wizards-and-magic

[wizards-and-magic]

big sip lego animatic

this is for @starinthecosmos fic

please read it its very good and also will make the video make sense: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35446993/chapters/88356208

the song is The Mind Electric by ミラクルミュージカル (Miracle Musical)

[wizards-and-magic]

Panic - part 10 will be released tomorrow. 🦋💙

Catch up here:

[wizards-and-magic]

Fandom: Steven Universe Rating: Gen Words: 2.8K~ Summary: Not too long after making peace with Homeworld and sparking the start of Era 3, Steven wakes up one morning to discover some... notable changes about himself.

AKA: The one where Steven finally hits his growth-spurt. All at once. Because of course the half-Gem kid could never experience such a human thing like puberty in a "normal" way.

[Part 1 of 2]

Just a few seconds later, knuckles rap against the door in answer to his perturbed cry. 

“Yo Steve-o, that you in there?” Amethyst calls. 

“Y-yeah?” he stammers. His brows threading inwards, he delicately runs his fingers over the ridge upon his throat, very much thrown off by the distinctly lower tenor of the sound coming from his own mouth. He swallows hard, pushing himself to speak again. Come on Steven, he berates himself, think of something lighthearted. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing. No need to completely freak out over this yet. “Who else would I be? It’s not like the whole town uses this bathroom…”

“I mean, I do sometimes. For fun.”

“Okay, fair point, but—”

“Dude, what’s wrong with your voice? Are you like, sick or somethin’?“

“No, it’s just—” 

He squeezes his eyes shut, blocking out all the nebulous, spinning distractions of his mind and the world beyond. Deep breath. It’s okay. Tons of things about his form may be entirely different right now, but like… he seems fine. Right?? Nothing about his body feels tangibly wrong like it did when he willfully stretched himself out on his 14th birthday, or when he changed all his fingers into cats, or when he lost all control of his aging and morphed into an anciently old man and almost died, it’s just… 

New.

New and wholly unfamiliar.

So what now? How can he bravely move forward with all this? What does he need to know? 

“Have, uh… have you ever shapeshifted by accident in your sleep?”

“Not that I‘m aware of,” she says, and he can practically hear the shrug in her tone. “Shapeshifting is a conscious thing you do. It’s a choice, y’know? It doesn’t just happen.”

A good long moment passes as he drinks this information in. He runs his hand through the short curls at the back of his neck as he stands there in the pair of too-small banana yellow pajamas he fit in just fine last night, musing.

“Huh… I guess that makes things pretty simple, then.”

“What d’ya’—”

“Amethyst, I think I’m finally older,” he says, still absolutely mystified by this prospect as he gawks at himself in the mirror. 

She gives a fond laugh. “Ch’a, right? You get older everyday, bud. Wild.”

“No, I mean I’m actually, physically older! Look!”

Steven whirls around and swings the bathroom door wide open to show her. Amethyst’s jaw drops.

“Whoa—! Dude!”

Chuckling nervously, he steps a few feet out, wriggling his bare toes against the wood floor. “I know, right?”

“What the heck, you weren’t kidding!” Before he can even move to say anything else, she spins on her heels and cups her mouth with her hands, hollering towards the temple door. “HEY, PEARL! GARNET! You gotta get out here and see this!”

His brows shoot towards his hairline, his heart hammering in his chest all the while at the thought of all the dumb show-and-tell he’s gonna have to deal with now. “Aww, come on, did you really have to—”

“Amethyst!” Pearl cries, scrambling through the still opening gap in the doorway with Garnet striding mere steps behind. She summons her spear from her gem and swings it to fighting stance with an artful flourish. “What happened? Where’s the threat? What do you need us for??”

Steven darts towards them, hands held up in a placating plea.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! There’s no danger! We’re fine. I just—”

“Oh, my stars—!” she gasps, allowing her spear to dissipate in a glittery flicker of light. “You’ve grown!”

“Nice look, Steven,” Garnet nods, a supportive smile gracing her lips.

“And you’re sure this is real this time? You’re not—?”

“No, no, I’m not stretching myself out, I promise. I just woke up like this.”

“B-but—” Pearl taps her fingers against her chin, appearing thoroughly puzzled— “I thought humans were supposed to age gradually, not all at once.”

Steven’s shoulders slump. “Well… that’s what I assumed too, but—”

“Come, sit with me,” Garnet says, walking around the warp pad to enter the living room. She sets herself down on the couch, patting the cushion in open invitation.

With a heavy, far too weary for his age sigh, Steven shoves his hands in the pockets of his too-small banana pajamas and plods his way over. The rest of the Gems follow suit. He settles himself right next to Garnet, with Pearl perched opposite to her and Amethyst happily lounging on the floor, leaning on the coffee table with her elbows. 

“Steven’s aging hasn’t aligned with the norms of humanity for a very long time,” she observes, a glint of morning sun that’s beaming through the window catching on the edge on the edge of her star shaped visor. Then, turning to him: “I’m curious why you think this is.”

He hums, considering all the chaotic happenings of the past few years. Despite the rare query she poses, he gets the sense that… in her vast wisdom… she already knows the answer. Or at least, a small sum of it. It should be noted that her future vision— as far-reaching as it otherwise is with the vast possibilities of existence— can’t ever touch any knowledge that she won’t be conscious for or present to receive, let alone retroactively scry into the past.

(And honestly? Thank goodness for that.)

“I’m not sure,” he says, a half-lie.

He can think of one reason he might’ve started aging again. Though, it’s not something he’s ready to talk to the Gems about yet. It’s… far too delicate a topic to risk bringing up so soon after the start of peaceful Era 3. But after spending a whole childhood being constantly compared to and mistaken as various versions of his mom… let’s just say, having his gem torn from his body and getting to see it reform into a version of himself (and not her) was simultaneously the worst and the best thing that could’ve ever happened to him. While undeniably traumatic, this experience served as the ultimate proof that he doesn’t have to waste another second of his existence chewing away at some burgeoning identity crisis, that he can live his life however he wants. As Steven. Not as Rose, or Pink Diamond, just… Steven.

He’s not exactly sure how all this mental weirdness translates into him staying stuck looking like a little kid for like… six or so years, but after he returned home from his latest escapade on Homeworld, he could sense that— despite all the messed up stuff he and Connie went through— his spirit was lighter, somehow.

So maybe, he thinks, he simply had to peel away at all the damaged layers of his identity to ready himself to move on to the next stage of his life. Maybe he had to stare death in the eye and pass through the heart of the storm in spite of all these hardships before he could piece the foundational truths of his story back together and learn to finally live again.

To start shifting his hopeful gaze towards the dawn of their bright, sunny future…

“I mean, I always kinda thought he stopped aging because we never did,” Amethyst says then, laying her cheek on the table. “Like, it happened around the time you moved in with us, yeah?”

He purses his lips, scanning his memory. “Uh… I think so? It might have been a year before. Two, even. But I was definitely hanging out with y’all a lot by then.”

She leans over and playfully slugs him in the arm.

“See, there you go! You always wanted to be just like us when you were a kid, so much that you even wore that same ol’ star shirt every day to match ours, ha! You must’ve wanted to be a Gem so badly that you subconsciously stopped becoming older at all.”

“That’s actually a pretty solid theory, Amethyst,” Pearl chimes in. “Good thinking!”

“We have seen you shift your form in response to your perception of others around you,” Garnet says with a nod. “This has caused you to temporarily age and shapeshift in the past, but for you to age in a stable way now, your perception of self must have stabilized, too. I’m very happy for you, Steven.”

She tousles his mess of curls with her gold ringed hand, a welcome little offering of affection that he eagerly leans into.

And then, out of nowhere, Amethyst starts cackling.

“Dude,” she blurts out between her peels of laughter, nudging his foot with her elbow, “I just realized— Greg’s gonna totally lose his shit when he sees this…”

Pearl’s expression scrunches inwards with prickly displeasure. “Language!” 

“What, it’s true!”

He waves Amethyst’s comment off. “Pshhh, my dad’s seen way weirder,” he says, rolling his eyes. “Like, did I ever tell y’guys how the cat fingers incident ended?”

“No!” the quartz exclaims with intensive fervor, and leans forward in anticipation. “Gimme the juicy deets, m’man!”

Garnet adjusts her visor then, her features falling into a dutiful line. “Speaking of Greg… story time can wait until later. Steven— if you want to see your father this morning, you need to head over there now… or there’s a good chance he’ll fall back asleep until one and you’ll miss your window.”

Amethyst’s lips fall into a pout as she slumps back against the foot of the couch, her arms crossed. “Awww, phooey. Spoil sport.”

He swallows a grimace as he internalizes Garnet’s prediction. Yeah, that sounds about right. That’s become a bad habit for his old man lately, staying up super late and then sleeping in almost half the day on weekends. Ever since he received that ten million dollar residues check it’s nothing that can hinder his financials anymore, thank goodness, but then again…

“Yeah… I should probably go make sure he wakes up,” he mutters, pushing his tired body off his seat. “I’ll need his help finding new clothes, anyways.”

The second he’s up and moving again, Amethyst darts around him and snatches his spot with such swift and viscous drive that one might believe this ploy were her sole quest and purpose in life. She stretches out against the seat back with a big, dramatic yawn, crossing her arms behind her head as she speaks. 

“It’s too bad you can’t just… I dunno… summon whatever clothes you want out of light, like us. That’s like the biggest bummer of humanity, if you ask me.”

“And when do you ever experiment with your outfit enough to have a strong opinion about this?” Pearl prods, crossing her arms. “It took you almost a decade to fix that asymmetrical shoulder strap.”

“Well, P… I like to think of myself as a Gem who would experiment with my outfit. One day. If I’m ever really, really bored. Consider it an Era 3 aspiration.”

Steven rocks back and forth on his heels, absentmindedly fiddling with the fraying bottom hem of his pajama top.

“Okay, uh… well, I’m gonna dress to leave now, so—”

“Yeah, see ‘ya.”

“Send a text if you need anything!” Pearl says with a casual wave.

“And don’t forget…” Garnet begins, the ellipses in her tone practically visible with the naked eye.

He pauses in his dutiful march to the stairs— (a somewhat unsteady march… as it turns out, shooting up about a foot and a half in height overnight tends to impact one’s sense of balance for the worst, go figure)— turning back to intercept whatever life advice or future vision she’s prepared for him this time. 

She grins, flashing him a quick heart with her hands instead. “We love you!”

~~

Steven trudges across the hot sands to his dad’s car wash sans his favorite flip flops, trying his very darnedest to wipe away the developing grimace on his face all the while. 

A small segment of him felt overjoyed when he first saw his reflection this morning, eager to look his age and finally grow up alongside his human friends. But after struggling to find anything that fits him even halfway right in his wardrobe, his good mood has rapidly spoiled. There’s a decent few reasons for this.

Reason number one: his old sandals are at least two sizes too small. His heels stick out over the end now, and the plastic thong digs into his toes something terrible. He literally can’t wear them without giving himself blisters. Ergo, his bare feet right now. 

Reason number two: none of his jeans sit right around the waist anymore, plus they make him look like he’s waiting for a flood. (Though thankfully, he found a stretchy blue skirt buried in one of his drawers that will do the trick for now.) 

And perhaps worst of all… reason number three: with his newly increased height, every single one of his treasured star shirts have been turned into ill-fitting crop tops, putting his gem on full display. He’s not against the concept of a crop top, but it sure ain’t a look he’s passionate about for everyday wear. It just feels… too exposing. Like, what about winter?? He can’t bear his whole midriff in winter, he’d freeze, and like… get hypothermia, or something. And not only that, but the longer he’s awake this morning the more an inescapable, thrumming ache starts to settle within the deepest core of his body, like even his bones themselves— the stubborn things— dare to object to this abrupt growth spurt.

Just… ugh. What an annoying hassle all these changes bring.  

“Stupid shirt,” he grouses, tugging at the too-tight collar, “stupid sandals, stupid Gem puberty! Why, oh why can’t I ever go through human stuff normally?”

His bare foot catches upon a sizable stone hidden amongst the beach. On any other day he would’ve successfully broken his fall, stumbling forwards a few awkward steps before regaining his balance and continuing on his way. But with his body now so different, and his center of gravity entirely off from what he’s used to, he head plants straight into the ground.

Wow, he thinks, spitting sand out of his mouth and pushing himself back to his feet. How elegant. Truly the shining paragon of coordination and grace.

Thank goodness no one was watching. Next time he’ll just have to remember to float.

He arrives at his dad’s van with no further incident. The rear doors are— following Garnet’s prediction- cracked open. Dad’s awake, at least for now.

“Daaaaaaaad,” he hollers, cupping his hands around his mouth to project. “A really, really weird thing happened, and I kinda need your help!”

A few spare seconds pass, seconds filled with the rustles of shifting blankets, the sound of a book being shut closed, and his dad’s low murmurs. The doors swing wide, though not as wide as Dad’s eyes when they wander around their bright, sunny surroundings and eventually land square on him and his new look.

“Wh— Steven, holy smokes! Look at you!”

With an awkward chuckle, he scratches away at an itch at the nape of his neck. “Heh heh, I know, right?”

“You’re almost as tall as your old man! When did this happen? How did this happen?”

“Some point last night, I guess,” he shrugs. “I just woke up like this. But Dad—” he clings onto his arm with mounting desperation— “I need your help to find some new shirts. Don’t you have like… whole boxes of your old tour merch stashed away somewhere? I don’t wanna have to get rid of my star, I just— I just need a bigger size, or something.”

“Hmmm…” Dad muses, scratching at the scruff of his beard. “Well, maybe, but…”

“But what?”

“But if any of it’s still around, then it’s probably in Amethyst’s room. All of the stuff from the storage unit ended up with her, remember?”

“Oh…” he says, brows furrowed, not quite able to parse this fact within his memory yet. And then… 

Ugh. That’s right.

Two New Years’ ago. The huge mess of crates and mattresses and long forgotten belongings. All that ridiculous Little Butler nonsense. Amethyst’s fight with Dad.

“Oh,” he mumbles, crossing his arms. “Right. Well, then let’s go find it!”

“R- right now?”

“Yeah, why not? I need new clothes, and you could see if there’s any old junk in there you might want to keep!”

With that, he grabs his dad’s hand and yanks him along, spirit filled with renewed purpose and vigor.

“And you’re sure you need my help for this?” Dad asks, lagging a step or two behind him as they march back across the beach together. “The Gems, they… well, they don’t usually want me going into the temple—”

“Oh, Amethyst will be fine,” he says with a wave of his palm. “She never cares when I go in there to check out her trash piles. ‘Sides, I need your help to find the right box! I have no idea what your old band stuff was stashed in.”

His dad flashes a tight smile, the sort he always serves up when he’s nervous, but also too timid to tell him that he’s nervous.

“Well… if you think she’ll allow it…” he relents, and picks up his pace to match his.

~~

[End Part 1... more to be shared later.]

[wizards-and-magic]

Today's @glowweek prompt!

Day 4: Nurture

Just a Cold

Steven's morning started just like any other. Get up just before Connie, kiss her warm forehead, shower and get breakfast and coffee ready. Connie works hard with her career, so Steven works just as hard to support and care for her in turn.

With one last finishing touch, the perfect breakfast bagel sandwich is done! Coffee is ready and steaming in Connie's favorite mug. The last step is for his favorite person in the whole universe to come trudging down the stairs, hair disheveled, cute, grumpy little scowl on her face as she makes a beeline for the mug of coffee.

Steven waits, and waits, and waits some more. Checking the clock he realizes if Connie doesn't come down soon she's going to be late. Connie's not much of a morning person, but she's never late! Steven decides to give her another minute before he goes to check on her. Connie doesn't like being pushed too much in the morning, especially before her first dose of caffeine, so Steven tries to give her her space usually.

Finally, movement can be heard as true to form Connie comes trudging down the stairs. Only, she's not dressed, instead she's wrapped in their fluffy warm blankets, eyes bloodshot, sniffling quietly.

“Hey Steven, I called in to work today. I think I've got a cold.” She says through a stuffy nose.

“A cold!? You're sick? You never get sick! How did you get sick!? Should I try to heal you?” Steven fusses around her.

“I probably got it from not wearing a coat in the rain yesterday. Don't worry, it's just a cold. I'll be fine tomorrow, for today I just need to rest.”

Steven gently places his hand on her forehead. She does feel a little warmer than usual. He had noticed she seemed somewhat warm when he kissed her earlier, but it hadn't even occurred to him she might be sick!

“Don't worry Connie. I'll take care of you today! Anything you need!”

Steven guides her to their comfy couch, bundling her up all tight and cozy in their blankets, and fluffs the pillows for her. He goes back over to the kitchen, dumps out the coffee and rinses the mug before filling it with crisp cool water and returning to Connie. She gratefully sips on the water as Steven brings her breakfast over and places it on the coffee table along with the remote for their little TV.

“Anything else I can get you?” He asks.

Connie smiles at Steven, shaking her head. It's been so long since anyone has taken care of her like this. Last time she had a cold she was still a kid, maybe before she'd started training with Pearl? Either way, her mom had stayed home with her all day, keeping her comfortable, and making sure she stayed hydrated. She’d fuss about, check Connie's temperature every hour, cook her some healthy, immune-supporting foods, and spoil Connie a little bit by letting her watch whatever she wanted on TV. Sometimes she'd even give Connie one of her rare, amazingly delicious, cups of homemade hot cocoa to soothe a sore throat. Now Steven is filling that roll, tucking her in again, putting her favorite show on the TV, and getting her a fresh cup of water.

“Thank you Steven. I'll be alright.”

Steven spends the rest of the day fussing over Connie, while Connie spends the rest of the day basking in the attention and love from her fiance. Especially when he sits on the floor next to her, gently running his fingers over her scalp and through her hair the way she loves. He makes her feel so safe and comfortable.

He'll make a great dad someday, she can tell.

[wizards-and-magic]

Panic - A Steven Universe Fan Comic

First - Next

[wizards-and-magic]

pages 9 & 10

going on hiatus until farther notice!

previous

start

[wizards-and-magic]

I CAN’T FIX YOU

steven universe animatic

[wizards-and-magic]

Hey, Summer AU fans (AU in which Steven Universe gets a summer job at the Mystery Shack), I see your ‘Steven protects the Mystery Twins if/when Bill comes back’ take, but consider-

Steven looked at the little yellow triangle man, who was honestly looking extraordinarily dapper. It was certainly an odd form to take. Was it a gem he knew? Some sort of Topaz, maybe? Whoever he was, the twins were about as scared of him as Steven had once been of White.

Steven put his hands on his hips, “Okay, I don’t know who you are, but you obviously work for Yellow. Did you just not receive the transmission? You were supposed to report back to Homeworld for any further orders.”

“Work for Yellow,” the dapper triangle man scoffed, then floated up close to Steven, changing his form to red hues, his eye getting wider and right in front of Steven’s face, “I don’t know who you think you are, Starlight, but I don’t work for anyone.”

Steven fought off a wince at the nickname, but continued, “You know, this is cute and all, but you need to report back to your Diamond, even if you only work for Yellow. Actually, especially if you work for Yellow.”

Steven felt a tug on his shirt, and Mabel said, “Steven, this isn’t anyone you know. Bill is really dangerous-“

The triangle floated back to where he’d originally been, a few feet away from Steven and reverted back to his yellow form. “Yeah, Starlight. Listen to Shooting Star,” he then froze, his eye getting wide, “Wait, did you say Diamond? How does a kid like you know the Diamonds?”

Steven laughed. He figured if this being was as dangerous as Mabel said, Gem or not, he should be taken care of. Steven quickly formed a bubble around the little yellow being. “No no no, you misunderstand, I don’t know the Diamonds.” He shut his eyes, took a breathe, and let the pink aura he was so familiar with in, just a bit. He opened his eyes and knew they were the bright pink diamond slits he’d once feared (to be super honest, he still did, but if it helped, he wouldn’t complain). “I’m related to them.”

Bill’s eye somehow got even wider. “Wa-wait, my Diamond, let’s not be hasty,” he stammered, “Maybe we can make a deal-“

Steven felt Dipper tense up behind him at that last word. He gave the little dapper triangle a big, beaming smile and said, “Say hi to them for me!” before sending the bubble away. Whether or not the little triangle had ever worked for Yellow, Steven was sure she could put him in his place. Should he feel bad? Maybe. But as the twins wrapped him in the biggest, strongest huh he’d ever received, thanking him and crying, he thought it might have just been worth it.

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

Just… Steven thinking Bill works for Yellow. To be fair, can you blame him? Maybe he’s some sort of black tourmaline! That little black bow tie could totally be a gem. Rutilated Quartz, maybe? No no no! Tourmaline Quartz! Tourmaline Quartz for sure!

(Is this OOC? Yeah, probably, but I’ve never written for any of these characters before, sue me)

[wizards-and-magic]

I just live for your writing, seeing your fics on my feed is the highlight of my week!

Request: connverse kissing, Chadverse kissing, and more connverse kissing.

i can't actually do three makeouts in a row, but i think i got you covered

---------------------

Connie didn’t take his jacket often. Although her favorite coat was one she knicked from her dad, Steven’s pink jacket remained safely with him. He guessed it was because he wore it so much he didn’t give her the chance to steal it, and he was proven right during an afternoon of video games. He walked in on her mashing at the controller, his coat warm around her, and felt the strangest heartstopping feeling in his chest.

He was by her side in an instant, and while she started to complain it was supposed to be her turn until she died, he pushed his mouth over hers. She was just so beautiful and kissable and he purred as she pressed back against him. In his jacket, anyone watching would know she was his. She’d carry his mark on her everywhere.

It wasn’t until later when Connie joked about his oddly insistent kissing that he noticed anything weird had happened.

He ended up splitting over it later, primarily because the closer he looked at the feelings the less human they felt. It was his Diamond half who had gotten excited and possessive with Connie in the jacket - Star had just considered it cute. They proved it when she came over, just as Star gently tugged the jacket on her.

Diamond’s eyes zeroed in. “We’re supposed to have gems. Our own court. The star and the pink makes it clear you’re mine.”

Connie flushed at the almost hungry look in his eyes as Star came to stand between them, arms crossed. “Don’t be weird.”

Diamond stepped around him, reaching up to touch her cheek. “You always get to be stupid. I want a turn to be instinctual.”

“Your instincts are always about hitting people!” Star growled as he grabbed his wrist.

“Not always. Sometimes I get the itch to make gems.” He was oddly flirtatious, raising a single eyebrow her way. “So now we have an outlet. Through a human filter.”

Steven remembered it all vividly later. His two halves had started fighting and Connie had broken it up and somehow it had ended in kissing. He could feel his own cheeks burn as he remembered Diamond holding Connie in his lap, protective and fierce as he kissed her neck. Just as vividly, he remembered being Star, holding Connie’s cheeks and kissing her as romantically as he could. He still wasn’t sure how he had managed to fight himself even while kissing his girlfriend. He really was a mess.

Connie slid next to him on the lonely beach, the sun making her hair glow as she rested her fingers on his gem, exposed now that she was wearing his jacket. She giggled in his ear, “Are you going kiss me if I salute?”

“I’m gonna kiss you for being the best.” He laughed and did just what he said he would.

[wizards-and-magic]

A dumb little au ive been messing with

[wizards-and-magic]

PART 2

[wizards-and-magic]

[wizards-and-magic]

Continuing 👇 below

[wizards-and-magic]

cooch full of toilet paper wtf

[wizards-and-magic]

Knuckle tats that say PLEASE BE NICE TO ME

[wizards-and-magic]

can’t stop thinking about @fligleflorence renascense au.

[wizards-and-magic]

Snow: melts

Me: guess it’s Halloween time again huh