#i need to yell at the sea maybe that'll calm me down

[proxyedgy]

So, a few months ago I remembered Houseki no Kuni was a cool thing I watched once upon a time and decided to look up the manga. And then I read it. Past where the anime adapted. Up to chapter 75, then I stopped because I am not in the state of mind to periodically wait for unfinished stories like I did in high school, so I'd rather stop at a pleasant point and wait a good while to pick it back up.

And, all's well and good. I had a good time and am still extremely invested in whatever new way this author decides to break my heart with. Catharsis and stuff. Yep.

But then comes November, I go to an anime event. With the intention of buying myself something. With my own money. Which I am stingy about because I mostly use to buy food since I hate cooking-- Bottom line, I am walking around. There is hardly any merch I would like to have. Still, I am having a good time being on my own and going at my own pace. There is a manga stand.

There is Houseki no Kuni. First two volumes. Translated in Portuguese. They have holographic covers. I buy before even asking the price. This is a historical event. I can count on one hand the number of manga I adore that get translated, and that number is now three.

I come home. I look up the publishing house website. There are more. I buy then in the beginning of december like a happy joyful idiot and they take far too long to get to my hands because of a silly little detail called xmas. Never heard of it, to be honest.

And now, now, finally, after all hope was lost, I received my package. Brought it home in quite the mood. Forgot to have dinner and am now suffering a headache because it was just oh so important to read the same story I read before, only with far higher quality than the scans I found online. And in portuguese. Have I mentioned that?

There is, a certain quirk, let's say, with portuguese. A detail that almost clashes with this particular story. Because this is, after all, a story about gorgeous gemstone people who are very much agender lesbians. And portuguese, a very unromantic language, absolutely loathes the idea of not gendering every word and concept. Therefore, when translated, all of the gemstones use he/him pronouns. I can't explain how that makes me feel, but it is a happy feeling, or at least so I'm inclined to believe. Male pronouns, female androgyny. Interesting choice.

Quite a lot of choices are make when adapting this kind of material and they were a joy to notice, I'll say. The way the word "sensei" has been translated, but his name remained as "Kongou", unlike every other gemstone. A peculiar detail, a good hint, shows the care put into this. The gems themselves, many pleasant words to see in my own tongue, some of which I had never read before and made me wish I had a class on gemstone geology. The more delicate moments, like turning the original "fu-an" syllables of the lunarian speak into something else while retaining the wind sound.

My, the work of an adaptation, it's such a creative endeavour. Translators have it hard, but to see something go a step beyond to be accessible in another language, in my language, like this, I have nothing but respect for every choice made.

And not to mention, how different it is, to have the book in your hands. Manga does not retain the scent I find familiar and comforting from my childhood and teenage years, but their rough pages offer quite a nice experience too. And, most of all, I find myself scanning them for details more easily, being far more absorbed into the lines when I can hold them close to my face like this.

This manga is quite a beauty. The lines are so simple, and that makes it so much easier to follow. The best part, however, is the sheer number of wide panels. Blacked out panels, with white lines. I've never seen a story that plays with panels like that. I love every single one. There is such a sense of shock, and scale, and emptiness, and feelings which I can't name. It's great, really.

Now, pacing, that is the despicable evil that makes me ramble so much. Because it's one of those stories, that ends every chapter with a cliffhanger, and it's such a tall cliff, I am indeed holding the thread from which these characters hang over this tremendous fall. I know the story, I know what happens, I read it recently, it's fresh in memory. Yet, yet, I am shaking right now, because the last volume translated ends, like every other before, in a scene so utterly tense that I cannot reach catharsis through any means other than complaining.

Yes, this was all a huge complaint, yet still I cannot bring myself to dislike even a single thing. The first time I saw this story, it felt mean-spirited, in some way I couldn't articulate at the time. It is, truly, stained in hopelessness, however that is not the same as despair. As I read it now, perhaps I understand it better, even if the sting still hurts the same every time. It brings up frustrations, and annoyance, and impatience. It's a story that begs for what-ifs, but couldn't proceed any other way. I find that true for all my favorite tales, so I suppose it's just fair that this one gets my number three spot.

I love, love, love you, Houseki no Kuni, Land of the Lustrous, Terra das Gemas.

[ellaenchanting]

Hypnovember 2023 Day 2: Brain Drain

I have committed Our Flag Means Death fanfiction! I am so sorry. Stede/Ed, Ed/Izzy, somehow happy poly and happy metamours making a lovely vee. Takes place in some AU season 2 where the last arc of the season never happened. Izzy is living his best happy masochist life.

Author knows fuck all about ships.

Izzy had gotten much more comfortable spending time with his shipmates since the Calypso's birthday incident.

There was nothing like a round of torture to bring a crew together, he thought.

Tonight the whole group had gathered in the galley under the ship, laughing and chatting long past when they usually went into their quarters for the evening. The sea had been calm that day and the mood was social. Everyone seemed quite relaxed.

Only two members were missing.

Oluwande looked up from his cuddle pile with Jim and Archie. He seemed to have read Izzy's mind. "Hey," he called out to the gathered group, "Has anyone seen the captains this evening?"

"No!" a few people responded.

"Thank God," snarked Black Pete. "Blackbeard...well Ed has been freaking me out. Yelled at me earlier about trimming the sails and you KNOW I keep them the trimmest, babe," he said to his partner Lucius.

"Yeah, he snarled at me when I told him 'hello' earlier," said Archie. "Like this!" She contorted her face into a frankly over-the-top grimace. "Made me nearly jump out of my skin. I may have heard him yell at some seagulls too? Or dolphins?"

Roach looked worried. "Neither captain has come down for dinner, yet," he said.

"Perhaps they are...occupied in the captain's quarters," speculated Izzy.

"Oh? Feeling left out, are you?" joked Frenchie, the little shit. Izzy tactfully ignored him.

Roach replied, still concerned. "Captain Stede will usually come down and request provisions in advance if they're having a long night alone," said Roach. "Thinks he's being sneaky, says they need extra energy 'for planning raids.'"

"My room is below theirs. Trust me, they've not been buggering today," piped up Wee John. "Unless they've learned to be much more quiet about it."

"Maybe they've gotten into a spat and someone's gotten pushed off the ship," spat Lucius. "That'll happen with him, you know."

"OK, that's enough," said Izzy, trying to regain control over the situation as everyone began to talk at once. "You're like gossipy fishwives, all of you. I'll go check on the captains. Make sure Bonnet's not running the ship into a cliff or something."

Izzy climbed up the stairs and started to look around the ship. Ed and Stede weren't in the captain's quarters (being quiet for once). There was no sign of them on the deck. He even craned his neck up to the bird's nest and checked. No captains there.

He finally spotted them at the back of the ship- on a little bit of the stern mostly hidden from view. They were both sitting facing out at the ocean. From a distance, Izzy could see Stede's arm was bent around Ed's shoulder, his hand occasionally reaching up to rock Ed's drooped head into slow, almost imperceptible little circles. Aside from the rocking, Ed's body was remarkably still. It was a huge change from the tense, coiled menace that Ed's frame had carried earlier in the day. Now, he looked almost like a puppet with his strings cut, only responding to Stede's guidance. His arms rested gently besides his legs, lax and pliant.

Izzy could hear Bonnett speaking in a low, soothing voice near Ed's ear but he was too far to make out any words.

Ed had mentioned mesmerism to Izzy before. It was one of the many upperclass daliances that Bonnet had introduced him to- one of those many trifling hobbies that Izzy would never begin to understand the appeal of. Izzy even knew that Bonnet had used his skills on Ed previously. His captain confided that Bonnett's fancy mesmerism routine had helped him find quiet during his not-infrequent emotional storms, that it evened out his seemingly uncontrollable highs and lows. In Izzy's mind, he had pictured the whole thing looking quite comical- Bonnett with wiggly fingers staring daggers into Ed's eyes (maybe with rays), Edward swooning and fainting away in response like a lady whose corset was too tight.

This was quieter than what he had pictured. Gentle. Intimate, even. As he looked over at the scene, he had the sudden feeling that perhaps he shouldn't intrude.

He began to walk away when Stede turned his head and look directly at him. Izzy froze for a moment, unsure what to do. Stede quietly waved him over to where the couple was sitting.

As Izzy approached, he began to get a closer look at Ed's face. His eyes were closed and his face relaxed. His chest slowly rose and fell with each breath. As he come closer, he noticed Ed's eyes were making little flickers underneath his eyelids like he was dreaming.

Izzy wondered what dreams were happening below those lids.

Ed's brows furrowed a bit as Izzy came closer, picking up the noise.

Stede stroked a reassuring hand through his hair. He spoke in his ear, this time loud enough so Izzy could hear: "Shhhhhhh sweetness. It's OK. Relax. You're not in charge right now, remember? Just rest."

Ed's expression immediately cleared. He let held breath with a sigh.

"Izzy's here," Stede continued. "He and I are going to have a chat for a bit. But you don't have to pay attention to that right now, ok? Just drift. Why don't you see how deep you can count yourself down for me while we talk? I'll be right here. I'll touch your leg when it's time for you to listen to me again, ok?"

Ed gave a slight, dreamy nod. His lips barely moved as he began to count silently.

Seemingly satisfied, Stede gestured for Izzy to sit and moved over closer to him.

Izzy sat down, still staring at Ed's lax face. Somehow that by itself was just fascinating. Ed seemed so vulnerable and bare right now. Izzy wasn't sure if he should feel honored or spooked.

"He had a bad day," Stede said gently, nodding over to their entranced boyfriend. "You know how he gets. He needed out of his head for a bit."

Izzy DID understand how Ed got- probably more than his dandyish captain ever would. Hopefully more that Stede ever would, he corrected himself. Ed had certainly told his other boyfriend at least a bit about the hurricane that had been his and Izzy's relationship in the past. When times were bad, they had only known how to take their energy out on each other. They bit and snarled and scratched at one another just to drown out all the noise inside. Izzy had always assumed Ed had NEEDED all of that- needed to hurt and make Izzy suffer the same way that Izzy needed to hurt and suffer for him. That's how they worked. That's who they were together.

Since arriving on the Revenge, though, Izzy had seen more and more of the hidden soft side of Blackbeard. The side that enjoyed fancy clothes and fine foods. The side that kissed Stede's cheek sweetly when he didn't think anyone else was looking. The side that, even now, sat loose and drifting and unguarded while his two boyfriends stayed by him and had a chat.

"Can he hear us?" Izzy asked Stede, curiously.

Stede smiled. "He can hear us, he's just..focused elsewhere right now. Mesmerism's not a magic spell, it's more like- a nice version of where Ed's brain goes when he's navigating. Or how he is when he's trying to sniff out a storm."

Izzy was familiar with his captain's tendency to tune everything out while trying to read the sea. He pictured the absolute, unshakeable concentration of his focused gaze. "Only with nice, clear skies?"

Stede nodded. "Only with nice clear skies." He looked fondly at Ed's dreaming face. "No rain. Nothing to worry about right now." He had dropped into a lighter, dreamy tone- and for a moment, Izzy wasn't sure if he was still speaking to Ed or Izzy or even somehow mesmerizing himself.

Izzy had seen many things in his travels. He once heard a street charlatan talk about mesmerism- saying mesmerism somehow balanced out a person's magnetic forces (y'know- whatever magnetic forces were). He wasn't one for all of Stede's little tricks but- he did understand about needing balance.

Izzy had initially misunderstood Ed's relationship to Stede. He worried that the gentleman pirate would make Ed weak. That he would seduce him away. That he would try to turn the great Blackbeard into one of Stede's fancy little gentleman friends. Izzy had been terrified there would be nothing left of the Ed that he loved after Stede was through.

But Ed was still Izzy's Ed, even now. He could still fight and outwit and outmaneuver anyone else on the sea. He would still protect his crew with all the fierceness of his notorious reputation. He and Izzy could still lose themselves in each other- in their old married couple bickering, in their fighting and fucking, in their indulgences of Ed's sadism and Izzy's corresponding masochism. It just- felt more controlled now. Izzy no longer wondered if Ed actually hated him or if he was just looking for someone convenient to break. He no longer worried that Blackbeard would maim him so badly that he couldn't look after the crew. Even when Ed hurt him now- and he WOULD still hurt him, Stede didn't magic that part away- Izzy was always rewarded with a kiss and some praise afterwards. "That's so good, Izzy. You did so well for me," he would say. Edward seemed so much stronger in these moments now- able to control his own fierceness and use it as a weapon- but also to hold Izzy as he fell apart for him.

Izzy looked over at Ed's quiet countenance- so different than before. It was otherworldy seeing him this serene and distant. He had a sudden desire to protect this version of Ed- Stede's gentle Ed. To keep him safe. A mad, possessive impulse made it to Izzy's mouth before he could stop it.

"Can I touch him?" he asked. "Like this?"

Stede looked surprised. "By touch, do you mean....?"

"His face, Bonnet" Izzy replied, snarkily. "Or his hand or something. His hair. Not going to wank him off on the deck, now am I?"

Stede bit back a laugh. He leaned over to gently touch Ed's leg.

Ed reacted with an almost imperceptible startle before gently settling- serene like the moon going back behind a cloud.

"Shhh- that's OK, love, you can stay relaxed. Good," Stede soothed. "Izzy was wondering if he could touch you while you're in trance. Would that be OK?"

Ed took a moment to respond, as though the words were reaching him from a great distance. Then he nodded his assent.

Stede smiled back at Izzy, reassuringly. Izzy took a breath- then reached over to slowly stroke Ed's hair.

His fearsome Blackbeard smiled in return to the gesture- giving a happy little murmur. He slightly leaned his head in. Just like an affectionate kitten, Izzy thought.

"Good," soothed Bonnet at Ed. "I bet that feels nice."

Izzy grinned too, feeling oddly proud to be trusted with this quiet moment. He and Ed had never been conventional. Maybe it was OK that Ed and Stede weren't either. Maybe it was ok that their relationships were so different- that they saw such different aspects of the same person.

Maybe it was all ok.

Maybe it all balanced.

They sat quietly for a long moment on the deck, letting the peace of the atmosphere soothe them.

Gradually Stede stirred. "Izzy- I forgot to ask: Did the men send you? Were they looking for us?"

"There's no emergency, they were just curious where you were," replied Izzy.

Stede nodded. "We should probably get back, then. Or at least get off deck. Love," he said, moving his voice back into that hypnotic tone. He touched Ed's leg to refocus him. "Are you ready to come up out of trance for me?"

Ed took a deep breath and nodded.

"Good, I'll count to 5 then. It's just to guide you- I know you know how to come up at your own pace. Bring back any of this peace and calm that you want with you, ok?"

Stede started counting- his voice slowly gaining energy as he reminded Ed to connect back with his body and helped him reorient to the ship. It all didn't seem particularly magical to Izzy- but then again he rarely tried to understand Bonnet's ways anyway. Ed finally blinked his eyes open when Stede reached 5.

He blinked a few more times, adjusting. Then, his gaze lost it's bleariness as he looked adoringly up at Stede.

"Hi, there," said Stede, smiling gently. "Back with us, love?"

"Mmmmph mostly," said Ed, scritching his beard and stretching to rouse himself. He looked over at Izzy as though reminding himself he was there and smiled. "Heya, Izz!" Ed leaned up to kiss him.

Izzy grinned into their kiss. "Heya, Captain. Didn't want to interrupt your little daydream session. Crew was just looking for you."

"Ah, we missed dinner!" exclaimed Stede. "I should have asked Roach for..."

"Provisions for planning raids, I heard," smirked Izzy. "Yes, we're all very snowed by your clever euphemisms."

"Fuck provisions, I could eat a horse," said Ed. He practically bounced up and put an arm around both of his boyfriends. "C'mon, let's get some grub!"

Helpless to his whims as always, both of his partners joyfully followed him to dinner.

Fanfic is new to me so would love some thoughts! Also this is unbeta'd so will love you forever if you would point out spelling/grammar mistakes or if there's unclear writing. I'm considering posting this to AO3 but- don't want to embarrass myself in front of the REAL fanfic writers, you know? Feedback welcomed!

Tagging @mentat101posts and @thekinkycocktailclub .If you want to be tagged in these, just lmk!

Tagging @darthkyra @linnybeenaughty @pearlqueensposts @thiskenisftm @deeperforme because they wanted OFMD hypnokink and I blame/thank you for the inspiration to actually get this down!

[blueberryrock]

I'm so tired rn, it is currently 12:49 am so im going to bed after this. But enjoy!

(Blue's pov)

"Are you sure you can handle this?" I look down at the tiny pink gem in front of me.

"Of course, I've seen Pink do it a bunch of times" Spinel gives one of the biggest grins I've ever seen.

"A-and you know what to do? " I ask another question "oh and you know some of the rules....right?" I shift nervously on my sore feet.

"Rules?" Spinel shoots me a confused look "how can a ball have rules?"

"Well, there aren't many, just simple ones" I cross my arms "like for instance, we're not allowed to leave our seats, although White has definitely changed that one.....oh and cannons can't be in the ballroom, or the castle for that matter" I stroke my chin trying to think of any rules.

"Well, liquids are no longer forbidden, cause it turns out that Steven is about seventy percent water...."  I trail off.

"Speaking of steven, is he coming?" Spinel bounces happily in place.

"I think so, he said that he would come with gifts, although I don't exactly know what gifts he could make..since we are quite bigger then him" I shrug.

"Quite?" Spinel crosses her arms.

I chuckle and roll my eyes "you should probably go and get the ball ready, and is there a dress code" I cursorily ask.

"Dress code?" Spinel scratches her head.

"Yeah, like we could dress...I don't know...nicer? Or different at least" I try to explain but Spinel just shrugs.

"That sounds good, I think I will try something new but I don't really know, you can too if you'd like, that goes for Yellow and White too" Spinel turns around "but like you said, I've got work to do" she starts running down the empty hallway we were talking in.

"And if you need any help, you can always call me or Steven, he has thrown at least two balls" I shout after her. I definitely shouldn't tell her that the first ball turned into a disaster, but it wasn't his fault...

A spike of pain washes over me, starting from my feet and quickly ends as soon as it reaches my mid-calf.

I sigh, I should go and sit down, maybe I'll run a bath. Yeah, that sounds nice. I turn around and painfully make my way to my chambers. As soon as the doors close behind me I instantly phase into nothing but a very loose and thin blue shirt and a pair of comfortable panties.

I slowly make my way across my room towards my extraction chambers (which everyone now calls it a bathroom).

I hit the now higher panel and the doors in front of me open, letting the slightly cold air into the room. I shiver when my bare feet touch the freezing tile floor, but I try my best to ignore it and turn on the bath.

As soon as the room becomes filled to the brim with steam. I phase away the rest of my clothes, and carefully lower myself into the warm water.

I let out a relaxed sigh as I finally make contact with the bottom and sit down. This time I accidentally filled the bath with to much water and it's now up to my chin.

I gently place my hand on my big baby bump, ever since I opened up to Yellow, I've been feeling..... better I guess...I'm certainly not one hundred percent a-okay, but I've been feeling happier about the gemlings.

Every now and then I occasionally have a few bad thoughts, but I'm glad that I have Yellow to help me with it, I just can't help but feel like I'm dragging Yellow.

I shake my head trying to get rid of that last thought, I need to think of something else...hmm what should I wear to Spinel's ball?

She didn't really specify if there was going to be a dress code or not. I smile as a wonderful idea comes to mind, I should wear the dress I wore to my first ball! I will have to make some adjustments, I rub my baby bump, man Yellow will love it!

I quickly finish my lovely bath and I wrap a towel around my body and hair. I sit down on my very comfortable stool in front of my vanity, I unwrap my now wet towel from my hair, I dry my soaking wet hair as best as I can with the towel before I instantly remove all the water from it with my powers.

I toss the damp towel onto the floor, but before it actually lands on the ground it phases away.

I grab my new blue hairbrush and I run it through my very tangled hair, I faintly hum some human song. Humming quickly turns into quietly singing.

"From the shell, the song of the sea" I softly sing to myself, I shapeshift my hair to get rid of my loop so I can braid my hair "neither quiet nor calm, searching for love again".

I easily hum the rest of the song as I quickly and effortlessly finish my long braid, I unnecessarily fiddle with the end of my braid, trying to make it not fall apart. I sigh as I throw the end of it over my shoulder, what time is it? I pull up a screen to find that Spinel's ball is in five hours.

I droop onto my vanity and let out another sigh, I should probably finish designing the gemlings little room, but all I need are the colors. If it's going to be anything like that weird vivid dream I had, I should be able to guess the colors correctly.

But alas, I am not a sapphire. The medical pearl did say that the next appointment I'll have should tell us what colors they might be.

I sit straight up and whip around at the sound of my doors opening, I smile when Yellow diamond steps into my room. She turns on my crystal chandelier as she grumbles something to herself.

"I don't understand how you can see so well in the dark" she walks directly towards me and smiles "it's like a new power, and I lovee what you did with your hair your hair"

"Thank you" I grab her hips and pull her closer, I wrap my arms around her and stand up "I wanted to do something new for Spinel's ball, while the braid may not be entirely new, but what I'm planning is...also not entirely new" I quietly giggle "but I know you'll love it"

"You know I'll love anything you'll do, even if you've done it before" Yellow plants a soft kiss on top of my head.

"I know, I know" I release my hold from her and I grab my still open screen "Since you are here, I wanted to show you the nursery design for our gemlings!"

I pull up the blueprints and proudly show her, she grabs the screen and studies each picture for a few seconds before moving onto the next one.

"They look good, but what is the color scheme?" Yellow hands me the screen back.

"I wanted to do the colors of what the gemlings are, but that'll have to wait a couple of days or so" I pull up the time and date again "well, it says the next appointment is actually tomorrow, so the plans will be done quickly"

A sudden rush of fatigue washes over me, I let out a yawn as I dismiss the screen "I think I'm going to take a nap before the ball" I phase into a soft shirt and pants.

I walk around Yellow and head straight for my bed "wake me up at least half a cycle before it starts." I pull all the blankets onto me.

"Noted" Yellow lays down right beside me, I lay down on my back as Yellow messes with my braid, she hums as I flip onto my side, trying to find a good position.

I let out a very long and relaxed sigh as I finally get comfortable, I feel myself drift into slumber as Yellow finishes humming.

"Have a good nap, I'll be back to wake you up" She whispers, I grumble something back to her, but I don't know what it was.

Since I took a nap I surprisingly didn't have a dream, I just fell asleep then bam! Instantly woke up.

"Blue? You said to wake you up now, so I need you to wake up" Yellow shakes me awake.

"Hmmm" I sit up, I wipe the sleep from my eyes, I squint from the light and I turn to the golden diamond next to me.

"Yellow? Mmm, what time is it?" I pull back the very warm covers and shiver slightly as Yellow helps me off of the bed.

"It's about a cycle till the ball, I decided you might need some time to actually wake up" Yellow let's go of me, I let out a groan as I stretch my arms.

"It seems like I did the right thing" Yellow hands me a glass of water.

"Thank you" I croak, I take a few sips of the cold water, I hand her the glass as I yawn.

After a few minutes of Yellow talking to me, making sure I don't fall asleep again, I push her out of the room so I can get ready.

I sit back down on my vanity chair and I fix my messy braid, damn, I knew I should've waited until after I took a nap. But then again, I didn't know that I'd actually take one...

As soon as my braid is done, I stand up and phase off my pajamas and I put on a comfortable pair of matching panties and a bra.

Now, this is the hard part, I have to remember what my dress looked like. It really won't be hard, but it was a very very long time ago.

As soon as remember what the dress I wore for my first ball looks like, I phase it on. I quickly adjust the waist so it's not clinging to my body, but instead it flowing at the bottom.

I turn around to face the mirror, I take a few steps back to see the entire dress.

And it's almost just how I remember it.

The top clings to my form, I had to just the neckline so it ends at the tip of my gem, I kept the long sleeves but moved the end of them just an inch or two back. The color of the entire dress is still blue, but as dark as the night sky, and it still shimmers when I move.

Moving past my waist, I shortened the slit by my leg a lot, so now it goes from my mid-calf to my ankles, which is where the dress stops, I also added the same sized slit on the other side.

This time I finally put on shoes, but they are a simple pair of knee-length boots with a lot of extra padding inside.

I smooth down the front of the dress, I smile as the familiar softness tickles my hands. A familiar chime breaks the silence in my room "come in" I half yell.

I sit back down on my plush stool as the big blue doors open. Steven, Amethyst, Pearl, and Connie walk into my room.

Steven and Pearl laugh at something that Amethyst had probably said, and in Steven's and Connie's hands are some big wrapped items.

As soon as Connie sees me, she accidentally drops the gifts she was carrying and her brown eyes go wide.

I push myself off of the stool and walk over to them "is something wrong" I ask the shocked Connie as I pick up the thing she dropped.

"N-no, nothing is wrong" she shakes her head and smiles "it's just that Steven said that you were at least six months in, but I had no idea you were." I cut her off "Big? Huge?" I smile little.

"Well, no, I was going to say, I had no idea you were so pregnant" she nervously laughs "and your dress looks amazing!"

I slightly blush from the complement. "Well, I am carrying twins" I smile warmly, I gently place my hand on my belly. I examine the nicely wrapped item, it's wrapped in different styles of a human material, which I think is paper and it fits perfectly in my hand. "You guys really didn't need to bring us anything."

"Well, my art teacher had me and my class make stuffed animals" I neatly unwrap all the paper to reveal a very soft, mixed fabric, lion "and I decided to go all out." Connie very proudly says.

I neatly place the paper on my vanity and inspect the toy lion. It has stitched black eyes and a black heart-shaped nose, with a wild rainbow mane and matching tail.

"It may not be the prettiest thing in the world, but I'm pretty sure that bad boy gave me an A+ for the rest of the year" Connie smiles "and it took me a little more than a week to make it, not including the time it took to gather the materials, luckily my mom and dad were there to help me."

I put the adorable lion on my vanity and I grab the gift that Steven was holding, "Man, you do not know how long it took to wrap those, and how much wrapping paper it took" Steven smiles as I once again, neatly take the paper off.

"As I said, you really didn't need to bring us anything, but I really do appreciate it" I happily say, I place all the paper on the vanity with the other paper.

In my hand is a beautiful wooden box with a wind-up on the back, it's a lovely shade of dark green with the diamond insignia top.

"C'mon, wind it up!" Steven excitedly says.

I smile at his lack of patience, I delicately wind up the box, as excitement builds inside me with each crank.

Suddenly the little box makes a strange CLICK sound and a wonderful tune starts playing, I shoot a confused look towards Steven. But he just looks at me with what I think are tearful eyes.

The song ends quickly, Steven sighs "The song is called you are my sunshine, my dad would sing that to me whenever I got scared, I'll teach you the lyrics later, but now we've got a ball to attend!" Steven turns on his heel towards the door.

"I'll be right after you" I call out to him and his friends as they leave. I quickly set the box next to the lion, I take one last glance over my outfit before I turn around and leave.

(At the ball)

I stand in front of familiar ballroom doors, this time I'm not being introduced to gems, this time I'm just going to go in and enjoy the ball without any pressure, what so ever.

I take a deep breath in, hold my head up high, and hit the panel that opens the doors. Music fills up the small hallway I'm standing in, I walk into the very crowded room. I spot Steven and Connie dancing with a multitude of different gems and fusions.

I also see Spinel dancing with Amethyst and a handful of other quartzes, and Pearl talking to Blue and Yellow Pearl. I carefully move towards one of the back corners of the room, once I'm there I look around the room trying to find Yellow, I don't think she's here. I'd would've spotted her by now.

I sadly sigh, guess I'll have to wait for some time. As I wait I eagerly watch the only door that we can fit through, and it hasn't been all bad, a lot of different gems came up to me to say hello and to congratulate me. One gem even brought me a tray of brown and white sweets, which attracted Steven and Connie. They then told me the sweets were called 'chocolate', and I told them I love the really dark ones, which turned out to be dark chocolate.

They did have to take the tray away from me before I ate it all, then the diamond doors opened and I got very excited, but then White Diamond appeared then the doors remained close for quite a while.

She seemed to easily notice my mood and made quickly walked over to me.

"I'm going to assume you're waiting for Yellow?" White rests her back against the wall.

"Well...yeah" I sigh "I wanted to surprise her by putting on the dress from my first ball" when I finished my sentence, White did a double-take on my outfit.

"Oh wow, I didn't even notice" She runs her hand over my covered arm "you still look as beautiful as the day you first put it on"

I blush from the compliment "look, this time I actually put on shoes!" I lift my dress and flaunt my boots.

White laughs "they're not the heels that go with the dress, but those are pretty close".

I let go of my dress "I don't understand how you and Yellow can wear something with heels, I'd trip in them very easily"

"Which is why I let you go barefoot" White smiles warmly.

I smile back. "Anyways, I've really only came to the ball to say hello to every, so after that, I'm probably going to leave" I nod as White pushes herself off of the wall and heads towards Steven and his friends.

I sigh and rest my head against the hard stone wall. I continue to watch the door until Yellow diamond finally walks through it. Happiness builds inside of me as she spots me.

She carefully makes her way across the very crowded ballroom floor, I frown as I notice a few sparks dance across her shoulders and chest.

She finally stops in front of me and sighs "I'm sorry for being so late, as soon as you pushed me out of your room a topaz said there was an emergency, so I had to deal with that, then I got a reminder that the ball has started so I quickly polished my armor and...wait..." Yellow takes a step away from me. A big smile creeps on to my face.

"Is that?" Yellow looks me up and down.

"In fact it is! I did have to make a few adjustments to the dress, but I kept it pretty much the same" I wrap my arms around Yellow, she does the same, she gives me a short but passionate kiss on the lips before she pulls away and leads me towards where everyone is dancing. "C'mon, let's join them."

"Okay, but only for a little bit" I grab her hand and wrap my arm and she twirls me.

We continue to dance for some time before I start to feel sick from all the chocolates, so we say goodbye and thank you to everyone before Yellow whisks me away to my room, where I then have a 'stomach ache' for a few hours.

I painfully groan into my plush pillow, Yellow lovingly rubs my aching pregnant belly.

"Just try to sleep" Yellow kisses my neck.

"C-can't.. hurts too much" I whimper.

"Steven said it'll go away soon, just sleep it off" Yellow slows down, she rubs slow soothing circles.

Unfortunately, her touch is very soothing, I can feel myself growing tired every second.

I let out a long yawn which turns into another groan "mmmm fine, I'll try to sleep, but I'm telling you it's not going to work" I grumble. I tightly close my eyes, trying to get my self to fall asleep.

It eventually works when I finally relax and mumble good night.

"Good night Blue" Yellow places a kiss on my head before I quickly pass out.

Splish

Splash

Sploosh

I'm going to bed, gn