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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 15: The Warning (originally posted on April 26, 2021)

AN: Dread it, run from it, the end is near. Part 1 of the two-part Part 2 finale has arrived. And with this two-parter, we will officially be halfway through Alternate Future. What could Parts 3 and 4 possibly hold for us? Well, that's for later. Right now, we return to Homeworld which means we once again won't be fully focusing on Steven, and we will also see a certain Gem in action.

Synopsis: Lars and the Off-Colors return to Earth with an urgent message.

Cast:

Matthew Moy as Lars, Dante

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Ashly Burch as Rutile Twins

Erica Luttrell as Padparadscha Sapphire

Christine Baranski as Hessonite

Shelby Rabara as Squaridot, Demantoid's Peridots

Olivia Olson as Citrine

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Amy Sedaris as Yellow Zircon, Blue Zircon

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Jennifer Paz as Mean Lapis

Charlyne Yi as Navy, Eyeball

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid

Uzo Aduba as Demantoid's Bismuths

Miriam Hyman as Demantoid's Bismuths

Deedee Magno-Hall as Black Pearl

Dee Bradley Baker as George the Light Prism

Zach Callison as Steven

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Indya Moore as Shep

Nancy Linari as Martha

Featuring Hugh Laurie as Doctor Laurie

Hushed whispers filled the grand hall as many former Gem aristocrats filed in. Behind a holographic podium were posters of the prosecuting Zircon's smug face with the word "HOPE" underneath the picture in very big letters. When the last of the ex-nobles arrived and the doors shut behind them, out came Yellow Zircon with a prideful spring in her step as she took her place at the podium.

"Good day to you all." Yellow Zircon announced as she presented the speech prepared for her today. "As you all know, the Gem race has now entered a new golden age thanks to Steven Universe, the son of Pink Diamond, and the Crystal Gems." As she spoke, an image of Steven and the Gems appeared behind her. "But don't think they have good intentions."

Suddenly, the hall turned a bright red as a big red X was crossed over the Crystal Gems. "With the loss of our caste system, our weapons, armies, colonies, and the Diamonds' control over us, our kind has become weak. Perhaps weak enough to be conquered."

The former nobles began muttering to each other with concern while Yellow Zircon stared at the speech in confusion. "Wait, this is my speech?" she quietly asked herself before returning to the subject at hand. "Anyways, their pacifistic ways could soon be the end of us all. That is why as a potential democratic leader of the Gems, I promise to restore our old ways so that we may be better prepared for a possible invasion. Thank you everyone for your time."

The other Gems began clapping and cheering while Yellow Zircon walked backstage, continuing to examine her speech when she ran into her campaign manager, a seemingly docile Ruby with her gem on her stomach. "Oh, Navy was it?" she asked the Ruby. "I'm pretty sure my speech is all wrong. I could've sworn I had something different planned earlier!"

"Oh don't be such a worrywart Zircon!" Navy laughed, slapping the taller Gem on the leg. "I just made a few changes, that's all! Which reminds me, you got some special guests arranged for your next speech, so do make a good impression on them!"

"Okay, if you say so." Yellow Zircon reluctantly obliged and kept walking, leaving Navy alone to snicker maliciously as she pulled a black egg-shaped communicator from her gem. "This is Agent Navy, come in Black Rutile." She said to the egg as it produced a holographic image of her superior.

"Ah, Ruby, so glad of you to call." Black Rutile said delightedly. "How has your infiltration of the Zircon's campaign going?"

"All according to plan my Rutile." Navy saluted the hologram. "She doesn't suspect a thing."

"Excellent." Black Rutile grinned. "Once she's in power, we'll come in, reveal our goal to the galaxy and initiate our coup. I knew I chose the right Gem for the job."

"Oh, you're too kind my Rutile." Navy giggled. "My magnanimous, visionary, absolutely gorgeous Rutile!"

"Okay, now you're just brown-nosing." Black Rutile scowled. "Morganite should be meeting with you shortly, so keep an eye out for her while I go gather forces." She commanded. "Over and out."

Meanwhile, on a different part of the Gem Homeworld, the Sun Incinerator began to make its landing at a spaceport where many Gems were either departing from Homeworld by spaceship or returning home. But this crew in particular was only here for a quick pitstop.

"Well, here we are back on Homeworld Off-Colors." Lars declared as he and his motley crew of Off-Color Gems disembarked from their pilfered vessel to look around the spaceport. "Man, it's wonderful how much Steven has changed everything."

"Yeah, once these ships were out conquering worlds." The left Rutile replied.

"But now they're out spreading peace and fixing what they broke." The right Rutile remarked.

"We can sing Steven's praises later." Rhodonite said, getting her fellow Gems back on track. "We came back here to refuel."

"Yes, we know Rhodonite." Fluorite said slowly. "I'm just going to take a breather over there." She then pointed over to a little hangout spot where different Gems were striking up conversations. "How about you?"

"I'm just going to explore a bit." Lars answered. "Anyone coming with?"

"I'm gonna go over there to where those other fusions are." Rhodonite replied as she pointed to another hangout spot populated with cross-Gem fusions just like her.

"Guess that leaves me and Paddy to watch over the ship." The left Rutile said.

"Our crew shall go their separate ways for the time being." Padparadscha declared sweetly.

However, as the Off-Colors briefly split up to relax, a sinister plot was brewing without their knowledge. Emerald and a squad of Black Pearls were hiding inside one of the unoccupied ships, having been spying on the Gem team this whole time. "My Rutile, I have visual on the Sun Incinerator." Emerald said into a communicator. "At long last, it'll finally be mine!"

"Yes Emerald, the sole reason you joined my alliance." Black Rutile said sarcastically. "But remember that once you finally reacquire the Incinerator, you are to rendezvous with your teammates and provide our transport to Earth."

"But what about your dropship, my Rutile?" one of the Black Pearls inquired. "Can't you use that to come to Earth instead?"

"I'm currently using it to reach Blue 4." Black Rutile explained. "Lars will no doubt use another ship to reach Earth, but by then it'll be too late for him"

"Understood." Emerald nodded as the communicator shut off, and then she turned to the Pearls. "You heard her, move out!"

"Yes, your Emerald." The Black Pearls monotonously replied and marched towards the Sun Incinerator.

The Rutile twins noticed the squad of Pearls marching to them and decided to ask what was up. "Uh, hello there." The left Rutile nervously greeted. "Don't think we've ever seen you Pearls around before."

"Forgive our intrusion, we were only created not too long ago." The leading Black Pearl apologized with a bow. "My fellow Pearls and I are working for a higher power who believes she can bring peace to Homeworld."

"Ooh, look at those Pearls over there!" Padparadscha exclaimed. "I don't like the looks of them Rutiles, they look suspicious!"

"Yeah, that reminds me." The right Rutile said. "Who is this higher power you're working for?"

"She refuses to disclose her identity at the moment," another of the Pearls said. "but she doesn't like a certain friend of yours very much."

Before the Rutiles and Padparadscha could comprehend what the Pearl said, a pair of crystalline thigh-high boots clinked loudly as their owner snuck aboard the Sun Incinerator, and they turned around to discover that it was Emerald.

"We've been discovered!" Emerald yelled before she raced further into the ship. "Pearls, seize them!"

"Emerald?!" the Rutile twins exclaimed in shock.

"Emerald has stolen the ship!" Padparadscha added as Lars, Rhodonite, and Fluorite raced to discover what had happened.

"So we meet again Emerald!" Lars said angrily as Emerald began to take off in her reclaimed ship. "What do you have planned this time?!"

"I think the better question is, what do WE have planned!" Emerald corrected just as furiously. "You're so distracted by the destruction that Steven has caused, you're just as blind to his impending fall! Now Pearls!"

The Pearls summoned their spears and threateningly pointed them at Lars and the Off-Colors. But just then, three silhouettes that have been watching things play out made themselves known by emerging from the shadows to strike.

The first Gem had orange skin, a red-orange gemstone at the center of her chest, a red and white jumpsuit with black shoulder pads, a blue-purple cape, and a pale yellow afro that came together at a widow's peak. She was the first of the trio to attack, plunging her sword into a Black Pearl's chest and causing her to poof.

The second Gem was a Peridot with rectangular chartreuse-yellow hair, her triangular gem replacing her left eye, a medium green jumpsuit with dark green shoulder pads and a four-pointed star symbol on the torso, a light green cape, dark green leggings, and medium green boots with yellow triangles on her knees. She lifted a metal crate into the air with ferrokinesis and tossed it at another group of Black Pearls, poofing them as well.

Finally, there was a Gem Lars easily recognized. Citrine was also a member of this trio, whaling on Black Pearls as they tried to dogpile her, and she was wearing a cape as well. It was black, matching the mask she wore over her eyes.

"Citrine!" Lars cried excitedly as the three Gems fought off the seemingly growing mob of Pearls. "Hey, who are those other two Gems?"

"Lars, long time no see!" Citrine replied while backhanding a Black Pearl in the face. "I can introduce you to my new partners later, now help us out!"

"Finally time to put my new musti-yuddha skills to use." Lars declared while taking off his cape and gloves to fight the Black Pearls. "Come at me bros!" he challenged the Gems as he put up his fists, using his newfound Indian boxing skills to punch, kick, grab, knee, and elbow his way through the Pearls.

"Nice moves there my friend!" the yellow afroed Gem complimented Lars before they, along with Citrine and the Peridot, stood back to back against the Pearls while the Off-Colors watched. "What do you call that kind of fighting?"

"It's an Earth type of combat called musti-yuddha." Lars explained as yet another Black Pearl charged at him. "SHORYUKEN!" he yelled, uppercutting the Pearl into the air before it poofed, and her gem clattered on the ground.

"I've got to get me some of those lessons." Rhodonite said to herself.

"The human is stronger than we were led to believe!" one of the remaining Black Pearls gasped in shock. "Everybody retreat!"

With that, the Black Pearl squadron officially withdrew from combat, leaving Lars and his Gem allies to collect themselves.

"So, like I was gonna say, meet some new friends I made since you were last here." Citrine introduced her new partners.

"You may call me Hessonite." Hessonite greeted Lars with a handshake. "Former commander of Yellow Diamond's army turned ally of the Crystal Gems and Gem vigilante. Pleased to meet you."

"I'm her sidekick, Peridot Facet-4E3M Cut-7ZY." The Peridot introduced herself. "Though most call me Squaridot due to my hair. Much like my former commander turned partner, I have once antagonized the Crystal Gems before Steven showed me the light. Well, after quite a few setbacks, of course."

"I'm Lars." Lars replied as he pointed to himself, and then to the Off-Colors. "Meet my teammates, the-"

"We know full well about you and your exploits Lars." Hessonite cut Lars off. "Citrine told us about you when we first crossed paths, and she has proven useful to my cause."

"Excuse me, but what cause?" Fluorite asked Hessonite.

"The detainment of a Gem revolutionary known as Black Rutile!" Squaridot dramatically announced as she presented an image of the Gem in question. "For the past couple years ever since Steven began the process of reforming the Gem empire, this felon has been gathering up an army to rebel against him and the Crystal Gems, and now that the Spinel incident has come and gone, Black Rutile has finally decided now to initiate her plans to destroy him and conquer the Gem race!"

"Wait, why does Black Rutile have it out for Steven?" Lars asked when he came to a realization. "Wait, I remember her! She came to Earth once and interviewed me about my experiences with Steven! Is that all a part of her plan?"

"Indubitably," Citrine answered. "She's been gathering as much info as she can on Steven, the Crystal Gems, and almost everyone they've ever met in preparation for her forthcoming invasion. She knows everyone's strengths and weaknesses, and will use them against us with extreme prejudice."

"Black Rutile may seem like a genial reporter," Hessonite continued her sidekicks' explanation. "But it's all an act to disguise the cunning, devious, opportunistic, sociopathic monster she is underneath. Black Rutile was a former member of White Diamond's court and a fearsome warrior during the Rebellion with a burning vendetta against Pink Diamond because she believed Pink always got what she wanted by whining & crying all the time instead of doing any actual hard work to deserve things."

"So she hates Pink, big whoop." Rhodonite snarked.

"It's not just Pink, my dear fusion." Hessonite stated, putting a gloved hand on Rhodonite's shoulder. "By proxy, she has a hatred for Steven and the Crystal Gems because they continued her work by reforming our society, and some aren't very kind towards Steven's decisions."

"We were surrounded by those Black Pearls, but a trio of caped crusaders have come to save us!" Padparadscha cheered.

"Yes, thank you for adding to the conversation Sapphire." Hessonite muttered, glaring at Padparadscha before she turned back to Lars. "Recent intel we have gathered tells us that Black Rutile has inserted a Ruby spy into Yellow Zircon's democratic campaign, feeding her nothing but lies to inspire Gems to rebel against Era 3. I'm planning on infiltrating a speech she is giving, but I need help." She grabbed Lars by the hand and gazed at him with determined eyes. "Tell me Lars of the Stars, are you with us?"

"Well, with intel like that, I don't see why not." Lars declared, taking Hessonite's hand and giving it a firm shake. "I'm in!"

With that, the Off-Colors had some new allies by their side, and a new adventure to go on. One that might be their most dangerous yet.

Meanwhile, the remaining Black Pearls continued fleeing from Hessonite's squad and found somewhere safe to hide, where their leader turned on a communicator on her wrist.

"Black Pearl-6G9, report!" Black Rutile barked to her subordinates.

"It is the Hessonite, she has struck once again." The Pearl stated. "And it seems she has allied with the so-called "Lars of the Stars" to undermine your hard work."

"That traitor has been a thorn in my side for too long." Black Rutile snarled irritatedly. "A real shame too. She and I got along quite swimmingly before she went to retrieve that Prism." She then remarked nostalgically. "But enough about my backstory. The Zircon is preparing to make her speech soon. I need what's left of your force to protect her at the auditorium in Igneous Square no matter what. Affirmative?"

"Affirmative, my Rutile." Black Pearl-6G9 nodded and shut off her communicator before she turned to her fellow Pearls, nodding to them as well.

Later that day, Lars & Hessonite stood atop a building and gazed down upon the Gems gathered at Igneous Square where Yellow Zircon was set to make another speech. Also on stage with her were a group of Black Pearls, her mysterious campaign manager Navy and their special guest Morganite.

"Good day my fellow Gems." Yellow Zircon announced while Lars followed Hessonite down the building and blending in with the crowd. "As you can see, I brought a very special guest with me. I'd like you all to please give a warm welcome to the legendary designer, Morganite!"

"Wait, she's with them?" Lars whispered to Hessonite as Morganite stepped up to the podium. "But she seemed so chill when we first met her!"

"Looks can be very deceiving Lars." Hessonite advised her human ally. "Black Rutile has supporters all across Homeworld and their former colonies, but Morganite here is a part of her inner circle."

"Wait, inner circle?" Lars asked. "You mean she's got, like, a whole legion of doom by her side?"

"I wouldn't put it that way, but yes." Hessonite answered. "Now shush."

"Thank you Zircon for the marvelous introduction." Morganite said gratefully to the Zircon before she turned to the audience with a speech prepared. "Today shall be the end of Era 3. The end of the Crystal Gems, who have acquiesced to gaslighting and manipulation for thousands of years. At this very moment, hundreds of lightyears away, Steven Universe continues lying to the Gem race and brainwashing the mindless masses to his so-called "peace and love", while hypocritically abandoning all in actual need of his alleged assistance!" As Morganite went on, her speaking became more and more dictatorial until she began outright shrieking every word that came out of her mouth. "Once WE are in power, we shall return to our ways of conquering and terraforming, starting WITH PLANET EARTH! AND SOON STEVEN SHALL REALIZE THAT IF HE AND HIS MOTHER WEREN'T SUCH IRRITATING BRATS, HE WOULDN'T BE HIS OWN UNDOING!"

The Gems in the audience all began cheering and pumping their fists, chanting Morganite's name as she took a bow and began to leave the unnerved Yellow Zircon to take back her podium, until someone else took the microphone.

"Steven gaslighting and manipulating?" Lars hijacked the podium to make his own speech. "Frankly my friends, you're all dead wrong! Sure, he and I got off on the wrong foot more times than I can count, but I know that he is an actual good person. A fact that you are all just blind to for the sake of being mouthpieces for a complete maniac! You're no revolutionaries; you're just a bunch of proud clods! And another thing-"

"Hey pinky, get off the stage!" one Agate jeered while the Black Pearls began to surround Lars onstage.

"You shall come quietly human for questioning." The lead Pearl ordered, spear pointed directing across Lars's neck.

"Uh Hess, little help here!" Lars cried out nervously. Suddenly, a golden blur emerged from the crowd and easily dispatched the Pearls, along with any other Gems trying to get on the stage to attack Lars.

"Come on, let's head to my lair!" Hessonite stated before the screen behind the podium began to short-circuit before finally, Black Rutile appeared on it. "You."

"Ah Hessonite, so glad you could make it to the eve of my grand takeover." Black Rutile purred in greeting. "And look, you even brought a plus-one! Lars of the Stars, am I right?"

"Master, I sincerely apologize for my failure!" Morganite dropped on her knees and begged for Black Rutile's mercy. "It was the human who tried to expose me!"

"Save the apologies Morganite, I'll send in reinforcements later." Black Rutile replied before turning back to her pair of foes. "And as for you, go ahead and run around this planet all you like, 'cause you won't find me anywhere on it!"

"Well, where are you?!" Lars yelled.

"That is highly classified." Black Rutile responded with a sneer. "Not that you would care, you rose-colored hippie. Toodles!" With that, she disappeared from the screen, leaving the pair aghast at her sudden appearance before one of the Gems spoke up.

"Can't you see, Steven is forcing us to waste ourselves away being all caring and helping, when we should be returning to enslaving!" a particularly vigorous Pyrope yelled. "Who's with me?! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!"

"YEAH, OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!" a Jasper agreed, inspiring the other Gems to chant those same words.

"OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE! OUR HEARTS AND GEMS TO HER CAUSE!"

"It's worse than I thought." Hessonite muttered nervously while she and Lars made their escape. "She's manipulated them all."

"Do the Diamonds know about this?" Lars asked his new ally.

"I'm not sure, but that will definitely get their attention." Hessonite replied as they got further away from Igneous Square, where the chanting kept on going and Yellow Zircon stared in shock at what just happened.

"Was I just a tool for a fascist cause?" Yellow Zircon muttered in utter despondence while Navy stood behind her with an evil grin.

"Fascist cause? No." Navy grinned as she retreated into the shadows. "Tool? Oh so very much."

Not too far away from Homeworld was the former colony of Blue 4, a once pristine colony that has fallen on hard times due to its ruler's neglect of her subjects. And far from Blue 4 on its own little asteroid was the Palace of Light, formerly the capital of Blue 4 that was the current residence, or rather a prison, of the ex-elite Gems Pyrope and Demantoid.

"Day….I've lost count, of our imprisonment in the Palace of Light." Demantoid muttered robotically to herself as she sat across from Pyrope in their shared cell. "I have been making countless plans to break out of this cell and exact our revenge, but a certain someone just keeps debunking them all."

"Well, it's not my fault that most of your plans will fail!" Pyrope said haughtily. "Kind of like how it was your fault that we lost to Steven!"

"My fault?!" Demantoid yelled back as she hopped up and marched over to meet Pyrope's gaze. "If it weren't for your arrogance, we wouldn't be stuck in here with no status, no weapons, and no hope of escaping!"

Suddenly, the destabilizing forcefield that prevented the pair of Garnets from escaping shut off, allowing them to leave their cell with no trouble.

"Who could've possibly done this?" Pyrope wondered, looking around at how only their cell was deactivated while the others were still operational.

"I believe I can answer that for you." A voice answered pridefully as she marched towards the Garnets and revealed her identity. "Black Rutile, at your service. Long time no see you two."

"My stars, THE Black Rutile?!" Demantoid gasped in recognition of the Rutile. "Where have you been all this time?! Why are you only now helping us when you could've been useful during our clashes with the Crystal Gems?!"

"I've been plotting their downfall for quite some time Demantoid." Black Rutile answered. "I suppose you have been disenfranchised by Steven, much like my compatriots here, no?" she then asked as White Topaz, Aquamarine, Eyeball, Lapis 1J9G and Holly Blue emerged from behind her.

"So, you've been plotting your own rebellion, just like Rose Quartz?" Pyrope asked as she gazed at the Gems Black Rutile has gathered for her alliance.

"Indeed, and I believe you both deserve seats in it." Black Rutile replied as she took the pair's hands. "Now then, are you with me?"

"I am with you." Demantoid accepted the offer. "But only if she gets left here."

"No no no, she should be left to rot while I join you!" Pyrope demanded.

"Uh, something wrong you two?" White Topaz asked.

"It's all her fault we lost!" the Garnets blamed each other with fingers pointed, but they were quickly proven wrong.

"No, it's neither of your faults." Black Rutile stated as she brought up a projection of the pair's final battle with the Crystal Gems using the Light Prisms. "It's all because of Steven that you lost. That cunning, devious, opportunistic, sociopathic monster wanted you out of the way because you had no place in his dystopia, but there is room for you in the utopia I will soon build. Now let me repeat myself," She deactivated the hologram and looked back at Pyrope & Demantoid. "are you with me?"

"Okay, we're in!" Pyrope exclaimed, shaking the fearsome Rutile's hand. "Now tell us, what do you need us for?"

"I am planning on going down to Earth to strike at the Gems when they least expect it." Black Rutile explained, leading the group out into the main area of the Palace while pulling out another hologram from her visor detailing her plans. "Once we detain them once and for all, we shall indoctrinate the Gems they have brainwashed into their so-called Little Homeschool to our cause and overwhelm the Diamonds with our superior armies. After that, we'll have to discuss lat-"

Suddenly, the signaling of an urgent message cut off Black Rutile's plans. "One second everyone." She muttered before taking the message. "Ruby, report!"

"My Rutile, we need you!" Navy exclaimed fearfully. "The Zircon has already been seized since the speech, and now Morganite & I are on the run!"

"Yes, I'm well aware of that." Black Rutile said while pinching the gem on her face. "That Morganite, always such a self-important coward. I shall send in backup posthaste!"

"Oh thank you my glamorous Rutile!" Navy cheered. "I am so honored to be in your presence like always!"

"What did I say about the brownnosing?" Black Rutile shut Navy up before the message ended, then she turned to her minions. "Holly Blue, 1J9G, keep Lars of the Stars away from Earth no matter the cost."

"Understood my Rutile." Holly Blue obliged with her master's salute. "Come along terraformer."

"Really, we're going all this way just to get revenge on Steven?" Lapis 1J9G snarked. "You know, we don't have to make all these super complicated plans, we can just go down and kill everyone."

"Bite your tongue Lapis!" Holly barked at the Lapis Lazuli. "Is that the way you want to speak about someone who promised you your friend back?"

"No your clarity!" 1J9G squeaked in fear of the Agate's terror.

"Very good." Holly Blue replied pleasantly. "Now, let's return to Homeworld."

As the pair of blue Gems departed, 1J9G looked back at Black Rutile with a sneer while the alliance was being unknowingly watched.

The Light Prism George let out a gasp at what he just witnessed and began speaking in Gem Glyph to his fellow Prisms, who had now taken forms similar to his own. The three of them nodded, knowing just who to call.

Meanwhile, back on Homeworld, Lars and Hessonite had finally escaped the mob of furious Gems and found themselves standing before a pair of large doors at a tower.

"Welcome to my lair, Lars." Hessonite declared as she placed her palm on a scanner that allowed her entrance into the room. At the top of the steps was a large & elaborate computer system, along with the Off-Colors, Squaridot, and Citrine all waiting for the pair's return. "This was once Yellow Diamond's bubbling chamber before Era 3, and I've heavily repurposed it to suit my vigilante needs."

"Lars, you're back!" Rhodonite cried, and the Off-Colors all gave Lars a big hug as soon as he reached the top of the steps.

"Lars is coming back!" Padparadscha cheered.

"So, what's the situation like out there?" the right Rutile asked Lars as he took a seat at a workbench covered with gadgets either being built or fixed.

"It's worse than what Hessonite led us to believe." Lars muttered. "Black Rutile has brainwashed so many Gems into thinking Steven is the bad guy by using that Zircon's presidential campaign as a mouthpiece for her beliefs. And remember Morganite? She's one of her supporters."

"Are you serious?!" Rhodonite exclaimed in shock, since the last time she met her former superior, Morganite seemed so ambivalent towards Era 3. "I could never forgive her for how she treated us, but this is just going too far!"

"My thoughts exactly." Lars agreed. "Morganite gave a big speech about how the Crystal Gems are even more oppressive than the Diamonds were, but I took to the stage to argue against her claims. And then came a message from Black Rutile."

"What was she like?" Fluorite asked the undead human.

"She seemed so condescending, yet utterly monstrous at the same time." Lars answered. "When Black Rutile ended her message, all the Gems at the auditorium started chanting about their support for her. It's almost like those fascist regimes I read about."

"Holy revolution Lars!" Squaridot cried out. "We must warn someone, pronto!"

As Lars continued discussing the events at Igneous Square, Hessonite sat down at her massive computer and began putting down her findings on the screen before calling up Blue Zircon. "Zircon, this is Hessonite."

"Hessonite, glad to hear from you." Blue Zircon greeted the Garnet. "How's your investigation of my opponent going?"

"I had a little help exposing her." Hessonite stated, turning her screen to focus on Lars a bit. "This human and his Off-Color friends were at Spaceport Epsilon when their vessel, the Sun Incinerator, was hijacked by its former owner Emerald. Now I've enlisted them in helping me stop Black Rutile, and even had Lars accompany me to Igneous Square where Morganite made a speech at Yellow Zircon's conference."

"What were you two able to gather?" Blue Zircon asked.

"She turned out to be merely a puppet for Black Rutile's syndicate through the installation of a navel-Gem Ruby as her campaign manager." Hessonite continued with her findings before another message came through. "One second, have to take this." She tapped on the new message, which came out as a series of symbols that seemed unrecognizable to Lars when he took his place by Hessonite's side.

"What is that?" Lars asked, gazing at what he believed to be gibberish.

"It's Gem Glyph, the language of our people. Allow me to translate." Hessonite answered. "FROM GEORGE. SOS, PYROPE, AND DEMANTOID ESCAPED. BLACK RUTILE AND OTHER GEMS BROKE THEM OUT OF PALACE OF LIGHT. PLEASE SEND-, and then it just stops. Like the writer was captured before they could finish."

"Uh, one question." Lars said. "Who's George, and who are those Gems he's talking about?"

"George is what your friend Steven calls one of the Light Prisms that formerly belonged to yours truly." Hessonite answered as she stood up from her chair. "And Pyrope and Demantoid are a pair of high-ranking Garnets much like I who owned two other Light Prisms, before Steven confiscated them and we defeated the pair. It seems Black Rutile has recruited them into her alliance." Then she turned to Blue Zircon. "Zircon, send a warning to Steven!"

"I'm sorry Hessonite, but it seems my communication line to Earth has been compromised!" Blue Zircon exclaimed nervously. "How can we possibly warn the Crystal Gems now?!"

"Simple," Lars answered courageously. "we go back to Earth."

"You all can go ahead, I'll hunt down Ruby and Morganite." Citrine announced.

"Right, good luck out there big guy." Lars agreed before Citrine hugged him. "And thanks for the hug, but can you let me go?"

Later, Lars and the team returned to the spaceport where the Sun Incinerator was once in to search for another ship. "Where do we find a ship now?" Squaridot asked hurriedly.

"Simple, we take mine." Hessonite answered as she pointed to her warship, a large, orange inverted pyramid that stood tall and proud over all the others. At least, until it was destroyed by a saw blade made of water that instantly cut the ship in half.

"Oops, sorry about your ship!" Lapis 1J9G called from above with a laugh. "But seriously, I'm being forced to do this because my boss loves to make everything super-complex."

"Now what do we do?" Rhodonite asked nervously while the terraformer flew off.

"Easy, we take another ship." Hessonite instantly formed another plan and dashed to a different vessel parked nearby.

It was a green spaceship that was in the shape of a massive octahedron and had four long, claw-like prongs extending from all four sides. Lars instantly recognized this other ship as the Destiny Destroyer, the one that Emerald used to chase him and the Off-Colors after they stole the Sun Incinerator.

"So, taking another one of Emerald's ships, huh?" Lars wondered. "Ah, just like the old days when Emerald was after our heads, eh gang?"

"We are going to steal the Destiny Destroyer!" Padparadscha answered while everyone boarded Emerald's warship, all except Citrine, who had already volunteered to remain on Homeworld.

"Stay safe there Citrine." Lars promised Citrine before he went inside to pilot the ship out of Homeworld.

"Godspeed Lars of the Stars." Citrine replied as the Destiny Destroyer finally took off and left the planet. "There goes one of the bravest creatures I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."

"Where is he?!" Citrine heard Holly Blue scream as she, Morganite, Navy, and a squad of Gem guards stormed Spaceport Epsilon in search of Lars. "You, Citrine, where is Lars?!"

"Lars isn't here right now." Citrine answered sardonically as she summoned her weapon from the gem on her stomach, a massive war hammer. "But if you'd like, I'll tell them you said hi and you give up."

"Well, it seems you finally caught us." Morganite announced as she put up her hands. "Go ahead, cuff us all."

"Quit acting so defeatist, our old ways are on the line here!" Holly Blue yelled before summoning her whip. "Now, any last words before I execute you for defying our master?!"

With an uncomfortable twitch in her eye, Citrine dropped her hammer and spread out her arms. "Go ahead." She snarled. "Bring it on."

"You really believed you can try to stop us little Prism?" Pyrope cooed mockingly to the three captive Light Prisms on Black Rutile's dropship. "Once we get rid of Steven once and for all, we'll use you three to raze everything he loves to the ground, and you'll be utterly powerless to stop us."

While the other two Light Prisms hugged each other in fear, George bravely took a stand against the Garnet, and yelled some form of retort in Gem Glyph.

"Oh keep quiet you." Pyrope shut George down immediately before turning away from the Prisms to meet Demantoid, who had now received perfect replicas of her former limb enhancers. "And how are you doing Demantoid?"

"Splendidly!" Demantoid exclaimed. "I feel like we've never met Steven to begin with!"

"Yes, you can compliment me for recreating your limb enhancers later." Black Rutile said to Demantoid. "Right now, I've set a course for one of your old colonies because I require your Peridots and Bismuths for a special task."

"What kind of task?" Demantoid asked while the dropship settled down on a planet covered with green hi-tech structures.

"You shall see." Black Rutile said as she, Demantoid, Pyrope, White Topaz, Eyeball, and Aquamarine disembarked to greet some Peridots and Bismuths nearby. "Salutations worker Gems!" she energetically greeted them. "Have I got an offer you certainly can't refuse."

"Demantoid?" one of the Peridots gasped at the sight of her former superior. "But we were told the Crystal Gems stopped you!"

"Well, you were wrong." Demantoid stated. "Black Rutile here has broken me and Pyrope out, and now we've joined her for revenge!"

"We have come to this little planet because we want you." Aquamarine announced. "We need more soldiers for our army, and you have the perfect amount of brains & brawn for the job."

"Fat chance you uppercrusts!" One of the Bismuths yelled as she stepped forward. "Steven would never allow you to control anyone in this era!"

"That's because this era will soon be over!" Black Rutile argued with the Bismuth. "Once I am in power, I will be the sole ruler of all Gemkind! You really think this is any way to talk back to your future empress?!"

"Oh, they will find out about this." The Bismuth said, quietly angering Black Rutile. "And they will stop you no matter what."

Black Rutile was utterly enraged at this kind of rebellion, but she kept a cool head even as she pulled a bowie knife from her gem and held it at the Bismuth's gem. Then suddenly, as if a completely different Gem replaced her, Black Rutile abruptly stabbed that Bismuth in the gem on her chest, and slowly scraped it down her gem while the Bismuth screeched in pain. When Black Rutile removed her knife, the Bismuth's form split in half just like her gem before she was finally shattered.

"Get rid of her remains." Black Rutile ruthlessly commanded to the frightened masses. As another Bismuth picked up her coworker's remains, Black Rutile turned to the other worker Gems. "Now let me repeat myself. I have an offer you most certainly can't refuse!" she said to the Peridots and Bismuth with cheer like she didn't just sadistically shatter another Gem. "Are you with me?"

"We're with you." Demantoid's terrified subordinates muttered.

"I can't hear you." Black Rutile insisted.

"We're with you!" the scared Gems repeated much louder than before.

"Peridots?" Black Rutile then asked the Peridots.

"We're with you!"

"Bismuths?" Black Rutile asked the surviving Bismuths.

"We're with you."

"And what about you?" Black Rutile said to the Bismuth she just shattered with her knife. "Oh right, shattered!" Then she started giving out orders. "Topaz, I need you with me to find more recruits. Aquamarine, Ruby, keep watch over our new recruits." She once again turned back to the Peridots. "And I got a few questions for you."

"What do you mean Rutile?" one of the Peridots with her gem on her chest asked.

"First off, can you call me "my Rutile" from here on out?" Black Rutile commanded. "Second, what's a Gem gotta do to find some corrupted Gems in this era? And three," She reached for her gem and pulled out a massive bubble containing various chunks of Cactus Steven. "what can you do with these?"

At long last, Lars, the Off-Colors, Hessonite, and Squaridot had left Homeworld via the Destiny Destroyer, ready to jump to hyperspeed, return to Earth and warn Steven of Black Rutile's plans.

"Ugh, I'm pooped!" Lars groaned as he slumped back in the captain's chair. "Think when we get to Earth, I'll go back to my old house and take a nice long nap before we save the planet and then head back into space."

"It would be nice to see Earth again, without threatening its existence though." Hessonite smirked, gazing out at the infinite sea of stars, planets, comets, and all sorts of cosmic scenery. "How about any of you?"

"Uh captains, we have a problem!" Rhodonite yelped as she stared at the radar screen. "It's the Sun Incinerator, and it's shooting right at us!"

"Emerald!" Lars grumbled as he pounded his fist on the armrest. "Come out and fight like the so-called commander you call yourself!"

A viewing screen turned on, allowing the team to see Emerald, sadistically excited to finally get her revenge. "How are you Off-Colors, now that you're on your way to destruction?"

"You won't take us down Emerald!" Lars bravely declared.

"Famous last words human filth." Emerald responded hatefully. "I've been begging, no, pleading to get my vengeance only for Steven to heartlessly take it away from me with his dumb little Era 3! Well, once Black Rutile is in power, she will render all of this era's laws null and void in favor of returning the Gems to the terrifying conquerors they were born to be!"

"Fat chance One-Eyed Jerk!" Squaridot cried out before she suddenly realized the hypocrisy of her retort.

"Engines to hyperspeed, quick!" Lars commanded his crew.

"Already on it Lars." Fluorite announced as she retreated to the engine room.

"We are under attack by Emerald, but we shall win!" Padparadscha declared eagerly.

The Destiny Destroyer's thrusters burned brightly as the ship prepared to leave the space above Homeworld and make a break for Earth, leaving the Sun Incinerator in the dust.

"Oh no, you don't!" Emerald yelled, forcing her ship to go into hyperspeed as well in hot pursuit.

The chase soon began in hyperspace, with Emerald continuing to pursue her purloined Destiny Destroyer while Lars and his crew were set on their path to Earth.

"Keep firing!" Emerald yelled, commanding her subordinates to fire her ship's blasters.

"Do a barrel roll!" Lars yelled in response.

"I'm sorry, a what now?" the Rutiles wondered in unison.

"You know, like in the video games!" Lars added. The Rutiles quickly caught onto this and began spinning the ship in a perfect circle.

"Actually, I don't believe that qualified as a barrel roll." Hessonite snidely corrected. "It seemed to me more like a-"

"Can't let you do that Hessonite!" Lars interrupted the orange Gem in a thick accent.

"Do what?" Hessonite replied.

"Ruin the joke." Lars answered. "Turn this around and start firing!"

With that, the Destiny Destroyer was flipped around to face the Sun Incinerator and began firing from its prongs.

The Sun Incinerator began to sustain heavy damage, much to Emerald's fury, and she gave another command to her subordinates. "RAIN FIRE!"

"But my Emerald, your Destroyer!" one of the Citrines serving as a part of Emerald's crew replied fearfully.

"JUST DO IT!" Emerald roared. The Citrines did as they were told and fired the Incinerator's blasters at the Destroyer, now causing the enemy ship to start falling apart as well.

"She's falling apart!" Lars cried as alarms sounded, signaling that the Destiny Destroyer didn't have much time left. "How much longer till we leave hyperspace?!"

"We've just arrived at our destination!" Squaridot yelled when the Destiny Destroyer finally left hyperspace and now hovered close to the planet Earth. "And good timing too, this ship is gonna fall apart!"

With not much time left till the Destiny Destroyer's destiny is to be destroyed, Lars thought up a plan right on the spot. "Everyone in my hair!"

"Come again?" Hessonite asked, one half of her monobrow raised.

"My hair's like a portal, and on the other end there's a lion Steven owns who's been brought back to life with powers like mine!" Lars explained. "But I think we're all gonna have to get in one at a time, so fusions are out of the picture!"

"You got it." Fluorite replied as she de-fused into Titanite, Lavender Jade, Iolite, Rubellite, Indicolite, and Verdelite, who all dove into Lars's hair.

"Don't forget us!" Rhodonite said as she de-fused into her Ruby and Pearl, who got into Lars's hair next.

"I wonder how this even works." Squaridot wondered just as Hessonite grabbed her and shoved her into the hairy portal. "Hey, quit it!"

"Lars has made an unorthodox plan to escape Emerald!" Padparadscha yelled while Hessonite grabbed her under her arm and dove in after Squaridot.

"What about you Lars?" the left Rutile asked, sticking her hand in Lars's hair.

"I'll cover things from here, just find Steven on the other end if he's nearby!" Lars ordered.

"Okay, be safe." The right Rutile said before both twins fully dove into the portal, leaving Lars as the only one onboard the Destiny Destroyer as he slowly stepped forward. Just then, Emerald showed up on the viewscreen.

"Any last words before I finally destroy you, Lars?" Emerald grinned maliciously.

"Yes, yes I do." Lars declared, glancing at a big red button that really stuck out from the rest of the green ship, and then looking back at Emerald with a smirk. "Hope you don't mind losing another ship!"

And so, Lars punched the button, causing the alarms to sound. "WARNING, SELF DESTRUCT SYSTEM ACTIVATED!" an automated voice declared. "PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND PROCEED TO THE ESCAPE PODS!"

"No, what are you doing?!" Emerald shrieked in terror at what was in store for her beloved ship.

"Saving the universe, that's what!" Lars declared before he shut his eyes and dropped to his knees. "Sadie, Shep, Mom and Dad, Steven, everyone." He whispered to himself. "I'm sorry."

With that, the Destiny Destroyer finally detonated, and its remains began careening towards Earth's surface. As Emerald watched from her prized Incinerator, she went ballistic. "NOOOOOO! YOU MAY HAVE OUTSMARTED ME AGAIN LARS, BUT I STILL HAVE THE SUN INCINERATOR!" she screamed angrily while her Citrines stared awkwardly at her. "Mourn with me!"

"Emerald!" Black Rutile yelled as her hologram appeared behind her green subordinate, giving her a scare. "I've been watching the entire battle. You almost had Lars right there, but then he had to press the self-destruct button!"

"I apologize my Rutile, please forgive me!" Emerald bowed for her black-colored master.

"Eh, you win some, you lose some." Black Rutile rolled her eyes. "Head to my current location at once. It's finally time."

"Yes, master." Emerald nodded in compliance as the hologram disappeared. "At long last, vengeance will be mine."

After the Destiny Destroyer began falling to Earth, everything else was but a blur to Lars. All he could remember were all his friends from Beach City gathering around the wreckage before being taken away somewhere.

As he slowly opened his eyes, he could barely make out four people standing by him in a hospital bed.

"Astounding, his heart rate has slowed dramatically, but he is still alive!" the muffled voice of a doctor exclaimed in astonishment. "Also, is the pink skin something he had all his life?"

"No doctor, it's been a thing for almost three years now." Lars's mother Martha answered. "I think it all started when he was abducted by aliens."

"S-Steven. Steven." Lars groaned lethargically as he fruitlessly reached out his hands for Steven. "Steven!"

"Doc, I think he's coming to!" Sadie yelled.

"Lars!" Dante Barriga exclaimed as he and his wife raced to their son's side. "Please, give us a sign that you're all right!"

"Steven, need Steven!" Lars cried out as he tried to get up out of bed.

"Mr. Barriga, please remain in your bed!" the doctor advised Lars. "You thankfully suffered no serious injuries, but you've just woken up from a coma sustained from that crash!"

"No, I think he's trying to tell us something!" Shep stated as they kept Lars stuck in his hospital bed. "You want to see Steven, right?"

"I need Steven, he in big trouble!" Lars replied, slowly beginning to regain some grasp of his words just as a nurse came in.

"Doctor Laurie, our patient has one more visitor." The nurse told the doctor. "He said a bunch of "Off-Colors" told him everything."

"I'm here Lars!" Steven exclaimed as he rushed into the hospital room to be by Lars's side. "Hessonite and the Off-Colors told me what happened when they came flying out of Lion's mane!"

"Steven, finally!" Lars cried happily as he grabbed Steven's shoulders. "Listen, I need to warn you! You and the entire planet are doomed!"

Meanwhile, as men in black suits began cleaning up the Destiny Destroyer's remains and taking them away for further inspection, the Sun Incinerator zoomed past Beach City, now with Black Rutile, White Topaz, Aquamarine, Eyeball, Lapis 1J9G, Demantoid & Pyrope, some Peridots and an army of cybernetically-enhanced Cactus Stevens on board.

"My Rutile, I've got bad news!" Eyeball exclaimed as she got reports back from Homeworld. "It's about our forces back on Homeworld. Holly Blue and Morganite have successfully been detained by a Citrine in league with Hessonite."

"Is that so?" Black Rutile wondered while she sat in a meditative pose, examining all the data she had collected on Steven and the Crystal Gems. "Well, they weren't going to be useful to me until further notice anyway." She got back to looking at all her data and began deleting what she found to be useless. Most of them involved Ronaldo. "Seriously, why do they keep hanging out with this human if he's such an irritating rat?!"

"My Rutile, we are en route to the Alpha Kindergarten and Facet Five." One of the Peridots announced. "There, you will find the Cluster Gems you seek."

"Excellent." Black Rutile replied, steepling her fingers together before she stood up. "My friends, our finest hour will soon be upon us. Once we have enough fodder to terminate the Crystal Gems, our next stop will be returning to Homeworld, where we shall overthrow the Diamonds and take their empire for ourselves."

"Yeah!" Aquamarine, Eyeball, Emerald, Demantoid, and Pyrope cheered. White Topaz was very unsure of herself while 1J9G just rolled her eyes irritatedly.

"We're here." Black Rutile added as the Incinerator finally touched down in the Alpha Kindergarten, and she disembarked from the ship. "Ah, reminds me of the Zeta Kindergarten where I first emerged. So many memories of far happier times. Now tell me, where is the control room?"

"It should be nearby." A Peridot announced as she used a GPS on her screens to guide the rebellious Gems through the Kindergarten until they discovered a green elevator pad that led them straight down to a large, green hexagonal room. "We have arrived."

"Finally." Black Rutile muttered as she looked around at the tube-like structures littered about the control room. Poking one of them with her bowie knife, the tube began to shake a bit before it began growing into a strange Gem monster with multiple limbs that had a gemstone made from the shattered remains of other Gems. "It's alive! Alive!" she gasped excitedly. "Everyone, wake them all up!"

"Uh, are you sure boss?" White Topaz stuttered, insanely unnerved at the creepy atmosphere of the control room. "I think I'll just wait back at the ship with those cactus things."

"You are not leaving us, you coward." Aquamarine barked, holding White Topaz back with her newly reclaimed wand. "You will assist us in awakening these experiments so we can use them against Steven! Are we clear?!"

"Yes ma'am." White Topaz replied meekly and got to work on awakening the other Cluster Gems.

"Hey, I'm just as scared as you are Topaz." 1J9G said to White Topaz. "I'm only here so I can get back at Steven for taking my friends away, so I'm not that interested in the boss's psycho vendetta either."

Soon, more and more Cluster Gems began to awaken from their slumber, feebly grasping at their captors while their gems projected other Gems in pain. And Black Rutile was utterly excited to see them all.

"Yes, yes!" Black Rutile cheered, her cries of joy echoing throughout the control room. "THEY'RE ALL ALIVE!"

And so it begins. This was quite probably the longest chapter of Alternate Future I've written yet, and I'm definitely quite proud of it. Was Black Rutile to your liking folks? Was she evil enough yet still had some form of a point? Well, I hope you're excited to see more of her as she takes center stage in the final chapter of Part 2, Enemy of my Enemy! After that, I'll be going on another hiatus. But when we meet again for Part 3, I've got tons more where that came from!

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destieltropecollection · 4 years

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Destiel Trope Collection 2020 Day 10: Enemies to Lovers

It's a Match! | @suckerfordeansfreckles

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 2015 Main Tags/Warnings: pining, online dating, getting together Summary: Dean has seen the guy a handful of times, mostly at Charlie’s parties or when out and about with her — it’s only been six times that Dean is aware of, actually. Not that he counted. Well. He did, maybe, count a little. But that’s only because the guy is seriously gorgeous, and also seems to seriously hate Dean. Like, frowns and dark stares and leaving the room when Dean enters it. And that is most definitely the only reason why Dean keeps track of their meetings. It has nothing to do with the fact that, for whatever stupid reason, Dean feels all fuzzy and happy and warm around this stupid, scruffy, handsome, dark-haired and blue-eyed Cas-guy. Something about him just… does things to Dean’s head.

In The Ballroom | @gii-heylittleangel

Rating: General Word Count: 2594 Main Tags/Warnings: lovers to enemies to lovers, broken relationship, getting back together, false mentions of cheating Summary: The high school dance was useless in Castiel's opinion; there was nothing to do, people were incredibly annoying, and he would be alone. But, having Charlie Bradbury as his best friend, he had no choice but to go; after all, there was a tiny chance he would get tacos after the party. Castiel did not get tacos but he got something a lot better.

Ring a Bell for the Righteous Man | @pray4jensen

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3003 Main Tags/Warnings: Enemies to Lovers, Royalty/Fantasy AU, Soul Bond, Marriage, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dubious Consent Summary: An hour passes and the prince doesn't bed him. Dean thinks that maybe the prince doesn't have any intention of doing it at all, and if that's the case, it'll be Dean who'll face the consequences. So, thumbing a finger down the length of Cas' wings, Dean taunts, ""I thought you promised Lord Alastair that I wouldn't be able to walk, your highness."" Dean pauses. ""Are you doubting yourself, my lord?""

Addicted | @verobatto-angelxhunter

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3671 Main Tags/Warnings: Season 4/5 canon divergent, Destiel, slow burn, Badass! Castiel, first kiss, first time, explicit sexual content, canon typical violence. Summary: Dean can't get Castiel out of his mind. Everytime the angel is in front of him, is hypnotizing. He needs to know what is going on with him. Why Castiel is so irresistible? And why he feels that empty everytime the angel isn't near him.

the light of falling stars | @procasdeanating

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4980 Main Tags/Warnings: Alien!Cas, wing fic, inspired by a movie (enemy mine) Summary: … when Lieutenant Dean Winchester and the two ships under his command engaged in combat with a Seraph squadron. Two army ships were destroyed, while one fighter, presumably Lt. Winchester’s, made a forced landing on a nearby uninhabited class D planet after triggering the emergency protocol. The ongoing search has not produced conclusive results. Lt. Winchester is classified as missing in action…

First Impressions | @suckerfordeansfreckles

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 7254 Main Tags/Warnings: hospital AU, ftm trans Cas, top surgery, mentions of medical stuff, sharing a room Summary: When Cas wakes for the first time after his surgery, there’s sunlight tentatively streaming through the window to his right. It takes him a while of uncoordinated blinking and thinking until he realizes where he is, why he’s here. And then the giddiness comes, sudden and overwhelming, when he looks down at his chest and there is none. The reality is almost too much to grasp and his hands shake a little when he tries to raise them to touch. He's happy, and giddy, and so thankful. And then a nurse wheels in his new roommate, one very obnoxious and flirty Mr. Winchester. Cas just... cannot wait to watch all of this play out.

The Galaxy's Most Wanted | @saltnhalo

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 10160 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Space Pirates, Enemies to Lovers, Blow Jobs, Frottage, Angry Sex, Sexual Tension Summary: Dean had been the one always up to mischief, running around with his father’s broken laser pistol and constantly getting into places he shouldn’t have been. Sam, in comparison, always seemed to be the smart, studious one – until he reprogrammed the AI in their neighbours’ house to play ‘Happy Birthday’ at the loudest possible volume while keeping all the doors and windows firmly locked. It had taken two experts seven hours to undo the coding that Sam had managed to integrate into the house’s programming. So, yes. They had been exceptional even from the beginning. And when John Winchester crossed one too many people, his sons inherited his beloved ship, and took to the cosmos doing what they knew best: stealing. And they were damn good at it too. Almost unrivalled, across their own galaxy and even those neighbouring. Almost.

Love Thy Enemy | @gii-heylittleangel

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 11887 Main Tags/Warnings: revenge planning, use of guns, major characters injury Summary: After being betrayed by the Men of Letters, Dean makes the most stupid, idiotic, and best decision of his life: ask Castiel Novak, his long time enemy, for help.

The Quest for the Demon King's Heart | @cr-noble-writes

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 12500 Main Tags/Warnings: fantasy au, demon king!dean, wood elf!cas, enemies to lovers, mutual pining, minor character death, major character injury, angry sex, angst with a happy ending Summary: In a fantasy land, Dean, the Demon King, goes to a distant guild to take a break from evil, where he meets a young adventurer, Castiel, on a quest to slay the Demon King. For fun, Dean helps and protects the adventurer, and affection grows between them. Then, they arrive at the gates of his castle.

A Virgin to Redeem the Billionaire | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 16660 Main Tags/Warnings: Manipulation, Emotional Manipulation, blackmailing someone into a relationship, Mentions of drug selling (not Destiel), Mentions of cheating (not Destiel), virgin!cas Summary: When Castiel meets Dean Winchester, the other man seems to be a real asshole. So it doesn’t surprise him, when Dean shows up again and this time blackmails Castiel in a horrible way. Castiel agrees to be his boyfriend, only to protect his family, but along the way he actually falls for Dean.

The Bakery | @dates-with-cas

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 41075 Main Tags/Warnings: angst with a happy ending, offscreen character death, enemies to lovers, workplace sex, semi-public sex, attempted rape/non-con, mentions of past sexual abuse, alcohol as a coping mechanism, sex as a coping mechanism, sex in a kitchen, unresolved past trauma, top!Cas, bottom!Dean Summary: Dean Winchester loves his job, and he's thrilled to have his boss' brother coming in to work over the holidays, that is until he meets Castiel Novak for himself. The man is picky, grouchy, and absolutely fucking gorgeous.

The Path Between the Stars | zaphodsgirl (AO3)

Rating: Mature Word Count: 53111 Main Tags/Warnings: AU - Labyrinth Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Minor Character Death Summary: It's been almost fifteen years since Dean met the enigmatic goblin king, Castiel. After failing to complete the labyrinth with Sam to save baby Adam, Dean is forced to make a deal to secure their freedom. Five years ago he finally gave in to the feelings he’d been keeping at bay for some time, only for Castiel to disappear from his life completely without a word. When Dean relays the story of the labyrinth to Sam's girlfriend Eileen, an opportunity presents itself for him to get some answers...and maybe have a second chance at something he hadn't dared to believe was real.

Of Twists and Turns | @kitmistry

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 75080 Main Tags/Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Pirate AU, Implied Drug Use, Minor Character Death, Amputation, Sea Monsters, Hunter Dean Summary: When naval surgeon Castiel Novak is captured by the Black Impala pirates, he has no choice but to agree to their terms: He is to serve on their ship for a whole year before they release him. That doesn’t mean he is going to like it, though. Especially when their captain is the embodiment of everything Castiel despises. Determined to earn his freedom, Castiel settles into the life of an outlaw. When the pirates’ true goal is revealed, though, he can no longer deny that things are not as black and white as he thought they were. And he can’t deny how drawn he is to Captain Winchester either.

Sovereign | @pomegranatedaffodil

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 87974 Main Tags/Warnings: Arranged Marriage, Hate to Love, Fantasy AU, Royalty AU, Virgin Castiel, Switching, Slow Burn, Minor Injuries Summary: When his brother embarks on a risky venture, Prince Dean of Pellia’s only choice is to enter into a marriage with the king of Arxelle in order to save Sam’s life as well as his own. King Castiel is severe, aloof, and no more happy about their hasty wedding than Dean. Marital bliss is the last state either of them expects to reach, but as Dean spends more time in his new home, he and Castiel slowly begin to settle into a partnership that allows them to put the needs of their kingdom before their own feelings. The longer they spend together, though, the more those feelings develop, daring them both to wonder if they might ever be husbands in more than just name.

Shot Through The Heart | @peanutbutterjelly-pie

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 156327 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe, Men of Letters, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Humor, Case Fic, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Bottom Dean Summary: As a hunter Dean finds himself more often than not relying on the help of the Men of Letters. Most of the time that's not much of a problem - if it wasn't for Castiel, the smartass bookworm with the piercing blue eyes, the messy hair and the rude attitude. He's been an annoying thorn in Dean's side since day one - and the hunter doesn't see that change anytime soon.

#destiel trope collection 2020 #destiel trope collection #destiel #enemies to lovers #day 10

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josmarney23 · 3 years

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Miraculous Ladybug: Future Madness

Ok....So ... I've been thinking about this idea for a long time and it would be the first time I published a concrete and concise idea like this, even more so for a very direct fandom such as the Miraculous Ladybug fandom. It should be clarified that this is an IDEA or CONCEPT, it is not something real.

Making that clear, I continue to continue.

This idea for a video game based on the Miraculous Ladybug universe came up while I was trying to remaster the TMNT: Turtles In Time soundtrack (the Arcade version, not the SNES version).

At first I started as a very basic idea but then it evolved to the concept that I want to share with you, but before continuing, I must first divide the content into parts, to better understand how I imagine a Miraculous Ladybug video game would be.

1. THE GAMEPLAY:

Introducing you to my crazy idea, we have the most important and crucial thing, the gameplay.

This video game, from my perspective, I feel that it would be a Beat 'Em Up, a classic genre of games like Streets Of Rage, Final Fight, Kunio-Kun Saga, Double Dragon, etc. Its specific gameplay would drink a lot from the aforementioned games but would also add mechanics such as, for example, the semi-3D scenes of TMNT: Turtles In Time from the SNES and a bit of the gameplay of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs.

The number of players would be 4 for a maximum of 4 characters and among the main controllable characters would be:

-Marinette (Ladybug)

-Adrien (Chat Noir)

-Kagami (Ryuko)

-Nino (Carapace)

Later, more playable characters and surprises would be unlocked.

The scenarios would have to be a little more elaborate and long than the average Beat 'Em Up, to encourage exploration but without too much open world, to find a balance between the old arcade gameplay Beat' Em Up and the new exploration sensation of the more Recent Beat 'Em Up like Streets Of Rage 4 or River City Girls.

2. THE HISTORY:

The story is why I really do this blog and this idea, since, as I said previously, it was something that evolved over time and now it is somewhat complex.

To sum up the whole general plot, the game begins with the player controlling Ladybug and her friends (Chat Noir, Carapace and Ryuko) to fight Lila and Shadowmoth (Before Hawkmoth) and the army of minions that Lila is creating with her powers of Volpina to wreak havoc and keep the heroes busy, as well as separated so she can have a chance to get hold of the Miraculous from Ladybug and Chat Noir.

The player finishes the introductory level and defeats these two bosses while getting used to the gameplay. Once Shadowmoth is defeated along with Lila, the heroes are about to unmask our villain but then a time portal appears and a very badly wounded Bunnyx and a mysterious villain who has the same powers as Shadowmoth but still leaves almost flying. notorious much stronger than the mentioned one. The villain shows her strength despite being very hurt, making it clear how strong she is, in order to take Bunnyx through the portal. The heroes chase the villain through the portal to end up in an alternate universe / future where this villain controls Paris from the shadows, with her akumas powered by microtechnology that allow her to keep akumatized who will be the game's zone bosses.

The heroes thus, would meet the very limited and small resistance whose leaders would be a mysterious heroine who would call herself "Savage Rouge" and an aging Gabriel Agreste. After some somewhat limited and mysterious explanations, the heroes would go to work to defeat each boss who controls an area of the City of Paris.

While the player defeats each boss and deakumatizes them, little by little it is discovered that each boss is actually a friend and acquaintance of our heroes and they are discovering little by little things of this alternate future, the mysterious villain, Lady Darkmoth, as they know her, is healing her wounds and gaining more energy in her secret and private laboratory while her two mysterious assistants are taking care that the " government "of his lady and boss does not fall apart.

Once the heroes have managed to free almost all of Paris from the control of Lady Darkmoth, the heroes in their hiding place of the resistance are celebrating without knowing that one of their friends has a tracker that reveals the location to the villain, to top it off the mysterious villain is already completely healthy and with more power than before. Lady Darkmoth takes advantage of the fact that everyone is celebrating the victory to give a wild surprise with hers, two mysterious helpers of hers. Lady Darkmoth sends her assistants to take care of the resistance members and who were deakumatized while Lady Darkmoth takes care of Ladybug, Chat Noir, Carapace, Kagami, Savage Rouge, Gabriel Agreste and Emilie Di Vanille (who in this alternate future has been saved and awakened by Ladybug and has separated from Gabriel Agreste), defeating everyone with great ease, being only Emilie, Lila and Gabriel who end up giving her the most fight but defeating them in the end. Lady Darkmoth reveals to heroes the truth about who Gabriel Agreste is and reveals the identity of Savage Rouge, being neither more nor less than Lila Rossi. After that she would reveal her true identity, Emma Duppain-Agreste, the middle daughter of Marinette Duppain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste.

Emma would charge a powerful attack with which she would destroy the base of the resistance, taking with her Gabriel, Emilie and Lila, thinking that with her great charged attack she managed to kill the heroes, who have been narrowly saved.

The heroes and the rebels who were left alive decide to go to the secret facilities following the villain, taking advantage of a trace that the villain's power generates and that they have just discovered to their secret laboratories, waging a tough battle against the huge arsenal of sentimonsters modified with Futuristic technology that Emma has at her disposal. There the heroes manage to enter the depths of the secret laboratory and free Gabriel, Alyx, Lila and Emilie, Lila being the only conscious one and which explains that Emma became the villain they know because of the Marinette of the future. denied her middle daughter being a superhero for fear that all her children could end up hurt or even traumatized as she suffered with that stressful life, taking it to somewhat radical extremes that ended up taking Emma away from her mother and causing her to she became more friends with Lila, which little by little would end up giving her the wrong ideas. Lila would tell them that Emma would end up misinterpreting an advice that she would give to a very moody and angry Emma and would end up attacking her parents when they were off guard, thereby assuming the blame as well and that for that she had taken the mantle of Savage Rouge , to at least try to repair the damage, freeing Gabriel Agreste from jail so that he could also help him by his knowledge of the Miraculous. After the explanation, the heroes go to try to defeat Emma before she carries out her plan to expand her control to more cities in the world but in it they face the mysterious helpers who turn out to be crazed and adult versions of Marinette and Adrien, which were used by Emma as guinea pigs to perfect her mecha akumas to control people by way of revenge.

The heroes finally arrive with Emma and fight her but in the middle of the first fight Emma cheats using an unfinished special machine to greatly weaken the heroes until Lila intervenes and sacrifices herself to expose the weak point of the girl. Emma's machine and dies, causing the heroes to overcome the final battle, defeating the young villain, who survives weakened and Ladybug and her friends destroy the laboratory while taking Emma and the others who were inside the laboratory. Emma is imprisoned for life like Gabriel (who must pay her perpetual sentence). Ladybug and the heroes are dedicated to helping rebuild the Paris of the alternate future but are later taken by a Bunnyx recovered in time, but not before Marinette writing on a paper what mistakes she should not make in the future (without revealing much of his alternate future or what he has experienced in the game). Bunnyx takes them back in time after erasing them all from her memory and ends the story.

Yes, yes, I know, the story is very long, but that does not prevent it from being used in a game and even more so in a Beat 'Em Up game. It would just be a matter of simplifying a few things. Let me know in the comments if you like the story or your suggestions.

3. THE MUSIC:

The music would have to be a fusion of styles that would be based on the musical style of the TMNT game: Turtles In Time (Arcade Version) with some musical ideas from some games like Sega's Out Run (Arcade) or some works by composer Luke McQueen.

Here is some of his best works:

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(This will be a perfect Older Akumatized Chloe Level)

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(Older Akumatized Chloe Boss Theme or Theme 2)

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(This Would be a Perfect Akumatized Older Luka Boss Theme)

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(This will be a Cementary Level Theme)

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(This will be a perfect Police Station Theme Level)

4. UNLOCKABLE EXTRAS:

For this part, I got to think about what I could put as unlockable content (I don't like DLC, I prefer unlockable content and that the game is worth the money it demands). These would be the unlockables of my hypothetical game:

-Unlock characters and kwamis for heroes but post-campaign (New Game +)

-Small Playable Campaign where we explore the perspective of Gabriel, Lila and two rebellious characters that in the future will end up becoming the Ladybug and Chat Noir.

-An art gallery where you can see the concept arts of the series and the video game.

-Small Playable Campaign where we can play as Emma Agreste when she tries to be Ladybug (part of the story that tells you different characters in the base campaign) and her friends, who only two survived to be akumatized in the future by Emma, the other he died and was a major factor in Emma's fall from grace.

-Extra soundtrack but in SNES and Sega Genesis version.

-A small animated mini series that explains in detail the one that led to all the characters of the alternate future ending up as they were.

-Play maybe a little glimpse into Gabriel and Emilie's past.

5. VISUAL STYLE:

I have thought of the visual style in a very pixel art style but that borders on the almost cartoonish HD, something similar to the beautiful Pixel Art that was used for SNK's King Of Fighters XIII and the pixel art style that will be used for the new one. game that will arrive this year from the Ninja Turtles (Here are some videos to give you an idea of the visual style: https://youtu.be/yyMjlO5Ao7M and https://youtu.be/GemOAwU-9fo)

Obviously the level design would have to adjust to imagine a futuristic half Paris with things like the famous Hoverboards (Flying Skateboards) or flying cars, drones and a long etc.

I thinks this is all folks. This idea from a hypothetical videogame of Miraculous Ladybug have so much time in my crazy mind and I hope you like it. Give me your suggestions and your critics. I hear you.

#chat noir #adrien agreste #kagami tsuguri #miraculous ryuko #nino lahiffe #miraculous ladybug #Marinette Duppain-Cheng #Emma Agreste #Future AU #Youtube

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radramblog · 3 years

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Radiohead Retrospective Part 6: I try to sing along but I get it all wrong (‘CAUSE I’M NOT)

I don’t have as much to say about the lead-in to Hail to the Thief, much like I didn’t have much to say about that for Amnesiac. There isn’t as earth-shattering a shift as Kid A, and there isn’t a big story like with The Bends or OK Computer.

Hail to the Thief was (probably) the first batch of music Radiohead recorded after the sessions that produced Kid A/Amnesiac, meaning they had the full breadth of that experience to work with. What we received as a result was somewhat of a fusion of the electronic/jazz-influences of those albums and the rockier stuff of the band’s past.

Now I’ve heard a fair few complaints that this album is too long. That’s probably fair, it’s their longest album, with a total of 14 tracks, meaning it does kinda drag on a bit. Thom Yorke apparently agrees, seeing as he put out an alternative tracklist in ’08 (link) missing four songs. At the same time, I’m going to pull Death of the Author on this one, because as much as I’ve seen people complain that there’s too many songs on this, nobody ever seems to get along with which ones they’d cut- let alone people wanting to pull B-sides in the mix.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves there, aren’t we? Suppose I should just talk about the fucking album.

We begin this record, like all Radiohead records, with studio chatter. Wait, what the fuck? Yeah, it’s quiet but it’s there. Why not, right?

2+2=5 is a lovely little banger to open on. Unquestionably a rock song, it features a very slow and quiet (and heavily panned) first half before just fucking exploding in the latter half. It genuinely might be the most aggressive track the band has put out, a manic cascade of energy and breathy falsetto that’s genuinely headbangable. It’s also a fun thing to try and read the lyrics for, since the booklet the album comes with gives up for this bit and just goes “eezeepeezee NOT” or something along that line.

Oh yeah, that’s actually something worth bringing up. Neither Kid A nor Amnesiac had lyric booklets, deliberately obscuring the actual words to the songs, to the point where people had pretty wide interpretations of what they actually were. Considering the incompleteness of 2+2=5’s entry in it’s booklet, perhaps similar occurred with that. I’m still unsure if the subtitle of this post is actually the real lyrics.

Most people, I think, read the name of this track and just kind of assume it’s about 1984, the book boomers bring up whenever their freedumbs are impinged upon. And it’s not not about 1984, but there are extremely specific political references as well- Hail to the Thief, title of the album and line in the track, is a quote regarding the U.S. President of the time, George W Bush, who lost the popular vote but won the electoral college- something that sounds awfully familiar to those of us living in 2021. “January has April Showers” similarly refers to the unseasonable weather of Bush’s inauguration.

The last thing I’d like to bring up before we finally move onto the second track is that every single song in this album has a subtitle- for 2+2=5, it’s (The Lukewarm). According to Yorke, it’s a reference to Dante’s Inferno- the Lukewarm being the people around the edge of hell, damned due to their passive indifference- the kind of people the song’s lyric, “you have not been paying attention”, is referring to. I’m literally learning these meanings now, so we’ll see how many are worth bringing up.

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Perhaps fortunately for my word count, Sit Down. Stand Up (yes the full stop/period is part of the title) (that’s not the subtitle) doesn’t have quite as much going on. Though it does have a video, for some reason. It’s a sort of repetitive trance of lyrics set to an electronic percussion, distant piano, and….I don’t know what other instrument is making those light dings. A xylophone? Interestingly, much like 2+2=5, it’s one that builds slowly into a chaotic finish, the raving of that track reflected in the almost cold mania of the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops the raindrops……. It’s a decent enough song, but I legitimately cannot imagine listening to it ever outside the context of this album. Which is weird, because I definitely remember doing so when I was younger.

Track 3 is Sail To The Moon, a lullaby or ballad or sorts, a calm after the storm that is the previous track. Quite literally, considering it’s repeated lyric. And also literally, in that it was actually written for Thom’s son at the time. The subtitle, (Brush the Cobwebs Out of the Sky) evokes a very literal interpretation of the song’s title, which doesn’t actually reflect the lyrics.

Sail To The Moon is, as any good lullaby should be, utterly soothing. It’s calm, with Thom’s vocals just drifting across the piano, loose guitar, and percussion like a low tide. This is one of those songs I’ve come around to much more with time, because I distinctly remember skipping this a lot. You’ll find I’ve listened to this album a fair few times, though the section between 2+2=5 and Go To Sleep is one I skipped a fair bit, I think.

Backdrifts is a heavily electronic song that apparently in part predates Kid A and Amnesiac, which is kind of interesting- we’ll see a bit more of that later. As a track, it’s kind of spacy- the synth instrumental feels like something out of an eerie sci-fi film, if you notched the tempo up a bit.

Backdrifts is also the first song where I can see the “too long” argument come in. Not for the album (though I believe it’s one of the ones the alternate tracklist leaves out), but the song itself- I’m not sure this is a song that needs to be the second longest on the album (and only by a second). It’s fine, but considering what it comes off and what follows it, it’s in a bit of an awkward spot.

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Go To Sleep is another one that kinda took me a while to get. I always heard it as being one of the top tracks on the thing, but it never really clicked with me for a while. I suppose I’ve never been massive on purely acoustic-guitar-led affairs? With age, though, I’ve better appreciated the depth the song has. Possibly the folkiest song the band has, it might have taken me getting into R.E.M. to recognize what the song is.

And the song is good!

But unfortunately for Go To Sleep, Where I End and You Begin is my favourite Radiohead track.

Holy shit, this song sounds so fucking sick. That percussion, that bassline, those fucking Ondes Martenot babyyyy. The song is spacey and ethereal, but tied down by the more traditional elements of the instrumentation. The fantastical lyricism tying into very real themes of personal boundaries, how they define how people interact, and how when they fail, things tend to go badly- “There’ll be no more lies, I will eat you alive”. It’s just an absolute fucking track.

I don’t think I can possibly explain why I like this song so much. Opinions and favourites are kind of like that. But it just speaks to me. The hyper-fuzzed out guitar soloing in the bridge, the loneliness of the second verse, it’s just incredible.

Also it possibly references Optimistic with the lyrics which is cool! I also like that song a lot.

The subtitle, (The Sky Is Falling In), is something I’ve not been able to find a reference for regarding it’s meaning, but since I like the song so much, I’m going to do some interpreting. If we assume the song is about boundaries in a relationship, it’s clear that the final lyrics are the utter devastation after those boundaries are breached. But “The Sky Is Falling In” fits better with the third verse, what with the house falling into the sea- the tipping point has broken, the household (or, the house) is in freefall, the sky is falling with it. But that’s just my opinion, man.

Still with me? We’re not even halfway.

We Suck Young Blood can best be described as off-kilter, perhaps even deliberately out of tempo. A very pointed use of handclaps, typically a part of substantially more energetic tracks than the dirge this song presents. I’m sure this isn’t what the song is about, but at face value the lyrics read like some sort of social service run by vampires- give us your young blood, and we’ll make things better for you. In a way, it’s kind of fun, silly even. I suppose the claps help with that. The track is otherwise just, melancholic- slow, piano-y, even the sudden pickup barely lasts- though I always forget it’s there, making it kind of a surprise every time. Like, oh shit, we’re going somewhere for a bit, I need to put my seatbelt back on- ah never mind it’s over (and then the song keeps going for a while).

We come now to The Gloaming, the song that was originally going to be the title track for the album. They changed it, apparently, because it got rejected- too gloomy, apparently. According to Wikipedia, a fair few of the subtitles from the album’s tracks also came from proposed names for the album proper.

The song itself is also pretty gloomy, as it happens. Apparently, it’s literally about the rise of fascism, so fair enough. An electronic track, with many a repetition, feeling uneasy and cold the whole way through (making the subtitle, Softly Open our Mouths in the Cold, pretty apt). It feels almost minimalistic at times, without especially many lines running through it- and without a big crescendo like many to most of these songs have, it feels somewhat lifeless- a deliberate choice, no doubt.

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Oh shit, are we up to There There? We are! God this song fucks. Those opening drums are iconic, not to mention the way it layers onto itself. And the video! Eerie horror at its finest.

Like, I know Where I End and You Begin is my favourite song on this album unquestionably. But there is no doubt in my mind that There There is the best song on the album.

Good enough that I don’t have anything really interesting to say about it? Like many songs on this album, it’s got a big old crescendo, but the build is just so smooth, and the climax is just such a swelling. “We are accidents waiting to happen” is such a powerful lyric, and it’s hardly the only one on the song. A comment I’ve seen about the song describes the guitar as akin to laughter, a mood I can definitely see in the track itself.

Anyway the song ended so I guess I gotta move on.

I Will is kind of an interesting case. It’s unquestionably one of the most emotional songs on the album, considering it was written about a U.S. bombing of a shelter that wiped out 408 innocent people, and that’s fucking horrifying (S.O.P. for the Army it seems). It’s short, and…well it’s not sweet, but it is tragic and haunting.

It’s also a song that went through variation on variation before finally appearing on this album. Early live performances date to 5 whole years before Hail to the Thief, and considering the bombing was in 1991, it was probably written well before then. Versions of this track are kind of everywhere as a result- one early version was eventually chopped up and reproduced into Like Spinning Plates on Amnesiac- reconstructions of the process are available on citizeninsane.eu- or they were, at least, because apparently that site’s embeds relied on Flash.

I do particularly want to highlight the Los Angeles version of the song, which was a b-side on 2+2=5 (and also was on the Com Lag EP), because it’s a fuller version of the track- not necessarily better, but the full band is involved, making it a much different experience.

Track 11, A Punchup At A Wedding, has become somewhat of a meme on the Radiohead subreddit. Mostly it’s a result of the opening lyric, literally “No” 42 times over. The subtitle, for reference, is also all “No”s. On a similarly lighter note, the track is apparently a result of the band stumbling upon just a needlessly scathing review of one of their live shows, making it one of the few Radiohead tracks I could confidently say is about one person in particular. With all the second person, the lyrics probably wouldn’t be out of place on an early Linkin Park track (whether that’s an insult or not, I’ll leave as an exercise to the reader).

The slow, almost marchlike rhythm of the song well suits the tone of the lyrics, and to be clear, the tone is pretty much “Man, what the fuck is wrong with you?” and the emotions that come with being torn down by someone who doesn’t know you or really recognise what they’re doing. I suppose it’s refreshing for the metaphor to be this obvious for once. It’s a pretty decent song, piano-driven like many a song on the album, which means theoretically if I ever relearn the instrument I could play it. Maybe.

Myxomatosis, while a pretty fucked up disease, is an absolutely excellent song. If 2+2=5 is the heaviest rock song on the album, Myxomatosis is the heaviest electronic song on it. The lyricism is incredibly dark, unsettling and violent, suiting the harsh buzzing synth line. They say fuck in this one! And the way the entire song save percussion drops for the key line (I don’t know why I feel so tongue-tied/skinned alive) is so excellent. Interestingly, said line also appears word-for-word in Cuttooth, a B-side from Amnesiac, though the mood is profoundly different.

I suspect the song being named Myxomatosis and being pretty clearly about public perception and fame should give you a hint as to how the band views the media and the world of the rich and famous- the subtitle, (Judge, Jury, & Executioner), certainly adds to that. Thom sounds a mix of hesitant, confused, disgusted, and frustrated on the track, and it works incredibly well.

We’re finally on to the penultimate track, Scatterbrain. And I’m going to be honest, I don’t know what this one’s about. I’m out of patience to figure out what Genius is going on about, though it’s fairly incomplete for this track anyway. It’s relatively simple, for a Radiohead track, and pretty enough, but I can see why people don’t tend to like this one as much. I distinctly remember it being bottom of the list or close to it on a subreddit poll at some point (might have been above We Suck Young Blood, which I don’t agree with).

Scatterbrain kind of just has the problem of being a pretty decent album track, right between two of my favourite songs on the album. Which is awkward as always.

Our final song is A Wolf at the Door, and talk about a closer. Thom has described it as like waking up from a nightmare and finding out reality is worse, which is both relatable and upsetting. The song is grim, with confusing imagery in the verses leading to a desperately emotional chorus about someone’s children being fucking ransomed. Also, a bridge with more Nos than A Punchup at a Wedding, where are your No (x105) memes Reddit, get it fucking together!

The lyrics of the verses in A Wolf at the Door have a swaying flow to them that’s almost rap-like, especially since the falsetto that Thom usually sings in around this time is completely absent from them. This makes it one of the few rap-ish songs I’ve actually tried to perform, and I’d probably be pretty okay if I didn’t keep forgetting bits.

The song is just, frustration (verse 1), desperation (chorus), anger/frustration (verse 2), and back to desperation (chorus) again, which doesn’t quite fit the stages of grief cleanly, but that’s probably fine. The final vocalisation of the song (and thereby the album) feels almost like a sorrowful howl, which makes less sense the more I think about the imagery and intent of the lyrics, so maybe just ignore that actually. There is just so much imagery packed into this track, especially in the second verse, that listing it out is pointless- but it all just clicks so well, into this deluge of frustration and madness carried along by that instrumental that just seems to get lower and lower forever.

Anyway that’s the whole album, isn’t it? I’m going to keep this outro brief, because we’re approaching 3000 words at this point, but I think that fact says it all. There’s a lot of Hail to the Thief, but it never really misses per se. It has less great songs, but no bad ones. I’d argue my own biases probably cloud my judgement, but even if some of the tracks are more forgettable, the highs are so high for me that it easily stands among the band’s best.

Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with me. But that’s fine, this is my opinion, the rest of the world is allowed to be wrong.

A lot of things would happen between Hail to the Thief’s release in 2003 and the followup, In Rainbows, in 2007. But that’s ultimately a story for another day. A week from today, to be precise.

See you then?

#ramble #music #radiohead #hail to the thief

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vg-sanctuary · 3 years

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The World Ends with You

Jupiter - DS - 2008

[screenshots from Nintendo Life, jack-reviews.com, and LPArchive; please excuse the low res, I couldn’t find better ones]

TWEWY is an RPG with modern (circa 2008) style and character designs by Tetsuya Nomura, the director of Kingdom Hearts. I meant to write about it the day its sequel NEO: TWEWY came out but missed that by a few days. anyway, I think it's reasonable to call this game the epitome of the Nintendo DS. it has every feature to be expected of any game on the wildly unique handheld: a touch-based minigame with wireless multiplayer and little bearing on the main game, a sleep mode puzzle, touch controls, forced use of both screens, and gameplay and plot designed to be enjoyed in short bursts. it's loaded with cool ideas, some of which are more than questionable, even barring the crazy DS features, hence the remakes. (savvy readers will notice I left out the iOS and Switch platforms and, while there are remakes of the game for both platforms that have extra content and a more elegant combat system, they don't hit quite like the DS original.)

I don't fancy myself an RPG fan for the most part. the usual high fantasy themes and turn based combat are boring to me. usually, if an RPG has either one I'm not interested, and this has neither of those. I decided to try TWEWY while collecting DS games, and the plot and combat had grabbed me within two hours. I haven't mentioned the awesome music and visuals, both wonderfully stylish and unique in the same way Persona's UI is stylish and unique, only this game uses the style on its game world and characters instead of menus.

the premise is the antisocial protagonist, Neku, wakes up in a killing game wherein each day has a mission that he and his partner either complete or face erasure. after a week of these missions he'll be free. I can’t tell you the massive general plot spoiler that makes the whole thing so compelling as it goes on, so this section of the post is sadly pretty short. there is an anime that goes over the main events, but it's only four hours long compared to the game's 20, character development is sometimes lacking in detail or totally inaccurate, and it generally doesn't include the hardships you would go through as a player e.g. having to try a boss five times.

almost everything about TWEWY's gameplay is intriguing, so I'll try to be concise. combat is a strange beast that comes from developer Jupiter's need to use both screens to the fullest. by the way, don't let this wall of text scare you away from the game; it introduces these mechanics much slower and it's easier to understand and use. the bottom screen is gesture-based ARPG combat where, for example, short swipes over an enemy makes Neku use a sword attack or touching somewhere on the screen makes him fire a bullet. the exact gestures and attacks are determined by what pins he's wearing. the top screen asks you to use the d-pad to attack with Neku’s partner and navigate along a tree of cards where getting the right card grants a star; enough of those allows you to use a powerful and health-restoring fusion attack. there's this green light puck that passes between characters when the one holding it does a finisher and multiplies the finisher's damage with each successful pass up to five times, but disappears if held by one character for too long. fortunately the game has an auto mode for the top screen that's roughly equivalent to mashing left or right on the d-pad so you don't have to try to split your brain between both, but you get a little more experience if that's turned off. I love the bottom screen and the idea of the top screen but could never really get my head around doing both at once. maybe the intent was to focus on the character that has the puck and leave the other standing still or spamming defense? (in NEO: TWEWY, the light puck mechanic was changed to beat drop combos, where using a different character to attack shortly after a finisher gives you some charge for a super. no attention splitting, just fun ARPG combat with an interesting combo system that can inform what pins you use.)

turning up the game's difficulty makes enemies stronger and mostly drops different pins. there aren't random encounters: you have to scan for enemies and mostly get to choose which encounters to take. you can choose to fight multiple in a row without getting health back between them and multiply your drop rate multiplier, with enemies getting stronger the more encounters you take. you get your health back when you return to the overworld, which cuts out a lot of the obligatory spending for healing items and the trouble of running out for the player. there are still some pins that can heal you during a battle, though.

leveling up, instead of arbitrarily increasing every stat, only increases your HP, but you can turn your level down to lower your HP and multiply the drop rate of pins by one for each level. other stats can be increased with clothes or food, with different foods permanently increasing different stats and have different calories. each character can only eat so much in a single real time day, which is wack but still interesting. the food system in NEO is similar except without the per-day limit, and I think it's a great idea that gives the player agency in terms of what stats they want to increase and whether they want larger or smaller boosts.

pins can evolve when leveled up enough, but may only evolve if you give them the right kind of pin points, which is like experience for pins. there's PP from battles, from the game's proto-StreetPass mingle mode (that you could only get randomly roughly every hour, from other folks in TWEWY's mingle mode, or from other DSes running any wireless software; thankfully this is removed from the remakes but it's a neat idea), and from turning off the game for up to seven real time days. if a pin reaches max level with the wrong kind of PP, you have to go get another one to evolve it, but I don't think there are any super rare pins that evolve. the game doesn't show what kind of PP you need to evolve a pin, so while it's a cool idea, there's a fair chance that you'll miss lots of evolutions and not even notice.

there are lots of rare pins that can be worn as a set to do something ridiculously powerful, but you have to go out of your way to get them, like the Darklit Planets. it's a set of seven pins that are useful alone, but if worn all together they become three times more powerful. they all drop rarely from bosses on the highest difficulty. I love wacky, mystical, obscenely powerful postgame stuff like this but can't be bothered to actually go and get it. some games give you their best weapons last, which is always a shame because there's nothing to use it on, but in TWEWY, there's a boss rush that saves your best time and lots of bosses to re-fight for their rare pins, so you'll have a reason to fight bosses until you've got every one of those rare pins.

speaking of postgame, TWEWY's is rather extensive, with a bonus day focused on the Tin Pin Slammer minigame and goofy non-canon alternate personalities plus four sort of tedious missions for every ingame day that unlock secret reports for much more lore about the Reapers' Game. (one of the missions for every day is "find and destroy the pig Noise," which mostly have puzzle-ish fights; one is killed by closing the DS and opening it again, which is the sleep mode puzzle I mentioned.) if you get them all, it unlocks a special scene in the ending, but again, I can't be bothered to do that kind of postgame. not all of it, anyway, the bonus day's missions are too tedious for me.

in Tin Pin Slammer, the minigame with almost no bearing on the main game, you use your pins to play kinda-sorta Beyblade. every pin has different stats, many of which are hidden, and different amounts of the different weapons to stun your opponents' pins with. it's a rather extensive side mode and a totally unnecessary inclusion, but really fun anyway, and can be played wirelessly with others. there are some other mechanics that are also interesting but not quite worth adding any more words to this ridiculously long post, including a brand trends system and an interesting way to limit running from fights.

even with all of these words and some pictures, I seriously can't offer a glimpse of the vibes, the combat, the music, the story, the characters, the entire energy of The World Ends with You in a blog post, and in my opinion, it's not the same without the crispy DS sprites or peculiar dual screen combat. if you like the DS, 2000s energy, or action RPGs, this is an essential addition to your library if you don't want to track down a DS copy or you prefer more elegant combat, try one of the remakes instead. you're this far into the blog post, so I'm sure you won't be disappointed. (NEO: TWEWY is very good too and has a free demo on PS4 and Switch; while not the same, it's still worth trying. it carries a modernized audiovisual energy of its predecessor, more elegant combat improvements to other TWEWY systems.)

#twewy #the world ends with you #ds #nintendo ds #nds #retro gaming #my writing

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foxmobi995 · 3 years

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And all my files got deleted so I decided to do a clean Windows 7 install. But unfortunately, at that time I was not having any copy of the Windows 7 DVD to install it. So I borrowed it from my friend and then install it on my Pc. After the installation is done, I copied all the windows installation files from that DVD so that I can use it later. Download Windows 10 Disc Image (ISO File) Before updating, please refer to the Windows release information status for known issues to confirm your device is not impacted. Download Windows 7 (SP1 included) for Mac free. Windows 7 (SP1 included) is an operating systems produced by Microsoft.

Duration: 2:01. How To Download A Windows 7 or 8.1 ISO On a Mac · 1. Go to. I have downloaded Wine, which allows me to do PC things on my Mac, but If you already own a Windows 7 physical copy, it is legal to download an ISO image.

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How To Install Windows 7 (For Free!) On Your Mac

My Windows 7 desktop is spare, but just give me a few weeks. Microsoft hide caption

toggle caption Microsoft

If you went to your favorite pizza place and tried to order mushrooms and pepperoni and the waiter told you, 'I'm sorry but you can't order those two toppings together. You have to pick one or the other,' you'd be pretty mad, right?

Forgive the analogy, I just ate pizza.

The Mac versus PC debate has gotten so ridiculous that even normal, sane people who wouldn't care one way or another are now hurling insults and tsk-tsking at family members and co-workers who have either fallen into the fruity Mac OS camp or the stodgy Windows world.

You know what? (Expletive) all that. I say, have the best of both worlds.

Over the weekend, I installed Windows 7 RC, a free, preview version of Microsoft's forthcoming operating system, the successor to Windows Vista. Best of all, it works perfectly well on newer Macs sporting Intel processors. My Macbook, which is two years old, runs it like a champ as a Boot Camp partition. I never thought I'd say this about a Windows operating system again after refusing to upgrade from Windows XP, but from what I've seen so far, Windows 7 is... really good. Fast, pretty and without a single crash so far (knock on wood).

A step-by-step guide to installing Windows 7, after the jump.

Here's how to install it on your Mac in a few simple steps:

Make sure you have plenty of hard drive space, at least 40 or 50 gigabytes on your Mac. You're going to lose about 15-25, at least, to run Windows 7, so leave yourself plenty of space for Mac OS, too.

Go to this Microsoft page and sign up for the Windows 7 Release Candidate Customer Preview Program. It's a mouthful, but it works. Microsoft will send you a unique activation code you'll need later. Print it out or write that code down.

Download the 32-bit version of Windows 7. It's a big download, more than two gigabytes, so you'll be waiting a little while.

Burn the .iso file to a DVD to create a Windows 7 install disk. You can do this easily with OS X's Disk Utility. (More detailed instructions here).

Open up Boot Camp Utility. This will walk you through the process of creating a partition on your hard drive for Windows 7. Print out the manual if you want to (it does contain some good, useful info, but it's about 26 pages). Then use the DVD you burned to install Windows 7. Your machine will reboot several times as it installs.

You'll be asked, once Windows is installed, to enter your activation code.

You have Windows 7! As soon as you're in the Windows desktop, insert your Mac OS install disk (either the one that came with your Mac or a Leopard OS disk if you've upgraded) and install the Mac drivers that are on that disk. This will enable sound, your iSight camera and other hardware from your machine.

Don't like it? When you're back in OS X (see below), you can use Boot Camp Utility to delete the Windows partition and reclaim your hard drive space.

That's it. You have a working copy of Windows 7, which will continue to function normally until March 1, 2010.

If you want to switch back to OS X, you'll need to go into Control Panel and look for Boot Camp in order to tell the machine to restart in Mac mode. Once you're back in OS X, you'll have to do the same thing (in System Preferences) to go back to Windows 7. Software like Parallels and VMWare Fusion allows you to run Windows programs while in Mac OS, too. Both can run Windows 7.

Stuck on any steps? A more visual guide is available here.

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– Transform your windows 7 to Mac OS X Snow leopard and experience the Mac look and feel in windows! This Mac theme for windows 7 works on windows vista too and you can use it on both 32-bit and 64-bit windows OS.

Windows 7 has a huge collection of themes designed for it and you can alternate between the free windows 7 themes any day, any time! The Snow leopard pack is one such windows 7 theme to transform the entire windows 7 UI (user interface) and it includes the Snow Leopard Welcome Screen, Visual Style, Icons, Wallpapers, Sounds, Dock and much more.

How to install Mac Theme for Windows 7?

This pack includes the following third party applications.

RocketDock (with icon, iDock and Stacks Docklet)

Ubericon to render the icon effects

Virtuawin with snow leopard icons

Y’z shadow for shadow and transparency effects

Here is how you can get the Mac look and feel on windows 7.

After you download the snow leopard pack, extract the zip to a folder.Then right click and run the snow leopard transformation pack application as an administrator.The pack will require you to disable UAC, to work properly. If you choose “Yes”, it will disable UAC and prompt you to restart the computer.

After restarting, double click the snow transformation pack application icon to run it again. You will find the “Welcome” screen as shown below.

Click “Next” to continue.You will then be asked to accept the terms and conditions. After reading through them, you can choose to “Accept”. The installation will then continue. If you do find a screen that shows the remaining seconds as 10, don’t be fooled that it will complete soon, as the installation does take considerable time.

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But it is worth waiting till completion, as it does a pretty decent job of transforming your Windows 7 to Mac!

If you do feel like uninstalling the Windows 7 Mac Theme, you can do it any time with a single click.

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After uninstalling, make sure you enable UAC again. You can enable it by typing “UAC” in “Start” => “Search programs and files”, and then clicking “Change User Account Control Settings”. Then move the slider up, to set it as “Always Notify”.

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Enjoy the Mac theme for Windows 7 and Vista. It gives a wonderful Mac experience on Windows 7 and Vista and is also easily removable. It is quite big in size (around 30 MB), but the storage that comes with computers these days is quite huge and this size shouldn’t be a problem. The only con is its requirement to disable UAC. Otherwise, it is quite cool.

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inevitably-johnlocked · 4 years

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Any fics in cannon where Sherlock is on drugs? (ie not a rehabAU or something no hate against those tho!)

Hi Nonny!

Ahhh, I do actually have some fics where drugs are either a part of the story OR referenced in the past-tense. This is a part 2 to an old list and I hope that it is alright

As always, gang, feel free to add your own fics

DRUGS or DRUGGING Pt. 2

See also: Self Harm, Danger Nights, and Drugs

Experiment by Gwen’s Blue Box (K+, 4,222 w., 3 Ch. || Non-Con Drugging, Hurt / Comfort, Friendship) – Of course John has always known about his flatmate’s irregular sleeping habits, especially when they’re on a case. This time, however, the case is taking longer and longer, and soon John starts to worry. But there’s not much he can do, is there? Because drugging Sherlock isn’t an option. Not yet, maybe, but will it be soon? {{CW: John drugs Sherlock without his consent}}

Angel by MrsNoggin (T, 1,513 w., 1 Ch. || Winglock, Friendship, Chromoesthesia, Drugging) – John is an angel. That can be the only explanation. A response to the challenging request for a realistic wingfic one-shot.

My Life for His by QuinnAnderson (E, 8,816 w., 1 Ch. || Guardian/Protector, Greek Mythology || Growing Up, Sex, Religious Themes, Suicide, Minor Character Death) – It began when Sherlock was eight, and he attempted to climb all the way up to the highest branch in the old willow tree in his back garden. He'd thought he was still small enough that it could support him, but the second he'd grabbed hold of it to pull himself up, the branch snapped, and down he went, plummeting a solid twenty metres.The odd thing was, he never actually hit the ground.

Kintsugi by distantstarlight (E, 14,772 w., 1 Ch. || Post S4, Emotional Hurt / Comfort, Regret / Remorse, Loneliness, Separation, Drug Use, Healing, Protective John, Sad Sherlock, Dev. Rel., Complicated Relationships, Love, Angst With Happy Ending, Sherlock is Called Freak, John’s Penance, Voyeurism, Doctor/Caretaker John, Guilty John, Detox, Fingering, Love Confessions, Cuddling, Slight Non-Con Turns Enthusiastic Consent, Virgin Sherlock) – Sherlock Holmes becomes estranged from the man he had once considered his best friend after John lets him down horribly in public. It seems that the world's only consulting detective will be on his own once again...or will he?

The Palmyra Atoll by elwinglyre (E, 16,609 w., 3 Ch. || TSo3 Divergence / Episode Fix-It, Stockholm Syndrome, Kidnapped John Watson, John Whump, Evil Mary, Angst, Cuddling & Snuggling, Toplock, Limited 3rd John POV) – As John's preparing for the wedding, Sherlock is preparing to have his heart broken, and Mary is prepared to do the unthinkable. Intervention required. Enter Sherlock. Set before Sign of Three with a far different outcome. John is drugged, kidnapped, and left on an island, but not just any old island.

Wonderful, Etcetera. by VictoryCandescence (T, 16,955 w., 3 Ch. || Wonderful Life AU || Alternate Timelines, Brotherhood, Homophobia, Suicidal Ideations, Mentions of Drug Use, Friendship, Different TRF, Sherlock’s Past, Victor Trevor is Past Boyfriend, Depression, Hallucination?, Love Confessions, Christmas, First Kiss) – Sherlock thinks everyone would be better off if he had never existed, including and especially himself. When he finds himself in a world in which his wish has been granted, he begins to think perhaps even he could be wrong – but it takes an unlikely chaperone to make him not only observe, but understand.

Silhouettes by allonsys_girl (E, 28,585 w., 7 Ch. || Canon Compliant, POV John, Heavy Drinking, Sad/Depressed John, Grief/Mourning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Reunion, Foot Jobs, Blow Jobs, Infidelity, Cheating, Drug Use/Abuse, Anal, Switchlock, Rimming, Parentlock) – Sherlock and John find comfort in each other's arms, but as ever with these two, it's not your typical relationship. It's fluffy at the beginning, gets deeply angsty in the middle, gets porny at the end.

The Whore of Babylon Was a Perfectly Nice Girl by out_there (E, 32,897 w., 1 Ch. || Past Drug Use, Blowjobs, Toplock, Mentions of Switching, Rough Sex, Background Cases, Sherlock’s Past, Sherlock’s Sexual History, Experienced Sherlock, Past One Night Stands, Fingering, Cuddling, Possessive Sherlock, Paris Holiday, Bed Sharing, Naked Lie-Ins, Bathing Together, Confessions, Worried Sherlock, Laying in Bed All Day, Meddling Mycroft, Naked Lazy Day) – Sherlock walks into a room and takes all the space right out of it. He does the same inside John's head.

The Real Great Perfumers by shelleysprometheus (E, 45,355 w., 68 Ch. || Case Fic, Alternating POV, Gay Sherlock / Bi John, Canon Compliant with Divergence at TRF, Friends to Lovers, Oral / Anal, Pining, First Kiss / Time, Dev. Rel., Drugging, Body Worship, Bathing, Love Confessions, Travelling, Bottomlock, Cranky Sherlock, BJ’s, Alternating POV, Jealous John) – The case, this case. This extraordinary, fascinating, scintillating case. A house. Designed entirely by its eccentric owner, built by no less than five hundred expert tradesmen in the heart of Marrakesh. A house that had, seemingly not only driven its owner out, but also to his quite unpleasant death. And a perfumer, a chemist no less, the very thought of the secrets that house could reveal, would reveal was irresistible. Sherlock had to have this case ... and it seems, he also had to have John! Part 1 of the Forethought and Fire series

Impossible to Feign by achray (M, 49,204 w., 12 Ch. || TRF Rewrite / Reverse Reichenbach, Suicidal Ideations / Discussions, Drug Use/Abuse, Mutual Pining, Friends With Benefits, John Accepts his Sexuality, Anxious Sherlock, Meddling Mycroft, Depression, Hallucinations, Secret Agent John, BAMF John, Reunion, Make-Up Sex, Ambiguous Ending) – Sherlock leant forward, his long fingers curving round to grip John’s.“I won’t let him win,” he said, eyes hard. “I will do whatever it takes to get you out.”

Points by lifeonmars (E, 53,791 w., 42 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || HLV Rewrite / Canon Divergence, Married Life, Pregnancy / Baby Watson, Drinking to Cope, Boxing / Fisticuffs, Clueless John, Angst, Minor Medical Drama, Tattoos, Christmas, First Kiss/Time, Eventual Happy Ending, Love Confessions, Doctor John, Sexuality Crisis, Slow Burn, Case Fic, Drugging, Blow/Hand Job, Emotional Love Making, Parenthood, Passage of Time) – What if His Last Vow never happened? This fic picks up a few months after John and Mary's wedding, in an alternate universe where Magnussen doesn't exist, but Mary is still pregnant. Life continues -- just in a different direction. And slowly, Sherlock and John find their way to each other.

The Thing Is by TSylvestris (E, 56,743 w., 21 Ch. || Case Fic, Dev. Rel., Anal/Oral, Blow Jobs, Meddling Mycroft, Drama, Romance, Humour, Casual Encounters, Pining Idiots, Possessive Sherlock, Orgasm Delay, Rough / Alley Sex, Public Sex, John Whump, Drugged John, Emotional Love Making, Awkward Relationship, Marriage of Convenience, Switchlock, BAMF John) – The problem with living with Sherlock, John thought, was that you never, never, ever knew the significance of anything. Like your flatmate's nose buried in your hair. Whilst you're in bed. Part 1 of Nitroglycerine

A Further Sea by i_ship_an_armada & ShinySherlock (E, 125,492 w., 23 Ch. || Historical Pirates AU || Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Doctor John / Pirate Captain Sherlock, Sailing, UST / RST, Masturbation, Action / Adventure, Mild Angst & Peril, Romance, Shaving, Molly/Janine, Bottomlock, Hand / Blow Jobs, Past Drug Use, Slow Burn, Mild Violence, Happy Ending) – Here be a tale of adventure for both body and soul, but beware if ye be not of stout heart, for this be piratelock, ya savvy? Luckless ship's surgeon John Watson takes a chance, and finds himself eye to eye with The Ghost, the scourge of the seven seas and a definite thorn in the side of the blaggard, James Moriarty. But when John finds there's more to this most cunning pirate than be meetin' the eye, he has to choose... is it a pirate's life for him?

The Adventure of the Silver Scars by tangledblue (NR [M], 142,458 w., 41 Ch. || S3 Fix-It, Post-HLV/ Post-TAB / Canon Compliant, Case Fic, No Baby, Angst, Humour, UST, Slow Burn, Angry John, Reconciliation, Not Nice Mary / Leaving Mary, Dependent Sherlock, Pining Sherlock, Caretaker John, Fist Fights, It’s An Experiment, Virgin Sherlock, Dancing, Drugging, John Whump, Pet Names, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Scars) – It’s been thirteen months since Mary shot Sherlock and John finds he’s still pissed off about it. Sherlock had thought everything was settled: John and Mary, domestic bliss. But when John turns up at Baker Street with suitcases, the world’s only consulting detective might not be prepared for the consequences. A new case. Some old scores to settle. Certain danger. Concertos, waltzes, and whisky.

Proving A Point by elldotsee & J_Baillier (E, 186,270 w., 28 Ch. || Me Before You Fusion || Medical Realism, Insecure John, Depression, Romance, Angst, POV John, Sherlock Whump, Serious Illness, Doctor John, Injury Recovery, Assisted Suicide, Sherlock’s Violin, Awkward Sexual Situations, Alcoholism, Drugs, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Body Image, Friends to Lovers, Hurt / Comfort, Pain, Big Brother Mycroft, Intimacy, Anxiety, PTSD, Family Issues, Psychological Trauma, John Whump, Case Fics, Loneliness, Pain) – Invalided home from Afghanistan, running out of funds and convinced that his surgical career is over, John Watson accepts a mysterious job offer to provide care and companionship for a disabled person. Little does he know how much hangs in the balance of his performance as he settles into his new life at Musgrave Court.

Free Falling by twistedthicket1 (M, 203,574 w., 38 Ch. || Guardian Angel John, Fluff and Angst, Humour, Kidlock / Teenlock, Mystrade & Johnlock, Passage of Time, Possessive John, Drug Use / Overdose, Victor Trevor, Additional Tags to be Added) – All Guardian angels are born with a Chosen human. When this child is born, the angel comes into being to protect and care for them during their life on Earth. For John Watson, all he cares about in the world revolves around his Chosen, Sherlock Holmes. Watching him grow up though, the angel soon learns that God must have had a sense of humour the day he decided to make Sherlock, as trouble seems to follow him like a magnet wherever he goes. John can't decide what's worse, the idea of losing his Chosen one, or the fact that he may be breaking the most taboo law of heaven as he disguises himself as a human to better protect and befriend the beloved detective he's always watched from afar. He was meant to care for him. But what happens when caring evolves into something more? What happens when an emotion an angel is supposed to be incapable of possessing comes to life suddenly and viciously inside John's chest?

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #drugs #drugs cw #my fic recs #Anonymous

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snowflakechallenge · 4 years

Text

2020 SNOWFLAKE INTRODUCTION

What does the Snowflake Challenge mean to me? Well, a lot of things, actually. I love seeing everyone interact in such a positive manner. I'm inspired by those who step out of their comfort zone to participate. I'm heartened to see the sheer amount of joy the challenge brings. I love watching the collaboration behind the scenes with the mods, and am honored each time I'm asked to be part of it. I cannot imagine starting my year without being involved with the Snowflake Challenge, to be honest. It gets me re-involved in fandom, right from the start of the year. It gives me a venue to meet wonderful new people and be awed by their talents. It gives me the chance to dip my toes into new fandoms, and see what they're all about. – mizface

Welcome to Fandom Snowflake Challenge 2020! The first Snowflake Challenge of the new decade!

If you’re a veteran Snowflake participant, welcome back; if this is your first year, welcome aboard! All of your mods, old and new, are excited to be bringing you a new round of challenges.

My name is Seleneheart and this will be my second year as a moderator. For me, the days after the holidays are difficult because everyone leaves, back to their regular lives, and the good times we shared have ended until the next occasion. I am looking forward to the return of Fandom Snowflake Challenge more than ever. Participating helps me reconnect with old friends and meet new ones, in addition to giving me a motivating kick in the pants in regard to my fannish life.

On odd-numbered days from January 1-31, we will post a fannish challenge. The first challenge will be to tell us about yourself - just a simple (or complicated) introduction so we can get to know each other. Some challenges will be no-brainers. Some will be a little more involved. Sometimes you'll post in your own journal and drop a link in the challenge post. Sometimes all you'll have to do is say, "I did it!" in the comment section of that particular day's post. By the way, you never have to unlock your posts. Just comment to let us know that you completed the day's challenge and we're good.

This is meant to be a low stress challenge, not a soul-killing endurance test. You only do the challenges you choose, the ones you feel comfortable doing. We aren't keeping track, and we aren't going to issue a failing grade if you don't complete a challenge. Of course, the goal is to stretch your limits—that's why it's called a challenge—but not to the point of breaking! We're supposed to be having fun here.

The Fandom Snowflake Challenge is for everyone: all fandoms, all media, and all platforms; fandoms of one or ten thousand and one or something in between. You can be focused only on canon, or prefer alternative universes. You can ship real people, strictly fictional characters, or some combination of the two. You don't have to ship anyone at all. Fandom itself can be your fandom. We love meta about ourselves! (Who doesn’t??)

For the purposes of this challenge, a fanwork is defined as all creative endeavors for a fandom. This can be everything from meta to fic writing to picspamming to hosting a comment-ficathon to running a challenge. Yes to vidding and podficcing and reccing and pretty much anything you can think of. Do we want your crafts, your knitted Wonderwoman dolls, repurposed rubber duckies, and MCU finger puppets? Bring 'em on! Do you write promo posts for your favorites? Fantastic. Star Wars quote lists, Touhou Project wiki entries, Trek canon guides, Lost time-lines, X-Files episode recaps and/or action movie reviews? Excellent. Gifsets. Graphics. Fanart. Yes, yes and yes. Concert write-ups. Filking. Icons. Hello Kitty/Star Trek fusion tattoo designs. Yes, please. The bottom line is this: if you spent your valuable time and emotional energy creating it, it fits under the general heading of "fanwork."

Although Fandom Snowflake Challenge is being hosted on DW, if you don't have an account here, please feel free to comment anonymously and sign your (fan)name. You can also sign in with OpenID, which allows you to use your LJ (and other platform) credentials to comment. We want everyone to be able to participate, regardless of where you hang your fandom hat: LJ or DW, dA or Mibba, FanFiction.net or AO3, mailing lists or old-school BBS. If you are on Tumblr, you can add @snowflakechallenge. If you're on Twitter, add 2020snowflake. For Pillowfort, Snowflake Challenge. Come one, come all to Fandom Snowflake Challenge.

Tomorrow the master post for 2020 will be sticky-posted to the top of the community to help us navigate this year's challenges.

One more thing. This challenge is about celebrating fandom itself and the awesome people in it. One way we can do that is by interacting with each other. Every time you visit the journal of a fellow participant and comment on what they're sharing, you are helping to create this community. Fandom is about love: love of books and writers, movies and actors, music and musicians, comics and their creators, etc., but it's also about being with and appreciating other fans, and letting them know they matter.

Think of Fandom Snowflake Challenge as a 15-challenge, month-long love meme to Fandom. Go forth and spread the love!

#snowflakechallenge2020 #introduction post #modpost

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irisbleufic · 4 years

Note

Happy 2020! Can I tag you to do that 2019 Fic Year in Review thing?

Happy New Year to you, too! Sure thing. I can’t remember the last time I did one of these; since 2019 is the end of a decade, it feels fitting. Here goes…

14 February 2019: After spending 14 of my 15 years (2020 marks the start of my 16th year) in Good Omens fandom working on it, I finally finished and posted the 75th and final installment of Crown of Thorns [The Walls, the Wainscot, and the Mouse] ’Verse. LiveJournal was still the fandom’s primary posting hub when I posted the first-ever installment, A Better Place, on 1 October 2005. The series didn’t get its second installment (The Walls, the Wainscot, and the Mouse) until 2010, but work on the series from that point forward was pretty much constant. 2012 saw a higher number of CoT updates than any year previous; that was also the year I transferred it to AO3.

25 February 2019: I finished and posted the last chapter of my third Good Omens collaborative fic ’verse with @procrastinatingbookworm, Turn In Your Arms. We couldn’t believe there was no Good Omens fusion with Tam Lin, so we went for it. Given our first collaboration in 2018 was a Good Omens fusion with Groundhog Day (Game Over, Insert Coin), that wasn’t a stretch.

27 February 2019: @aspiringjedi and I posted the first of our two Good Omens meta-essays, Making An Effort: Queer (Trans) Masculinity in the Ethereal & Occult Beings of Good Omens. Yes, it’s 1,990 words due to the novel’s publication year. When you’re just under 2,000 words anyway, why not?

28 February 2019: @procrastinatingbookworm and I followed up Turn In Your Arms with a brief sequel, Burn After Reading. All of our collaborations to date have ended up as multi-story mini ’verses.

25 March - 20 April 2019: I went about as livid over Gotham’s Season 5 as I did over Season 3 and wrote Darkroom to address how dirty the show did Bruce and Jeremiah. I had a stand-alone Season 4 fix-it story (focusing on Oswald and Edward, like most of my other Gotham work) called Triage from 2018 that had never quite felt like it was meant to be a stand-alone. Triage and Darkroom became the first two installments of a series called Playing for Keeps, to which I added another 6 stories by April 20th. Darkroom somehow got more traffic than any of my other Gotham pieces since When You Find It, Run over in DDO ’Verse (although those two stories are keystone pieces in much larger series, they can both be read as stand-alones).

4 April 2019: In the midst of working on the aforementioned, @aspiringjedi posted our second Good Omens meta-essay, Southern Pansies: Subversive (Trans) Masculinity in the Ethereal & Occult Beings of Good Omens.

8 May 2019: Brief blip back into Pacific Rim fic! I posted a missing Anthology correspondence/inset ficlet called L’amour, c’est comme la guerre. For anyone who ever wanted more of the email correspondence in Anthology’s final chapter, this fills in some gaps you didn’t know were there.

16 May 2019: Thanks to some behind-the-scenes persuasion from several really tenacious Gotham readers who didn’t want me to abandon it / shut down DDO ’Verse, I completed The Knights’ Tour after almost a year on hiatus from it. This turned out to light a fresh fuse on DDO, because TTK didn’t end up being the final story in the series like I had once planned.

18 May 2019: The only His Dark Materials fic I’ve ever written, also a Gotham fusion, got a belated new final chapter. Gold Dust is sort of an alternate take on DDO ’Verse, one in which Dust and daemons are present.

23 May 2019: I posted what I thought would be a stand-alone Gotham story called The Meaning of This City. It manages to be a marginally less dark and complicated take on the Bruce-and-Jeremiah situation (than Darkroom over in PfK ’Verse, that is) without sacrificing some of the most difficult features of what they need to overcome. More on why this didn’t remain a stand-alone in a bit.

6 June 2019: Good Omens requests came around, one of which led me to follow the Imagine Hastur Ficlets (which themselves exist thanks to the accidental prompts at @imaginehastur) interlude in CoT with The Imagine Hastur Epilogue. This was a sort of neat in-narrative way to deal with having gradually come out about my biological (inter)sex and (nonbinary) gender identity over the 14 years I worked on CoT.

15 June - 1 July 2019: I posted another Good Omens collaboration-set with @procrastinatingbookworm called Have Faith at the series-title level. The two stories in it, You Bloody Snake and Enough of a Bastard, focus almost entirely on Hastur and Ligur. Seeing Aziraphale and Crowley through different (and less favorable) eyes was a weird pleasure; seeing people indignantly realize they were enjoying fic about Hastur and Ligur was even more of one!

15 August 2019: @verumx persuaded me to watch Jamie Marks Is Dead with her and @one-eyed-bossman, and then implored me to fix it. Using Our Words is the stand-alone that resulted, which is no shock given I can’t resist ghost stories. It’s unique among this year’s stories in that it may be the only genuine stand-alone aside from the Gotham piece called Gold Dust.

17 August 2019: After an experimental in-character snail mail letter-writing exchange that lasted about 6 weeks, @verumx and I transcribed the letters and framed them in a piece of collaborative Gotham fic, We Were All Forgiven. Since about late April, I had been getting progressively sicker and sicker (didn’t know yet that I had cancer). Keeping busy as things got worse helped at least in the psychological sense, but by mid-August my exhaustion and difficulty eating were hitting their peak. I was hiding it from everyone except my partner.

1 September 2019: Returning to two stories I’d written for Batman: Europa, I created a series umbrella called Once Is Not Enough and explicitly placed London (Letting Go) and Five Love Affairs under it as companion pieces. Between Thursday Friday of this particular week, I experienced an increasingly more frightening set of symptoms that landed me in the ER and got a sequence of diagnostic tests finally rolling.

22 October 2019: After receiving a diagnosis of colon cancer on 10/1/19 and starting medical leave Monday of Halloween Week, I decided to complete the sequel to The Meaning of This City, which was a Gotham piece I’d left hanging mid-progress for weeks. The Maze of Your Ingenuity was hard for me to complete due to constant blood tests, CT scans, and outpatient procedures in the lead-up to my Thanksgiving Week major inpatient surgery, but I did it.

23 September - 11 December 2019: My longest Gotham fic ’verse (Delicate, Dangerous, Obsessed, a.k.a. DDO), having refused to die even once The Knights’ Tour was complete, got an entirely new ending stretch of stories focusing on, of all people, Jerome Valeska and Five (514A). They were the only two characters from canon who I had mentioned and/or shown briefly in passing earlier in DDO, but whose arcs from canon (and onward into my fic) I had done nothing to wrap up. Challengers, Thicker Than Blood, Take This Waltz (It’s Yours Now), Finally Fair (In Love and War), and What We’re For (And What We Want) may, collectively, be the best writing I did during the entirety of 2019 (unless you count what I wrote in February to finish CoT). The experience of terrifying, unexplained illness and harrowing treatment was entirely too timely to one of my two protagonists in this set of stories. They were worth their weight not just in distraction, but also in catharsis. Five survived, and so did I.

#good omens #gotham #wayleska #fic year in review #fanfiction

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stetervault · 5 years

Note

hey cywscross! any longfics (like at least 30k+ long) you can recommend? old or new is fine but like something multichaptered (and preferably complete) would be great! thanks!

Wow, 30k, you’re obviously settling in for a fic marathon lol. I can name you some, mostly Steter with a few Stetopher/Steterek:

Under the Songbird’s Wing by mia6363

Captivity easily destroys the will of escape. It can break the fiercest of animal. It can strip the most regal man and woman down to nothing but animal needs.

Captivity can, if met with unwavering determination, shape a person into something unimaginable.

Stiles is sixteen when he’s captured. Stiles’s first thought is, “I won’t die here.”

love me lights out by veterization

Stiles and Peter get snowed in together. (Or: what happens when you accept phone calls from people you haven’t spoken to in over five years.)

come find me by Areiton

“You want me,” he says, stubbornly sure and you consider him.

“Yes,” you agree, because you are not a good man, and you are not accustomed to denying yourself what you want. “And it doesn’t matter because I am saying no.”

You touch his hand, and he jerks, wide eyed as you lean into him, and breath into his ear. “If you still feel this way, come find me in ten years.”

Til Death by Bunnywest

“How long do we have to find him someone?” Stiles asks.“Two weeks,” says Derek, eyebrows pulling down even further. The fierceness of his expression tells Stiles just how concerned he is.“He marries, or he goes to the camps. And you know what your father told us,” Scott reminds her.The camps……aren’t camps.Peter either finds a wife, or he dies.

Rabbit verse by Bunnywest (series, complete)

Peter loves to hunt. Stiles is his (too willing )prey.

as you are by veterization

Stiles runs straight into a tree and suddenly, things are… different. Namely, he’s in a world where Peter Hale is his boyfriend.

Uncle Peter Doesn’t Date by Mellow (SweetCandy) (wip series, but each part so far is complete)

“Oh don’t lie, you love it.” Peter purred and winked at his newest arm candy, who spluttered for a few seconds, before blushing like a 16 year old virgin. Considering how young he looked Laura wouldn’t be surprised if he was actually 16.“Shut up Peter!” Bambi squeaked, still flushing and averting Laura’s eyes. “Well, anyways, I’m,”‘Bambi’.“Stiles. Stiles Stilinski, pleasure to meet you- again.” Stiles smiled sheepishly, obviously nervous.Stiles Stilinski. Definitely a stripper then.

Or: Laura was prepared for whatever piece of armcandy her uncle had decided to show up with, what she hadn’t been prepared for was Stiles Stilinski…her uncle’s boyfriend.

Rewriting the future by Synesthetic

Two days before their planned bonding, alpha Derek Hale runs away with his secret beta girlfriend, leaving Stiles heartbroken. With the demands of his omega physiology forcing him to bond with someone before his first heat, Derek’s uncle Peter steps in and offers a solution.

To Save Them All by Goldenpetal13

AU, FutureFic/Re do of Season 1, Something happens, something bad, and Stiles finds a way to go back in time to change the past and save them all, to give them a future. He finds the way back and then swaps places with Scott and he gets bitten by Peter instead. Now he has to change the events that where set in motion after that event and maybe, just maybe they’ll all get to live.

Empathy, Empathy, Put Yourself in the Place of Me by twothumbsandnostakeincanon (series, complete)

Peter was suspicious.

Just generally, as a person. He always assumed his fellow man had impure motives until they proved otherwise, and then he still kept an eye out.

But at this particular moment, he was specifically suspicious of Derek’s new girlfriend.

He’s not the only one.

Bone Deep by ShippersList (28k+ but complete)

A body in the woods, a mate, and a long-awaited revenge.

Peter had no idea how his life would change when he followed the strange pull in his chest.

Get Off (Me) by KouriArashi

Stiles hates being left behind with Peter while the pack is fighting monsters, because he never knows exactly what Peter will get up to.

Love What is Behind You by KouriArashi

Basically what it says on the label. Hunger Games type fusion. Stiles doing way better than anyone anticipates. Peter finds him intriguing. Ruthless, devious assholes working together to ruin bad guys, as the Steter ship is meant to be.

Whatever Works by KouriArashi (Steter + Sterek)

The problem with having your soulmate’s first words to you tattooed on your arm is knowing your whole life that you’re fated to be with a jerk. It’s enough to make Stiles want to date other people … which is how he winds up dating his soulmate’s nephew.

Call My Name by KouriArashi

After moving to Beacon Hills, Stiles starts having recurring dreams of a man in some kind of prison, who needs his help. Things get so bad that he ends up in Eichen House, where he finds out that the man is real.

Sympathy for the Devil by KouriArashi

Stiles gets a job as a hospital orderly and finds himself becoming strangely attached to the catatonic man on the long-term care ward, and finds out that there’s a lot more to Peter Hale than there seems…

Devil of Mercy by KouriArashi

Peter’s heard people talk about what it felt like when they saw their mate for the first time, from those who actually believe in the mystical bullshit. Like a magnet, like gravity. Peter just feels… sharply curious.

Begging Me To Open Up My Mouth by Green

In a world where the supernatural is known, Peter still has to stick out. He can’t just be a werewolf, he has to be a sub, too. He can handle the stupidity from his classmates, he doesn’t even care about that, but Talia not understanding what he needs because werewolf subs are so rare?

Yeah. That he could do without.

***

Stiles is a Spark, freelance Emissary, and a Dom, in that order. He likes it that way. The freedom of it, the ability to travel and learn. He’s not ready to settle down.

But he maybe considers lingering when someone catches his eye.

Of Werewolves and Tentacles by Guede (Steterek)

Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall, childhood best friends who were separated, now reunite to get to know each other again. Since Scott’s a werewolf and Stiles is a new graduate of Miskatonic University (which is proving strangely attractive to Peter-Hale-shaped werewolves), they’ve got quite a bit to catch up on.

Bittersweet Creek by Guede

When Stiles finally steps off the westward trail to California, he’s the last of his pack. He starts building a den, but then he finds a dying man next to a burnt-down house and it turns out he’s not really much of a settler, after all.

Cats and Dogs by Guede

Stiles is a were-cat. He likes to lie around in the sun, insists on poking into everything, viciously defends his territory and is always judging you. His best friend is Scott, a werewolf, he’s dating Peter, another werewolf, and he enjoys terrorizing Peter’s nephew Derek.

Oh, and John and Chris are were-cats too. Basically, everybody’s some kind of were and I make a lot of cheap jokes about cat and dog stereotypes.

The Time Travel Grammar Book by Guede

The story that was supposed to be about time-travel, but is really a stealth AU of the first two seasons where Talia’s a struggling single mom, Peter’s the eponymous teen wolf, and Stiles, Scott and Lydia…are time travelers (so that part’s not totally inaccurate).

Open Wounds by Guede

Talia got out of the fire with Peter, but everyone else died. Years later, they’re still struggling with injuries, but they’ve at least settled in with oddball werewolf Stiles. And then other werewolves start showing up. Familiar ones.

Movement in Alpha Major by Guede

Peter Hale, thirty-four, shady but successful human lawyer, knocks on his nephew Derek’s door one night because he’s just been bitten by a werewolf. Somehow, this ends up being a lot more awkward than one would expect.

The Sphinx of Beacon Hills by Guede (Stetopher)

Stiles is a sphinx, and he’s winging his way to visit his buddy Scott when a storm drops him in Beacon Hills, the craziest, crankiest, coldest place ever. And somehow, he ends up with a bunch of werewolves.

Note: Bestiality warning is because the version of sphinx here is lion-shaped from waist down, and I don’t know how else to tag that.

Werewolf How-To by Guede (Steterek)

Being a sex mage with a magical knotting cock (and a profitable land revitalization business, thank you) doesn’t mean that Stiles needs to hook up with werewolves. It just kind of happens that way.

Intemperance by Guede (Stetopherek)

Stiles is the one who gets pulled back to Beacon Hills by a murder.

Sustainable Management by Guede (Steterek)

An alternate universe where werewolves and other supernatural creatures aren’t just integrated, but are so deeply embedded that they’re considered part of the natural ecosystem.

In other words, Stiles and his father work for a U.S. Forest Service that’s way different from the one here, if only because it involves many more secret-agent hijinks.

Strays by DiscontentedWinter (Stetopher)

In a Beacon Hills that’s been destroyed by a war between humans and werewolves, Stiles Stilinski does what he has to in order to survive.

Sanctuary by DiscontentedWinter

The Hale Wolf Sanctuary isn’t just for wolves.

It turns out it’s for Stilinskis as well.

Infinite Space by DiscontentedWinter

Stiles needs Peter’s expertise to help stop the latest threat to Beacon Hills.And, as the pack falls apart around him, he might even need Peter for more than that.

Save Me by DiscontentedWinter

Peter is the Alpha.He’s nobody’s savior.Not his pack’s. Not his town’s. And not that kid’s.But sometimes salvation goes both ways.

You Had Me at Canapes by LadyArinn

Stiles doesn’t mean to sneak into the Hale wedding, and he certainly doesn’t mean to have cliche coat-room sex with the bride’s uncle, but what had happened, happened, and it wasn’t like he could just leave. At least, not until he got to have some of that cake.

Naughty Hookers (Swathed in Wool) by pprfaith (wip series, but main parts are complete)

Stiles is happy with his store, his hobbies, his friends. Peter’s just trying to figure out how to raise his nieces and nephew without fucking them up too badly.

Paths cross.

Sing to Me, Oh so Sweetly by lavenderlotion

“Can I get a story, Mama?” Stiles asked.

“What type of story do you want to hear, darling?” his mama asked, sitting on the edge of his bed and playing with Stiles’ hair. He liked it when she did that.

“I wanna hear about the magic woman!” Stiles demanded, doing his best to keep still.

“You always wanna hear about the magic woman,” Mama told him. “Well, alright. Do you want me to start from the beginning?”

“Well, duh,” Stiles said, rolling his eyes. The beginning was always the best part.

“Once upon a time, there was a young girl with skin as white as the moon and eyes as bright as the sun.”

Breathing You In by lavenderlotion (29k+, 1 chapter, but complete)

“Good morning, kiddo,” his dad said, and the words hurt.

All Stiles wanted to do was step forward and let his dad hug him, allow his father to give him comfort. His father’s hugs had always been all-encompassing, the way he would fold himself around Stiles and hold him as tightly as he could.

Stiles stepped around him, careful not to let foreign skin touch anything that was special to him.

Anything he loved.

Just Don’t Leave Me by lavenderlotion

Stiles had no idea it could happen. Really, he hadn’t. But it did and he had to deal with the fallout, alone. And, and after everything with Scott, and Derek, that was a daunting task. At least, he had his dad, god was he thankful he had his dad, but - but he couldn’t say he didn’t wish he had Peter, too.

Proposing To Strangers by moonstalker24

At the end of a strained relationship, crime novelist Stiles chooses to hide from the world inside a bar with far too many motorcycles outside it for comfort. Here he’ll meet the man of his dreams, eat food and propose marriage, all within the first five minutes.

Peter doesn’t know who this kid is, but he’s cute and looks like he could use a break. So he feeds him. He’s not expecting a marriage proposal, but with what comes after, he doesn’t really mind.

Worn Out Shoes by moonstalker24

When the dead rise, and the world comes to an end, the McCall Pack must learn to live in this new world, or die in the attempt. This is the story of the end, and of the year that follows.

The Choice by moonstalker24

“You will be changed, Goscislaw Genim Stilinski. From your bones you will be changed.”“How.”“That we cannot tell you… That is the price.”

He’s made the deal, now he only has fifteen minutes to make a choice and either save or condemn them all. Fifteen minutes and then Stiles will have to live with the consequences.

Every step of the way by Pirotess666

Hurt, pain, suffering. TORTURE. Peter felt it all while he was in Eichen House.And after he got out? All those memories of what happened there were threatening to drive him insane.The only thing that helped? Being with Stiles.And Stiles just couldn’t stop himself from helping Peter.

Bite Down by EclipseWing (27k+ but complete)

In which Stiles is forced to survive the zombie apocalypse with a sociopathic murdering werewolf for company.

Surviving Peter and the Zombie Apocalypse by Nopennamesleft

Its the end of the world and Stiles has run out of luck. He saves a werewolf from certain death. Will they begin to rely on each other to survive or will the wolf just eat Stiles for a midnight snack?

Do You Like to Hurt? (Then Hurt Me) by taylorpotato

Stiles shows up at Peter’s apartment, drunk and horny. Peter almost does the right thing—before it all deteriorates into a voyeuristic power game and Stiles has a mind-shattering orgasm. Things snowball from there. Takes place after Season Three (with consequent canon divergence).

Out Of The East, Never See The Sun Rise by neglectedtuesday (24k+ but complete)

In the beginning, there are three absolutes.

One. Stiles is a god, forged of starlight and collapsing galaxies and he is eternal.

Two. Peter is human, fragile bone and viscous blood and he is temporary.

Three. Stiles and Peter are in love; love that claws its way inside one’s heart like fish hooks; all encompassing love that is beautiful but dangerous.

Stiles is a god. Peter is human. They love each other.

Three absolutes.

The World That Is Not Ours by Ragga (wip series but first three parts are done)

About a boy and his monster, or a monster and his boy.

#teen wolf #steter #stetopher #steterek #stetopherek #fanfic rec #stiles stilinski #peter hale #chris argent #derek hale #ask #anonymous #rec list

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buckybarnesbingo · 4 years

Photo

BBB Week 4 Roundup! Some good stuff lies ahead, so go find it!

Title: Just Before Dawn Collaborator: grimeysociety Link: AO3 Square Filled: B3 - Isolated or Trapped Ship: Bucky/Darcy Rating: Teen Major Tags: Brief mentions of animal cruelty, Fluff and Crack, Magical Realism Summary: One day, Darcy rescues a dog and then a gorgeous naked man appears in her living room that night. Word Count: 6148

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Title: The Stark Robo Sucker 5000 Collaborator: crazycatt71 Link: AO3 Square Filled: C1 - Sensation Play Ship: WinterHawk, Bucky/Clint/Steve/Tony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Fucking machines, exhibitionism, Dom/sub undertones, orgasm denial, wrist cuffs Summary: Clint & Bucky put on a show with the Stark Robo Sucker 5000 Word Count: 1174

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Title: Dummy’s faboulous ideas Collaborator: Menatiera Link: AO3 Square Filled: C5 - Sidekick Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: Matchmaker bots, fluff Summary: Dummy is determined to help the people he cares for. Jarvis is concerned, Bucky is amused. Word Count: 744

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Title: Nutritional Value Collaborator: Judy_The_Dreamer Link: AO3 Square Filled: B5 - Bucky/Steve Ship: Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: a/b/o dynamics, PWP, power dynamics and kinks, past mpreg Summary: Sometimes the first taste is not enough and you find yourself hungering for more. Tony, Steve and Bucky come to terms with what transpired in Joystick. Word Count: 13,739

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Title: Let Someone See Right Through Collaborator: avintagekiss24 Link: AO3 Square Filled: B1 - Kink: One Night Stand Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Explicit Major Tags: drinking, implied mention of death, past infidelity, smut, sex, a little bit of angst, oral sex (female receiving) Summary: Two strangers meet at a bar on their birthday. Word Count: 4446

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Title: Darcy, Bucky and the Hundred Acre Wood Collaborator: grimeysociety Link: AO3 Square Filled: B5 - Sunshowers Ship: Bucky/Darcy Rating: Gen Major Tags: none Summary: Darcy and Bucky are transported into the world of the Hundred Acre Wood. Word Count: 2163

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Title: Into the unknown - Chapter 1 Collaborator: diner_drama Link: AO3 Square Filled: U3 - little sister Ship: Stucky Rating: Teen Major Tags: Frozen AU Summary: Bucky has everything under control. He's the hereditary leader of a small and prosperous country. He lives with his beloved sister and her fiancé in a beautiful castle, and his people are safe and well. He also happens to be in control of the power of ice, but he's got that working for him now, so that's not an issue. But when he closes his eyes, he can hear a siren's song calling him from the far North. Word Count: 800

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Title: Taps Collaborator: Ribbonsflying Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - Vulnerability Ship: Stucky Rating: Teen Major Tags: flashback to deaths of unnamed characters, some blood obviously because vampires, drinking blood Summary: Bucky nosed into Steve’s neck and rested his head on his shoulder. “Now I know why you refilled my juice without being asked.” “No, it’s because I’m a sweetheart," Bucky protested. Steve scoffed playfully. “Sweetheart, my ass. There’s nothing sweet about you.” Word Count: 2357

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Title: Petals - Chapter 1 Collaborator: DocOlive Link: AO3 Square Filled: B3 - hanahaki disease Ship: Stucky Rating: Teen Major Tags: Hanahaki Disease Summary: Steve Rogers knows what it's like to be sick. With actual illnesses that exist, like the asthma that always gets worse in the spring. But when he starts coughing up flower petals, rational explanations fly out the window. But is it really possible that he's contracted a fatal case of lovesickness? Word Count: 681

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Title: What About Us? Collaborator: pherryt Link: AO3 Square Filled: C1 - One Night Stand Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Canon Divergent, Tower Fic, A/B/O dynamics, explicit sexual content Summary: Bucky's come in from the cold, Steve is being Steve, Tony wants to throw a party and Bucky has no idea who the Alpha is who asked him to dance (or why, when Bucky's been hiding in the corner all night to avoid people), but it suddenly looks like more than dancing is on the menu. Word Count: 3091

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Title: The Road To You Has Been Fractured With Torment Collaborator: visionarygalaxy Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y4 - Bondage Ship: Stucky Rating: Teen Major Tags: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Dom/sub, Kink negotiation. fluff Summary: Bucky and Steve reconnect after everything they've been through, slowly and carefully. Word Count: 1284

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Title: and now, the end is near - Chapter 3: Three: Clint Collaborator: hawksonfire Link: AO3 Square Filled: C2 - Heat Ship: Bucky/Steve/Clint Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content Summary: A three-part tale in which our boys are content. Word Count: 4316

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Title: Petals - Chapter 2: Don't forget to tip your barista Collaborator: DocOlive Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - pining Ship: Stucky Rating: Teen Major Tags: mild blood/gore sickfic ( hanahaki disease) Summary: Bucky wasn’t even supposed to be here this afternoon. He was supposed to be at the library working on his Urban Policy lab project. But that was neither here nor there; it’s not like Darcy had up and come down with the flu on purpose. Besides, he reminded himself, he could use the money. He could always use the money. -- War veteran turned grad student and barista Bucky Barnes has a thing for a certain Brooklyn twink. Word Count: 2791

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Title: And I Will Wend My Way With You Collaborator: mariana_oconnor Link: AO3 Squares Filled: Chapter 1 - B2: Bucky/Clint Chapter 2 - U5: Jealousy Chapter 3 - Y5: Hair Braiding Chapter 4 - K4: Sharing Clothes Chapter 5 - K2: Kink: Wall Pinning Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Fantasy AU, Mild Dub-con, Slavery, Violence, implied/referenced rape/non-con, explicit sexual content Summary: After four long years, Bucky's mission is finally complete. All he needs to do is leave the Hydra Empire and make his way back to the Kingdom of Brooklyn with the information he has obtained. He definitely doesn't need the added complication of a slave, especially not one as angry and handsome as Clint Barton. Word Count: 29,653

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Title: A Bad Day With Coffee Is Better Than A Good Day Without It - Chapter 1 Collaborator: Trashcanakin Link: AO3 Square Filled: B2 - Bucky/Clint Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: Pre-Slash, Mutual Pining, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Human Disaster Clint Barton, Deaf Clint Barton, Not Canon Compliant, Not Beta Read Summary: Clint has a terrible, no good, day... Bucky tries to make it better. Word Count: 2491

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Title: End Of All Days - Chapter 11: Part X Collaborator: Minka Link: AO3 Square Filled: U5 – AU: Adventurers/Explorers Ship: Stucky Rating: Mature Major Tags: violence Summary: Captain Steve Rogers had thought his military days were behind him, left in the bloody nightmare that was Saigon. Retired and working as a History Professor, the last thing he expected was to get caught up in a cataclysmic Slavic prophesy foreshadowing the end of the known world.With Cold War tensions running high, Steve finds himself in need of a guide and translator to get him behind the Iron Curtain and into the isolated snowdrifts of Siberia. It’s deep in the heart of Bucharest’s resistance fighters that Steve finds the ideal candidate, but swaying the enigmatic ex-operative known as The Winter Soldier proves to be complicated. Trust is hard-won, especially in the world of espionage, and with a KGB death squad nipping at his heels, the Soldier has countless reasons to stay presumably dead. As the lines between right, wrong and the supernatural begin to blur, Steve is forced to reconsider everything he’s ever believed, right from the sanctity of his own country to the very foundations of creation itself .--- Aka the Indiana Jones/Atomic Blonde lovechild of a fic that literally no one ever asked for but you’re bloody well going to get anyway. Word Count: 47,940

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Title: Siren - Chapter 1: Do you think I'm stuck up 'cause I'm always picking fights? Collaborator: Writing_mermaid Link: Tumblr Square Filled: C3 - Free square Ship: Bucky/Reader Rating: Mature Major Tags: siren AU Summary: Y/N is a mutant, a Siren, the last of her kind, with deadly dangerous powers and a hidden past. If most of the Avengers likes and get along with her, Steve doesn’t, and it’s getting worse when Y/N and Bucky become close. After all what can bring two broken souls together if it’s not a dark past. Word Count: 1479

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Title: What, Like It's Hard? Collaborator: DocOlive Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - crack Ship: Stucky Rating: Gen Major Tags: Legally Blonde fusion Summary: “Hey Buck, w-what’re ya doing with that?” Steve’s looking at him like he’s just grown a third head or something. Shit. What the fuck did I do now? “Sorry, pal, I was just trying to help out a little around here.” Bucky lets go of the handle, letting the big, ugly hammer drop to the floor. “Just clearing things off the floor so I could do a little cleaning before we drown in cat fur.”Big old viking shouldn’t leave his shit all over if he don’t want people manhandling it outta their way. -- Or, Bucky moves Mjölnir while he's cleaning, and doesn't understand what the big deal is. Legally Blonde meets the Avengers. Word Count: 559

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Title: Don't Forget To Write Collaborator: The_Alias (Artemis_Day) Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y1 - Secret Admirer Ship: Bucky/Jane Foster Rating: Teen Major Tags: secret admirer Summary: 'The tenth time, there is no note. Just him.' Jane has a secret admirer, but who could it possibly be? Word Count: 6072

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Title: The reason Nick Fury doesn't do vacations. Collaborator: Fighting_for_Creativity Link: AO3 Square Filled: Y5 - Rescue Mission Ship: WinterIronFury Rating: Teen Major Tags: Vacation gone wrong, Happy ending, crack(ish), Hydra, mention of animal experiments, Angst and Hurt/Comfort Summary: Tony and Bucky wanted to go on a trip with their third Nicholas Fury. However Nick refused, Bucky and Tony got abducted and… Tony never thought he would see tigers in that state. Word Count: 5473

#buckybarnesbingo2020 #bbb2020 #bbb weekly roundup #bbb week 4 roundup

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andrewmoocow · 3 years

Text

Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 17: Together Forever (originally posted on July 5, 2021)

AN: Welcome back my loyal readers! Sorry to keep you all waiting these past few months, but I know the wait will really be worth it. The final two parts of Alternate Future might be some of my greatest writings yet, and I'm more than excited to share it all with you starting today. Now without further ado….

Synopsis: Steven tries to become Connie's official boyfriend.

Cast:

Zach Callison as Steven

Estelle as Garnet

Charlyne Yi as Ruby

Erica Luttrell as Sapphire

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl

Grace Rolek as Connie

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

Kimberly Brooks as Cherry Quartz

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Featuring Ray Chase as George Ikari

Pearl stood in line at the Buddwick Public Library alongside many other parents and parental figures like her, waiting as a bearded, glasses-wearing Japanese-American man signed books at a table.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to not be from around here, right?" a single dad standing behind Pearl asked her.

"Well, technically yes," Pearl informed the father. "I come from a planet of beings similar to myself who are all based around gemstones, which explains my appearance. Also, just last week I helped save your world from a sociopathic revolutionary, so you're welcome."

"You foreigners say the craziest things!" the father giggled in disbelief of Pearl, who just groaned flatly as the line began to pick up.

Eventually, Pearl was at the front of the line and now face to face with childcare author George Ikari, who had his fingers clasped together as he gazed at Pearl.

"Let me guess, you are here because of your own son, daughter, or whatever pronouns your child prefers to be dubbed?" George asked Pearl while he took out another copy of his book, titled "When Your Child Wants Time Apart", to sign for the Gem.

"Well, he's not really my son, but Steven is the closest thing my team, the Crystal Gems, have to one after his mother died giving birth to him." Pearl explained as George got to signing. "And that's not even getting into the fact that his mother was a former despotic alien conqueror who grew tired of her life and the constant neglect from her fellow despots, so she faked her death because of how much she valued your planet as part of a big war, then thousands of years later she met a rock star and fell in love with him before they consummated their relationship and she gave up her physical form to give birth to Steven."

George just stared in shock at Pearl's tale before she tried to continue. "And just last week, there was this other Gem with a vendetta against Steven's mother who tried to destroy the planet and kill us a-"

"Stop." George commanded Pearl with a raise of his hand before handing over the signed book. "Just take the book and leave. Your tales are holding up the line."

"What did I tell ya, foreigners say the craziest things!" the single father from before laughed.

"I'm deeply sorry Mr. Ikari, it's just that Steven has been going through some rough times lately." Pearl apologized to the author.

"I completely understand miss." George said while pulling out his phone to show Pearl a picture of his own son, a young man with scruffy brown hair, a white dress shirt, and a nervous expression on his face. "My son Shane has had his fair share of troubles ever since his mother died, troubles that he insisted on running away from rather than facing them maturely."

"Just like Steven." Pearl compared the two boys sympathetically. "I am deeply sorry for your loss sir."

"Thank you for your kindness." George smiled, putting away his phone. "The best thing I feel could work for a situation like this is to let things play out and discuss his problems when the time is right."

"Thank you very much George." Pearl thanked the author as she finally began to leave the library with her new book in hand. "Though I doubt that'll be of any use to Steven."

Not too far away from the library, Steven was sitting in his room talking to Connie on the phone while she was on her study break.

"Wow Connie, looks like you got all this college stuff figured out." Steven laughed with his dear human friend over his phone.

"I've got a whole plan figured out for early admission into the University of Jayhawk, but I'm still not sure about my major," Connie explained to Steven. "Maybe I should major in political science and minor in sociology, or perhaps the other way around."

"Did all our galactic adventures together get you interested in politics?" Steven asked.

"Maybe." Connie chuckled. "But I'm thinking more down to earth, as far as long-term careers go." As the two laughed at Connie's pun, the timer on her phone began to go off. "Wow, fifteen minutes went by pretty fast."

"Aw man, these study breaks are too short." Steven complained before he realized something. "Hey wait, you left a brochure at my place last time." He stated, pulling out a brochure for Connie's college of choice to show her. "You want it back?"

"It's alright Steven, I still have two more, and the Internet too." Connie answered smiling.

"Oh, right." Steven realized. "Well, call me when you still wanna hang out, okay?"

"You know I will, silly!" Connie beamed. "Okay, for real now, bye!"

After Connie ended the call, Steven turned over on his back and gazed at the brochure in his hands. "The University of Jayhawk, huh?" he muttered to himself. "And how far is that from here?" Steven then opened up the brochure to learn how far the distance between Beach City and the university's location in Kansas was. "Oh, that far."

Once again, Steven began to glow pink as he sadly sank into his bed, fretting over how little often he'd be able to see Connie regularly. Gazing at his rose-colored hand, he then started pondering on whether he should do something about this new condition, as he had been thinking about since the titanic battle with Black Rutile.

Soon, Steven had decided to get up off his bed and walk downstairs, to which he found Garnet standing in the living room dressed in a hat and kerchief. "Oh Garnet, you're still here?"

"Steven." Garnet greeted Steven tersely.

"I could really use your advice right now." Steven declared racing over to the fusion. "It's about-"

"Not right now Steven, I gotta split." Garnet cut Steven off before un-fusing into Ruby and Sapphire.

"I'm terribly sorry Steven, but I'm running late for my lecture on alternate timelines." Sapphire apologized while taking off the scoutmaster's hat and giving it to Ruby, along with a kiss on the cheek, before racing off to her lecture. "See you soon!"

"Sapphire might be going, but you still got good ol' Ruby to talk to." Ruby said to Steven as she went to fetch a backpack. "Let's walk and talk scout, I got things to do."

"Oh, okay." Steven agreed as he followed Ruby to the Warp Pad, and the two set off.

Later that day, Steven had joined Ruby's class, consisting of Onion, Zebra Jasper, and Little Larimar, as they strolled through the woods on a gorgeous afternoon. When the class got to a good stopping point near a stump, Ruby hopped up on the stump to speak. "Okay everyone, you remember what we learned last week, right?" she asked her students. "Well, today is the day! Brace yourselves, 'cause today we're sketching nature and the animals around us!"

Onion and his Gem classmates excitedly took out their notepads to draw on as Ruby continued. "Draw to your heart's content scouts!" Ruby declared. "Feel the beauty of everything around you, and you'll have the honor of receiving this Nature Sketching Badge!" She then presented a patch depicting a paint palette and brush in front of depictions of a wolf and a bird. "Got that? Now get to drawing!"

As soon as the three pupils left to go draw the beauty of nature around them, Ruby took it as her cue to jump down from the stump to talk with Steven. "So, what did you need Garnet for?"

"It's about Connie." Steven admitted to the small red Gem. "Every time I talk with her, I feel like she knows exactly what to do with her life, mostly thanks to her parents, and I don't. When we're together as Stevonnie, I feel so ready for anything, but on my own, I feel so lost. Just, what do I want with life?"

"That's tough Steven." Ruby declared sympathetically.

"Exactly!" Steven replied. "Connie is gonna go super far away for college, and I'm gonna be stuck here in Beach City where barely anything can go right for me nowadays and I don't know what to do about them! I want to be with Connie forever, like how you and Sapphire are basically together forever as Garnet!" That was when he came to a conclusion. "Wait, if I want to be together with Connie, then she's my future!"

Steven's revelation made Ruby super excited, and she began scuttling in place with stars in her eyes, her rapid footsteps creating a small fire beneath her feet. "STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN STEVEN!" she cheered, but stopped short once she noticed the fire she created. "Oh my gosh, one sec!" Ruby quickly ran off and came back with a towel that she used to put it out. "Anyways, STEVEN, YOU GOTTA PROPOSE!"

"Wait, propose?!" Steven exclaimed in shock. "But, we're only teenagers, we can't get married yet! But then again…"

"Don't say you haven't thought of it!" Ruby added cheerfully. "Besides, aren't there couples in this country that get married at 18 or something?"

"Y-yeah, I thought of it." Steven began blushing, which he tried to hide within his jacket. "I mean, we just had this discussion."

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Ruby yelled happily while jumping up and grabbing onto his head. "DO IT, DO IT, DO IT! DO IT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!"

"Are you still really sure?" Steven asked the overly eager Gem. "As I said, Connie and I are still only teenagers."

"C'mon, we told you about how it worked for Sapphire and I." Ruby responded. "And if you're successful, you'll have the honor of receiving this!" She presented Steven with a badge depicting one figure popping the question to another. "The Proposal Badge! And if you're not so sure, well, seeing the future would be really helpful here."

Steven gasped, knowing just who Ruby was implying.

Far away from Ruby, Sapphire sat down with her class, made up of the Watermelon Tourmaline fusion, two of the Nephrites, Orange Spodumene, Cherry Quartz, and Angel Aura Quartz, while drawing lines in the sand with a stick.

"Okay class, let's begin our lesson." Sapphire announced to her students when she spotted Steven racing towards her with a big smile on his face. "Ah, Steven. I've been expecting you."

"Hi, Sapphire." Steven greeted Sapphire. "I'm sorry to interrupt your class, but I got big news! I've been thinking about my future with Connie lately, and a chat with Ruby convinced me that I should propose!"

"Wait, don't you have to wait until you're a grown-up to do that?" Cherry Quartz inquired with a raise of her hand.

"Let me guess, you're here because of my future vision?" Sapphire asked. "Let's run the numbers then." She then let Steven stand next to her before beginning to speak to her class. "Okay class, let's review what we've learned today." She began while drawing complex math equations in the sand. "Using the concepts we discussed so far, let us calculate the probability of Steven succeeding in asking Connie to marry him. Let's begin with the probability that she'll want to spend her life with someone, and then we'll multiply that by the differential factor in sociocultural marriage acceptance. Next, we multiply that by a possibly happy cohabitation, the factor of fear of engagement, the intensity of the love you share, and finally the robustness of your goals in life." As Sapphire finished her equation, she finally turned back to Steven. "Are you following so far, Steven?"

"Uh, maybe?" Steven answered as he stared at the equation Sapphire had jotted down for him in the sand, but it wasn't long before the ocean tides began to wash them away. "Oh no, your work!"

"And there we have it." Sapphire declared with a chuckle. "Don't you get it, Steven? My marriage to Ruby, our fusion as Garnet, it eluded my future vision for so long, defied the odds, and perhaps even changed the course of time itself!" she declared encouragingly. "We could just write equations in the sand all day, but then a wave of chance can come crashing in and wash everything away! Love is truly unquantifiable! Even with my gift of clairvoyance, I know far better than anyone that love can make the impossible possible! And that is why I say do it! Do it, Steven, just do it!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Steven began getting pumped up before turning to Sapphire's class. "Get one last good look at me, everyone, because after today you're gonna be calling me Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe-Maheswaran!"

The class began cheering vibrantly, bringing a big smile to Steven's face as he finally realized what his future now held.

As the afternoon slowly began to give way to evening, Ruby and Sapphire reunited by rushing towards each other on the sand, excited about the big proposal.

"Steven told me first, and I led him to you!" Ruby cheered, spinning her little blue wife around by the waist.

"I told him to go for it!" Sapphire laughed. "Oh, it's going to be so wonderful!"

As the two fused back into Garnet, she stood still for a few moments, contemplating her components' decisions before coming to one of her own. "I take full responsibility for their actions." Just then, Garnet heard footsteps and found Pearl walking behind her, her pointy nose stuck in a book. "Pearl, I'm guessing you want to see me about the book you're reading."

"I was just thinking about calling up you and Amethyst," Pearl announced as her gaze turned from the pages to her leader. "Where's Steven?"

"Oh, nothing much," Garnet answered. "Just going to make a rash decision that'll emotionally damage him in the long run."

"Oh, that's ni-" Pearl began before she did a double-take. "WAIT, WHAT?!"

As for Steven, he was too busy getting ready for an evening with Connie without a care in the world, picking up a cake from Spacetries that said 'Together forever!' on it, buying some flowers from Crazy Lace Agate, lighting up the glow bracelet that brought him & Connie together to begin with and dressing up in some nice clothes. If all goes well, he would soon become Steven Quartz Cutie Pie DeMayo Diamond Universe-Maheswaran.

Meanwhile, at Connie's house, Connie kept on studying for the University of Jayhawk when she heard a roar coming from outside her window. Walking over to the window, she discovered Steven parked outside her home with Lion by his side.

"Evening Connie, how are you doing?" Steven asked his ladylove.

"Steven?" Connie replied. "What are you doing here, and why are you all dressed up like that?"

"You got a fifteen-minute study break in two minutes, right?" Steven inquired, gazing at his watch to check if his timing is correct.

"Whoa, spot-on!" Connie exclaimed, gazing at her phone to learn that he was indeed right. "So, what did you come here for?"

"You want to go for a walk with me?" Steven offered. "I'm sure you could use some fresh air."

"That's very sweet Steven." Connie smiled. "I'd really love to, but I-"

"Don't worry, we can take Lion, and then I'll bring you home in fifteen!" Steven declared with a thumbs up.

"Okay, let's do this!" Connie accepted the offer and left her room to meet Steven outside, taking a moment to tell her parents along the way. "Bye Mom and Dad, I'm spending my study break with Steven!"

Once Connie was out the door, she and Steven mounted on Lion's back and he ran away from the Maheswaran residence.

"Remember when we first met here?" Steven asked Connie as they dismounted from Lion and began walking down the beach.

"You mean when you tried riding a bike in the sand and then started running away screaming?" Connie replied with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I was trying to get your attention." Steven added.

"Last I remember, I was more focused on my book than your silly antics." Connie stated.

"Well, that all happened right here." Steven declared, gesturing to a picnic at the very spot where he and Connie first met all those years ago. "You like what I have here?"

"Steven!" Connie exclaimed in awe at the picnic set before them. "I don't know what to say! I also can't believe you still remember this exact spot!"

"I just remember it like it was yesterday!" Steven exclaimed just as eagerly before running over to a nearby rock to sit on.

"This is too cute." Connie squealed while blushing.

"And without further ado," Steven announced as he picked up a guitar to play while Connie sat down. "There's something very important that I'd like to tell you today." With that, he started strumming the guitar and began to sing. "I'd rather be tall, I'd rather be smart, I'd rather be sure you know I care." He sang for Connie. "Wherever you go, wherever you start, I'd rather be sure you know I'm there. I'd rather I always be a part of whatever you do. I'd rather be me, with you."

Although Connie was a little turned off by the deeper meaning of Steven's song, she chose to just keep those feelings hidden to not hurt Steven's while he continued singing. "Wherever we go, I already trust, I'd know what to do if it were us. I'd know what to say, I'd know how to be, I'd know your entire syllabus." Steven continued as the song reached its climax. "I can't think of any other thing in the world that I would rather do. If I could be, I'd rather be me with you."

"Oh Steven, that's so beautiful!" Connie applauded the love song. "If a little unsettling, but I'd rather not say it out loud because-" Steven then got down on one knee and presented him her old glow bracelet. "Huh?"

"Connie, will you marry me?" Steven popped the question at last.

"Come again?" Connie asked, completely taken off guard by such a proposal.

"Let's get married and live together as Stevonnie, just like Garnet!" Steven reiterated for his possible wife.

"Are you serious?" Connie chuckled at the marriage proposal. "I think we should talk about this first."

"You might think I'm being sentimental, but this makes sense!" Steven exclaimed. "I don't know what you'll be studying, but I'm sure Stevonnie will! We can go to Jayhawk together!"

"I really appreciate this little date, but come on! You're still young!" Connie said as she stood up. "And acting a little clingy, I might add." She added under her breath.

"What was that?" Steven asked Connie.

"Nothing!" Connie lied. "Like I said, we're still young. And even if some couples get married at like, eighteen, I don't think we're fit to be one of those."

"So, you don't want to be Stevonnie with me?" Steven asked despondently, but Connie was there to comfort him.

"Of course I'd want to be Stevonnie, but I'd like to be my own person too," Connie answered reassuringly. "You get that, right?"

"Yeah, but," Steven began while putting the bracelet away as Connie hugged him. "Is it a no?"

"I'd say it's not right now." Connie answered.

"But if we're going to spend our lives together, why didn't you say it now?" Steven kept on inquiring fretfully.

"We got plenty of time." Connie declared, moving on from hugging Steven to holding his hands. "Don't you worry."

"I'm not worried, honest." Steven tried correcting his best friend. "I'm just happy when I'm with you."

"I'm happy around you too." Connie replied. "It's just that-" Before Connie could finish, the alarm on her phone went off. "Oh snap, my alarm!" she yelped in realization while pulling her phone out. "Forget studying right now, I don't think it matters."

"But it does matter to you!" Steven yelled.

"And you're just as important!" Connie responded, beginning to notice Steven getting more stressed out.

"I'm fine, we can talk about it later." Steven began rapidly panting. "Look, Lion's still right there, you can go now."

"Are you sure Steven?" Connie wondered sympathetically. "You're looking a little on edge. Maybe I can hook you up with a good therapist. She's a good friend of my mom named Dr. Rebe-"

"I'm sure I'm fine." Steven cut Connie off. "Now go."

"Okay." Connie obliged before giving Steven a goodbye hug. "I'll call you again tomorrow at noon." She said before walking towards Lion to have him take her home.

"Have fun studying!" Steven continued putting up a happy front as he bid Connie farewell. But as soon as she was out of sight, that front completely fell. "Nobody I love ever wants to stay."

With that, Steven fell back-first to the sand and turned pink, the resulting impact ruining the nice picnic around him as he wallowed in a crater of his sadness, and stayed there for the rest of the day.

Many hours later, Steven kept on lying in the crater long into the night with tears in his eyes, and when he finally decided to get up, Garnet was there waiting for him with the picnic basket containing the cake still intact.

"I assume it didn't go well." Garnet theorized as she helped Steven up from the crater and began walking him home.

"I don't get it," Steven muttered cynically. "Ruby and Sapphire said I should go for it, and I did, but everything went wrong."

"I apologize on their behalf," Garnet stated. "You just can't trust love advice from hopeless romantics like those two."

"Then why didn't you stop me?" Steven asked the fusion.

"I couldn't see a future where you didn't try proposing to Connie," Garnet answered. "However, there were quite a few where after she said no, you forced her to fuse with you and subsequently went insane."

"Of course." Steven moaned. "Even in alternate timelines, nothing can ever go right for me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Garnet comforted her half-human ward with a hug to the side. "Your soulmate should be your complement, not a missing piece. Ruby and Sapphire may deeply love each other, but they still have their own thoughts, feelings, and lives." The pair soon reached the beach house and sat down on the steps together. "Whatever hole you have in your life Steven, I want you to know that Connie or Stevonnie might not fill it."

"It's just that you guys make it so easy!" Steven revealed as he took the basket from Garnet. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but it's kinda your fault for being so dang perfect!"

"I know you're upset Steven, and I take responsibility for your plight," Garnet apologized to Steven. "but blaming others as much as you blame yourself won't help."

"Then maybe shoving this adorable cake in my face will!" Steven declared as he opened the picnic basket to reveal that the cake was in pieces.

"It probably won't." Garnet deadpanned, but Steven didn't listen and started eating the broken cake anyways.

"Well, I'm still gonna do it!" Steven exclaimed, his mouth now full of cake.

"I know," Garnet added as she gazed up at the sky. However, what she didn't catch was a fly buzzing around her and Steven, and its green eyes started blinking.

"Ah, romance. So utterly futile." Black Rutile grimaced as she watched the live footage of Steven drowning his sorrows in cake through a hard light welding mask. "Still, all that trauma could be useful in the future."

As Black Rutile was spectating on Steven's pain, she was hard at work on her plans for revenge, using a blowtorch to put together the final touches on a special wrist-mounted device. Once she was done, the villainous Rutile aimed the device at a rock carved into the exact shape of White Diamond's gem and fired. The resulting blast destroyed the rock and left a massive cloud of ash where it once was, but she wasn't satisfied with the smattering of pebbles that once made up the rock.

"Hm, need to work on the disintegration aspect a bit more." Black Rutile pondered while retracting the welding mask into her visor and began going back to the drawing board.

Guess who's back? Back again? Black Rutile's back, she's no friend! And on that rather sad turned ominous note, we conclude the first chapter of Part 3. Now that we have Steven's romance issues out of the way, expect to see the following in the coming chapters, in no particular order.

Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl re-enact Ace Attorney while Steven becomes even more scarred for life.

Viva Los Diego! Lapis & Amethyst get involved with a James Bond parody, Garnet & Bismuth solve mysteries together with a police officer who's basically the Plumber from Ratchet and Clank, Pearl matches wits with a snooty film director who's like Michael Bay, David Cage, Neil Druckmann & Zack Snyder in one, and Peridot tries promoting her CPH reboot.

Steven hangs out with Spinel and plays basketball with Wolverine.

Peridot finally gets her own song.

Jasper finally gets her own song.

A certain Stevonnie-chasing jerk dares Steven to reform him.

And finally, Black Rutile plays a role in a certain event in Fragments, the final chapter of this part.

Have I gotten your interest yet? Good, cause strap in everyone, it's gonna be nuts.

#steven universe #steven universe future #fanfiction #steven universe alternate future #steven quartz universe #connie maheswaran #garnet #ruby #sapphire #pearl #lion steven universe #black rutile

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