’t had a chance to speak to you since Isabel’s wedding.  How are you doing?”

“Fine,” Inga replied, not sure what they actually wanted to hear. “How have you been?”

“Nothing much has been happening with us,” Edith laughed, “though everyone is talking about Mr. Nilsen’s promotion.  What do you know about that?”

“I really wish I knew,” Inga admitted.  “They really don’t tell me as much as you’d think.”

Edith looked at Kate and smirked a bit.

“What is it?” Inga asked.

“Well, we probably shouldn’t say it here,” Kate said a little too loudly.

“Now you have me curious,” Inga grumbled.

“Fine,” Edith sighed, pulling them toward the kitchen door away from the other guests.  “Someone was saying that the position is probably going to him to cover up his father’s death.”

“Cover up?” Inga was confused. “Why would it need to be covered up? He died from natural causes. And who was saying this?”

“Kate, do you remember who it was? It was right after he and his brother left Hudson’s the other night.”  

“No one in particular, just some dock worker.”

“Did this person say anything else?” Inga probed.

“Well...” Edith said, looking around, lowering her voice and leaning in, “there was some question about whether his father was even his father.  The two brothers look different, and apparently his mother tried to hide being pregnant before she left Arendelle. So there might have been some kind of fight.”

“Did they have any proof?” Inga asked, looking around to make sure they were still alone.  “People like to talk nonsense, you know.”

“I remember now!” Kate almost jumped up. “He said he was loading the ship that took her to Corona.  It was the middle of the night, and the whole thing was rather hushed-”

“Kate!” Edith grabbed her, trying to whisper, “maybe think about who we’re talking to?”

“What? I know my aunt had something to do with getting her to Corona.”

Edith leaned in, about to say something else, when they heard the musicians beginning to assemble. Inga quickly excused herself.

Frederick was waiting at the other end of the room. "See if you can figure out what he's hiding," he whispered in her ear.

"Who?"

"Tarkan," he snorted. "He was acting weird after you left me with him last week. You have to give him one dance, you know. Might as well make it worthwhile."

"I'd rather not," she groaned. "It means I’d have to talk to him."

“So? You talk to him, he talks back, you learn something interesting if you’re lucky.”

“I just, well, it’s not that simple.”

Frederick snorted. “You know this one wouldn’t be such a problem if you weren’t so insistent that nothing happened with the last one.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she whispered back with a glare.

He only nudged her and nodded his head toward the group from Maldonia walking toward them.

Inga felt her entire body tense up at the uncomfortable memory of the encounter with Prince Tarkan in the empty ballroom as he approached now and was officially introduced to her.  

“Your Highness, may I have this dance?” he asked with stiff formality.  Inga politely accepted his hand, trying hard to keep her face neutral and not roll her eyes as he led her to the center of the room to signal the music for the waltz. He placed his hand on her back firmly, yet it made her feel insecure, and his grip on her hand felt unforgiving.  “You have been nearly impossible to find this week.  I almost would think you were avoiding me.”

“I’ve been quite busy,” Inga stated, hoping it would sound more like an apology than an insult.

“You may have heard, I will be sailing to Wesselton tomorrow.”

“Yes,” she replied tersely.  “I hope you enjoyed your stay.”

“I must admit, I was rather disappointed.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“There will be others, I assure you.”

“Of course,” Inga said, wondering how much longer the music would be playing.  He was talking just enough that she couldn’t lose herself in her own thoughts and go through the motions of the dance. She tried to keep up her end of the conversation like the etiquette lessons had drilled into her.  “I hope you find someone deserving.”

“I’m sure I will, and besides, I’ve learned things during my stay that will make up for my initial disappointment,” he smirked.

“Oh, really?” she asked, slightly unnerved.  

“The locals really are quite friendly here. I can understand why your family doesn’t look elsewhere.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, if I understand your… parentage?”

“So?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean that as an insult. I was merely curious.  When my father suggested visiting Arendelle on my tour, he mentioned that he had been interested in Her Majesty many years ago, before she was Queen.”

“I’ve… not heard that. But I imagine it would have been purely a theoretical interest.”

“He was quite charmed with her when the two of them were visiting Corona at the same time,” Tarkan smirked. 

“Well, if that had come to anything, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now, would we?”

“That is true,” he acknowledged.

“Tell me, then,” she hoped to change the subject, “Where did your father meet Queen Nora?”

“It was all arranged,” he replied flatly.

“I take it they’re not arranging things for you?”

“It’s not so simple,” he explained, “My father was an only child, so there was no question that he would inherit.” 

“Are you not the oldest, then?”

“Oh, I am the oldest, but my father has not selected his heir yet. They would like to see a legitimate line of succession, naturally.”

“That seems like it puts a lot of pressure on you.”

“It’s probably for the best. It can cause complications if a monarch succeeds to the throne without a clear line of succession, you know.”

“Who is winning right now?”  She took a second to realize she had asked this out loud, and tried to remember how many drinks she had accepted from the footmen.

“As far as legitimate heirs, there are none yet,” he explained.  

“I see…” she replied cautiously. His accent was just thick enough that she was willing to believe he had misspoken, and wasn’t trying to imply what it sounded like to her.  She had quickly finished off her most recent glass of wine, and she was starting to feel it, so she knew she’d need to be careful what she let herself say. 

Tarkan continued as if he hadn’t heard her. “My sister, of course, you met in Corona.  She had no luck there on either of the royal heirs she met, though I suppose your brother is still too young.”

“Yes, I agree there,” Inga said firmly, noticing Frederick passing nearby as he danced with Edith.

“She also had warned me that I might not have luck here,” he continued, frowning at her.

“No one has had that kind of ‘luck’ here,” Inga smirked back. 

He sniffed dismissively.  “As for my brother Josef, he is engaged to a princess from Bavaria, though her parents insist that she wait until she is twenty-one, so I may yet have time to establish my own legitimate succession before him.”

“You seem to like emphasizing that the succession needs to be legitimate,” Inga spoke without thinking.

Prince Tarkan cleared his throat.  “You do a poor job of acting naive,” he said with the slightest hint of a sneer.

“I never claimed to be,” she told him.

“Good, because you will limit yourself considerably if you… expect otherwise from men.”

“Is that so?” she sighed, relieved to hear the music ending.  She curtseyed and he bowed, and she politely took her leave, glad to be done with that.  She knew well enough that there were plenty of men who were going to view her as nothing more than a treaty concession or a business transaction, but seeing it so bluntly laid out was infuriating, even when she was completely sober, which she was quite sure she wasn’t at this point. 

Inga looked for Elizabeth again, but she and Lars were now dancing, and she couldn’t talk to Frederick because  Kate had convinced him to dance with her now.

“Edith,” Inga called as she walked over, finding another round of drinks being passed around.

“Inga,” she pouted a little, “I wish I had found you earlier. I was hoping you’d introduce me for a dance with Prince Tarkan, but now he’s dancing with the daughter of Duke… Duke… oh, I forget his name, but he’s on the royal council. She’s so full of herself.”

“You’re not missing much,” Inga grumbled. “And, from what he said, I’d be very careful around him, if I were you.”

“What’s that?”  Edith asked.

“Never mind,” Inga sighed. “I have no proof of anything.”

“Proof of what?” Edith probed.  

“Just…” Inga took a sip of her drink. “Just that he kept going on about legitimate heirs, and pretty much all but admitted to having the illegitimate kind.”

“Oh!” Edith exclaimed, looking around a bit, moving them closer to the corner.

“He seems to think it’s pretty commonplace.”

“Well, you’ve read more than I have,” Edith reminded her. 

“True, going by what I’ve read, it’s rather common, but in real life, I’d like to think that’s all exaggerated.  The idea of marrying someone who only wants me for my title and position and keeping to myself while he goes off with every girl in the countryside-”

“That wasn’t exactly the kind of reading I was thinking of,” Edith laughed, “but you have a point.”

“Oh, so,” Inga said with another sip, “before the dancing started, you and I were discussing something else.”

Edith laughed a little too loudly. “Yes, your new ambassador to America. I’m sure you didn’t learn anything about him from that Maldonian prince, but it’s funny because what I heard about Mr. Nilsen-”

The second dance ended, and Elizabeth walked over to join them.  Edith gave Inga an embarrassed look, clearly aware that they needed to change the subject.

“Sorry, I interrupted something,” Elizabeth said innocently, starting to turn around.

“Oh, no,” Inga insisted, “well, we were talking about the ambassador position.  Sorry if that’s awkward for you…”

“It is awkward,” Elizabeth admitted, “but there’s nothing to apologize for. I know it must be interesting.”

Inga noticed Edith shifting uncomfortably.  “Elizabeth,” Inga probed, “did Lars say anything more about his family here?”

Elizabeth sighed. “He didn’t really learn anything. The Ambassador was asking us the same thing the day we returned from our honeymoon. Lars told me his brother thinks he’s being rather silly for even trying to learn anything, and maybe he’s right.”  

Edith glanced knowingly at Inga, who gave her a quick frown before returning her attention to Elizabeth.  “I wish I knew more,” Inga sighed. “Then maybe I could understand what my parents were thinking.”

“The best we could figure is that Elsa had something to do with it,” Elizabeth replied, “because she has spent a lot of time with Mrs. Nilsen, of course.”

“Doesn’t that get confusing now?” Edith giggled. 

“Oh!” Elizabeth laughed in surprise. “You know, it’s funny, I hadn’t really thought of that… it just hasn’t come up here, since nearly everyone uses first names. I suppose if she comes with us, we’ll have to figure something out, because there would be two of us they could call ‘Mrs. Nilsen’ and that would definitely get confusing.”

“So, where is your husband now?” Edith asked.

“Mr. Meyer made him come with him to talk with some other ambassadors,” Elizabeth sighed.  “To be fair, one of them spent several years in America, so I suppose that will be helpful.”

Another dance was announced, and Inga soon found herself dancing with a series of dignitaries who were both tolerable and forgettable.  

It was nearing the end of the evening  when Elizabeth’s mother and sisters found her again. Inga was thankful that Prince Tarkan had at least lost interest in her so she never needed Elizabeth's assistance in avoiding him.  

Kate and Edith found Inga as a last round of drinks were brought around. Kate was eagerly repeating their earlier conversation concerning the gossip from the old dock worker, while Edith filled her sister in on Inga's suspicions about Prince Tarkan. Inga noticed Kai pass near them, but he was only going over to her parents. Given everything lately, she wasn't surprised that they left without saying anything. 

"Right," Edith said, touching Inga's arm to get her attention, "when Elizabeth came over earlier, I was about to tell you what I heard about Mr. Nilsen."

"Lars, or his father?" Inga asked.

"His father," Edith clarified, then trying to whisper, "if he really was, of course!"

“Your Highness,” Kai interrupted, startling them.  “I need you to come with me.”

***

Inga followed Kai to the library. He motioned her to go in, and quietly stepped back.  Her parents were both standing inside, but nobody else was there.

“Kai, close the door on your way out, see that we’re not disturbed,” her mother said quickly.

“What’s going on?” Inga asked once they were alone in the room.  “One minute I’m just talking at the party, and the next minute Kai comes over and tells me to come with him...”

“It’s about your conversation, or, rather, that-” her father stuttered. He looked at his wife for help, his hand nervously at the back of his neck.

“You shouldn’t be discussing Lars and his family.  Not so carelessly,” her mother added.

“You don’t want me talking about the ambassador position?  Look, it doesn’t make much sense, so of course people are going to talk, and Edith and Kate are going to hear a lot of that talk.  You’ve been telling me for years I should spend more time with them, but all of a sudden you don’t want me to talk with them?”

“No, of course I don’t mean that,” her mother assured her. “It’s just that you… you should be in a position to dispel rumors if need be.”

“That doesn’t work when it’s about me, so why should I even bother if it’s something I don’t know about?”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.”

“Well, I haven’t actually heard any other rumors.  I mean, I guess there was some talk about the older Mr. Nilsen and maybe there was something funny about his death, but the word of some guy on the docks twenty years ago doesn’t seem like much to go on.”

Her parents looked at each other, clearly not sure what they should say to that.

“His death was completely natural,” her mother blurted out.

Inga found the statement odd, suddenly thinking of all the odd things she’d overheard or noticed the last few months. "I didn't think his cause of death needed defending. Unless it does? Is that why Lars is getting this position now? And is that why he was supposed to get a position in the Corona palace guard and not the Diplomatic School? And the pension?"

"It has nothing to do with that," her mother said quickly, "or, well, not direct-"

“What do you mean?  Either it has something to do with that, or it doesn’t,” Inga interrupted, starting to feel overwhelmed with possible conclusions. "It might almost make sense if you were making him ambassador to Corona, but there are at least a dozen other nobles and rich retired trades people you could give the American position to. Usually, someone that young only gets a position like that if-" 

Inga looked up as she suddenly remembered Edith's statement connecting the mystery of Lars's family with her own gossip about the Maldonian prince.  She glanced back and forth between her parents' faces for clues.

Her mother spoke first, quietly but firmly. "If the person is related to someone important?" 

Inga felt her stomach drop. The thought had briefly occurred to her when she had been talking about the rumors with Edith earlier, but hearing her mother say it out loud, she could no longer dismiss the idea of Lars being some kind of relation as nonsense.  She tried to stay focused, even though she felt unmoored. "So who is he?" Inga demanded. "Some bastard cousin from your grandfather?" 

Her parents looked at each other, shifting uncomfortably. 

"Closer than that," her mother clarified, pausing just enough for Inga to interrupt again.

"How much closer are we talking? Your father? Elsa? Is that why she’s so concerned?"

“I can explain-" her mother began.

"Are you sure?” her father interrupted, looking at his wife. “Maybe tonight isn't a good time." 

"We probably should have told her already," her mother responded, quietly looking up at him, "you were clear on that point."

Her father sighed and nodded.

Inga tried to understand why they weren’t just getting to the point. “If you have something to tell me, why not say it already?”

“Inga,” her father sighed, “You’ve had too much to drink, I just think this might be better when you’ve had some time to rest-”

Inga clenched her fists, finding herself thinking of Prince Tarkan’s comment about her playing innocent, and she started to wonder if she had been blind to things.  Why was her father wanting to wait to tell her? What had Edith said about Lars and his brother? They certainly didn’t look very alike.  She could almost see more of her own brothers looking at him. But he couldn’t be that close, could he? She would have heard something.  Unless there was a cover up…  Like when her father had stayed back in Arendelle, and her mother had spent months being courted by foreign princes, while Mrs. Nilsen was hurried out of the country shortly before Lars was born and given a nice pension. 

"You?" Inga said, looking at her father. "So all this about nobody before you met Mother?" Inga felt her voice grow increasingly strained.  Nothing made sense, but her father was the only conclusion she was coming to at the moment.  She felt frantic. "Or was it even before you knew her? The timing doesn't work otherwise… I thought I knew you!"

Her father stood silently, his face pained.  His hands were at his sides in tight fists, but he was unwilling to offer any correction or clarification. 

Her mother stood up and glared at her daughter. "Stop, Inga!" she shouted, startling both her daughter and her husband. 

“I’m sorry.” Inga apologized meekly. “I shouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion that it’s… that Lars is that close.”

“No,” her mother sighed.  “You were absolutely correct.  About part of it, at least.  Lars is your half brother.”

She couldn’t read a thing on her mother’s face now. It was a complete blank.  Her father looked sad.

“Wait, what?” Inga said, looking from her mother to her father.  

“This summer you were asking why I’d never talked about my trip to Corona-” her mother began.

“But,” Inga interrupted with confusion,  “what about Mrs Nilsen?  You said you didn’t know her-”

“I didn’t.  Elsa arranged all of that, because he would need a wet nurse. I…” her mother took a breath, looking down. “I asked Elsa not to tell me.  I didn’t want to know.  And I… we… your father and I… we didn’t know it was Lars until you asked me about Mrs. Nilsen.”

“What… But…” She looked at her father. “You knew?” 

“Yes, he’s known…  Not then.  But long enough.”

Inga sat down and tried to process everything.  She felt a bit sick to her stomach.  She stood up again, not wanting to stay where she was. 

“We should have told you sooner, but it never seemed like the right time,” her mother said.

“And this seemed like the right time?” Inga cried.  Her head ached.  How could it be her mother?  Yet, of course it could have been.  She had known the story practically her whole life, she had just never questioned the details of it.  And now she had said things to her father that she couldn’t take back, she could only apologize.  She walked to the door and stepped out of the library, not even able to think now.  The sounds of the lingering party guests echoed down the hall as she turned to the staircase in the opposite direction, desperate to get away.

[moonlightstars16]

Chapter 11 ~ First Encounters

1. I want to personally thank @thepurecinnamonroll who created this beautiful cover for my story. Please check out her amazing work.

2. As I mentioned from the last chapter that I will be taking a break from updating 'Shattered Blood' for the next two weeks. I have sort of lost touch with his story but I want to continue and finish it. I dislike leaving stories incomplete. So I'll be refreshing and taking time to work on more chapters. So I won't hit burn-out. I will return around July 28th(Don't worry I have other works you can check out that I update a bit more on the daily side. Please check them out as well). I also want to thank everyone who has supported my story, left kudos and comments. Ya'll are amazing and I wish you all the best during this trying time.

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A strucken blow....then another...and another....

Steven barley held on as the pinkish red glow emerged from within. Feeling the rumble and sharp edged from the tree and boulder he was slightly laying against. Coughing up blood trying to regaining his breathing.

"You are just a pathetic human with gem powers. Are you going to take this lying down?! Fight me and prove that you deserve those Diamond powers! Or are you too weak to handle them!?"

"I'm NOT!" Steven shouted, causing a sudden sonic boom like sound from his voice to all the area around him. He jumped up and with a strong kick, knocked Jasper back. The continued to hit her over and over. She just laughed and laughed as his fist made contact with any part of her. The laughter taunted him.

Just like the Diamonds...and he hated it.

Then he punched under her head, with fists forming what seemed to me a small ball with spikes all around, and made her helmet reappear. That made him even more furious.

Where was his helmet? Where was his protection?! Why did he have to suffer without any comfort to fall back on?!

With a loud shout he punched her so hard, it made her stop laughing and more focusing on the fight before her. The determination and worry behind her eyes opened his up. He enjoyed this. He wanted to see this fear... He CRAVED this! So much so that he began to laugh maniacally himself.

Another blow... then another... and another...

He had her up in the air, speed so fast time was becoming more and more irrelevant. He didn't care about anything except fighting- no... shattering her.

Oh yes the thought was glorious. Just the mere idea of it sent a sensation so full of ecstasy that all he saw in his sight was red. Then with one more punch, he sent her down to the ground in a huge pit formed by the impact. Shields of pentagons formed around her, locking her in place like chains. Jasper pulled, kicked and punched trying to break free. But it was too late. A bright red-ish pink light made her look up. Eyes widened from the sight.

A wall full of pentagon shields formed, bending slightly at the sides. Spikes appeared out of nowhere. Aiming only for her. She was the target, and he was excited.

"Thank you, Jasper. These Diamond powers are now mine!" With a villainous laugh he pushed the wall in her direction. Watching as it crushed her...poofed her... and her gem fell apart. Floating slowly down he picked up the shards and smirked. "Looks like I won this fight." He chuckled darkly.

Bubbling, or now in a cage of sorts, the shards and sent it back to the castle. Looking down at the slightly torn up black t-shirt with a yellow star, jeans and his red sandals. Walking back towards his palace. This identity wasn't him anymore. Thoughts swirled in his head as the thought of shattering her again and again. After all, he had the power along with essences of the other Diamonds thanks to a certain Spinel gem. The game had just begun.

Jasper froze in place, gasping at what had happened. A red-ish pink shield came in between her fist and Connie's body. But her gaze was looking at someone else. A familiar pair of glowing, Diamond shaped eyes bore into her own. Both of them staying that way for a while. Finally she pulled back and growled lowly. Bowing before him in defeat. Flashes of being shattered and brought back to life over and over came into view.

"Dismissed, Jasper." With that she got up, head bowed briefly.

"As you command." Trying not to grumble under her breath beginning to walk away.

"And don't you dare, ever fight her again. Unless you want to go back to being shattered." Jasper froze momentarily before walking away without a single word. Steven breathed deeply and put away his shield before directing his attention on Connie. Whose own eyes were widened from the scene that played out right before her. Kneeling down he offered his hand for her own. swallowing hard a little, she accepted and stood up slowly. Though her head was still throbbing from the blow.

"Uh...thank you..." She mumbled, unsure of what else to say to him.

"I thought you were more intelligent than this." The iced tone in his voice crystal clear. "It's very disappointing." His words shook too her core and caused a second wind rising within her... or fifth... Frowning she formed her fists to the side.

"Excuse me?! Oh I must've hit my head against the tree a lot harder than I thought!" Which actually was a bit more true than she wanted to admit honestly. "I'm the disappointing one around here?!"

"Going into a fight recklessly with hardly any strength is probably one of the most dumbest things to do!" His voice much louder and commanding than before. Arms crossed against his chest and back standing up much straighter, out of habit to show his authority and power he held.

"Oh and you're the one to judge what I do?! How very hypocritical your majesty!" Connie bowed mockingly so. "Or have you forgotten about what happened the last time we were in a garden!" It was also frustrating since he wasn't looking any more mad than she was in this moment. Which was odd since he was shouting only moments ago. Her words echoed out until they faded away, leaving only tense silence and cold wind. Eyes locked onto one another's. Until he broke their gaze, looking her over and finally back to her eyes.

"I see Pearl has taught you well for combat." Steven finally spoke, breaking the silence, lowering his voice back into a much calmer tone. Connie had just about enough of his mood swings, annoying her about as much as his arrogance. Her anger blinded her to the reality of her legs shaking and the fatigue quickly setting in. 

"Oh no you don't! How dare you sidestep the issue here-" Connie tried to step forward, only to realize her weight wasn't being supported by any strength she had. Which was about nothing. Falling forward she braced herself for the grounds impact. When instead she felt two broad arms holding her up.

Landing against his chest in this moment wasn't entirely ideal in her mind. Steven felt her close presence and the feeling flaring up inside him once more. With an inward and heavy sigh, he lifted her left arm around his neck then supported her back. Leaning down as his other arm wrapped underneath her legs, standing back while picking her up. He could feel her heat from the fight still prominent around her. 

"I won't allow you to remain in my court if you're going to be like this all the time." He stated, walking towards the garden gate near one of the castle's few entrances. 

'So I'm still important to you're special court huh? Funny, I thought you would rather see me drop dead.' Connie thought, too exhausted to even begin to argue with him. Let alone keep her eyes open. Within seconds she had fallen fast asleep, nothing could wake her until her body was well rested.

This was beginning to be more and more like a pattern between the two. It was right in the middle between intriguing and annoying for them both. Steven brought her inside and to her chambers. Once she was settled in her bed, he brought her hand up to his lips. Letting his healing powers take care of any scratches or bruises while easing her pain. Leaving her alone soon after to get back to his own duties.

Hours passed, Lapis, Peridot and Bismuth all took care of watching over Connie. Making sure she was getting enough rest and back to full health. Pearl informed him of any recent activity and updates before leaving to check on other things around the palace. Steven looked upon the earth cluster project and inwardly sighed.

Having already abandoning feelings towards any attachment for the green and blue planet. Focusing more on the project to find a new home planet for the humans. This was all to win a bet. Not as if he cared one hundred percent. However he had to put forth the effort if needed be. Why not go all the way.

Certainly away from HomeWorld and away from any potential danger. However it was a tad tricky. humans needed certain necessities and while they could adapt in his eyes, it was best to find something similar if not better. Fortunately he had someone already on the job. Someone whose, now immortal, life was changed. Smirking he moved his hand across the control pad interface and watched as a diamond shaped camera came into view. Waiting for a connection to be heard from the other line.

'.........'

"Steven?!"

"Lars"

"What do you want?" Lars grumbled through the communication device.

"An update regarding the search for a plant suitable for humans."

"We are already onto the next sector."

"In other words, you have nothing." The hidden implications of that statement couldn't get passed him. Complimenting with a monotone and subtle hint of impatience in his voice.

"Hey it's not easy! That bitch Emerald has been on my tail the entire time!"

"I'm growing tired of your negligence!" Steven shouted loud as the room shook.

"It's hard searching for a planet when your also running away from the authorities!" Lars countered, seemingly not afraid of the person on the other line. Until he saw a flash of pinkish red in his Diamond shaped eyes.

"I could end it all right now." Suddenly more calm than before as a smirk appeared on his face.

"You can get her off my back?" A suspicious expression clearly written in his face.

"Of course, in fact I can just send Emerald the coordinates of where you are. Have her reclaim the ship I let you steal and capture all of you. Though I'm not sure what she will do to... them." Lars froze and gulped, gripping the arm rests of the sun incinerator captain chair. This wasn't the first time he was blackmailed.

But as his eyes darted around the ship's main deck. Watching his crew as they repaired and mapped their next destination (in a way so they wouldn't be discovered). They were more than his crew, they were becoming more like his family. Sighing in defeat, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Please, don't" He spoke firmly, trying his best to remain calm.

"You have three months."

"Three months?! But traveling in space takes longer with no functioning hyper drive engines!"

"Or I could contact Emerald now." Steven spoke, hand above the interface. One move and it was all over for them.

"You'll have a planet by then."  He voiced through his teeth. Frustration and anger building up inside him.

"Excellent choice my old friend." He explained before disconnecting the communications. Lars ran a hand over his face, trying to keep from screaming. 

"We were never friends."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple of days afterwords, Connie was well rested and back on track with her duties. Especially since when she overworked herself she hardly had anything to catch up to. So she took her break and went outside to clear her thoughts. Things were all over the place with her emotions for Steven. Unable to place them in a specific category. One minute he seemed cold and the next minute like who he was before. Well the person he was according to the other gems.

Her heart pounded every time she thought of him. Unable to tell if it was from a sort of comfort she felt towards him or from frustration and fear. Perhaps a mixture of both. Deep within in her mind she began to hallucinate a glowing pure white butterfly. Or thought she was. Swirling around her, grabbing the attention. Connie giggled, smiling and frowning slightly in confusion. "Hey little butterfly, where did you come from?"

The butterfly in question swirled around her once again before flying ahead of her. Stopping ever so slightly as if beckoning her to come. She giggled as this creature had the personality of an excited puppy wanting it's owner to play. Following this mysterious friend of hers, not knowing where she was headed, until they reached a certain door.

Stopping immediately, knowing where this door led. But this flying creature was persistent and like a ghost flew through the door. She gulped and bit her lip, unsure of what to do. Stepping towards the large entrance she placed her hand on the handle.

Once opened she hesitantly walked through. Her eyes widened at the sight, there she saw was looked like to be a beautiful tropical paradise. The trees, shrubbery and all sort of creatures in this ecosystem were full of life. A waterfall was nearby and formed a small lake area with and similar to that of a beach. She smiled from the sight, feeling the sense of her own home in Beach City. Until she felt a hand on her shoulder making her jump.

"Greetings! Oh! I'm sorry I hope I didn't frightened you." A young man, a tad younger than her father, with long poofy black hair, a loin cloth like dress and blue shall vest like material. A brown waistband and purple and pink colored earrings. It didn't take Connie long to figure out he was apart of the human zoo. But he was acting so...normal?

"Oh, no I'm fine, um... what's your name?"

"My name is Wy-six!"

"Um... I'm sorry did you just say Y-6?"

"Yes! It's a special name given to each of us!" Connie was still kinda confused but didn't think about it long when a female with long blonde hair came into view. Dressing the exact same way as the other person. No doubt she knew who these people were.

"Wy-six, who is this new friend?" Connie smiled awkwardly, waving her hello trying to hide her concern a bit. It worked when the woman waved back at her.

"Jay-Ten! Meet my new friend.. um..."

"Uh, Connie." She spoke quickly trying to be polite. "It's nice to meet you... er, J-10 was it?"

"Yes I am Jay-Ten! Nice to meet you Connie. Tell us, where did you come from?"

"Oh well I think I just wandered in here by mistake. I should be leaving now, it was nice knowing you!" While she would've jumped at the chance to save these humans before, something didn't sit quite right with her. It's almost like they don't feel imprisoned. 'Maybe they're putting on a bright smile?'

"What is...mistake?" Wy-six asked in a curious fashion.

"Yes please tell us, Connie." Jay-Ten spoke with eagerness in her voice. Connie froze and smiled. Trying her best to find ways of explaining mistake. Although her gut and red flags were popping up everywhere. The word cult flashed across her mind.

"Um.. well a mistake is an action or judgement that is misguided or wrong." The look on their faces said a lot to her. 'Just like the middle schoolers I tutored.' Opening her mouth to explain again in more simpler terms a voice interrupted her.

"Connie?! What in the world are you doing here??" all three turned to see Greg walking towards them. The others ran off in a sort of angry humph, leaving Connie all alone and even more confused.

"Hi Mr Universe, I actually came here by accident so I think I should just be leaving now."

"Wait hold up" Greg spoke putting a hand on her shoulder. "Would you like to tell me what's going on with my son?" Connie frowned slightly, not liking the fact that she was suddenly his best friend and knew everything about him. 'Shouldn't you be asking Spinel this?' But Steven was his own flesh and blood...and gem. It was understandable for his father to show concern for his boy.

"Forgive me but I don't follow your implication." Greg sighed and showed her the 'Zooman project' in a gem tablet of sorts.

"He was here for a few days. Saying how 'it was time they were needed to be treated like humans, and reintroduce them to earth culture'. Now I think this human zoo project should never have happened in the first place! And getting them back into earth culture officially is way overdue. However it's not like my son to go having a change of heart all at once here." Connie barley could keep up with what he was saying. Her mind not comprehending the apparent truth.

"Wait, you are saying...Steven came up with this idea?" Greg took a step back and raised a brow.

"You mean, you didn't know about this?"

"I didn't think so Greg." A voice popped up, Amethyst walking into view. "Whatssup Connie?" She said smiling.

"Hey, Amethyst. It's been awhile since....um..." Connie realized they hadn't even had a proper conversation since being taken away from Earth three months ago.

"Ya man it has. But I've been busy keeping up all sorts of guard duties and stuff."

"Oh....Well I hope you're doing okay since the....fight?"

"Pshh I should be asking you that question. Oh man Greg you should've seen her! She was fighting so good I almost thought Jasper would poof!"

"I'm assuming by that statement, you saw everything?"

"Uh how could I not! Once I got my 'second wind' so to speak, I ran and watched the entire thing go down! Oh and thanks for keeping me from poofing. Jasper sure would've shattered my gem this time around if not for you."

"You're welcome...." Connie breathed too stunned to think of anything else. Had she really saved Amethysts life that much? After gathering all she knew from her friends and the fight, the reality of that weighed on her more and more.

"So you went head on with Steven's number one solder?" Greg asked before getting elbowed in the gut by Amethyst. Shaking her head out from her apparent shock.

"Just like a rumor, news travels fast around her." Connie spoke in a defeated tone, accepting that fact of this life. "Yes I did fight Jasper... But then he..." Suddenly it became clear to her. When he disappeared, he was actually here planning this the entire few days. 'No wonder he said he was busy, he must've been trying to make time for this.' Besides he was there awfully quick, but fighting beside the human zoo entrance was good luck for her.

"Yeah, we thought you knew what he was planning, though it's not surprising he didn't tell you." Amethyst stated sadly scratching the back of her head. Connie thought of the butterfly that brought her here. 'This must be why it lead me to this place.'

"Um... What exactly is the plan?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"UGH!!!" Spinel shouted. Pushing all the paperwork and a few empty bottles off the table in anger. Glass shattering all over like gems who we're out of line. "I can't believe he's doing all this!" Jasper stood still as Aquamarine and Ruby put together another green, tranquilizing elixir. Spinel breathed deeply and gripped the table. Thoughts whirling in her mind like the circles in her eyes.

"I will shatter her with more pain and torture than that of a lion!" Jasper stated with full determination in his voice.

"No... I think we shall save that for last..." Spinel smiled wickedly as an idea formed in her head.

"Aquamarine! Ruby! Is the old human torture chamber still in good working order?"

"Affirmative Spinel!" Ruby saluted similar to the diamonds but with an upside down heart. "Cleaned off all the red liquid from the previous. Plus I just put in the finishing touches last night!" Then winced when Aqua's wand hit his head.

"You mean we you numb-skull! And that red liquid is called blood. If you're going to mention it just say what it is!" She sighed before flying with her back more straight. "Everything is now in perfect working order. Even better than before when his Diamond used it on the zoomans. All we need is a test subject."

"All in due time. Remember when the opportunity is perfect, that is when we will strike."

"Of course M'lady. In fact I have a certain gem who can help us." Aquamarine smirked, whistling out. "Come on out Topaz!" Two large yellow Topaz's came out from the shadows, forming into one large one. In the process took an empty test tube and forced it to mold into their bodies. though the process was effortless. Like a cage with no way of escape. "And he won't say a word." Spinel was equally pleased.

"Well done Aquamarine, well done." She smiled and rubbed her gloved hands together. Ignoring Aquamarine sticking her tongue out towards Ruby. Jasper just stayed quiet, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. "We do need a trial run... Topaz" She spoke as he turned, saluting and facing her.

"What is it you command, my Spinel?"

"Only one thing. Tonight fetch me a human from the human zoo."

[love-takes-work]

Steven Universe Comic #25 (2019) - Outline & Review

The twenty-fifth installment of the ongoing comic series for Steven Universe begins a continuing story featuring Lars and the Off-Colors attempting to use everyone's finest skills and lessons learned to escape from Emerald . . . again!

Plot:

Lars and the Off Colors are now on Earth, and it turns out what Lars wants to do with his future is run his own bakery. We open when Nanefua is hosting a ribbon ceremony for the bakery's first day of business.

Lars brings the Beach City residents into his new business and delights in serving everyone his specialties. The Off Colors each have a role in helping, and everything seems to be going swimmingly--Sadie even gives him a gift. But then when he hears himself addressed as "Captain," he reverts into a different leadership role mindset, and we drop into a flashback.

Lars is on the ship, the Sun Incinerator, daydreaming. All the updates he's receiving from his crew indicate that a whole lot of nothing is happening. They're coming up on the next sector, but it won't be for a while, and Lars feels a little crowded and stressed. He steps out to take a moment of alone-time with MC Bear Bear, a gift from Steven in his last care package.

Rhodonite and Padparadscha hurry in to check on him, sure he's upset, and he reluctantly levels with them. He feels like he failed them because he's just not getting them to the new home he promised--Earth--and he's still not sure if the problems he has to solve are insurmountable.

He also misses his baking, and wonders what his role will be with them once they don't need him as captain anymore--especially since he's also not the person he was when he lived on Earth. But he isn't going to get much time to ponder this because he's called away to the bridge for an emergency.

Cutting to Beach City in the recent past, we see Connie, Lion, and Steven working with Lars's parents to prepare another care package for Lars, and Connie jokes that Lars's arrival in a spaceship is the kind of thing that only happens every OTHER day in Beach City. They can't wait for Lars to come back. Lars's parents let them go to his room so they can grab a couple things, and one item they include is his baking diary.

Back to the story on the ship, the Off Colors have good news and bad news for Lars. Good news: Fluorite has gotten the nova thrusters working!

And the bad news is that they're nearly out of fuel so they can't really use those thrusters, and Emerald--the original owner of their stolen ship--has tracked them down.

Back in Beach City, Steven and Connie are using an employee key to the Big Donut to pick up something else for Lars: one of his favorite movies, Dream Ghost. He doesn't bother to bring a VCR because he figures the advanced ship will have the capability to play the old VHS tape.

Lars, confronting his old enemy again, asks for the dirt on how the heck Emerald found them, and she happily explains in her cartoon villain way: she tracked the newly working nova thrusters. With so little fuel, Lars isn't sure he can fight her upgraded weapons--which she promises to fire lethally this time--and he decides to use a nearby nebula as cover to allow them time to discuss a solution. And he will achieve that goal by employing a technique he's very familiar with. Running away.

The Off Colors flee into the nebula, but Emerald's dismay at the almost certain loss of her ship casts doubt on the safety of this plan. . . .

Notable:

1. Nanefua introduces Lars as "Laramie Barriga." I'm not sure what I think about that detail because Lars makes it clear he wants to be called Lars, though it hasn't been stated explicitly that he reacts negatively to the name. We just know from "The New Lars" that his parents sometimes slip and call him by his birth name, and that they aren't surprised to be corrected.

2. Lars is wearing adorable cupcake plugs in his ears for his opening. Haha!

3. The new bakery has some cool planetary décor and a Steven star on the door. Apparently the Rutile Twins run cashier, Fluorite runs the ovens, and Padparadscha and Rhodonite are stocking and serving. Ube rolls are everywhere!

4. I'm no expert in how characters we haven't spent much time with should be written, but I did feel like some of the ways they acted in the show were altered kind of significantly here. Fluorite still retains her distinctive slow speech, but she was the only one I didn't see a notable difference in. In the show, Rhodonite is fearful and has big over-the-top reactions to everything scary, and in this comic she seemed relatively brave and even-keeled, not freaking out even during the dangerous parts--maybe just a little more sweat than the others, but just based on this comic I never would have determined that she was the crew's resident fraidy-cat. The Rutile Twins in the show and in this comic do take turns speaking often, but in the show usually one of them rephrases what the other just said, while in the comic it was more like they were finishing each other's sentences. And Padparadscha can predict the past, so pretty much everything she says in the show is a recitation of something that just happened (pitched as if it's likely to surprise the others)--this is occasionally useful if it puts something that happened into context her companions don't see. She operates on a delay from everyone else. In the comic, though, she seems to be able to react real-time and her ability presents more like she's primarily reading a room, providing unknown information, or uncovering others' true intentions. It would have been interesting if the show did something like this, as it did admittedly seem a little one-note sometimes for Padparadscha to always joyfully tell people things they already knew, but the way she acts in the comic did seem like a pretty significant departure--especially since she sometimes offers longish dialogue here instead of her typical one-liners from the show.

5. There's a list of baking ideas in the secret cookbook Lars keeps under his mattress. It includes hopia, crema de fruta, conchas, and baklava. It's cool to see other Filipino recipes on the list, as well as the reference to baklava, which Lars notes he intends to try "one day"--a nice callback to his declaration in the show that he was afraid to try baklava because he thought it would be too hard.

6. It's so cool to see Emerald again! What a criminally underused character. I'm glad they're giving her some screen time. The artist did a great job from limited material giving Emerald some new expressions and angles, and I liked her dialogue--matched the show's style for her well.

7. I like that they're being consistent about calling the former mayor "Mr. Dewey."

8. The author made some good choices in having Lars use his lessons learned from Steven and his other loved ones as a map to navigating problems as a captain. It felt well paced and tied together, tonally appropriate for a story about these characters.  

[SU Book and Comic Reviews]

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Winner’s Curse Ch.17

Note: We’re back to sweet sweet Gil and surprisingly enough, Jade became such an interesting character to write that she sprung into her own. Which means the next chapter is a Jade chapter, and totally disrupting my outline for it but that’s what people mean by the characters write themselves. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Also tw:mentions of abuse.  “Are you sure this is the right room?” Gil asked the minion again, trying in vain to read the map Uma had given him to navigate the castle. It kept crumpling up and going upside down. 

The goon just grunted and shoved him through the door. Gil caught himself on the door handle just in time to see the sparkle of a dozen bejeweled drapes and Jade reclining on an ottoman, bringing sweet relief of knowing he hadn’t messed up.

“Hello Gil!” Jade cheerfully waved before abruptly yelping. Her head whipped to glare at the boy bent at her feet, “Come on slave boy, have you not given a foot massage before? It’s supposed to be gentle.” “Not my fault if you have a lot of tension there, Princess.” The guy sarcastically shot back.  Gil recognized the boy despite his tattered clothing, he was that Prince from Agrabah!

“What? He’s a prince! Why is he your slave?” Gil asked, completely forgetting what he had come here for. 

“The only way we could get him from being killed in the dungeon was to find a way to use him. And what better use that having the son of my mom’s enemy be our slave boy.” Jade grinned. 

“But um I don’t if that’s..” Gil paused, unsure how to word what he wanted to say without offending Jade. But he was pretty sure that being part of the Anti Villain Club meant not using another person as a slave. Even if it kept him from being killed. But then again Yen Sid that being an anti hero was a complicated thing and they didn’t always do good things. He wasn’t sure. He got so confused during the explanation. 

Luckily, Jade seemed to sense Gil’s hesitance and put a gentle hand on his bicep. “He’s not actually my slave. It’s just pretend so Mom and Uncle Jafar don’t freak out that I’m becoming soft or something. I’m still helping to stop all this.” 

“Yes, she’s just enjoying this all too much.” Aziz added wryly, pressing a little too roughly on her instep so she kicked at his head. 

“When you’re done with Jade, how about you get started on me. I’ve never had a massage before.” Gil jumped at the addition of this other voice and saw that white haired girl peel away from the window balcony and walk to a pile of pillows. He couldn’t remember her name, but she looked very different from before. She was dressed all fancy and bejeweled like Jade and she had a tentative smile that looked like she was baring her teeth.

Jade held her hand up for a first bump but the white haired girl ignored, “Slave boy, you’re dismissed.” 

“Come on slave boy.” Lala patted to a spot beside her on the pillows. 

“Not you too.” Aziz groaned. 

“Shush, just do it.” She commanded as Aziz got to work on her shoulders. 

“Sorry for the distraction. What is that you need to tell me?” Jade asked, focusing her full attention on him. 

“Harry and I went to the Anti Villain Club like Uma told us too and they agreed to help us. It was so easy, we didn’t even have to threaten them. Which made Harry mad because he really wanted to threaten them with his hook. Anyway, Yzla has been giving me messages to give to Uma like how they got most of the sober lackeys on our side and they’re starting to work on convincing merchants like Madam Medusa and Ivy De’Vil.” 

“Good, good.” Jade’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“And that’s all we have so far since Uma hasn’t sent any orders about attacking yet. But Yzla wanted to send me a special message to you that she’s working on a potion to unhypnotize Jay and she can’t wait to see you this afternoon after the Coven meeting.” 

“Aww that girl.” Jade mused contentedly for a moment before her smile faded away and her eyes glazed over to look at the far side of the room. Gil’s eyes followed hers and he almost jumped to see the frozen statue of Jay standing sentinel next to an opulent queen sized bed. 

It was weird to see him that way. So still like he wasn’t even breathing. Dressed in the robes of a prince, hair slicked back in a man bun but his face was blank like a puppet’s. And with a constant red glaze on his eyes. 

“That’s creepy.” Gil shuddered. Jade sighed without much emotion. A valuable skill that he wished he could have. Mother always warned him not to be so expressive with his emotions because that just made him a target. 

“It’s so strange to see him not fidgeting or talking or anything.” Jade shook her head.

“I think it’s an improvemmffengtf” The other girl began to say but Aziz covered her mouth. Then she bit him, “Don’t do that!” 

“Is he going to stay that way forever?” Gil asked, turning his attention back to Jade. 

“I don’t know. Probably. Uncle Jafar wants that since he turned traitor. Him being hypnotized will keep him in line, and he’ll obey the rules and he’ll act like a prince but he just won’t be himself.” Jade said, “Then again, I don’t think Jay would ever be able to act like himself if he was a prince. Or me as a princess.”

“Don’t you want to be a princess?” Gil asked. He had been wondering about that since Yzla informed him that Jade was a new member of the Anti Villain Club. Jade was a thief like Jay, always attracted to shiny gold objects. He had thought she would love to be a princess and get all the riches in the world. Why would she join the Anti Villain Club and work against the Coven then?

Jade looked hesitant to explain but she looked at him and a rare soft smile broke on her face. She inhaled and began to explain. “I wanted to be rich and powerful but not like this. I can’t do anything fun anymore. No more fighting or drinking contests because I’ll get dirty. No more flirting because I have to marry someone else who is just as rich and powerful. It’s too much pressure. And Mom is having me do magic lessons all the time and I’m just not good at it. I can’t cast spells or shapeshift or do anything my mom wants and then Mom starts…” she trailed off, seeming to sink lower in her seat before Gil’s eyes. 

He understood that feeling. Even when Father wasn’t around, just thinking about his meaty hands colliding with his stomach, the phantom agony of it, he wanted to hide too.

Unbidden and very unwelcome, his mind flashbacked to the thought of Lars and his sadistically gleeful face. Gil squinched his eyes and forced himself not to think about that. 

He was good at that. Forgetting. Forgetting was so much easier than thinking and he certainly didn’t want to think about what kind of pain Lars had wanted for him. 

He knew Nasira hit Jade but he didn’t know how bad it was. No one did. After all Jade was the unofficial makeup expert on the Isle, able to cover any unsightly bruise while giving perfect winged eyeliner so she always looked good. 

Besides, you just don’t talk about it on the Isle. Being hit and getting into fights was supposed to make you tough. Complaining or losing one made you weak.

 But it wasn’t that way all the time Gil had learned. He found a good place with Uma’s Crew. They wrestled and got into bar brawls, he had several stitches from when Gonzo smashed a chair over him, but it was safe. They never crossed the line and left him bleeding and half unconscious on the floor. 

“You know, you could join Uma’s crew if you want. For protection if you need it.” Gil suggested.

“No. I don’t need anyone!” Jade snapped, her emerald eyes flashing so similarly to her mother from the few times he saw Nasira venture the streets.

“I mean um,” Jade paused. Frozen like a deer in headlights at her small outburst but snapped back to her usual breezy smile with a finger-snap quickness that gave Gil mood whiplash. “I mean, no thanks. I don’t think Uma would want me after I stole that chest full of pearls from the Jolly Roger.”

“That was you!” 

“Yeah.” Jade smiled proudly, “Besides I don’t like ships. It’s so cold and wet and rocks too much and it’s on the sea. Ugh.”  

“Still you could come over sometime, you don’t have to join or anything but you can join our wrestling nights.” Gil cheerfully said.

“I would like that, LeGume.” Jade gently hit his shoulder and twirled a pocket knife she snatched from his belt. Gil nodded his head again feeling happy with himself. 

Then again, he always felt comfortable around Jade. She was so low maintenance and friendly. As close as you could get to a friendly person while on the Isle. She never made him feel stupid. That’s what she liked most about her. She didn’t refer to him as an idiot in every sentence and when they talked, she listened. She actually listened and looked interested in what he had to say, not dismissive. She didn’t look impatient whenever he was trying to remember something he had forgotten and she flirted with him. That was also rare. 

Girls usually flocked to his brothers since they were more handsome and stronger but she flirted with all of them equally. He had asked her once if they could “get together,” and he had hoped she would say “yes” so his brothers would stop mocking him for not having laid anyone. But she said “no.” She said he was too sweet and eager like a puppy, and he understood that. 

After all, Father had said no girl would sleep with a sissy like him. He needed to be tougher. But that little thing did nothing to shake up their camaraderie. 

Uma warned him that Jade’s friendliness was a ruse, she charmed everyone she pickpocketed. Which was true, after hanging out with Jade, he was always missing several of his belongings, but it was fine with him. They had a good time. Friday Fight Night at the Tavern with her was always a blast even though his brothers and her cousin didn’t get along. 

“Why won’t this stupid door open?” A voice cursed from outside the room and the door knob began jangling. 

Gil leaped to the floor, struggling to hide under the too small space under the ottoman as Jade flung the door open. Gil stopped his vain efforts in relief when he saw the familiar brown leather boots of his captain and stood up and saluted her. 

Jade beside him was making painful choking noises and Gil’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the smoky pink skinned creature next to Uma and Calix.

The creature blew past them all to scoop up Aziz from his place and hug him with an audible bone crack. “Aziz, my son, you’re safe. Thank Allah! I thought you were dead. You’re not dead. Thank you. Thank you! And you’re all healed. This is the happiest day of my life.” 

“Jordan, you called me your son again.” Aziz wheezed. 

“I only do it after you’ve been in mortal danger, it’s fine. It’s not weird. I’m not concerned.” Jordan squeezed him one more time before dropping him gently to his feet on the floor. 

“I’m concerned and your breath smells like vomit.” He commented to her. 

Jordan pouted, popping a mint that came from thin air into her mouth, “Why do you always have to ruin the moment.” 

“You called me your son, I want to make it less weird.” Aziz retorted. “Do you not want me as your substitute mother?” 

“No! I don’t! I want you as my sis- Why are we having this conversation? You don’t even want to be a mom.” 

“So? I still can-“ 

“Guys!” Calix clapped his hands getting their attention, “I know you can do this all day but we have bigger things to worry about.” 

“It’s real. Genies are real. It’s hot and talking and magical.” Jade managed to find her voice, still looking incredibly freaked out. 

“I’m not an “it.” I’m a “she.” Jordan corrected, “Why do you look so scared? I’m normal like the rest of-“ she looked at herself, “Oh right, I’m not in mortal form! Sorry, sorry I forgot.” A cloud of pink smoke changed her to the appearance Gil first saw her in.

“Genie..you’re a genie.” Jade muttered. It was sort of funny to see Jade who was usually so in control of herself and breezy be stunned into stammering.

“While she digests that information. Let’s get started on the plan.” Una took control as she usually did. The white haired girl abruptly stood up from her perch observing the conversation and strode to the balcony. 

Aziz rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Lala’s not helping us anymore. Don’t worry, she’s not going to tattle on us, but she doesn’t want any part of it. You know, deniability if it all fails.” “Fine, it’s better if we have smaller numbers while infiltrating the castle.” Uma said but Gil could tell by the tight line of her mouth that Uma thought Lala was being cowardly. Uma always believed that they should all stand by what they wanted or believed in, no matter the consequences. Not go back and forth. 

Gil leaned in, ready to take his next orders when Uma glanced at him and pointed to the door. “Gil, you’re not part of this mission. Go back to the Crew and tell Harry that I need to meet him at sunset tonight. It’s about his sister.” 

Gil nodded as seriously as he could. If something had to do with CJ and Harry, it was important indeed, and he was not going to fail his captain.“You got it!” 

[koreelustromboli]

Steven Universe: Diamond Days Predictions

Steven Universe: Diamond Days starts today. Here are my predictions of what will happen in that special event. White Diamond will remove Steven’s gem, bringing Pink Diamond back. In “Three Gems and a Baby“, Pearl grabbed Baby Steven’s gem with the intention of removing it from his body to be with Rose Quartz again but decided against it. Pearl is a white Gem with her gem in her forehead like White Diamond and Steven’s gem is later revealed to be actually the gem of Pink Diamond. Steven’s gem being removed will increase his strength and then give him a transformation that increases his power. In “Garnet’s Universe”, Garnet removes her hair to increase her power in a bid to defeat Ultimate Ringo. After Ultimate Ringo turns her photo into an onion ring and eats it, she is riled and gains a pink transformation with large pink hair and finally defeats him. Steven’s gem being removed could actually increase his power if it turns out that it held back his true power and his abilities are actually ingrained into him. Still without his gem, after Steven is riled, he gains a pink transformation that makes him look like Rose Quartz, Pink Diamond or both with pink hair. In “Storm in the Room“, Steven told Rose that he thought about dying his hair pink more than once. The reason why the Sun Incinerator means so much to Emerald will be revealed. It was stated that Emerald is a major Season 5 antagonist that will return so she’s going to be a part of Diamond Days. Ships and their Gem owners are shades of a colour shared between them; we’ve seen this with Aquamarine and her ship and Emerald and her Destiny Destroyer. The Sun Incinerator is a Gem ship that is shades of yellow, brown and dark green. A Heliodor, a beryl like Emerald that is yellow, could’ve been the original owner of the Sun Incinerator. Heliodor means “gift of the sun” in Greek and the Sun Incinerator’s hull is shaped like a hexagonal prism, a possible reference to Heliodor [and the rest of the beryls] belonging to the hexagonal crystal system. Potentially, Emerald and Heliodor were close friends and the former gained ownership of the Sun Incinerator as a keepsake after the latter was shattered in The Rebellion. That would explain why Emerald had the Sun Incinerator guarded by 67 elite Citrines and looked mournful when she told Lars that stealing it was “unacceptable”. It will turn out that Heliodor is alive and that she faked her death. At the end of "Mindful Education", we see a little yellow bird that pecks the ground three times before flying away. The bird's inclusion seemed a little superfluous; if it never appeared, no difference would've been made. What if, the bird is actually a Gem in disguise like how Pink Diamond disguised herself as Rose Quartz. The bird's gem wasn't visible because it was most likely positioned right inside her body. The bird's true form is Heliodor, who faked her death to stay on Earth just like Pink Diamond did. Heliodor's reason for faking her death to stay on Earth could be because she was blackmailed into shattering Crystal Gems during the Rebellion after she refused due to not wanting to shatter other gems. Her mentality mirrors that of Steven's in "Ocean Gem", in which he said "Gems shouldn't fight each other" and "We Gems should be friends". Heliodor shape-shifted into a bird to keep a low profile on Earth. During Diamond Days, Lars and the Off Colors return to Homeworld in the Sun Incinerator to come to Steven's aid. Emerald shows up to attack Lars and the Off Colors as retribution for them stealing her Sun Incinerator. Emerald says out loud, "This is for you, Heliodor." Steven, for whatever reason, returns to Earth using Lars' hair and just as he is about to return to Homeworld through Lion's mane, Steven says to himself what Emerald said and asks himself what she meant by Heliodor. Heliodor, in her bird form, overheard Steven and follows him into Lion's mane and back to Homeworld. Heliodor sees Emerald and reverts to her true form. An ecstatic and emotional Emerald runs to Heliodor and hugs her before the latter explains what actually happened to her during the Rebellion. Heliodor would most likely become a Crystal Gem because like them, she is pacifistic and only fights when all other peaceful options have been exhausted. Ruby will die. Cat Steven’s left eye is blue like Garnet’s left eye. Cat Steven missing their right eye could be foreshadowing our Ruby’s death. Garnet’s red right eye is representative of Ruby. In “Keeping It Together”, Garnet said she’d “always exist in” Ruby and Sapphire, even if she splits apart. To me, that seems like foreshadowing towards Garnet no longer being able to exist on a physical plane if Ruby or Sapphire is killed. This next piece of evidence was pointed out to me by speculation of Ruby’s death I read on one of Steven Universe’s TV Tropes WMG (Wild Mass Guessing) pages in the past. The top-most right hand of the Gem fusion statue of the Crystal Temple is raised with a Warp Pad on it. That hand can be representative of Sapphire’s gem placement. The top-most left arm of the statue is missing its hand and Ruby’s gem is in the palm of her left hand.

[sepialunaris]

SU S6 Theory: 'Anti-Crystal Gem' Separatist Gem Faction

I already thought about this awhile after Change Your Mind and more after the movie, and Rebecca's statement ("In Steven, there will always be consequences") made me more sure that there's going to be another gem rebellion. It's kinda obvious that there are gems who would hate Steven's new impact in homeworld, we all kinda know about it intuitively. But I want to focus on my theory on how some notable gems are gonna fill the ranks of this rebellion as an Anti-Crystal Gems army. The gems we've seen before and barely seen anything off.

Holly Blue Agate

Holly Blue was very proud of her high position in her episode and its obvious she would be aggravated and jealous with the change, especially seeing how the gems that broke into the zoo got special treatment, and her more than likely being alleviated from duty after Steven dissolved the heirarchy and the unethical human zoo. Now she's unable to seek Blue Diamond for the attention she wants or act terrible to the Famethysts. As that's a lot of motivation for rebellion.

I feel like Holly Blue would be the de facto leader of the group, even if she's the most competent. She has the charisma and she's the hammiest, probably paralleling Garnet due to her being under Blue Diamond in the past. Its likely that she's the one gathering those gems together.

Aquamarine

Aquamarine is probably one of the more genuinely malicious villains in SU. She just likes doing her job. Her motivation might be simialr to Holly, with her high position being compromised, but other than that she's probably seeking entertainment from the boredom she has to endure with the Era 3 peace, because she is that bitch. I can't see any arcs lying ahead for her tho, unless its a full Azula breakdown with the Topazes leaving her.

Aquamarine is easily the MVP of this team, and probably fights the best but spends most of her time snarking everyone else instead. She'd probably parallel Amethyst with her fun loving nature, albeit sadistic and surprisingly competent, however this doesn't really fit compared to the others (plus I seriously doubt Jasper is gonna be a villain again, she's probably on the path of redemption but still isolating herself out of guilt and betrayal as off now)

Emerald

Emerald is like a 100% pissed with her ship being stolen and the Diamonds not doing anything to fix this. So of course she's gonna rebel. Except while the others are fixated on the Crystal Gems, Emerald will still primarily target Lars and the Off-colors for revenge. She's kinda seeking justice which is fair but also taking it too far by wanting to destroy the off-colors. Plus I bet she's also mad about the hierarchy thing but its overshadowed by the Sun Incinerator.

She's frantic and hammy so I imagine she and Holly won't get along very well due to how similar they are. She's probably going to be the tech expert or pilot of the team, the Pearl/Peridot figure in the Anti-Crystal Gems.

Eyeball and the Rubies

TBH the only one that probably has the initiative to join would be Eyeball, and the rest of the Ruby would follow suit (Leggy might've gone far away). Eyeball probably would've had complicated feelings about the Pink revelation and I imagine her more likely taking it the wrong way than Jasper. Next in the 'felt betrayed by Pink Diamond' I guess. But I don't think she would mourn like Jasper would but instead accuse Steven for tricking her, trying to 'murder' her, and the Diamonds just agreeing to him.

The Rubies would most likely be the ones to be pushed to step first in confrontations, as they are originallt foot soldiers. Aquamarine might act as their manager and lead them to battle. Additionally, with the whole personal ordeal I feel like Eyeball would be paralleled with Steven (being the gen that's still "PINK DIAMOND!!!" in the whole team)

[solar-nexus-blog]

I seen people believe thats her name however what are talking about with emerald? I thought emerald never met the cgs and fought with them, at least not yet

She shot down stevonies ship when they were fighting her with lars and the offcolors. She was in a ship sure, but still. I'm sure shes very formidable

[kerlonaspen]

Soleol heroes

He’s going to laugh so much, I just know it ! Oh, and I do have to tell, you look even cuter with your tiara. When I go back to him, I’ll have to tell him how we met, for instance. It’s super easy to talk to him about… anything really. Just like you, I take a lot after my dad, and we have so many things in common. Soleil : Heh heh, I do ! And my mom too, of course – she’s such a cutie. Lucina : You seem to be very fond of him… I mean, you can notice he’s agile on his feet when he fights and everything, but usually he does his dancing routines far from anyone’s eye. Soleil : My dad too is a great dancer, though he doesn’t show it lots. He is just as shy and as talented a dancer as she is… In a way, I envy him for that. On the other hand, my brother looks a lot like Father and I, but his demeanour is closer to hers. Lucina : Yes, it seems I took after him more than after Mother. Soleil : … So that’s why your left eye reminded me of something ! Now that you’ve said it, it truly does look like your father’s brand – only his is much more visible. Now, let’s go ! You know what, as soon as we get your tiara back, we should go get some tea together ! Lucina : Yes, but please, call me Lucina. Soleil : My name ? It’s Soleil ! And if I recall it, yours is Lucina, right ? Princess Lucina ? Thank you… hum, may I ask you your name ? It’s a gift – one that I wouldn’t want to lose like this… You are right – no need to panic, we’ll find it. It’s just that this tiara is very precious to me, you know. I’m sure we’ll find your tiara – I definitely won’t leave you alone until we do. Soleil : … Hey, turn that frown upside down ! That’s what my dad always says : you can’t let something like this ruin your pretty smile. Soleil : Then let’s go ! I just saw them in the library, they can’t have gone too far. Lucina : I… didn’t, actually – I never thought of asking. Soleil : I’ll help you out ! Can’t leave such a pretty girl in distress like this, now can I ? Did you ask the Summoner ? Perhaps they’ve seen it somewhere. Soleil : Hair ornament, you say… You mean that super cute tiara you always wear ? I seem to have lost it and can’t remember where I would have put it. Lucina : Oh ! Nothing – just looking for my hair ornament. Soleil : Heya there, cutie ! What… are you doing ? If you spend emeralds before unlocking Phobos for free, you will still get Phobos with those emeralds.Įxact chances can be found on the mobile faq, Web/FB seems to follow similar patterns.Lucina : Now, where did I leave it… ? How odd – I was so sure I’d left my tiara here. Note: The first two Heroic Chests you open will always contain heroes Thea and Phobos, in that order. Sadly this makes Heroes that can be summoned with 1 star more difficult to level because the maximum of Soul Stones you can get from the Heroic Chest is capped at 7 because it is based on the lowest Evolution rank and not the current the Hero has.ĭrawing Cleaver for a second time will reward 50,000 Soul Coins instead. The amount of Soul Stones that will be dropped depends on a separate chance, it can be either 1 Soul Stone, 3 Soul Stones, or an amount depending on the lowest Evolution rank of the Hero: The top 5 Heroes with the most Hero Soul Stones have a 50% chance to receive additional Soul Stones.īut there is no information if there are more than 5 Heroes with the same amount of Soul Stones. 3 stars - Chabba, Celeste, Corvus, Kai, Krista, Lars, Lian, Morrigan.2 stars - Andvari, Arachne, Astaroth, Astrid and Lucas, Alvanor, Cornelius, Dante, Daredevil, Dark Star, Dorian, Elmir, Fox, Ginger, Helios, Isaac, Jhu, Jorgen, K'arkh, Lilith, Luther, Markus, Martha, Maya, Mojo, Peppy, Rufus, Satori, Sebastian, Tristan, Yasmine, Ziri.1 star - Artemis, Aurora, Faceless, Galahad, Heidi, Ishmael, Judge, Keira, Nebula, Phobos, Orion, Qing Mao, Thea.Heroes are summoned always with their lowest possible Evolution rank, e.g (browser): The first chest opening has a chance of 50% to summon a Hero, for each summoned Hero the chance drops accordingly while the chance to summon Cleaver increases for each opened chest. Browser: Alvanor, Cleaver, Corvus, Dorian, Isaac, Martha, Morrigan, Satori, Tristan.The following heroes can "only" be found in the Heroic Chest: Mobile: Arachne, Artemis, Astaroth, Astrid and Lucas, Celeste, Cleaver, Daredevil, Dorian, Fox, Galahad, Ginger, Heidi, Helios, Keira, Krista, Lars, Lilith, Maya, Mojo, Peppy, Phobos, Satori, Thea.Browser: Alvanor, Andvari, Arachne, Artemis, Astaroth, Astrid and Lucas, Aurora, Celeste, Chabba, Cleaver, Cornelius, Corvus, Dante, Daredevil, Dark Star, Dorian, Elmir, Faceless, Fox, Galahad, Ginger, Heidi, Helios, Isaac, Ishmael, Jhu, Jorgen, Judge, K'arkh, Kai, Keira, Krista, Lars, Lian, Lilith, Luther, Markus, Martha, Maya, Mojo, Morrigan, Nebula, Orion, Peppy, Phobos, Qing Mao, Rufus, Satori, Sebastian, Thea, Tristan, Yasmine, Ziri.The following heroes can be found in the Heroic Chest:

[stanley578]

Thoughts about Change Your Mind

Holy hell of a guacamole! That 1-hour special was super epic to the max! So much has happened that I’m just going to share my thoughts on the moments that made me invested and caught my attention.

Ok, so to start off, the theory that Yellow Diamond is being mind controlled by White Diamond when she fights Blue Diamond is proven to be false. Yellow is just consumed by the rigid standards of Homeworld ruled by White. Blue having an epiphany on why Pink left and became Rose Quartz and Yellow breaking down in tears after the conflict is a turning point for them, realizing that it’s time to take a step back and confront White.

Pink Pearl under White’s control suddenly appears and forms the head ship with the leg ship and suddenly, the arm ships arrived and punched the head ship’s face several times until it knocks down completely. Turns out it was Bismuth, Lapis Lazuli, and Peridot who manuevered the ship. It feels absolutely great to finally see Lapis and Peridot’s new forms. Blue and Yellow aided Steven by attaching the arms with the ship, forming a giant mecha. However, after talking to White, Blue and Yellow got zapped and are under her control.

Steven reaching out to and fusing with the Crystal Gems whilst falling down was amazing. We get to see Smoky Quartz once again, we finally get to see Rainbow Quartz 2.0, voiced by Alastair James, and we even finally get to see the highly awaited fusion of Steven and Garnet named Sunstone, voiced by Shoniqua Shandai. Also, it’s 100% confirmed that the fusion of Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven is called Obsidian.

When Steven was confronting White Diamond, she also zapped Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl as a way of “fixing them” and “making them better and flawless”, which left me completely shocked. What’s even more shocking was White literally pulled out Steven’s gem to see if Pink Diamond would come back to her.

Without the gem, Steven feels weak and is close to dying. Pink Diamond’s gem only forms a hologram of Steven, much to White’s fury and disappointment. Hologram Steven protects himself from White’s bright light powers, even those from the Gems and Diamonds mind controlled by White. After Steven and his hologram reunited and brought back the Steven that we all know and love, he lets out the comeback that references all the way back from the pilot: “I am a child, what’s your excuse?”.

That comeback made White blush in pink, which liberated all the Gems, Diamonds, and Pink Pearl, thank goodness. White then goes through an existential crisis, which gave her the wake up call that it’s time to change the standards of Homeworld by leaving her own head and going out of her comfort zone.

Meanwhile, Sadie Killer and the Suspects are performing at the beach and right at the very end of the song, the Diamond Mecha landed. Steven, the Crystal Gems, and the Diamonds arrived on Earth and he is reunited with Greg. Also, the Sun Incinerator landed. The Off Colors are finally on Earth and Lars and Sadie have reunited after a really long time.

Steven and the Diamonds join in the fountain pool to help cure all the corrupted Gems, including Nephrite and the big buff cheeto puff that we all love, Jasper. The Diamonds say their goodbyes to Steven and head back to Homeworld, leaving the leg ship on Earth. Towards the climax, Steven sings the titular song with the CGs sitting next to him whilst staring at the starry night sky, concluding the Diamond Days arc and the 5th season.

Change Your Mind feels like a series finale from the way it ended, but it’s not the end of Steven Universe. There’s still more to come such as the chest inside Lion's mane, the Human Zoo, the return of Holly Blue Agate, the Famethyst, Aquamarine, Topaz, and Emerald, and much more. Hopefully, I look forward to the newly updated intro, as well as Homeworld’s transformation from a totalitarian dictatorship to a liberal democracy.

As I said earlier, this special was awesome and epic to the max. To wrap it all up, I give it a perfect 40 out of 40. Huge kudos to Rebecca Sugar and the Crewniverse! Especially the outstanding performance of Lisa Hannigan, Patti LuPone, and Christine Ebersole.

[andrewmoocow]

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 9: Little Graduation (originally posted on March 15, 2021)

AN: It's good to be back in business! Steven Universe: Alternate Future has returned at last, and with it, the plot begins to thicken. If I were to compare all four parts to RWBY, the previous one is Volume 1 (goofy fun times with some fighting), this one will be Volume 2 (a fine mix of both), Part 3 is Volume 3 (everything goes to hell), and finally Part 4 is a mix of Volumes 4 & 5 (dealing with the aftermath of Part 3, but things will get much better at the end.) Anyways, can Steven keep a lid on his negative emotions? How long before he learns what Black Rutile has planned for him? And will he be both physical and mentally strong enough to fight one last evil Gem? Tune in and find out!

Synopsis: As Steven prepares a party for Little Homeschool's first graduating class, his fears of growing apart from his friends slowly become reality.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Matthew Moy as Lars

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Indya Moore as Shep

Brian Posehn as Sour Cream

Lamar Abrams as Buck

Reagan Gomez Preston as Jenny

Erica Luttrell as Padparadscha Sapphire

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Ashly Burch as Rutile Twins

Deedee Magno Hall as Morganite's Pearl

Charlyne Yi as Morganite's Ruby

Laura Bailey as Titanite

Michaela Dietz as Blue Lace Agate

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

--

"Teens by day, hey! We're all right." Steven began singing along to Sade Killer and the Suspects' hit song as he drove away from home one relaxing day in Beach City. "Teens by day, but every night we're Sadie Killer and the Suspects! Whoa, Sadie Killer and the Suspects!"

Steven continued singing as he drove through Beach City until he made a stop at Lars's interstellar pastry shop Spacetries. Today was a special day, and Lars was going to be an essential part of it.

"Hey, Blue Lace." Steven greeted the Agate as he entered the shop.

"Hey, Steven." Blue Lace replied with a wave. "If you're looking for Lars, he's right over there." She added before getting back to rolling some dough.

"Hey Steven, here to pick up the cake?" Lars asked while looking over the order Steven placed.

"Yeah," Steven answered. "but I also wanted to check up on you. How are things?"

"Oh, y'know, same old same old." The pink man replied just as the door opened behind the pair. "Wait, is that-"

"Hey Steven, hi Lars!" Sadie Miller cheerfully greeted the duo. When Steven and Lars turned around, they saw that Sadie had changed a lot since they last saw her. Sadie's hair was now fully blonde again and in a ponytail. She wore a pink headband, had a white shirt with a blue one tied around her waist, and black pants. "Long time no see, you two."

"Sadie!" Steven cheered at the sight of his old friend. "Oh my gosh, I can't remember the last time we were together in a pastry establishment!"

"Yo Sadie, I got your moon cakes." Lars said, presenting a box with a moon symbol on the sides to his former co-worker and handing it to her.

"Thanks, Lars." Sadie responded gratefully as she took the box of moon cakes.

"So, how are things going with you and Shep?" Lars followed up.

"What?" Steven asked, completely confused about who the pair were talking about. "Who's Shep?"

"Shep's my new partner." Sadie said to Steven. "They're real cool & chill, and I can't believe we've been dating for two months now!"

"That's cool, I guess." Lars said awkwardly. "Tell them I said hi for me."

"Will do, Lars." Sadie replied as she left the store. "See you again someday."

"Shep, someday?" Steven continued asking, still unaware of what was going on. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"As Sadie said, Shep's her new partner." Lars reiterated for his ex-girlfriend. "They met while the Suspects were touring, and love was just in the air for them from there. I met them myself, and I find it nice Sadie fell for someone who isn't a real piece of work like I was back in the day."

"Yeah, you were kind of a jerk back then." Steven chuckled nostalgically. "Which reminds me, why did Sadie say "see you again someday"?"

"Oh, that." Lars said, nervously rubbing his neck. "Really wish I told you earlier, but I'm gonna be going back to space once the Off-Colors graduate tonight."

"Wait, you're leaving Earth so soon?!" Steven gasped at the shocking news. "But what about the shop?!"

"Don't worry, Steven, I'll cover for him!" Blue Lace called from her counter.

"Thanks, Blue Lace! I always could count on you." Lars said to his employee before returning to Steven. "I'm just ready to move on, cause that's just life. You get what I'm saying, right? I mean, now that Little Homeschool is all finished, what do you wanna do now?"

"I, uh…" Steven began stumbling over his words at the thought of thinking about what to do next now that he's saved the universe from the Diamonds' tyranny and resolving most of his issues with his family.

"Hey, graduation cake's ready!" Lars declared, derailing Steven's train of thought. "See you tonight, Steven, okay?"

"Okay." Steven replied.

--

"When me and my partners first discovered fusion, it was the most wonderful experience any of us had shared, and couldn't bear to be torn apart from then on." One of Fluorite's components, a large green Gem named Titanite, said to an audience of fellow Gems and humans later that night at the big graduation ceremony. Behind her stood her lovers, Lavender Jade, Iolite, Rubellite, Indicolite & Verdelite, along with the Ruby & Pearl that make up Rhodonite, the Rutile twins, and Padparadscha Sapphire. "Even when we declared pariahs for our love, we refused to let it get us down. Now, centuries later, we're finally free to express ourselves without fear of persecution, and we couldn't be happier. Thank you, Steven, for everything."

The audience began cheering as Titanite bowed and returned to her partners to give them all a big hug, which resulted in them all forming Fluorite once again. "Oh my." She said slowly. "It really has been so long since we've been apart."

As Fluorite took her place alongside the other Off-Colors, Ruby and Pearl were next. "As Titanite said, fusion was the most wonderful time we spent together." The Pearl stated. "In fact, Fluorite was the first cross-Gem fusion just like us that we encountered, and our little Off-Color family grew from there."

"The Morganite we formerly served refused to let us fuse because she feared it would endanger her status until she finally had us replaced." The Ruby added. "When we got the news, we fled as soon as it was broken to us while Shattering Robonoids chased us down. But thankfully, we were able to survive, and now, here we are."

The audience cheered again as the pair of Gems kissed on stage, once again merging into Rhodonite before she took her place alongside the Off-Colors. Next to make a speech were the Rutile twins.

"My sister here and I popped out as one Gem due to some incident with the Injectors that created us." The left Rutile explained. "We weren't even supposed to live, but we did anyways because all the other Rutiles ran from us."

"We were nearly shattered right then and there, but Fluorite found a way to help us escape, and there we stayed." The right Rutile added. "At least, until Steven and Lars came into our lives, on the run as well. We helped them out, and they helped us in return. And we couldn't be more grateful."

As the Rutiles left the mic, Padparadscha Sapphire became the last Off-Color to give a speech. However, hers was a lot shorter. "I'm going to give a grand speech at the graduation ceremony tonight!" she declared brightly. "Oh, what fun!"

The crowd began laughing before Steven took the mic for himself and led Padparadscha away. "Thank you, Paddy, that was very moving." He joked, prompting more laughter. "We're all so proud to see our graduates grow and stay together as everyone goes their separate ways while moving onto bigger and better things. Well, besides me, of course. I'll be staying right here in Beach City, teaching the next generation of Little Homeschool graduates. Okay, now move those tassels!"

The Off-Colors each moved the tassels on their caps.

"Now, let's give a hearty con-grad-ulations to our first alumnae of Little Homeschool!" Steven exclaimed, prompting everyone to cheer.

--

Soon after, the Off-Colors left the stage while a party celebrating the ceremony commenced. Steven wandered around the beach, looking around at Gems and humans interacting before seeing Sadie interacting with someone he never saw before. They were dark-skinned and wearing a backwards cap, a crop top, nose ring, purple joggers, blue and white high-tops, four colorful bracelets, and a dark green backpack.

"Oh, hey Steven, I never got the chance to introduce you to my new partner." Sadie called for Steven. "I'd like you to meet Shep."

"It's nice to meet you, Steven." Shep greeted Steven.

"So, is it true that you and Sadie have been dating for almost two months?" Steven asked Shep.

"Yeah, that's true." Shep replied. "We met during one of Sadie's concerts a while back, and after exchanging numbers, things just fell into place."

"You know, some people say you don't really get to know them until you get stranded on an island with them." Steven chuckled, though Shep didn't get his joke.

"Uh, do people really say that?" Shep wondered. "Whatever. Sadie and I are going to get cake; then we'll perform at 7."

"That's right." Sadie laughed before the two of them left for some graduation cake. "See you then Steven."

"Wait a sec; I thought you were performing with the Suspects?" Steven halted Sadie for a bit.

"Actually, Shep and I are planning to do a song together." The ex-donut girl said, gesturing to her non-binary partner.

"Uh, cool. Can't wait to get it." Steven replied nervously.

"Cool." Shep smiled as they left with Sadie. "Catch you later."

Steven noticed Lars was also going to get some cake and tried to block his path. "I wouldn't go over there if I were you."

"Is something the matter Steven?" Lars asked his younger friend. "I mean, the cake was just what you ordered."

"No, it's about Sadie and Shep." Steven revealed while gazing at the couple.

"Oh, nice." Lars grinned. "I'll stop by and say hey."

"But, aren't you okay?!" Steven tried to call for the pink man.

"Aren't you?" Lars repeated Steven's question, causing the half-Gem boy to put on a fake grin.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Steven replied before he spotted Jenny Pizza sitting on the stage, having herself a drink. "'sup, Jenny?"

"Hey Steven!" the Pizza girl greeted Steven. "Looks like everyone's enjoying the graduation so far."

"Yep, everyone but me." Steven said sorrowfully. "I guess it looks like everyone's got something new going on."

"Yeah, it's not a bad thing, though," Jenny replied before she began pointing at both of her fellow Cool Kids. "Sour Cream has regular gigs as a DJ in Empire City." She explained while Sour Cream laid on Fluorite's massive head, and Buck conversed with Rhodonite at the refreshments. "And Buck's got into medical school, so he's gonna be saving lives in like, 20 years. Meanwhile, I've been going all out on my new phone jackets."

"What's that?" Steven asked before Jenny pulled out her phone, which was wearing a miniature coat to demonstrate.

"It's my new online business," Jenny explained. "We, and I'm using the royal we here, make the finest jackets suited for your mobile device."

"Aw, it's got little pockets!" Steven cooed in amazement at the jacket's features before he made another discovery. "And it's got its own little phone too! How are you going to find time to make and sell these?"

"Well, I'm gonna have a lot of time now that the Suspects are breaking up." Jenny casually revealed to Steven's alarm.

"Seriously, what?!" Steven yelled in shock.

"I suppose Sadie didn't tell you." Jenny guessed, just as Sadie and Shep returned from eating cake.

"Hey Steven, you ready for us?" Sadie asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Steven suddenly remembered and walked over to the microphone. "So, is everyone having a good time tonight?" he asked the audience, and they cheered in response. "Who here's a Sadie Killer and the Suspects fan?! Cause tonight's performance only has one member."

"Oh boy." Lars muttered.

"So, please welcome to the stage," Steven continued, but then stopped to ask the two musicians. "Uh, what's your band called again?"

"We haven't thought of a name yet." Sadie admitted.

"Uh-huh, well, could've asked me." Steven giggled nervously before he began to walk offstage. "I'm really good at naming bands."

As Steven left, Sadie turned the microphone to her. "This is a little something Shep and I have been working on lately." She announced. "We hope you all like it."

"We will accept any criticism afterward." Shep stated when Sadie pointed the microphone to them before playing their recorder, cuing Sadie to sing.

"When I was younger and I hated fun," Sadie sang. "I was always looking back on what I should've done. I used to live my life in fear, of all the bad performances that led me here. But, I'm looking forward, I'm looking forward. I'm looking forward now."

While the song continued, Lars turned away from his ex on stage and proceeded to walk away.

"Lars?" Steven said to the donut boy turned space hero.

"Oh, hey Steven." Lars calmly greeted his friend, who began to run after him.

"Lars, wait up!" Steven called. "Hey Lars, where are you going?"

"I'm just gonna bounce, only wanted to spend time with the old gang before the Off-Colors and I go off-world," Lars answered. "Big parties really ain't my thing."

"But, you're leaving Earth tomorrow!" Steven cried as his body began taking on a faded pink hue. "When can I ever see you again?"

"You can see me whenever." Lars tried to assure Steven. "I've got the same powers as that lion of yours, so you can just pop out of my hair whenever you want."

"W-w-w-wait, please don't go!" Steven begged the space captain.

"It's been real Steven." Lars said farewell, or so he thought.

"Lars," Steven muttered before he fully turned pink. "STOP!"

Suddenly, Lars found himself bumping into a pink wall that slowly grew into a massive dome that trapped everyone at the ceremony.

"Steven, what's happening?!" Lars yelled as he pounded on the wall of the dome.

"I have no idea either!" Steven exclaimed in response.

"Really, you got no idea where this dome came from?!" Sour Cream yelled.

"Let's hope it doesn't end up like in that book!" Buck replied.

"I think this dome was created by someone having some powerful emotions, and I think we all know who it is." Steven declared before pointing to who he thought it was. "Lars!"

"Wait, what?!" everyone else gasped in shock.

"I don't think that's right!" Lars said defensively.

"No, I'm sure I'm right!" Steven lied to get out of opening up about his own feelings. "We won't get out of here until you work things out with Sadie! I'm pretty sure you guys haven't even talked since you got back, Lars!"

"We actually did, a few times." Sadie revealed solemnly. "Look, Steven, we did try to reconnect, but things just didn't work out between us. Plus, there's also the fact that despite how much we changed, we just weren't right for each other."

"Sadie knows I miss her, and I'm just too happy that she found someone to love herself." Lars added, prompting a touched reaction from Shep.

"And I know Lars is happier being with the Off-Colors in space." Sadie said.

"But when did this happen?!" Steven cried in disbelief. "I wasn't there for any of that!"

"That's because it was private!" Sadie answered.

"Yeah, I mean, you can't just stick yourself into other people's lives like the universe revolves around you and things only happen with you around." Lars pointed out. "Trust me; I know what that's like. Mostly the universe revolving around you part."

The crowd inside the dome was silent for a tiny bit, except for Jenny letting out a cough.

"But, I thought you were leaving because you were jealous of Shep." Steven broke the silence.

"I'm leaving because traveling through space is tons of fun." Lars declared. "Adventure is out there, as they say, and there's still tons of adventures for me and the Off-Colors to go on. Heck, we can even teach other planets what you taught us!"

"Okay, so there's nothing to work out then." Steven realized, but then he noticed something. "Hey, is it getting claustrophobic in here, or is it just me?"

The dome began to shrink more and more, despite everyone's best efforts to push it back.

"Steven, you want to get rid of this dome already?!" Rhodonite panicked while helping the Cool Kids try to keep the dome from shrinking.

"I'm trying, okay?!" Steven yelled anxiously. "Just gotta concentrate real hard!"

"Hey, Steven?" Shep stepped forward to comfort Steven.

"Not now, Shep, still concentrating!" Steven tried to ignore Shep.

"Please, listen to me." Shep urged the boy.

"Look, if I don't get rid of this dome quick, all my friends will die!" Steven screamed, now on the verge of tears.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Lars quipped in the possible face of death.

"Okay, but your magic's connected to your feelings, correct?" Shep theorized as they looked around them. "This is just a hunch, but it seems you made this dome because you're sad your friends are leaving, and want them to stay with you."

"I don't see what you're talking about." Steven replied.

"No, listen, you'd be surprised at how observant I can be." Shep assured Steven. "I think maybe you're figuring yourself out, and you want some friends to help you."

"Okay, you're right!" Steven confessed. "I've always been trying to help my friends, but now it seems like they don't need me anymore! I don't know who I am without them!"

"Aw, Steven, you're great. But you still need to let us go and live our own lives." Sadie convinced him while the dome began to squeeze them all together.

"I know, but I don't want to hold any of you back." Steven let out his current feelings as he felt himself get crushed between the dome and Fluorite's body. "I just can't help it if my big ol' heart still loves you all."

"Awww, Steven!" Jenny squealed in delight.

"We'll all still be friends." Sadie assured her little friend.

"Even if some of us are lightyears away." Lars added hopefully.

"You guys." Steven giggled before he returned to his normal color, and the dome finally disappeared.

"Hm, that wasn't the worst party we've been to." Jenny stated before she began to leave.

"Yeah, see ya Steven." Sour Cream added, beginning to walk away as well.

"At least there was no toxic air involved." Buck concurred.

"It was nice seeing you again." Sadie said, hugging Steven.

"Yeah, it was nice seeing all of you again too," Steven replied, now happier than he was earlier. "You two make a good couple."

"Hey, thanks." Shep replied gratefully. "You want a CD of our song?"

"How about a tape?" Steven suggested to them.

"Got your back." Shep said, handing Steven a tape of the song they just played. "Okay, take it easy."

As the couple left, Steven was now left alone with Lars. "Uh, Lars?"

"Gotta make this quick, Steven." Lars answered. "Me and the Off-Colors gotta," He stuck his tongue out and made a raspberry sound.

"First off, I'm sorry for what happened," Steven said meekly. "And second, do you think I can be a bit too controlling?"

"This coming from the guy who took over my body because you wanted me to be a nicer person." Lars chuckled. "But it's still cute you didn't want me to leave."

"I don't want you to leave!" Steven exclaimed.

"Hey, buck up Steven." Lars comforted the half-Gem. "As I said earlier, you can visit me anytime."

"It's just, for a second, we were all together on Earth again." Steven sighed heavily. "Maybe I just don't like graduations. Maybe I should leave Little Homeschool."

"Hey, come here." Lars then brought Steven in for a hug while the Off-Colors stood by watching. "Are you going to let go anytime soon?"

"Just a couple more minutes." Steven replied.

--

The next day, the Crystal Gems had begun welcoming new students to Little Homeschool. But Steven, having now quit teaching at the school, was still a little gloomy from last night.

While Sadie and Shep's song played in Steven's car, he drove out into the woods and then laid down on the roof, gazing up at the night sky. Just what was next for him?

--

"Lars of the Stars is back in business, baby!" Lars cheered as he once again made himself comfortable in the captain's seat of the Sun Incinerator. "So, what should we do now gang? Something good? Something bad? A bit of both?"

"You lead the way, captain." Rhodonite turned back to her human captain with a smile.

"Y'know what, let's just fly around and see what happens!" Lars declared after giving it some thought and ordered the Incinerator to blast off into the starry yonder.

Close by, another spaceship loomed behind the Sun Incinerator, and its captain had the Off-Colors by the tail.

"Finally." Emerald declared to herself as she spied on her prized ship flying around. "After so much waiting, I have you in my sights."

Emerald then pulled up a holographic screen that presented her with Black Rutile, and she eagerly awaited further commands from her cape-wearing master.

--

So opens the curtain on Part 2. Will we see Lars and the Off-Colors again, and will Emerald finally get her precious Sun Incinerator back? But enough about them for now, wait until later this part while we start dealing with more Earth-based matters, like plants for example! See you then!

[introvert-celeste]

Do you think they are saving jasper return for a fight part for sdcc trailer only to hype us?

There’s still a small part of me that’s hoping we’ll get some Jasper action in this next bomb, but I would be ecstatic if they decided a Jasper fight scene was worthy enough to be shown at SDCC!

I mean, in the past we’ve had previews for some of the best episodes shown there: 2014-Coach Steven (Sugilite was revealed), 2015-Cry For Help (Sardonyx was revealed) and the extended theme song, 2016-Mindful Education (Here Comes a Thought was played), and 2017-Lars of the Stars (Captain Lars and Emerald debut). It would be a pretty big honor if they had a clip centered around Jasper at SDCC this year.

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Lars and Anime

This is an idea that's been swirling around in my head for a minute but I'd like to think I know where Lars' inspiration lies. His mindsent, after giving it some thought, reminds me a lot of the general anime male protagonist that you would find in a shonen manga. This can include shows like Naruto, Dragon Ball, Hunter x Hunter, One Piece, Toriko, Bleach, Yu Yu Hakusho, and even older works outside of shonen like Devilman and the obvious Captain Harlock. What I'm saying is is that Lars' character is a very obvious off shoot of this but in a very interesting way.

If we were to look back on older episodes like Future Boy Zoltron we have Steven give us a manifesto on who he thinks Lars is:

"You should go to work because even though Lars won't admit it he really likes to do a good job. Letting people depend on him fills his heart with warm feelings. Like love, and trust."

This is the main thing people should be returning to when discussing Lars as a character as this gives heavy insight into who he is and it's quite fantastic. Lars here is said to not just be a good guy, but a true blue hero in his mindset. Someone who legitimately wants to good for the sake of it ala Midoriya Izuku from My Hero Academia.

And like this character Lars is willing to go to mad lengths to protect those he cares about once he gets going. The moment Steven reawakens that side of him in Stuck Together Lars is just on. Refusing to leave Steven behind several times over and is willing to endanger himself for people he's just met. Some cynical people will say that Lars abandoned Sadie to Topaz but saved some strangers (Steven's a stranger?) but I argue that what Lars did was logical and motivated by fight or flight instincts and a very real panic attack, thus, not very heroic. How many anime heroes do we see with that "I never give up!" attitude where they just barrel through the big attack and the villian goes "IM-IMPOSSIBLE!!" and they win the day? Lars' anxiety is one of many things that keeps him from that level of "turn your brain off" thinking and it took the idea that he was not only going to inevitably die but also that he was inherently lesser than everyone around him that allowed him to adopt that mindset. This of course gets him killed and brought back as something that can't really be called human anymore. Someone who can fight for days, even weaks on end without need for rest, food or water. Lars' new suped up form certainly seems fantastic and he's shown the raw talent for not only being a space fighter but also a leader. So, what's the catch? Well...this is still Lars we're talking about here and there's always a catch to him.

Lars' development is truly some of the best in the show. Him breaking out of his cage and stepping out to form bonds between those he feels close to. While seeing Lars be a badass is great seeing him also be extremely caring to Steven and Connie (and by extension Stevonnie) highlights just what kind of person Lars is, and always was beneath his aloof facade. But he will always be Steven's foil and thus represent a different kind of heroism. We see from Rutile's comments about how Lars has taken so many risks on their behalf and his initial insistence on confronting Emerald alone in the Star Skipper that Lars has still been going it solo. One has to think that since Lars is the only one immune to the scanners that he'd have to be going it alone in quite a few of their missions. And given Rebecca Sugar's confirmation that Lars has made a large amount of enemies who all answer to Emerald that's a scary thought imagining him running around and having to deal with all manner of gems completely alone. There's no way he avoided conflict so he may have had to actually fight, and though he has powers and an essentially non-mortal body the idea that this kid has just been going from conflict to crash landing to heists with no real breaks is a terrifying thought. In any other show this would be awesome and while it's certainly cool here Steven Universe takes great care to ground the show in a form of reality. The human side and the science fantasy side. Lars' actions and mindset come across as so incomprehensible that they would be entirely unsustainable within a normal setting. As we know Lars' big hero moment is deconstructed by the reality that he's just a human who can die easily. But now that he doesn't have to worry about that Lars can go buckwild and dash into the face of danger like all the heroes he clearly loves and emulates. But considering all the lack of self-love that lead him to perform these acts I genuinely hope he finds the same balance of human comfort and alien adventure that Steven has.