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Stupid Rock Lady. (Steven Universe Pearl Self Insert)

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From what we've seen, Fusions tend to look like their Single Gem counter parts. Garnet with Hessonite, Pyrope, and Demantoid all look the same general shape and characteristics, all being, well, Garnets.

Green Onyx probably looks like a Single Gem Onyx, but taller and extra limbs.
 
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LOG-70. New
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    • Hey you. Yeah, you. You've been ignoring all my other links! You fucker! You utter scoundrel! Do you think that means I'm gonna give up? NO! It doesn't end until you click the link! I'm not stopping, you stubborn shit! JOIN THE DISCORD SERVER! NOW!

    LOG-70.

    "And...she's been at this how long?"

    The Lapis Lazuli made an uncertain clicking sound with her tongue at the pale Pearl's question, inclining her head towards the still motionless fusion who, aside from a brief greeting, hadn't made so much as a peep afterwards.

    The air around the Crystal Gems (having finally elected to return from their hunt for wayward Corrupted monsters upon a blaring alarm drawing them back to the Retaliator) was thick with an unspoken yet distinctly awkward tension, a silent expectation that something was supposed to happen, even as it simply...didn't.

    "Since before you got back. She and I spoke for a bit before she started doing...this. Apparently she's talking to herself. So...there's that. Quille and Talon got back to me, said to ask you lot what to do. Vermilion's also on her way, I think? Not actually too sure what she's doing."

    Blinking, the renegade servant glanced back at the pink Quartz behind her in clear uncertainty, even as Rose exchanged looks with a visibly amused Garnet. Ahead of the entire group itself, Amethyst was silently pacing back and forth in front of the motionless green Gem, occasionally flashing faces at the fusion, only to frown as it apparently failed to attract any form of response.

    "Viridian is...really making a habit of fusing, isn't she?"

    The question hung in the air, tinged with both curiosity and concern. Rose's voice wavered slightly as she spoke, her eyes fixed on the green fusion that had become the center of the impromptu assembly's attention.

    "Definitely not what I expected to be called back for, if I'm being honest..."

    There was something unsettling about the way Onyx stood so still, as if she were in a trance or lost in some deep, internal dialogue.

    Garnet merely inclined her head in response to the faux Quartz's question, one finger coming up to adjust her glasses ever so slightly as the living personification of the union between Sapphire and Ruby shifted in place.

    "In her defense, she's really good at it. Especially while so fresh from Homeworld's shackles. Exploring herself and what she can do with others isn't that strange. I was the same...even if I stuck for longevity over the...hm, quantity she seems to prefer."

    The slight quirk to her lips exposed Garnet's bias, a fleeting expression that betrayed her opinion and affection for her own existence, clearly being compared to the new one before her. even as she brought her hand back down to rest against her hip.

    "Besides, even if it's a bit of an awkward pairing, it seems to be working out pretty well for her...or rather them right now, considering Onyx hasn't broken apart yet. I'm sure our wayward Imperial is experiencing more than a few new sensations at the moment as well."

    "Yeah well new sensations or not, she still ain't talki-oop." Amethyst's response was annoyed, likely meant to transition into some form of complaint regarding the current object of her attention's persistent stillness. Instead, it was cut off halfway as her attempt to slap a hand against the green Gem's lower torso, coincidentally where Viridian's gemstone sat, was instead gently yet firmly guided away by one of the fusion's own limbs.

    "That's quite enough of that, I think."

    Even as several pairs of eyes turned to stare at her, each spectator registering the sudden transition from silence to speech with Brim letting out a quiet "finally!" at the apparent end of her trance, Onyx maintained a distinct sense of...not quite arrogance. But something that almost felt like...calm superiority.

    Assurance in her own existence, maybe.

    Regardless of her outward demeanor, bright green eyes flicked between each Gem gathered in the hallway, before finally settling on Rose herself, who couldn't help but tense as the tall (even by her and Garnet's standards) figure pushed off from her previously relaxed position against the wall, crossing both pairs of arms. There was a subtle shift in the atmosphere, as if the newcomer had just issued a silent challenge, or perhaps a call for acknowledgment.

    "So, I do believe a conversation would be appropriate, right about now." A singular eyebrow quirked upwards as a resounding silence met her words, before Pearl huffed a singular, seemingly exasperated breath.

    "An explanation would be nice, I would think! Just how does an interrogation transform into a fusion?!"

    Frowning at the shrill tone betraying the rebel's rising frustration and confusion, Onyx allowed a disapproving note to enter her voice.

    "There's no need to yell, Pearl. Have some decorum."

    Perhaps it was the way she spoke with such calm authority. Or maybe it was the way she hadn't so much as risen to the smaller Gem's antagonistic attitude beyond mere scolding and lecturing, but a flush of light blue balancing between anger and embarassment crept up the renegade's neck and face at the light admonishment, her thin hands balling into fists.

    Rose made to speak (whether to defend Pearl or try and defuse the situation was something even she wasn't entirely certain of), only to pause as the new fusion narrowed her eyes, one of her lower hands rising up to lightly slap at the bicep of its upper counterpart, a silent interaction playing across her face.

    Breathing in, the green Gem held up said hand, bowing her head ever so slightly.

    "My apologies, that was...condescending of me. I should follow my own advice." Part of her sounded strained, and everyone assembled could guess well enough just which part of the union apparently wasn't fully convinced in uttering the words.

    It wasn't every day a fleet admiral was forced to apologise to what she would have only perceived as an uppity servant just a short time ago, after all.

    Fortunately, fusion seemed to help in simplifying the process in that particular regard, and the apparent expression of regret seemed enough to pierce Pearl's bubble of irritation, her own expression turning surprised...then more than a little awkward as her companions turned to glance at her response.

    "Apology...accepted. Though I...suppose I may have been a little rude as well."

    Nodding with a pleased expression plastering itself across her features, Onyx lifted all four of her arms, two pairs of hands coming together to clap twice.

    "We'll move past it. Now, my components have...perhaps not entirely reconciled but they've certainly exchanged a fair amount of information through me, and I'm embarassed to say that this entire...debacle has been a rather big misunderstanding between our respective groups."

    Crossing her arms in a parody to the large fusion's pose from earlier, Brim tilted her head. "Some elaboration would be nice."

    "Yeah, what blue said!"

    Then the terraformer blinked as Amethyst shuffled up next to her, copying the Lapis Lazuli's gesture, even as her counterpart stared down at her.

    "...My name's Brim."

    Blinking back up at her, the purple Quartz tilted her head.

    "Yeah? That's what I said."

    An amused grunt drew the pair's attention back to Onyx as the amalgam held up a finger.

    "Getting back on topic if you'd please, the first thing I'd like to set straight is that, though different in origins and reasons, every Gem on this vessel is technically an outlaw by Homeworld's standards, including m-including Emerald and her crew." The brief slip up was quickly glossed over as the fusion spread her arms wide, allowing a sardonic grin to stretch her lips apart.

    "To make things as clear as possible, we're all rebels and criminals, as far as the Empire is concerned. There's a few key details to get into there, but the basic point I'm trying to make is that we really shouldn't be fighting each other considering our similarities."

    Her statement earned another bout of silence. For a few seconds at least.

    Then everyone was talking over each other, even as Garnet silently grinned, the expression only intensifying at Rose's blatantly unamused stare.
     
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    • LOG-071. New
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    • We do a little writing. A little interlude. Very mindful. Very demure. GET IN THE SERVER STOP RESISTING MY PROPAGANDA YOU FUCK.

    LOG-071.

    She was a Citrine. A strong Gem. A powerful Gem. An elite Quartz warrior only a few steps down from an Agate.

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    And yet for all her strength, and for all her power, Citrine facet 3M6A, cut 7XA, could do little but listen on, utterly transfixed as the lithe, delicate looking Gem her Emerald had brought aboard continued to sway back and forth, limbs all but flowing through the air, just as the melodic sounds she was making did so in turn.

    A Pearl. She knew what she was, of course. Everyone had known exactly what she was the second she'd stepped aboard the bridge behind their Emerald, though no one had mentioned it at the time. They were considered the highest prize a singular Gem could achieve. Something that was intrinsically     theirs, and held no attachment to function or station. Besides, even on a ship as well run as the Retaliator, certain contraband was all but inevitable. Like decorative holoprojectors.

    Though considering how lenient the captain was when it came to most things, that wasn't a surprise. She was fairly sure that even if the thing was ever discovered, the high ranking Gem likely wouldn't care enough to even give out a reprimand for it, so long as more important rules continued to be followed.

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    The Pearl in front of her looked so very similar to the pretty little holographic dancer her batchmate had brought aboard one day, supposedly found discarded in some empty hallway, deep in some manor her fellow Citrine had waited within while guarding their Emerald on a trip transporting spare supplies down to a newly established colony.

    Compared to the translucent, ever spinning Pearl attached to the small device that easily fit within her palm, however, this one had a few notable differences.

    She had different hair, for one. Alongside a different outfit, an elegant dress with funny looking shoulder bits, all flowy and fancy. She was also green, with a similar hue to her Emerald, in fact. Though that was likely by design.

    Supposedly, the servant was custom built for the admiral, who'd finally succumbed to the constant pressuring and teasing from her fellow Emeralds (she knew, for she had been on the bridge when a few of the friendlier fleet admirals and commanders had hailed her Emerald while in orbit of Homeworld) and exasperatedly placed in an order for her very own servant from the Reef, amidst numerous cheers and laughs.

    It was a fascinating thing to ponder. Even Citrines came out relatively random in terms of appearance, in their own sections within this or that kindergarten. Sure, they all followed a standard template as dictated by the Diamonds, but it wasn't like the Peridots that had welcomed them into the world had custom programmed what colour they'd be upon emergence, or what their hair might be like. Gems came out however they did, and then the Empire adapted them for use afterwards.

    Not Pearls, though. Pearls were bespoke. They had everything decided for them before even being set to cook. This one even had a nickname apparently already set for her, similar to the ones some of the Jaspers liked to give each other whenever they got bored of punching one another.

    Viridian.

    It was a nice name. For a nice Gem, who was more than willing to converse with a bored bodyguard standing at the back of the bridge, whenever she wasn't busy entertaining their Emerald (and by extension the entire bridge crew) with this or that story. Or song. Or dance.

    Or sometimes all three at once. Those were particularly fun.

    Still, regardless of Viridian's talent when it came to mixing various forms of entertainment together, 7XA been passing through the area just outside the bridge itself (it felt nicer to walk around than to simply stand in place during some of the longer Warp trips) when she'd caught a few stray Gems seemingly idling in the hallway leading down from the heart of the ship.

    The only Gem permitted to traverse the ship freely was either the captain, the captain's bodyguards, or more technically, the captain's Pearl. After all, their Emerald had been gracious enough to assign her to the upkeep of crew morale, and the lithe Gem had been quick to fulfill said assignment, traversing the entirety of the cruiser's various halls and chambers in order to seemingly entertain everyone she could.

    This time, it was apparently a Rutile and two Peridots. She'd been prepared to question just why they'd (for whatever reason) chosen to stand around and do nothing at all, only to pause when the first few familiar notes had hit her. From there, it was easy to see how they'd likely gotten 'caught up' in between getting to their next few tasks.

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    "AaaaAaaaAaaaAaaa~"

    After that, she'd almost inevitably joined the fighter pilot and pair of technicians. From her position leaned up against the wall behind her, and with no immediate duties to attend to while they remained in Warp space, 7XA had ample time to simply...watch. To listen as those musical tones continued to echo throughout the halls around them.

    Eventually, the other Gems reluctantly returned to enact their various duties, though the Citrine had stayed, tilting her head ever so slightly as the Pearl slowly wound down from her wordless song.

    "That sounded nice."

    Green eyes turned to stare up at her, even as the beautiful Gem bowed her head.

    "I'm very glad you think so. I was cleaning when the others came and asked for one, so it was a bit impromptu."

    Nodding along, 7XA admired the elegant posture the Pearl seemed to effortlessly maintain for a moment, before posing a question.

    "It's been close to a cycle now. Are you settling in well?"

    A redundant question, perhaps. Wherever the Pearl went, Gems seemed to get happier, and the servant herself was always smiling or gazing at others with a light expression on her face. Still, it didn't hurt to ask.

    "The     Retaliator is an excellent ship, with an even better crew. It's been a pleasure getting to know all of you so far. The captain is very kind as well."

    She wasn't some fresh faced Ruby, but even 7XA couldn't help but bring up a hand, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly at the Pearl's beaming expression.

    "Heh, yeah well we all try I suppose. Hey uh...I'm gonna head over towards one of the observation decks. Watch the colours outside. Wanna come?"

    It was a hobby of hers. Watching the various patterns that sometimes made themselves apparent in Warp space. Sometimes her batchmate joined her, though 7XB usually just stayed in the bridge instead.

    In the end, the green Gem didn't hesitate to accept her offer. By the time they'd reached their destination, a small frontier waystation that had sent out a request for temporary reinforcements to scare off probing vessels belonging to the nearby organic star raiders, she'd even tried singing along with some of the songs the Pearl had eventually broken into.

    It was fun. Even if Viridian was definitely better at it. Besides, the Pearl made a good point. 7XA was better at guarding their Emerald.

    ---

    She was a Citrine. A strong Gem. A powerful Gem. An elite Quartz warrior only a few steps down from an Agate.

    Clang.

    "Damn it!

    Clang.

    "Damn it!

    Clang.

    "DAMN IT!"

    And yet for all her strength, and for all her power, she was powerless in the face of the Retaliator's hardened plating. Though in her defense, what Gem would ever expect to be imprisoned in the brig of the very ship she served on, outside of those who might misbehave?

    "Give it up already, you're not punching us out of here."

    She whirled around, ready to tear into her counterpart, only to falter at the hopeless look in her fellow Quartz's eyes.

    Out of their entire batch, only her and 7XB were left. The rest had long since been reassigned to various new posts, usually guarding high ranking Gems just like their Emerald, though the admiral in question had mentioned that some of them had likely been relocated to the frontier colonies in order to assist in the defence of some of the more vital kindergartens, like the ones pumping out Peridots.

    Nonetheless. It was only them left now. Perhaps if they'd had more than just two Citrines, they could have-

    No. No, it likely would have resulted in just about the same thing happening, elite guards present or not.

    Still, 7XA sincerely hoped the rest of the batch were doing better than they were right now, even as she slowly lowered her clenched fists from the barely dented surface of the cell and stomped over to her counterpart, sliding down against the wall until she was seated in a mirror to 7XB's slumped form.

    "...We're so cracked."

    The words only seemed to cause her fellow elite to slump even further.

    "Yeah. Can't say I ever expected to be locked up by a bunch of meatbags, if I'm being entirely honest. Though having a traitor on their side probably helped."

    ...

    "Can't say I wouldn't do the same, though. If I thought I was gonna get shattered the whole time.

    ...

    "I was already planning on ways to escape the Retaliator the second I stepped aboard, after you picked me up from the Reef, Emerald."

    It was quieter, now. She could still faintly hear the sound of some kind of conversation, but the crackling of the destabilizer barrier keeping them imprisoned drowned out most of it.

    "And then you arrived! My new owner! I was thrilled, even though I hated that I was going to exist as your-your servant. Your property."

    It hadn't been enough to drown out the argument, though. The fortune...or misfortune, perhaps, of having been placed in the cell directly adjacent to their Emerald.

    "But hey! At least you were getting me out of that...place. Sure, I'd need to keep up the damned act lest you realize there was something wrong with me and decided to send me back, or maybe even just shattered me yourself, but by then I'd gotten used to that particular song and dance. Just more of the same, really! Duties duties duties! Cleaning and saluting and following and bowing and scraping and yes, my Emerald, no my Emerald, let me sing for you and dance for you and help you because I'd be ever so pleased to, my Emerald!"

    ...

    "Hey."

    Blinking, 7XA glanced to the side, arching an eyebrow as her remaining batchmate slapped at her shoulder.

    "Yeah?"

    Her counterpart's eyes stared at her for a moment, before flicking downwards, seemingly interested in the floor more than anything else at the moment.

    "Did...did Viridian ever sound like that? All angry. You know, before the freighter."

    The freighter. The thrice damned freighter. That's where everything had gone wrong. Where their lives had turned upside down. It was because of the freighter that they were scheduled for Harvesting. Because of the freighter that their Emerald was forced to either rebel or allow them all to be taken away and recycled.

    Part of her wanted to scream. That it was the freighter's fault that Blue Diamond had chosen to kill them all. That the Retaliator's resident Pearl had only apparently feared for her own life even as she danced and sang throughout its halls, uplifting the crew whenever possible and at least listening to their problems whenever such a thing wasn't plausible, after that damned explosion.

    Part of her wanted to desperately believe that Viridian hadn't apparently been walking on glass around all of them the whole time, and that they hadn't been utterly unaware of that fact, even as the reality around her rather clearly dictated otherwise.

    "...Nah, she always...always sounded like she normally did."

    Out of the corner of her eye, she saw 7XB's expression twist, ever so slightly.

    "She sounded mad, just a little bit ago. Like the way our old Agate got sometimes. Stars, I didn't even think she could be mad."

    7XA nodded, resting her elbows atop her knees.

    "Yeah. Neither did I."

    Her eyes stung. For some reason, they felt wet. Like when the rogue Lapis Lazuli had splashed her and a bunch of the Jaspers with all that water. But smaller.

    Rubbing at them only sort of helped the feeling go away, and it somehow had distracted her enough that she only noticed the sound of approaching footsteps after the figure apparently walking over to their cell was already standing in front of the destabilizer barrier.

    "On your feet, Citrines."

    7XA slowly looked up, and gasped as two luminous green eyes stared back at her own, somehow both utterly foreign, and yet so very familiar at the exact same time.
     
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    • LOG-072. New
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    • Sudden burst of energy at 3am ACTIVATE. It's a shorter chapter than I'd like, but there's only so long till I crash out so we'll just have to make do, alright?

    LOG-072.

    "On your feet, Citrines."

    The barrier came down with a simple tap at the containment cell's control panel. Foolish? Perhaps. But if things were going to go the way I anticipated, this would simply be more efficient in the long run.

    After all, there was an order to things I needed to follow if I was going to pacify the Retaliator's entire crew in any semblance of a short timeframe. Top to bottom, starting with the highest ranked Gems all the way to the lowest. Thankfully, the captain of the vessel was already on my side, which meant converting her immediate subordinates.

    The thought almost prompted an amused smirk, even as I focused on the pair of soldiers in front of me.

    Citrines weren't technically officers. Not in the way Agates were. But they were considered elite warriors for a reason, and that reason manifested itself as the two yellow Gems all but blurring from their previously relaxed positions, both taking on readied combat stances as they took in my visage with wide eyes.

    "7XA. 7XB. Good to see you're both doing well, even if the circumstances aren't exactly the finest at the moment."

    Ah, and there was the expected horror at my mutant lightform. There'd been a hint of hesitation there, when they'd glanced over my gemstones.

    Unfortunately, Homeworld was rather thorough in its education of what was right and wrong (not unexpected, taking into account my own experience), considering the duo were allowing their engrained responses to overshadow any hint of real thought, instead relying on programming fueled by fear to see them through.

    "M-monster!"

    I almost wanted to frown, but in fairness I'd also been just like that a short time ago, before I'd managed to get my more hesitant half to reconcile my existence with everything she'd been taught.

    "Out of our way you freak! We're busting out of here!"

    ...It was interesting, how my components' senses and perspectives melded together to create something altogether new, represented by me. While I was no Sapphire, I almost felt...enhanced, when it came to my immediate awareness. Every twitch of the two tense lightforms in front of me was glaring. Every subtle (and yet so very obvious) motion telling a short story if I just cared to simply pay attention. It was all right there. All for me to observe and judge entire seconds before the actions behind them would even mean anything.

    And in a fight, seconds could mean everything.

    I could actually make out the sound of my previous conversation partners warily waiting just down the hall, ready to intervene but presumably eager to see how my promised attempt (at conversion? Deprogramming? Something like that) would turn out, just as easily as I could percieve the way 7XA's fist was clenching in the pattern indicating her preparation for a swing.

    Two flashes of light lit up the doorway of the cell, one the colour of gold and the other a fine green, heralding her rush towards me, the short but wide gladius held in her grip streaking directly towards my torso. She'd try to trick me into believing she was aiming for my lower half, feinting downwards only to redirect her momentum at the last second in order to plunge the sword directly through my chest and neck. A clean but violent discorporation.

    It was a favourite move of hers during some of the more intense sparring sessions that she'd cared to join in on whenever the Quartzes all got bored. The Jaspers always loved it.

    Click!

    "H-huh?"

    The Citrine continued to push forward against my unmoving frame, confused for an instant as to just why I wasn't being skewered, only to finally notice the fact that her weapon had been caught between the pair of one sided blades jutting out from my armoured fist.

    The instrument was a makeshift blade catcher, and half of me confirmed that it was a courtesy of Viridian and Emerald's summoned weapons melding and fusing in a fashion similar to what they had done with their own lightforms.

    I hadn't even known of the catcher's existence until this very moment, and yet it felt so very right, as if I'd used it my entire life...not that I'd led a very long life just yet, unless I wanted to count my components' existences, but that was getting into tangent territory.

    Though I did idly note, if one squinted, that it almost looked like I had a miniature Retaliator attached to my wrist! Or at least the front half of the vessel. How very coincidental.

    Still, it proved such a very fascinating combination between swords and gauntlets. Easy to use with the strength and flexibility afforded to me by my two halves. And they offered more than a few distinctly convenient methods in countering more traditional weaponry.

    Pleased at the discovery, I gave the Quartz a singular second to comprehend her mistake, before forcibly twisting my (and by extension her) arm to the side, ripping the gladius from her grip before kicking forward, all but planting my foot against her chest and sending her flying backwards to impact against the wall with an echoing clang of hardened lightform meeting metal.

    "Not quite monster. Intercaste fusion is more polite. Green Onyx, to be specific. Now-" With a second flash, I brought forth the aspect of my more martial component, the long blade gliding through the air to neatly parry and promptly punish 7XB's surprise attack, sending the other Citrine's summoned handaxe clattering against the ground, its owner letting out a quiet grunt of pain as I allowed the tip of the sword to just barely penetrate her lightform, leaving a small hole that closed quicker than one could blink.

    There was a lesson I could teach here, before I got into the nitty gritty of shattering their already crumbling beliefs and rebuilding them. But it was ultimately up to them to see whether they'd figure out that caution was sometimes the better part of valour.

    "-if we're quite done, perhaps we can have a civil discussion? We'll all be laughing about this soon enough, I would think. Or would you rather I establish who the strongest is first? I'm sure I can pull off a half decent Agate, if you really want me to."

    In response to my blunt offer, the two elite guards glanced at each other once, right before resummoning their weapons, hefting the melee implements and preparing for a second, more unified charge.

    Well...it seemed class was in session.

    The smirk I'd been holding back finally escaped, quirking my lips ever so slightly upwards even as I discarded Emerald's sword in favour of a second blade catcher, spreading my upper arms wide in a beckoning gesture.

    At the very least, I was quickly realising that fusion between different castes had more benefits than just those related to communication. Stars, I felt like a warmachine!

    With a thought, a second flash of light manifested Viridian's usual claws, the wickedly sharp talons flexing once from their position attached to my lower limbs before pulling backwards, ready and waiting for a solid opportunity to capitalise on any mistakes.

    To their credit, 7XA and 7XB didn't let my posture intimidate them, nor did they allow even a second to pass in silence, bursting through the air with twin roars flowing out from their mouths.

    The smirk finally transitioned into an outright grin, even as I barrelled forward to meet the pair of Citrines in the middle of the cell, mirroring their assault with my own.

    Good soldiers, the both of them. It would be great to have them on board once I metaphorically (and somewhat literally) beat the panic out of them. At least up until they started thinking rationally enough to stand down and talk.
     
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    • LOG-073. New
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    • I just can't bear to leave you guys without an update, even if it's a smaller chapter after writing about a certain stupid robot! 💪

    LOG-073.

    The cell was a significantly calmer place than it had been just a few moments ago.

    Now, had it been strictly necessary to get into a fight with my-or rather Emerald's subordinates? No, not at all. I could have easily disregarded both of my components' feelings and defused immediately, leaving the work to them. I could have made all of this much simpler.

    But     actually no, I couldn't have. Not like that anyway. Still, I could have certainly made things much more difficult if they'd felt less strongly about the issue.

    Thankfully, I was more than amenable to the plan that mostly consisted of engaging in combat and talking at various intervals during said combat. Especially since it worked rather well, all things considered.

    Besides, fighting was great fun! The Citrines were now significantly less tense after getting the frustration and shame of being imprisoned aboard their own vessel metaphorically (and perhaps in a certain sense literally) beaten out of them and my two halves had gotten some much needed 'bonding time' while I'd been busy making a mockery of what were supposed to be elite warriors.

    No offense to the Citrines, of course. They'd fought more than well. I'd simply fought better.

    "So let me get this straight."

    7XA paused, presumably for effect, as she gestured at my completely untouched lightform with both hands. Hands distinctly bereft of a weapon, after I'd rather thoroughly educated the yellow Gem on just how futile it was to try and fight me as we currently were, even with two to one odds. Which in turn had of course led to the desired result, namely that of us all talking like sane individuals.

    "You're both Emerald...and Viridian."

    I nodded, even as I silently noted the way 7XB was ponderously glancing at the exit, likely gauging whether she could dash past me in order to make a break for it.

    "Correct." My polite smile must have spooked the Quartz somehow, because she immediately stepped closer towards her batchmate, now much more focused on me above all else.

    "At the same time. As-as Green Onyx. Like...well like a fusion. But with two different Gems."

    Idly rubbing my thumb against my fingers (namely on what I was beginning to consider one of my 'Pearl' hands), I inspected the thinner limb for a moment, before lowering it.

    "That is what this is, yes."

    She paused, visibly cringing at the next words that came out of her lips.

    "And that's...that's safe?"

    Tilting my head slightly, I simply quirked an eyebrow in response, evoking a certain admiral's air while gesturing to the dents around the walls where I may have gotten just a little carried away in throwing the duo around.

    "I haven't had any significant problems with it so far."

    The Citrine slowly nodded, lowering her own hands to plant them on either side of her waist.

    "I...yeah I've got nothing. And all the other stuff, about the rebels and how we're all okay now and the-"

    At my continued nods, she finally stopped, sighing.

    "Okay. I...I mean I can see your gemstones. And you had my Emerald's-or your weapon I guess-look I'm sorry this is all just a little fast for me, alright?"

    I inclined my head, crossing both sets of arms.

    "Take your time. If you'd like, I can unfuse. I do believe my respective components are both happy enough with the situation at this point, as am I."

    At 7XA's quick but visibly hesitant nod (we were both doing that a lot, I noticed), I smiled slightly wider, before stepping backwards to make some space.

    "Just a moment, if you'd please."

    Light.

    ---

    Blinking slightly out of reflex, I glanced around only to all but freeze as three sets of eyes rather effectively pinned me in place, even if one of them were blinking in an almost exact mirror to my own.

    Then my-then Emerald (oh damn it there was so much to unpack over that little mental tick) was sighing and running a hand through her hair, and one of the Citrines was apparently making some kind of apology that was pretty much just washing over me because holy shit being a part of Onyx was one Hell of a rush.

    Fucking...punching and dodging and deflecting and being able to tell which blow would land when and where and oh man it was so fucking cool! We'd had katars for weapons! Fucking katars! For just a short amount of time, I'd felt like Stars damned Captain America or something. A super soldier, yet one that was adept at both matters inside and outside of combat.

    I'd felt bloody invincible.

    ...

    It...it brought to mind Pearl's issues with Sardonyx. If they even were issues yet, maybe not. Regardless, that was my first thought after getting off the...what, the fusion high? It just...it felt incredibly easy to get sucked up into the greatness of it, I supposed.

    Even now, without the fusion's sheer processing power and distinctly analytical mind at work backing me up, I could still just barely make out the hints of expression on the admiral's face indicating that she'd apparently enjoyed it just as much as I had. And judging by the slight widening of her eyes and upwards quirk of her lip, she'd just realised I had as well.

    Which...was good. That we both knew that we both also in turn knew and that we'd both enjoyed it after sorting ourselves out. That was good. Right? Probably? Had that fusion been healthy? It had definitely felt healthy and we both seemed to have come out distinctly better for it-

    Right. Calm.

    Feelings were a complicated thing, and I could deal with them later. Maybe. Besides, despite my somewhat more positive than usual state, I had other issues to resolve right now, like the babbling Gem multiple times my size damn near close to tears as she threw no small amount of emotional word vomit at me.

    Not to discredit her, of course. It was very touching now that I knew she wouldn't grind my gemstone into dust or send me back to the Reef for having the wrong opinion. Friendship goals, hey!

    "-and we never intended to make you feel-we never knew you were scared and I'm sorry that I thought-"

    7XA's mouth closed with an audible 'clack' as I turned to stare at her, taking a deep, very much unnecessary but incredibly soothing breath of fresh air.

    "...I forgive you. You didn't know and I'm also sorry it all had to settle like this and I'm really glad we can go forward without...all of that being an issue anymore. So, let's move on and maybe work out how we're gonna repeat this process with the rest of the crew, okay?"

    At her nod and the understanding in her eyes as she finally realised the utter shit we were gonna need to deal with after all of this, I finally exhaled.

    "Okay. Now, can we all please get out of this cell? It feels very crowded in here."

    Getting three simultaneous nods in response, I promptly turned on my heel and stepped out of the cell.

    Only to in turn feel a pair of (by now) familiar blue arms wrap around my lightform, Brim's excited voice filling my hearing as I stiffened in place.

    "I really liked that! That was something I really liked!"

    ...Damn it Bri-no. No, I truly couldn't blame her this time.

    I'd really liked that as well. Green Onyx was great.

    Feeling a slight grin tug against my lips, I let my still somewhat giddy mood express itself in the raising of my arms as I hugged the Lapis Lazuli right back, prompting a pleased croon from the glorified rock cutter.

    Then my eye twitched as one of the Citrines giggled from somewhere behind me, prompting an amused grunt from Emerald and a chuckle from their batchmate.

    Big clods. The lot of them. Who were they to laugh at me and my clingy Lapis?!
     
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    • Human Culture. (By Drich.) New
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    • Heh.


    A Brief Introduction of Imperial Gems to a Particular Aspect of Human Culture

    +++

    "So you just... stop working?" Ax3 asked, blinking as she tried to wrap her head around the concept. She, and a few of the other Peridots assigned to the Retaliator that were currently with her, followed after Viridian, who was leading them through the Human settlement.

    Viridian -And oh it was so nice to see her shining form again, even with what she'd learned- nodded. "Humans aren't like Gems. They need to maintain their bodies and minds, and cannot simply continue forever. In this country, the average Human will spend approximately eight hours sleeping, seven to nine hours working, and uses the rest of the day however they see fit. Two days of the seven day week are also usually taken off completely, to allow rest and recovery. That isn't a hard rule, however, and the details vary between everybody."

    Ax3 couldn't help but feel like that applied to a lot more than just working hours. Even now, just walking down the street, Humans were a wild mess of colours and styles; wearing appearance modifiers of all shapes and sizes, walking differently, talking differently... It was a lot. There was variance within any given caste of Gem, sure, but nothing like what the Humans did.

    "Why not just keep working, though?" Ax4, her batchmate asked. "You're a Gem. Wouldn't that get you more, uh... value tokens?"

    "Money." Viridian corrected her absently. "And the point of money is that you spend it on things that either you need, or enjoy. I keep a surplus for emergencies, but aside from that..." Viridian glanced at them. "Well, life is meant to be enjoyed. Ax4, if you were allowed to go work on your barrier generator project freely after completing your daily duties, would you enjoy that?"

    Ax3 blinked, looking at Ax4 alongside Zr2 and Ba5. This was the first she'd heard of any such project. It definitely wasn't something that a Peridot of Ax4's rank and position should have been doing, but that was often overlooked if their tinkering provided something useful. Their Emerald especially wouldn't discourage them.

    It didn't surprise her that Viridian knew about it, though. She had been close to many Gems on the Retaliator- and Ax3 pushed down the feeling that came from remembering why.

    Ax4, meanwhile, flushed a deeper green. Her look around was pure reflex, even though none would have blamed her now. Viridian had been the one to talk Emerald into allowing them all this 'free time', even.

    Viridian smiled, not unkindly. "Exactly. Which does rather nicely segue into why I've brought you four here with me today." She paused on the spot, gesturing upwards.

    Ax3's head tilted backwards. "'Funland Arcade'?" She asked.

    Viridian nodded. "Indeed." She stepped forwards, and the doors groaned open. Ax3 noted the sound of what clearly a failing motor, but that wasn't currently her job to fix. "Now, none of you know what a video game is, do you?"

    Most of the Peridots shook their heads, though Zr2 answered with a guess. "A game... that is a video?"

    "Not quite." Viridian walked inside, the four of them following her. "A 'video game' is an electronic game played on a computer that gives you feedback in response to actions you take. Since Humans are primarily visual, and most games are played with visual feedback, it was shortened to 'video'."

    The Peridots nodded.

    "There's a lot of different types of video games, in a lot of different genres, but I brought the four of you here today because from what I know about your personalities, you're probably going to enjoy this specific video game."

    "Viridian!" A deeper voice called, gruff in a way that none of the Peridots were used to. Ax3 turned to find a Human -of course-, but one that was even stranger than usual. He was tall, but hunched forwards, his 'skin' spotted and loose.

    'Old', she realized after a few moments. She was still getting used to the whole 'aging' thing.

    "Michael." Viridian smiled at him. "Still going strong, I see."

    "These ol' bones have got a few years in them yet!" The man chuckled. "But you didn't come to talk to an old man."

    "I didn't, but it doesn't mean I can't." She smirked. "How did these 'newfangled computer things' go?"

    He sighed. "Let's just say that I'll thank you for convincing me to only buy four rather than ten." He grumbled. "So, this is your group, huh? You're..." He blinked, looking over the four of them.

    "Ax3, Ax4, Ba5, Zr2, all Peridots." Viridian introduced them, each of them giving a greeting as their names were spoken.

    "Uh-"

    "Don't worry, Mike, I don't actually expect you to remember that." Viridian grinned.

    "Whoo." The human breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, they're in the back, and all yours for the day."

    "Thanks, I'll make sure it stays nice." Viridian nodded, briefly gesturing at the Peridots following her as she continued onwards.

    Viridian took them into a small, but well lit room. It was fairly simple, unremarkably save for the table in the center, which had four of the Human computers already set up for it.

    "Is this really a computer?" Ba5 couldn't help but ask, leaning down to examine the machines.

    "They look primitive, don't they?" Viridian asked, amused. "By Gem standards, they are. By Human standards, these are actually quite new. They'll be completely out of date within five years, considered ancient in ten, and in thirty years, people will wonder how they ever got by on just this." She shrugged. "Now then, take a seat everyone."

    They did. Ax3 couldn't help but think that the chair was a weird one; so squishy and soft, turning with only a bit of force. Still, it wasn't bad. "Are you going to teach this to everyone?" Ax3 asked.

    "Not quite. The game we'll be playing today is called 'Colonization 2'. It's not for everyone, but I do think you four will enjoy it." Viridian stated. "Other Gems will likely find different games they enjoy. I know Garnet took a bunch of Rubies when I raised this idea-"

    +++

    "This-" Garnet spoke, gesturing to a screen. "- is DOOM."

    "Oooooh." Her audience of Rubies echoed.

    +++

    "- but right now, this is just for you." Viridian smiled. Ax3 tried very hard not to blush. "You ready?"

    The Peridots nodded.

    Fourteen hours later, Viridian almost had to guilt-trip them to get them to leave the arcade. They had been introduced to a thing of beauty, a sublime experience.

    It took them three more hours to find a way to emulate Human software on the Retaliator's systems. In two days, ninety percent of the Peridots on the ship had been exposed, and 'free time' became a coveted thing. Motivation rose like a rocket.

    +++++
     
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    • LOG-074. New
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    • Back at it again with some STUPID ROCK LADIES. Get ready for TONS OF FUCKING FLUFF. You gotta STICK WITH ME.

    LOG-074.

    It had been about two and a half days (give or take a few hours) since the end of what I was already beginning to refer to as the Great Clusterfuck in the privacy of my own mind.

    Thankfully, that day and a half had been well spent. Emerald and the Citrines had managed to slowly go through the rest of the crew (released one by one under direct supervision of the Crystal Gems) and talk them down, Rose had finished crying all over the remaining Avians in order to heal them up and I'd managed to call up my regional manager and explain my absence as that of a family emergency.

    He'd been completely supportive and understanding about the whole thing, and had even offered me some paid time off if I needed it, bless his soul.

    "So we just...get in the water?"

    I shook the loose thoughts away and glanced at the Ruby, taking care not to stare at her visibly elongated and limp arm, or the various other deformities currently plaguing her fellow Gems (the direct results of the cracks and chips on their respective gemstones. The bombardment hadn't been kind to the smaller footsoldiers, but at least no one had been shattered by the end of it, thank the Stars) before turning back to stare at the calm pool's worth of liquid that I vaguely understood to be (in all likelihood) diluted Diamond essence, carefully contained within the boundaries of the fountain itself.

    "Yes. Rose Quartz's lacrimal essence induces significant physical restoration upon even short term contact with a damaged Gem. You three are the last ones left, the rest of the crew have already had a dip and are waiting for you."

    The red Gem pondered that for a moment, before nodding with a wide smile on her face.

    "Okay!"

    And just like that, all three of the little buggers were throwing themselves into the water without even a hint of hesitation, letting out various woops of excitement before promptly sinking to the bottom while I stepped to the side in order to dodge the subsequent splash.

    That was all fine though. Compared to the singular Peridot that had apparently somehow managed to take a nasty gash to her own gemstone while being nowhere near the bombardment (she'd mumbled something about tripping and smashing her shoulder against a particularly sharp stone which...yeah), and had subsequently chosen to interrogate me on each and every specific function and attribute of the fountain and its properties, this particular session was fairly easy to deal with.

    Idly pulling out and munching on a donut (and once more allowing the massive smile that always accompanied the action to stretch my features apart), I waited for a moment or so before reaching over and fishing out the trio one by one, setting their soaked but thankfully intact lightforms to the side with my free hand.

    Soaked quickly turned to steaming however, before the excess moisture finally evaporated entirely as the three flexed their inherent pyrokinesis. A solid reminder that the stocky little Gems were inherently made for warfare, no matter how silly they acted sometimes.

    Gulping down the remainder of my snack, I glanced over the newly healed trio one last time before nodding.

    "And that's that. Alright, back to the Warp pad. I have a shift to get to and you three need to get situated back on the Retaliator for Pearl's 'living on Earth' lesson. Plus I'd rather not be late."

    As one, the three of them snapped to attention, already filing into a line to follow along behind me as I began to stride away from the fountain.

    "Yes Viridian!"

    Hmph. Cute.

    ---

    "And that's why I'm really thinking of getting into politics, you know? The current mayor barely does anything at all and I'd say its about damn time for a change!"

    I slowly nodded along to one Bill Dewey's various arguments and reasons for why he wanted to ditch his current plan of a law degree and instead enter the viper's pit known as politics, before slowly sliding forward a donut.

    "I think you should follow your dreams, Bill."

    The man grinned, one hand depositing the necessary price for the frosty confection while the other scooped up the snack itself.

    "Thanks Viridian, it's good to see you're alright after that whole alien invasion debacle."

    Ever so subtly (reading: not at all), the man glanced behind him, squinting his eyes at the large figure standing next to the door leading out of the store, before shooting me a concerned glance.

    "You sure those new magic ladies are on the up and up? I've seen some of em grabbing things out of the garbage you know, following that purple friend of yours around."

    I pursed my lips at his words, repressing a sigh.

    "Probably the Jaspers hanging out with Amethyst. I'll have a talk with them, thanks for the info."

    The (potentially) future mayor just gave me a quick nod, before quickly retreating out of the store, shying away from the tall Gem all but guarding the exit. But then he was gone, and said Gem was striding forward to stand in front of the counter and stare down at me with that ever perplexed look of hers.

    She seemed to have found her cape at some point, at the very least. Good for her.

    "I still don't understand the point of this."

    Bringing up a hand and pinching the bridge of my nose (the gesture didn't actually bring any physical comfort, but living in the memory of it most certainly brought some level of mental relief, at the very least), I gestured to the register, already sorting the loose change inside of the machine.

    "Human beings require food to survive. Generally, the vast majority of them utilize currency to purchase said food. By working at this station, the owners of this establishment pay me a sum of said currency in order to keep the facility running in their stead."

    Emerald's eyes narrowed slightly, glancing at the various examples of sugary goodness lining the wall behind me.

    "That I understand. We both know that similar practices exist on both Homeworld and some of the more developed colonies, usually reserved for the suitably ranked or highest performing Gems. What I still fail to comprehend is why you feel the need to work here and align yourself with this Big Donut franchise. You have no need of organic currency."

    I blinked at her statement, before crossing my arms.

    "I want it though."

    She leaned forward, incomprehension lining her features.

    "But why?"

    Turning around, I snatched a singular (chocolate) donut from the wall, twisting back around and waving it at the admiral.

    "So I can buy donuts like this. And other food."

    I held my ground (stubbornly stomping down a particularly 'Pearlish' desire to immediately duck my head and apologise) in the face of the frustrated uppercrust Gem, even as she leaned back in the face of my new weapon.

    "Gems do not require sustenance the way organics do. Your consumption of these products is needless!"

    Narrowing my own eyes, I stretched my arm out further, all but brandishing the treat at the large green Gem.

    "I know for a fact Onyx transferred over more than my sense of balance while we were catching up. Shapeshift some tastebuds and try it."

    Her face scrunched up in visible revulsion as she took a step back, shaking her head.

    "I most certainly will not. I have observed the method in which both you and the organics eat them. Both Vermilion and that other Pearl have the right of it, the entire practice is utterly revolting."

    Leaning back, I placed one hand on the counter and promptly took a bite out of the donut, savouring both the taste and Emerald's subsequent flinch as I began to loudly chew, before swallowing and raising an eyebrow in response to her full body shudder.

    "With all due respect, what's revolting is the fact that you and the others refuse to acknowledge the greatness of chocolate without even trying it. At least Brim and Amethyst have given it a go. Even if the latter tends to take it a little far." And the former was currently somewhat unavailable, busy as she was helping Quille and Talon set up a small enclave for the veritable flock of alien bird people currently attempting to make a living in the forests near Beach City.

    In between helping the Crystal Gems and more combat inclined crew of the Retaliator in hunting down and bubbling some of the Corrupted beasts still loose in that particular region, of course.

    "Hm."

    Now crossing her own arms, the rogue officer glanced to the side, idly turning to stare out the window as a pair of screaming Rutiles sprinted past the storefront, followed by an excitedly barking dog. Something that would have been concerning if this hadn't been the fifth time that particular scene had happened in the past three hours.

    "Yes, well even if I wanted to, which I most certainly don't...my ability to recollect isn't exactly as flawless as yours. Most of what I could do as Onyx left along with her."

    I bit my lip in the sudden silence, tapping my fingers against the counter's surface before finally taking the plunge.

    "Would you...maybe want to bring her back for a while? Perhaps this evening, after my shift is over and I finish having a talk with Pearl. It...could help jog your memory?"

    The excuse felt flat but at least saved me some small level of embarrassment as wide green eyes turned back towards me, the admiral now visibly fidgeting, even if ever so slightly.

    "I...but for what reason would Onyx even be needed? There's no significant threat present at the moment. No problem to solve."

    I liked to think the dark green blush overtaking her face was a positive sign, even as I placed my elbows down against the counter, flashing her a small smile.

    "Well...she's not strictly needed I suppose...I want to be her though. What about you?"

    I was definitely still tense around my former owner (for what I liked to think were fairly fucking obvious reasons), but that would in all likelihood fade with time as we all settled in. Especially in the face of the small awkward smile she gave me.

    Taking another quick bite of my donut, I savoured the taste of chocolate and the feeling of victory at her following response.

    "I...I think it would be nice as well."

    Hmph. Things really were looking up for old Viridian, it seemed.

    "Besides. Rose Quartz has been rather descriptive of these 'dates' she has taken with the Greg Universe. It will be nice to see what it's like."

    I choked.

    "Snrk."

    Then I promptly threw what remained of my donut at the snickering clod.
     
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    • LOG-075. New
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    • Something something ROCKS. Also, just a hypothetical here, but if anyone wants to have a go at writing up a potentially canon omake or two (Amethyst and the Jaspers hanging out, the townies meeting some of the Retaliator crew, the Avians encountering Terran birds, etc etc) then feel free to shoot your shot! It'd definitely help speed certain things up on my end.

    LOG-075.

    "And this is a specific technique I taught myself back in the Reef during Era One! Try to twist your leg slightly while bowing low during the first half of the routine. It tends to help you dig in your heel and should ground you sufficiently for the next half if you do it right."

    The Crystal Gem temple was, in comparison to before the Retaliator's appearance, a lot less quiet than before. Mostly due to the cruiser in question remaining parked up to it, with its crew gladly taking the time to partake in their very much impromptu shoreleave.

    "L-like this?"

    Amethyst effectively integrating into the ship's resident Quartz division and causing no small amount of minor chaos while teaching them how to live 'Terran' style, alongside the occasional strumming of a guitar (followed by Rose's giggles) from a certain persistent human visitor (you the man Greg Universe) also tended to fill the air more often than not.

    "Precisely. Though you could do with squaring up your shoulders a bit...hm. Try doing...this."

    Though not everything was an outright circus. At least for the Retaliator itself, Emerald and Garnet had managed to put their heads together and figure out a decent enough method for keeping the gargantuan vessel from drawing no small amount of (admittedly warranted) concern from the rest of Beach City after the whole debacle of the cruiser's arrival.

    Namely by submerging the thing.

    "Is it supposed to pinch like that? Behind my back?"

    Not fully, of course. But enough that only the sharp prongs of the forward half of the vessel actually breached the water in any appreciable fashion. Turned out a Gem warship meant to brave the perils of the infinite void was also decent enough at acting as a makeshift submarine when push came to shove, albeit with some slight adjustments. Particularly the temporary 'patch' they'd slapped over the hole drilled into the side of the cruiser thanks to the efforts of yours truly.

    "Yes, that's just your lightform stretching a little bit thanks to the position of your arms."

    Getting to and from the temple and the ship itself of course involved a somewhat lengthy swim, but the only members of the crew that truly minded getting a little wet were the Peridots, and they mostly stayed on board the cruiser whenever they weren't taking a shuttle out to visit some abandoned Gem structure or other during their scavenging runs.

    "And then I...spin?"

    However, just because the exterior of the temple was a lot louder thanks to all of the...everything, didn't mean that the entire temple was filled with the noise of a small settlement's worth of Gems running around. There still remained certain relatively calm and isolated areas.

    "Well, spin and pirouette, yes. Then you execute the second part of the dance!"

    Like the individual rooms belonging to the Crystal Gems, for instance.

    Or to be more specific, Pearl's room. Which I'd entered a little over a moment ago (I'd been granted access to this particular chamber a while back...just a little before Harlequin now that I really thought about it), silently stepping away from the door and watching as the pair of Gems inside continued practicing a lengthy routine filled with more than a few flips and rolls.

    So this was where she'd been hiding. Not that I blamed my batchmate for wanting to...avoid Emerald for a while. Realistically, her reaction to the sudden reappearance of our old owner was far more reasonable than my own had been, but that was neither here nor there at the moment.

    Regardless, the dance. It...wasn't one I inherently recognised, though considering it was being taught by an Era One Pearl that had been made for a Diamond, that wasn't all too surprising. Neither were Vermilion's mistakes during most of the act much of a shocker (she simply wasn't built for some of the bullshit moves an Era One servant could pull off), even as Pearl continued to try and coach her red counterpart throughout the training activity.

    As they both finally slowed down and settled to stop for a small break, I abruptly decided to step forward, announcing my presence with a loud clap as I stared up at the pair from my lower position at the foot of the first fountain leading up to the rest of the room.

    "Very fancy. Practice it often?"

    Pearl's eyes widened, quickly followed by Vermilion's as my batchmate whirled around upon realising she'd apparently had a hidden audience.

    "V-viridian!"

    As the crimson Gem hopped down from her perch next to her rebel counterpart, I locked eyes with the renegade in question.

    This hadn't been part of our agreement. We'd agreed to speak privately. Alone. Separate from all the other Gems currently running around. Though judging by her own surprised expression, perhaps she simply hadn't expected me to arrive early.

    That was fine though. Bringing Vermilion in on things...well. I could at least trust her not to question me too much on where my information came from.

    Hopefully.

    "I'm sorry we haven't spoke a lot but it's just been so busy outside and I was talking with Pearl and then she was showing me a few things and we were-"

    The babbling tsunami cut off almost the instant I brought up a hand, nodding.

    "That's fine. I've been more than a little busy myself. Hello to you as well Pearl. Now, as much as it feels a little rude to skip the usual pleasantries, I'd rather focus on a few things we need to discuss, if that's alright?"

    My batchmate blinked at my question, before nodding quickly as Pearl hopped down from the fountain herself, landing elegantly a few feet away and eating up the remaining difference with a few quick steps.

    "I would say that's more than fine. So!" Her own hands clapped this time, the paler Gem's expression unceasingly (one would almost say aggressively) polite.

    "You and I had an agreement about your relinquishment of certain ah...information..."

    Her expression twitched slightly as Vermilion turned to glance at her in confusion, the rebel presumably now aware of the problem of having a third Gem present for what had been meant to be a strictly one on one conversation.

    "Ehem...Vermilion dear, would it be much of a bother for you to step away for a few-"

    Right, fuck this. There's a time for caution and then there's also a time for metaphorically beating people over the head with an informational baseball bat.

    "I saw a potential future. Oh, and Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond."

    My bored, slightly irritated tone coloured the words, even as both of my fellow Pearls turned to stare at me, one bearing a face of incomprehension, and the other of utter horror as she realised just what words I'd chosen to give voice to. Vermilion, rather reasonably in my opinion, responded with her own confused blink, before tilting her head.

    "...What?"

    I took mild amusement from the strangled choking noise being emitted from a certain pale Gem, even as I spread my arms out in an exaggerated shrug.

    "Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond. Or rather, Rose Quartz is an identity fabricated by Pink Diamond so she could rebel against the rest of the Authority. That was the whole start of the rebellion, from what I understand. Her and her Pearl, that's the one here with us, to be clear-" At that I sent an obvious glance said Pearl's way, briefly causing Vermilion to glance at her. "-ended up going around and wrecking Imperial infrastructure in an effort to prevent the Earth's colonisation. It's a pretty big secret, for various reasons that I probably don't need to explain. So ah...don't tell anyone."

    It was actually really interesting to watch, the series of emotions that flashed across my batchmate's face in the span of a few seconds. First that continued state of incomprehenshion. Then concern as she presumably realised I wasn't playing some elaborate prank. Then actual comprehension. Then shock. And then utter bewilderment mixed with said shock as her hands both rose upwards to clap against the sides of her head in response to my piece of mega gossip.

    "ROSE QUARTZ IS PINK DIAMOND!?"

    Blinking at the flabbergasted Gem, I nodded, idly noting that she seemed to have forgotten my other tidbit in favour of ehat was, to her, the far more significant one.

    "Mhm."

    Then I winced at the subsequent shrill yell that erupted from Pearl's mouth.

    "VIRIDIAN! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT!? Do you have any idea how-"

    Crossing my arms, I glared at my (significantly) older equivalent, cutting her off.

    "I said it because I'd rather not waste time dancing around the issue, especially when we have other problems to deal with! Besides, Vermilion can keep a secret! Right Vermilion?"

    As the both of us turned to stare at my batchmate, the only sound that managed to escape past her lips was something that could probably be classified as a squeak, even as she rapidly nodded her head, hands still gripping at the sides of her hair.

    Turning back to the still incensed Pearl, I gestured to our third member.

    "There! Now there's three of us. We're a secret Pearl conspiracy. Viridian the Pearl, Vermilion the Pearl, and Pearl...the Pearl."

    Turning, I began to stride towards the fountain, even as Vermilion quietly mumbled the words "Pearl conspiracy?" to herself and Pearl stomped after me.

    ...Stars damn it all that name was still proving to be an annoyance. Would it be offensive to ask her to change it?

    "Wha-get back here!"

    Fuck, probably. Ugh.

    "Just because you somehow know about Pink's-about Rose's secret, doesn't mean you're entitled to just blurt it out for anyone to hear, Viridian! There could be severe consequences if her true existence were exposed! Can't you have even a little bit of tact? Honestly, for a Pearl you sometimes act just as impulsively as Amethyst and that's-"

    Turning back to stare at her from my new position sitting at the rim of the fountain, I quirked an eyebrow, even as part of me inwardly winced at her words. She...had a point, yes. But I unfortunately didn't have either the time, inclination or energy to work around that point. So...

    "You wanna stage an intervention and save Bismuth? Because that's what I planned to talk with you about but if you want to just keep yelling at me I suppose that's also fine."

    Predictably, Pearl's mouth shut with an almost audible clack.

    Smiling at both the sight in front of me and of Vermilion slowly approaching the both of us with an uncertain look on her face, I crossed one leg over the other and placed my hands atop my lap.

    "So, moving on to less shouty matters. Did either of you know that Rose has a pet lion?"

    Honestly, I really should have expected my batchmate's subsequent question. Small mistake on my end, there.

    "Uhm...what's a lion?"
     
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    • Tomb Spyder said:
    The Citrines were now significantly less tense after getting the frustration and shame of being imprisoned aboard their own vessel metaphorically (and perhaps in a certain sense literally) beaten out of them) and my two halves had gotten some much needed 'bonding time' while I'd been busy making a mockery of what were supposed to be elite warriors.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    There's an extra ending parenthesis in here.
     
    What's this I hear about propaganda that wasn't planned by a diamond?
    It seems I've arrived late, or do you just uoload in bursts?
    Using the Civilisation series as an introduction to video games wouldn't have been my first choice although, at least the implied timescale will be famliar to them...

    Wait... That one was written by Drich?
    But, not uploaded by Drich?
    This 'Horisontal Line' feature is quite useful for when you intend to separate comments and reviews. (For those new here, two comments in a row aren't allowed here, except when made as threadmarked additions)
     
    I for one would love to see some kind of reaction from the Feds. Any reaction.

    To the multiple alien species now occupying one of it's cities. Not registering with the state. Or paying taxes.

    I fully expect that Rose set up some kind of agreement to have whatever alternate US government stay out of the Gems business, but this is a highly unusual circumstance.
     
    LOG-076. New
  • Threadmarks
    • We do a little bit of planning. A moderate amount of conspiracy perhaps. Even some outright plotting on the odd occassion.

    LOG-076.

    Certain Gems were simply built to be better than others.

    It was a fact of life that had been all but pounded into us at the Reef. That in the Empire some were destined for higher positions, while others would be lucky to grovel in the dirt at the former's feet. And that everyone should accept that.

    I'd rather easily determined that most of that particular philosophy was a load of bullshit meant to keep very much impressionable young Gems in line. But a small yet important part of it remained true nonetheless.

    Certain Gems were simply built to be better than others, and if you looked for the right signs, that fact made itself fairly obvious.

    Take Pearls, as an example. As a bespoke servant born of the Reef, I was actually somewhat above the supposed 'average' in terms of quality, even for an Era Two Pearl composed with what resources were available during the shortage resulting from Rose's 'shattering' of Pink.

    This meant that unlike the 'common' Pearls created in lesser facilities, like Atolls, I actually had some pretty good perks. I could project relatively complex holograms persistently, for one. And I could even store a decent amount of stuff in my gemstone. Nothing outrageous, unfortunately, but I worked with what I had within my limits. Vermilion was much the same, for obvious reasons.

    Then there was Pearl. An Era One product, made with the best of materials and the finest resources the Gem Empire could offer. One who'd been custom designed to serve at the direct command of a Diamond.

    Where we either needed to memorize numerous dance routines or plan out various songs in advance, she could come up with masterful moves and awe inspiring ballads practically on the fly. Where we prided ourselves in being able to project the equivalent of a small television screen, she could conjure semi-persistent and independent replicas of herself composed of pure, if distinctly weak, hardlight.

    She was built better than us, and part of me had acknowledged that the very second she'd casually brought forth an entire fucking whiteboard clearly intended for a classroom from her gemstone without even a hint of strain, alongside a few markers. She hadn't even blinked, already beginning to note down a few things while I'd paused in the middle of my explanation regarding Bismuth and her little shatter focused weapon to stare, a hand idly shifting to brush against my own fancy bellybutton rock as I thought about just how unfair that shit was.

    But again, that was life. Some Gems were just built better.

    Did I feel just a little bit of envy regardless of that fact? Yes. But I figured that was normal. After all, in comparison to her I could barely fit a pillow through the bottleneck leading into my storage space. A glance at Vermilion simply showed the usual at this point. Awe. Awe at what Pearl could do. Awe that she was in the presence of a veritable paragon of our caste.

    It was...kind of nice, to be entirely honest. Having her particular brand of hero worship directed towards someone else for once. It certainly let me feel a bit better about not actually being perfect, at least.

    And all the while, Pearl casually scribbled away, flowing Gem Glyph forming across the whiteboard's surface before she finally stepped away from it with a satisfied hum, nodding.

    "Right! So to summarize some of what you've said, starting with the first item of note. The handheld mirror I currently hold possession of contains a Lapis Lazuli?"

    Quirking an eyebrow, I nodded.

    Her hands moved, squeezing the cap of her marker back into place before it finally settled atop the writing implement with a distinct click.

    "And she's most likely an Imperial. We never had any Lapis Lazulis join the rebellion back when it started, after all. The closest we got was a singular particularly talented Aquamarine."

    Crossing my arms, I nodded again. A little slower this time.

    "Technically, yes. She's not a rebel."

    Pearl's eyes stared into mine for a moment, before she turned around and promptly slapped a hand next to the small drawing of the mirror she'd made beneath the subsequent block of text attached to it.

    "So then we're better off keeping her contained for now! After all, if she's anywhere near as powerful as you described, releasing her could prove catastrophic! Stars knows what could happen if she managed to get word of us back to Homeworld..."

    The pale Gem blinked as I stepped past a still silent Vermilion and gently plucked the marker from her thin fingers, uncapping it and drawing a quick star around the mirror.

    "Correct, but you should keep in mind that she's currently damaged, and that it was Homeworld that put her in that thing to begin with. If I wanted to be entirely callous, I'd say she's a prime Gem for recruitment. She'll no doubt be incredibly unbalanced, and with the right evidence presented to her, ripe for being turned over to our side. Having Rose heal her would also definitely help."

    I glanced to the side as Pearl frowned slightly, tilting her head.

    "If."

    Pursing my lips, I gestured to the whiteboard with a vague flick of my hand.

    "If. She isn't bubbled, Pearl. She's aware. Has been aware, this entire time. She was poofed and socketed into that glorified interrogation device back when your rebellion was at its height, and has been locked in there since."

    And wasn't that just an utterly horrifying thought. I'd give Lapis Lazuli one thing. She hadn't broken, despite all her time spent trapped inside her own personal little Hell. Stars knew I would have lost it after the first decade or so with nothing to do.

    Was she traumatized from the experience? Almost certainly. But if I remembered things correctly, and I was inclined to believe I did, she'd be able to recover, so long as she was given the appropriate help she needed.

    Regardless of my internal admiration for the terraformer's mental durability, the small moment of silence was broken as Vermilion audibly gasped, hands rising to cover her mouth. Judging by the widening of Pearl's eyes, the renegade was also considering just how horrible such a thing could be in practice.

    Bringing up my free hand, I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed.

    "Are we going to be leaving her in there? Absolutely not. Will we delay her release for just a little while? Maybe. Enough that we can stack things in our favour should she prove unreasonable and make the mistake of trying to flee to Homeworld, at least. But under absolutely no circumstances am I going to consider consigning an intelligent being to an eternity of incarceration. Especially one who is innocent of any crimes beyond that of slicing apart a few mountains, as is her function according to the Empire she was created to serve.

    Or to summarize, fuck all of that noise. I didn't owe Lapis anything of course, but I'd definitely be a massive asshole if I didn't even make an attempt at helping her out, and my perfect recollection would literally never let me forget that fact.

    Besides...Brim would probably be pleased to meet another 'sister' that she could splash about with.

    Heedless of my inner thoughts and justifications, Pearl was still staring at me, but my Era One counterpart's gaze had softened significantly as I made my case. Coupled with the fact she made no move to argue the point, I considered that particular matter settled. At least for now.

    Heaving a deep breath, I slapped a hand next to the sarcastically written description of a certain big cat.

    "Moving on. The lion."

    Her next response was almost instant, the renegade's features scrunching up in disgruntlement as Vermilion glanced between the two of us, fingertips slowly tapping against each other with an awkward air to them.

    "I find this particular bit of information far more difficult to believe. Rose would have told me about it for one!"

    Placing the cap back on the marker, I shook my head.

    "But she didn't. She's not perfect, Pearl. Diamond or not."

    She was getting angry at me, I could tell that much. Her hands balling into fists at her sides as her mind reeled at the traitorous thought of her beloved Rose Quartz ever doing something truly wrong. I didn't miss the slight flinch at the mention of the word Diamond either. She was still getting used to their secret being out, it seemed.

    "She would have told me. She tells me everything!"

    Suddenly annoyed at her delusion, I all but hissed at the rebel, my dress flowing back slightly as I stomped up to her, carefully ignoring the slight feeling of guilt as Vermilion shrank back from our distinctly volatile postures.

    "She told no one. Because she was scared. There's a Crystal Gem veteran that she personally poofed and bubbled away waiting inside of that damn thing's fur. She didn't want Bismuth's fate getting out. Didn't want the Breaking Point becoming public knowledge amongst the rebellion. I want you to actually think about that for a second. Put yourself in her position, Pearl."

    At that, she shut her mouth, visibly struggling with the idea. She was a smart cookie however, I'd give her that much. Stubborn resistance quickly gave way to resigned realisation as she put the pieces together, her hands relaxing once more as her face grew pensive.

    "The other Diamonds. Even while acting against them, she didn't...she'd never want them to be shattered. She never wanted anyone to be shattered."

    I tried not to dwell on the slightly renewed twinkle in her eyes as she glanced back up at me, my 'special knowledge' once more reaffirming itself in her thoughts. She was desperate to know how I knew what I knew. But she was also desperate enough to actually be told these things, to the point that she was willing to let the matter be. At least for now.

    Taking a step away from her, I planted my hands at my sides, knuckles digging into my waist and ever so slightly ruffling the various frills of the lower half of my outfit as I glared at one of the fountains, lips once more pursed in thought.

    "...We can't get Bismuth out without Rose. I think. It's similar to our own storage spaces. Only the owner can access it."

    Turning back to my fellow conspirators, I brought up one hand and waved it back and forth.

    "We'll need to pressure her into letting go of your rogue construction Gem. Well...you will, rather. We'll just be backing you up when you do it, if you feel you need us at all."

    Pearl frowned at that, but didn't say anything as I began to pace back and forth, thinking aloud.

    "Afterwards...I don't really know. Morally, we can't just leave Bismuth to rot in there, but she's definitely going to be just as much of a problem as the Lazuli, albeit in an entirely different direction. We'll need to reconcile her and Rose. Some mediation will do them some good...I think. Probably gonna need to bring her in on the whole hidden Diamond situation."

    At that, the renegade finally opened her mouth, raising a finger as she spoke. "And dispose of this 'Breaking Point' of hers. As much as I love Bismuth...it's not at all what the Crystal Gems stand for. I honestly don't know what she was thinking creating such a thing!"

    I wanted to narrow my eyes ever so slightly at that, but refrained from doing so. Instead, I merely nodded along, even as Pearl turned back to the board, pulling out a second marker and scribbling a few more glyphs down next to the original ones.

    The Breaking Point...hm. While the concept of shattering a Gem definitely still made parts of me more than a little uncomfortable (oh Stars that Peridot was still floating around in the burning room somewhere), the rebel blacksmith had made the weapon with some pretty solid reasons behind it, ones I could see myself agreeing with more readily than not. If said weapon actually worked, anyway. A debatable thing.

    Nonetheless, any semblance of how things were meant to be according to the nebulous idea of 'canon' had been wildly altered by my presence, if it had even been going along the set of rails I'd set in my head at all. Simply put, in no rational world was I going to place my hopes and dreams in a little hybrid child somehow talking down White fucking Diamond, no matter what my human memories showed me.

    The galactic dictator had driven entire interstellar species to outright extinction (if my lessons in history were to be believed) in her neverending quest for the expansion of her Great Authority. I wasn't going to bet on an individual like that backing down in the face of a few Gems being disgruntled with things, even if Pink was among them.

    Using the Breaking Point as a first resort? Maybe not the best idea. Especially considering the Diamonds were the only way Gems as a species could actually reproduce their numbers. Not that the propagation of stupid rock ladies was my biggest concern, I was far more interested in sticking with humanity.

    After all. Even if I bore a form of light rather than flesh, I still considered the evolved primates of Earth my people first and foremost.

    Still though, I needed to factor in the potential opinions of others besides myself. The Crystal Gem rebels of old might have been willing to rally behind Bismuth and render the Gems as a whole functionally extinct, if they'd ever been made aware of her plans, but I couldn't be sure of such a thing now. Alternative solutions would need to be thought up.

    Although...if the other Diamonds had to die in order to ensure Earth's safety...we still had Pink, didn't we? According to our initial lectures at the Reef, White had brought about the creation of the Empire all on her own, before eventually finding the correct stars and materials needed to produce her three counterparts after no small amount of time had passed.

    If she'd managed to do that in spite of the most likely prohibitive resource costs, maybe our own far more reasonable Diamond could do the same? Pull the equivalent of a hard reset on the Empire. Any remaining loyalists would likely splinter at the notion, some of them rampaging in some doomed attempt to preserve White's legacy even as the rest followed their programming and or brainwashing and bowed before their new ruler.

    Well, it was something to ponder anyway, just in case I needed to ensure the crew of the Retaliator remained well and truly on our side. Besides, all of this was still strictly theoretical at best-

    "Viridian?"

    Blinking, I glanced at my batchmate in confusion.

    "Yes Vermilion?"

    The red Pearl hesitated for a second, before pointing to the side. Following her outstretched hand, I noticed the room's door, now very much open.

    "Uhm...while you were doing that thing where you walk back and forth and think about things, Pearl left. She said she was gonna go find Rose."

    Oh.

    ...Hm.
     
  • New
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    • LOG-077. New
  • Threadmarks
    • Feeling sick. I want a kebab. Have some more goofy ah Rocks.

    LOG-077.

    I kept walking down the long stretch of sand, even as Vermilion trailed along somewhere behind me, her tone anxious.

    "Shouldn't we go after her? I mean-everything we-or I guess that you two talked about sounded really serious and if Rose is actually-" The crimson Pearl visibly blanched as I shot her a look, shaking her head.

    "I'm sorry! It's just so...I don't even know!"

    Resisting the urge to sigh, I merely let my eyes trail along the edge of the beach instead, watching as the waves continued to roll up and down the sand.

    "First of all, you were part of the conversation, so don't discount yourself. It's the three of us, not two. And as for said third member...she seems confident she can handle it herself. And I'm not gonna act like I know better in that regard." I clicked my tongue slightly as a particularly strong breeze blew past us.

    "Besides, Rose and her have known each other for a long time. Since before the rebellion, for obvious reasons. If anyone can get through to her, it'll be Pearl."

    That seemed to be enough to relax my batchmate for the immediate moment, even as I slowly ground to a halt, inspecting the area around us. It wasn't necessarily close to the temple, but it wasn't too far from town either. And more importantly, it was relatively isolated, at this time of day.

    "Well, this is the place. Now we wait, I suppose."

    Vermilion tilted her head at that, glancing around as well. "I forgot to ask but...just what are we here for exactly?"

    Bringing up a hand, I brushed some of my hair out of my face, before striding over and settling atop a conveniently placed rock. Nice and flat, and nestled next to some other similar rocks as well. Lizards would probably kill for these things.

    "Not what. Who." At her confused blink, I shrugged. "I was planning to meet Emerald here so we could ah...fuse. You coming along wasn't exactly part of the plan, nor is she actually aware you're here just yet, but I'm sure it'll work out! Just a happy accident, I suppose."

    It was interesting, how someone could look anxious yet flustered at the same time. A hint of a blush (slightly darker than her lightform's natural hue) coloured the red Gem's cheeks, even as her voice grew a little shrill.

    "Emerald!? And...fusion!? B-but I'm not ready to-I don't know if I can-!"

    Tilting my head back to look up at the sky, I stared at what few clouds were present at the moment, before closing my eyes and relaxing as my batchmate continued to stammer herself into a confused, blubbering mess. I cut in just as she paused, seemingly searching for more words.

    "She's not mad at us, you know? And even if she was, I'd probably be the one where most of the blame lies. Breaking off from the Retaliator was my idea, after all."

    The statement brought Vermilion up short, apparently. Even as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, one hand locked around the other's wrist in that usual pose of hers.

    "But...I followed you. You didn't make me do that."

    In turn, that brought me up short, mouth opening for a moment only for a distinct lack of words to escape it as I tilted my head back down to face her.

    ...She had gone along of her own volition, hadn't she?

    Huh.

    My hand once more swept some stray locks of hair out of my face as a sudden gust of wind pulled them out of their usual places. Then I paused, thinking.

    "Well...I'm happy to see my-I'm happy to see Emerald-" Damn it. Stupid...weird...mindfuckery shit. "-And you're feeling worried about meeting her again. Maybe...maybe we put our heads together? Bring in a new perspective?"

    Once more, my batchmate blinked, before comprehension dawned on her face, followed by a slightly deeper blush.

    "R-right now? Here?"

    Standing up from my perch, I spread my arms wide, a small smile presumably lightening my features as I made my way closer to my fellow Pearl.

    "Why not? Though only if you want. I just think it'd be a rather fun thing to surprise her with, I suppose. Imagine her face."

    As I offered my hand, waiting patiently, Vermilion considered that for a moment, thoughts and emotions almost visibly running across her features. Hesitation. Fear. But also a distinct sense of longing. Of...not quite desire, but definitely something similar.

    "Fine! We'll do it!"

    Then my hand was locked in a tight grasp with another almost identical to it, and we were both dancing, lightforms all but flowing across the sand in a manner slightly more liberating than our time spent on the Avian warship. There was much more space to move around here, after all.

    And judging by Vermilion's slowly widening smile as we began to pick up the pace, she was enjoying the process just as much as I was. After all, there was no real goal here, not like I'd had with some of my other partners.

    We were just...goofing around. Sure, we were also getting ready to potentially greet a third Gem into the mix, but nonetheless, all of this was just...for fun.

    It was that final thought that pounded within my mind, right before everything else shrank away in the face of Light.

    ---

    "Viridian? Are you there?"

    The admiral continued to stride across the sand, glancing around every so often to see whether she could spot her...not her Pearl. Not anymore. But rather whether she could spot the Pearl she was supposed to meet.

    Embarassingly enough, she was late. Though it wasn't entirely her fault! That dreadful little avian (something decidedly local, very much unlike the starfaring organics she'd once fought against) had been utterly determined to assault her! Pecking and flapping its wings whenever she so much as tried to cross a certain section of the shore!

    She'd been all but ready to summon her blade and teach the little irritant a lesson in threat assessment before she'd realised that it wasn't protecting a stretch of territory, or just trying to inconvenience her, but rather trying to direct her away from what seemed to be some discarded human food left in the sand.

    Naturally, from there she'd simply steered around the little pile of thin, yellow things and left the airborne menace to its meal, rolling her eyes at its victorious squawking as she left.

    But now that she was at the assigned meeting point Viridian had indicated...the green Pearl was apparently nowhere to be found.

    "Viridian? My apologies for the delay! I was held up by a small organic creature!"

    She glanced around one more time, and slumped. It was likely that the Pearl had elected to leave after her own failure to appear. Perfectly understandable, even if it did clash a little with how willing the other Gem had been to enact their little...rendezvous.

    She'd just been preparing to turn back the way she'd came (perhaps she could find Viridian back at that human workplace? Or maybe somewhere around the Crystal Gems' temple?) when a light sound reached her from behind a few rocks.

    Quirking her brow, Emerald turned to face the minor outcropping, hesitating for a second. Then the sound appeared once more, and she realised just what she'd heard.

    A giggle.

    The edges of her mouth pulled upwards slightly in a bemused smile as she began to walk towards the obstruction. It seemed her (former) Pearl had decided to play the part of a Spinel, for whatever reason. Even if her tone sounded a little off.

    "I know you're there, Viridian. Come on out."

    A third giggle prompted her to roll her eyes yet again, even as she finally reached the rocks and placed her hands down atop their surface, using the newfound leverage to lean over the outcropping entirely.

    "Found you-"

    Yellow eyes. Piercing into her own as the Gem she'd mistaken for Viridian let loose a snicker at her likely befuddled expression. The admiral prepared to apologize for the mishap and enquire as to just who she'd apparently run into, only to pause and stare as the unknown Gem stood up.

    "So you did!"

    Somewhat dimly, Emerald realised that she was a Pearl. A...big Pearl, considering they were both standing at eye level.

    She was a (as most Pearls tended to be) rather beautiful thing. All smooth features, with her particularly frilly dress swishing around ever so slightly as the strange Pearl planted her hands down on the rocks in a mirror to Emerald's current positon and all but threw herself over the outcropping, long legs just barely slipping over them before she landed gracefully on her feet, grinning at the rogue officer.

    And yet her features, both her hair, her outfit, even her eyes, all seemed almost painfully familiar. And it was as she spied a pair of distinct gemstones embedded within the Pearl's lightform that Emerald realised she wasn't looking at just one Gem, but rather the apparent culmination of two of them.

    "See something you like?"

    The words were enough to shake the admiral out of her brief reverie, allowing her to realise that she was gaping like a gormless fool in the face of this...this fusion.

    "Ah...yes-uh. Or rather-I'm sorry, are you...?"

    Those golden eyes all but twinkled like distant stars as she looked into them, prompting a heated sensation to creep up Emerald's neck as the fused Pearl giggled at her once more.

    "Viridian? Yes! But also Vermilion! Hello Emerald, you can call me Honey Lemon Pearl! Or just Honey Lemon for short!"

    Words failed to form, and then incredibly suddenly (at least in her opinion) Honey Lemon was leaning forward once more, her large yet still dainty hands gently grasping Emerald's own, even as she batted her long eyelashes at the disgraced admiral.

    "Sorry if I'm a bit...unexpected, but my components figured I'd be fun to surprise you with! And it looks like they were right!"

    Then the yellow Gem's expression turned far more intent, the large Pearl shooting the officer a rather significant look.

    "Besides, I'm also more than a little curious as to just what you and I could...make together. Care to make this a trio, my Emerald?"

    The heated sensation in her lightform extended up from her neck to fully envelope her face as Emerald idly registered a high pitched, keening sound that Honey Lemon openly grinned at, her features evidently pleased.

    It was only as those dainty hands began to play around with her hair (which felt...strange, but not altogether unpleasant) that the admiral realised the sound was being emitted from her own mouth.

    Oh.

    Oh dear.
     
  • New
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    • LOG-078. New
  • Threadmarks
    • I love you all so much. All of you. The artists. The folks making music. The horny section of artists on QQ. The authors who also decided to pick up on writing SU fics and in turn feed my cravings intentionally or not. The commentors who give me half of my damned ideas. The deranged, spiteful lunatics in the discord. Every little aspect of this rising corpse of a community that we've managed to pull from the depths. All of it. Even you. Especially you, reading this right now. I love you. I love you all. It's six thirty seven am as I write this. My body is fighting whatever plague has decided to have a go at me. I'm running on paracetamol and a dream right now. And spite. I chose to use democracy in the discord, and the bastards turned against me, and told me to GO TO BED. THE GALL. THE AUDACITY. I SAID I WAS GOING TO BED! AND IT WAS A LIE! THEY THINK I'M ASLEEP BUT I'M MORE AWAKE THAN I'VE EVER BEEN! I WILL WRITE MORE ROCK FLUFF INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON MY HEALTH! AND THEN I WILL PASS OUT AFTERWARDS AND REGRET MY DECISIONS UPON MY AWAKENING! BECAUSE I'M A HUMAN BEING! AND PAPA NURGLE CAN SUCK MY NUTS.

    LOG-078.

    It felt incredible. Different to spending my time alone in the Roaming Eye trying to stay sane. Or losing myself to the electric atmosphere of the rave.

    This...this felt ever so very personal, in no small part thanks to just who I was doing it with. A Gem to fear. To obey. To serve. And yet that dynamic was now outdated, replaced by a newer, far more pleasurable one.

    We moved. Two steps forward, one step back, my hands gently grasping at Emerald's own all the while. We'd both taken it slowly enough at first, the heavily blushing admiral not used to any form of dancing beyond the decidedly deadly dance of combat (even now I could see her searching for some form of threat or vulnerability, only to flinch in surprise and abruptly remember just what was happening as I leaned forward, letting my nose brush against hers), and I still in the process of sorting out my own feelings enough to make adding her to my wonderful fusion viable.

    And oh did I have an utter mess of feelings, even if I was determined to both please Emerald and enjoy myself thoroughly in the process.

    There was a part of me that still felt...fear. Fear at being so close to someone who should by all rights seek vengeance on me. A smaller part of me also felt a little scared for similar yet entirely distinct reasons, in spite of all logical reasoning. And yet...and yet there was a certain desire there, from both my halves, that proved enough to beat those fears back.

    My components, both Viridian and Vermilion, wanted this.

    I wanted this.

    And by the Stars was I going to take it.

    "Oh!"

    The green Gem in my arms audibly gasped as I finally escalated and grabbed hold of her waist, spinning her around and around, almost low enough that her hair was at risk of brushing against the sand beneath us both. There was no music here. No sounds beyond our lightforms shifting in place. And yet I didn't need it.

    At risk of sounding like an airheaded romantic...even just Emerald's mere presence seemed more than enough for me, especially whenever I got to gaze into her slightly lost, yet ever so very eager eyes.

    She'd experienced fusion exactly once. And in spite of her indoctrination by the Empire, that singular forbidden taste had led to her curiosity driving her forward to participate in this experiment of ours. I couldn't blame her. I was exactly the same.

    Drawing my dancing partner back up, I allowed our bodies to press against each other for just a scant few seconds, before drawing back and starting the elaborate, impromptu dance anew once more, deeply savouring the visible disapointment all but radiating from the admiral, quickly replaced by that same befuddled happiness as we repeated the process all over again.

    My grin widened as we both pressed close once more, letting me see in exact detail the way her flustered face was practically glowing from the bright green flush spreading even further across it.

    "You're adorable."

    ---

    "You're adorable."

    S-she was an Emerald. A (former or not) distinguished admiral of the Great Diamond Authority. She was of a valuable cut, and of high quality. She was a rare Gem. An intelligent Gem. A powerful Gem. And one as durable as the strongest of warriors when it came down to it.

    And yet she felt so very much like a particularly soft mass of clay at the moment, standing on the verge of stretching and breaking apart not from combat but from the delicate fingers of a far too smug looking Pearl.

    She tried to maintain her composure. She really did. But Honey Lemon's delicate golden hands were tracing faint, deliberate paths along her lightform, with a touch so precise she could have been convinced that it had been created for this sole purpose. Every brush against her body sent an unexpected shiver through her entire being, posture tensing for a blow that never came, throwing her mental discipline into complete disarray over and over again.

    It was a ritual, one the quite literal personification of her former Pearls' union led with unyielding confidence, guiding her every step deeper into this unfamiliar and utterly overwhelming territory.

    Truly, she didn't know whether the flush maintaining a hold on her neck and face was the result of embarassment at acting out a role so clearly outside of her designed function, embarassment at enjoying it so much or...or whatever she was feeling towards the yellow Gem right now!

    "S-so are you!" She was being forced ever deeper into an unwinnable defensive! She needed to push back damn it!

    And then, almost as if in direct response to her thoughts, Honey Lemon batted those eyelashes of hers once more, tilting her head in just the right way to have some of her hair lightly brush against Emerald's own, obscuring the rogue officer's vision just long enough for the large Pearl to bring forward a hand and cup the admiral's chin.

    "Mm, we both are, my Emerald...what do you think we'll look like when we're together?"

    Oh Stars this just wasn't fair!

    Yet as true as that thought was, it would fade in the minutes to come, replaced by enjoyment of the dance and her partner's company, alongside a more than shared desire to see just what kind of Gem, what kind of existence, they would form together.

    And eventually, just as things seemed ready to come to a close, just as they both were leaning into each other once more for whatever finale Honey Lemon had planned...

    Light.
     
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    • I am awake, late and inspired.
    Let us dance upon the battlefield
    Across the blades and energies of glorious combat
    Across earth, seas, skies and stars
    Past the warfare and through the diamond ball
    Beyond our prior authority and into our own
    Light unleashed as we intermingle
    A collider scope of morphing geometry
    Ever stronger until all is whole and we are one
    Let us dance upon intergalactic distances
    And return home as one to fight once more
    Three individuals of service
    Serving as one cleaning the battlefield of opposition
    Until our unity is all that remains
    Another mass upload of chapters is unleashed to the masses and I'm almost a day late in replying to such artwork, commenting upon its greatest feats.

    I thank of you, Author, for granting me and the masses these latest chapters.
     
    LOG-079. New
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    • Quille gets to sort of do her job as a Gem. Some dummies learn about relationships. Also, I said it a hundred times and I'll say it again. GET IN THE DISCORD SERVER. NOW!

    LOG-079.

    Things were finally looking up.

    Not in any way that she'd expected, that was for certain, but still.

    If she'd been told by someone that she'd be spending her time casually strolling around a terrestrial planet free of the Empire a short time ago, Quille would have laughed at them.

    Or at least she would have done that pinched half gasp whenever she tried to laugh, thanks to the everpresent obstruction keeping her lips firmly shut whenever she wasn't bothered to form an irregular mouth to get past the disability.

    Nonetheless, life had been...eventful, as of late. Construction of what some of the younger survivors were calling the Enclave was...proceeding as well as it could, really. The locals were helpful enough when it came to giving them space to settle, and had even shown up with a few primitive ground bound vehicles to deliver supplies at the behest of the Rose Quartz...or rather just Rose Quartz, in this particular case anyway.

    But from there...well, it was hard to actually feel all that useful just sitting around watching things progress. Brim (for all her time spent getting distracted by this or that small detail) had proven her value more than a hundredfold at this point, mostly by assisting in construction and ensuring their adopted brothers and sisters had a steady supply of fresh water, carefully filtered and treated by the Lapis Lazuli from the nearby ocean. In turn, Talon simply did what she usually did, leading the remaining warriors in constant drills whenever she wasn't keeping in contact with the so called Crystal Gems.

    But Quille? Quille wandered. Somewhat aimlessly perhaps, occasionally daring to get close to the human settlement ever so charmingly named Beach City (a city founded near a beach!) before inevitably going back to watching from the sidelines. Yes, she could be counted as a warrior, when times called for it. She'd had plenty of training, after all.

    But...engaging in drills had never interested her, and anyway, her true role had always been that of a caretaker first and foremost, even before the clods at the colony she'd emerged from had tried to twist her into being something she most certainly wasn't.

    "Just dance and sing! It can't be     that difficult, you're practically already a Pearl after all, given how small you came out..."

    An entire Atoll, hers by right of station. And they'd taken it away, trying to repurpose her just because she wasn't as cracking tall as-!

    ...Calm.     Breathe. Just like she'd learned from some of the calmer elders, back when they'd been the old ones, and she'd been considered a youngling alongside the other Gems the organics had brought along with them.
    Her fists clenched tightly, clawed fingers scraping against the surface of her palms as harsh memories coupled with phantom tingles of a destabilizer calibrated for punishments teased across her lightform, then slowly loosened as she blew out air from the sides of her mouth in a long, drawn out sigh.

    She was thinking too much. Getting caught up in old memories.

    Besides, it was all in the past anyway. Her birthplace and those who'd abused her were long gone by now. Little more than burned planetary crust and overgrown ruins at this point, with all she had left to remember it by being the organics she'd somehow adopted herself into in the midst of their ancestors' evacuation. And the lessons she'd learned, of course. But those weren't as positive of a note.

    Regardless, a teacher required students to teach. Perhaps had she been on one of the habitat sections aboard the old colonisation vessels repurposed to act as the fleet's homeships, she'd be caring for a batch of hatchlings right now. But circumstances had dictated her position on one of the vessels geared more towards direct combat at the time.

    All of which led her to...here. Standing around and wasting her time even as she finally decided to stop loitering and outright make her way into the settlement proper. It was bright outside, with plenty of human beings eagerly soaking up the sun as they went about their business. For a moment, she worried at their potential responses, but aside from a few stares here and there, the runt of a Gem proceeded forward unmolested.

    Natural dirt eventually gave way to some form of road and pavement as she moved past this or that structure, pausing for a singular instant to glance at her own reflection from a nearby window.

    The figure on the other side of the glass frowned around the gemstone keeping her mouth locked shut, eyes inspecting Quille's lightform.

    It was her natural configuration, of course. Her projected body, sleek outfit and all, albeit with any Diamond imagery replaced with the icon of the fleet. But she still felt...exposed, without the medical robes she'd gotten so used to wearing over the centuries.

    Robes that were likely still stored somewhere aboard the Imperial (or former Imperial, now that she actually thought about it) vessel submerged near the statue the local rebels had chosen to live within, and enemies converted into allies or not, she wasn't going to approach the ship's captain nor her crew without a damned good reason.

    So, getting her old coverings was out...though the humans all seemed to have their own...

    A small noise that might have been a hum escaped her mouth as she glanced around, eyes finally settling on another nearby structure, this one with several different figures standing at the windows, each garbed in their own outfit. Every now and then, an organic or two would enter the building, only to come back out minutes later either wearing new accessories or carrying them in containers.

    ...Hm.

    ---

    She was having fun.

    Sure, her little adventure had escalated a good bit, considering she was passing close enough to the Crystal Gems' supposed temple at this point. But hey, at least she had actual clothes to wear over her lightform again. So that was nice.

    "I just would like to speak to her alone for a mo-"

    Her head tilted ever so slightly, gemstone softly brushing against the cute little mask (whiskers! Like on some of the old fauna from her birthplace!) she'd appropriated as she turned to face the direction of what sounded like a pending argument.

    "Well can't it wait? We were-"

    Those voices were...familiar, actually. She recognized the usual lilt of a Pearl. The local one, to be specific. And she could also hear the deeper tone of what she assumed was a human male.

    "Why don't you two just-"

    Ah, and that was Rose Quartz.

    Well...she had nothing better to do. And anyone who said Quille was beyond snooping was a filthy liar. Gossip was always fun to collect, especially considering how rarely anyone paid any real attention to the 'mute' Gem.

    Striding forward and adjusting the jacket and 'sweater' she'd also gotten a hold of, the lithe Caretaker silently stalked forward, before creeping past a section of the large hill holding up the rebels' big old statue.

    Her head peeked around a rock, allowing her a chance to actually see what was going on.

    "You're just a phase anyway, so don't act so full of yourself!"

    The Quartz of the trio gasped, even as the organic amongst them turned red in the face. "Like heck I am! Listen I don't know how it is where you come from, but around here when two people want to go on a date, you leave them to it!"

    And on and on the squabbling went, the rebel leader watching helplessly as her two apparent paramours traded barbs between one another.

    Stars, it almost reminded her of Brim and that first organic lover of hers. Well, before he'd grown old and passed away, at least. That hadn't been a very fun time.

    Still, this all seemed so...silly. Sure, she wasn't exactly an expert on romance and relationships, but even she'd figured out the basics of a person engaging with multiple partners while living amongst the fleet. Seriously, someone really ought to have taught these three how to-

    ...Hm.

    Clap clap!

    Her palms slapped together twice, halting the argument and drawing three pairs of eyes her way as she stepped around the corner entirely, giving the trio a little wave. The Pearl and human blushed cyan and red respectively, but the Quartz just seemed happy that her counterparts weren't yelling anymore.

    Getting closer, the caretaker glanced between all three of them, before reaching into her storage space.

    ---

    "Where did you get those clothes again?"

    Rose Quartz's worried question drew Quille's attention for a second or two, before the lithe Gem turned back to the little presentation she'd set up. Though she did make the effort to morph her mouth a little large behind her mask so she could give the pink rebel an actual response.

    "Found them."

    Now...let's see if she remembered this right...ah yes.

    The Pearl (or just Pearl, as she liked to be called) remained seated on a small rock nearby, legs neatly folded towards one side. The human, Greg Universe, chose instead to lean against the side of his personal vehicle, a colourful looking thing.

    From her position standing in front of the large slate Quille had pulled out, Rose fidgeted with her fingers, stepping out of the way as the quiet Gem got closer to the makeshift screen.

    "Well yes, but where did you find them-"

    Click.

    The snap of her fingers shut the purpose built warrior up, allowing Quille to pull a small carver from beneath her mask (and out of her gemstone, obviously) and begin the initial drawing of a few simple enough pictures.

    Now...focus. She needed to keep her mouth shapeshifted just so, otherwise her words wouldn't come out right. They'd turn all mumbly if she slipped up for even a second.

    Pointing towards Greg, Quille tilted her head.

    "You love Rose?"

    The organic nodded firmly and without hesitation at that, prompting a scoff from Pearl and a slight smile from the pink Gem in question.

    Nodding, Quille noted it down on the slate. Then she turned towards Pearl, repeating her gesture.

    "You also love Rose?"

    The renegade blinked at the near identical query, but nodded quickly as well. Rose's smile was accompanied by a small blush, even as Greg glared daggers at his rival. Noting down the second line, the caretaker finally turned towards the Quartz, poking her in the chest with her carver.

    "You love Pearl?" A nod, with the mentioned Gem visibly turning triumphant.

    "And Greg?" A second nod, blowing the triumph away even as the human pumped his fist into the air.

    Smoothing her hair back slightly, Quille turned in place once more, noting down the piece of information below a pair of neatly drawn hands.

    "I-I'm sorry but what does this have to do with anything?"

    Turning back around, she stared at Pearl, long enough for the rogue servant to shrink back slightly.

    The attention span of hatchlings. Honestly.

    She brought the carver back up, and tapped the flat end of it against the slate.

    "Lesson one. Polyamorous relationships."

    Greg quirked an eyebrow. Pearl seemed uncertain. Rose looked curious. Flicking her hand slightly, the caretaker leaned up next to the slate, resting her back against the cliff face behind her and bringing both of her hands up to gesture for emphasis.

    "Learned about it while living with what you call the Avians. Not that complicated. Pay attention."

    It wasn't exactly what she'd been made for. But she was teaching. And there was technically a Pearl involved...

    Eh, close enough.

    ---

    Author's note: If you haven't guessed what she is by now, idk what to tell you chief. Anyway, have the fun little art piece that inspired this chapter. Drawn by Jnixz.
     
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    • LOG-080. New
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    • Hear me out...Rocks. (To experience this chapter properly, please swap over and read the SB version.)

    LOG-080.

    The stars above me were beautiful things.

    Idly, my gaze drifted to stare at a specific set of the astronomically distant lights. One that I knew represented the path to Homeworld.

    ...Homeworld.

    My fists clenched as one, even as my teeth grit against each other before I forced the various emotions back down in favour of calmer ones, turning contemplative.

    There were better things to let occupy my mind. Like myself! Like fusion.

    I...wasn't an expert on the act. Especially not for something as experimental as intercaste fusion seemed to be. Likely due in part to none of my component Gems having all that much actual technical knowledge surrounding the subject, beyond of course, one of my Pearls bearing a distinct proclivity for it.

    As a direct result of that, I had enough information to know that I was an...experience. However, I simply didn't know how to describe just what kind of an experience that actually was. Not without a decent bit of self reflection anyway. Thankfully, I'd had time. And so hours passed, with me just staring at the shifting night sky while thinking about things.

    Shifting slightly from my position lying back against the sand, I let a hand rise to brush a stray lock of multicoloured hair out of my face.

    The first few moments had been...electrical. I'd blushed. Heavily. I'd giggled. I'd laughed. And danced. And sang. Eventually, I'd even drawn power from the Emerald embedded in the chest of my lightform, forming what I knew to be Green Onyx's sword catchers and slashing at a few rocks with them while putting on a one person performance. Clean cuts of course, all the way through, with not a single note in my wordless song missed.

    The part of me that hadn't already experienced the martial abilities Emerald provided to this union had utterly revelled in that power for a good bit, prompting understanding and amusement from her counterparts. Yet the good admiral herself had also been more than a little intrigued by the art of the Pearl. Of performing.

    How very scandalous.

    Regardless, the entertaining martial performance had continued until every last part of me was satisfied with its ending, resulting in more than a few diced apart boulders sitting around the sand.

    Casually tossing the remnants into the waves in front of me had resulted in massive splashes of water, and showering in the consequent spray had been nice, countless droplets (each individual teardrop being one I could make out in perfect detail if I so wished) impacting my body, yet failing to find any true purchase, inevitably sliding off to sink into the sand beneath my feet.

    After that initial euphoric period though...I'd calmed. Excitement and enjoyment of my existence instead transitioning into a deep curiosity. I'd wanted details.

    Was I Emerald and Honey Lemon? Or did that component fusion's distinctly happy personality fade away in favour of Viridian and Vermilion taking her place? Was Green Onyx also in here somewhere, acting as a part of me? It hadn't felt like it, yet it also had, somehow.

    So who was I?

    That had taken even more thinking. Settling on a name had been the easiest part, ironically enough, since all three...or four? Five? Regardless, since all of my respective components agreed with the naming scheme Viridian had initially broached, it was simple enough to settle on a suitable designation.

    Jade Onyx. In representation of the...interesting pattern my lightform had taken.

    I still considered myself an Onyx, yes. The combined avatar emitted from all three of my gemstones remained similar enough to that prior fusion. I was still that recognizable shade of mixed green from my...proto-self? From the Onyx composed of Viridan and Emerald. But Vermilion's red undertones had seeped in somewhere along the line of all my separate parts joining together, muddying the metaphorical waters even further. Her visual contribution to the being that was me.

    My eyes were fun. A glance at my reflection in the water had shown that both of them remained that same verdant hue, yet with each individual iris bearing a distinctly crimson ring around it. I'd probably seem terrifying, staring at someone from within the darkness.

    I kind of liked that. Just a little.

    Brushing the stray thought aside and turning my hand around, I stared at the soft waves cresting across the surface of my lightform, like an oil slick on water, almost. Green, green interspersed with red, hints of pure red, more green, and on and on it went in an endless repetition, encompassing my entire body, including the extra frills layered over the not quite armour that made up the foundation of my torso and shoulders.

    It was all Jade in the end, though more specifically the colour, rather than the Gem itself. If an actual Jade had been caught with crimson inclusions in her lightform, the Empire wouldn't even bother to have her Harvested. She'd likely just be shattered and discarded instead, for fear of the potential impurities seeping into new individuals born of that initial recycled material.

    It was fascinating, and enough to make me wonder just what my appearance might eventually settle into, given the potential of additional sessions such as this one. Would my separate hues eventually settle into something more like Vermilion and Viridian's fusion, perhaps?

    Would I be yellow? That might be nice. Maybe Jade wouldn't last long as a moniker. Maybe I'd call myself Gold or something.

    Gold Onyx...now that sounded impressive. Assuming I did end up with such a hue, at least. The small humour found in stealing the moniker of a certain Diamond's top explorator also clicked with multiple parts of me.

    Nonetheless, there was also another key detail my components had rather vocally noted, besides my interesting colouring.

    Namely that they were able to be vocal at all.

    I was still a...personality. An individual. But I somehow felt more...ephemeral than Honey Lemon or Green Onyx had been. Even now, I could all but hear my 'core' components conversing amongst themselves, their own debate reflecting my musings.

    Like little voices living in my head. Yet for all the implications such a thing had...it somehow stabilised my thoughts, rather than the other way around. There were far less tinges of influence from this or that individual, bar the occassional, most minute of notes.

    So once more...just who was I?

    Me, apparently.

    I was just me.

    For now at least.

    My components all agreed, and in turn I agreed with them. My fate was that of a temporary experience, barring the utmost exceptional of circumstances. But I was alright with that. I'd enjoy existence while it lasted.

    Besides, it wasn't like my components couldn't fuse again later on, if they so wished.

    So for now...I'd find something to do besides thinking while stargazing, even as nice as it was. Adding a little variety to that temporary existence of mine couldn't possibly hurt. Perhaps I'd go converse with someone, get some actual use out of my voice besides wordless singing.

    But who?

    ...Ah. That was definitely some level of desire. And the other two didn't seem all too opposed to it either, despite their amusement towards the initiator of the idea.

    Very well then.

    Time to go tease a certain lovebird.
     
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    • LOG-081. New
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    • One: Mods I swear this isn't smut I SWEAR MAN IT'S JUST INNOCENT ROMANCE BETWEEN ROCKS MAN.

    Two: If this doesn't prompt some kind of blushing Brim art I'm gonna eat my shoe. (That's a lie I'll drink a milkshake or something instead.)

    Three: Many of you have joined the Web. Yet there are those of you that falsely believe you are immune to propaganda. Like you. Yes. You. I can SEE YOU. YOU CAN'T LAST FOREVER. GET IN THE DISCORD SERVER SO I CAN YELL AT YOU SOME MORE! WHA-EY! DON'T YOU IGNORE ME YOU FUCKER I CAN SEE YOU SCROLLING! CLICK THE LINK! CLICK IT!

    LOG-081.

    "That should be the last of the secondary foundations set down!"

    Her light tone prompted an amused chuff from the elder, his head turning to take in the assortment of dwellings taking shape near the edge of the alien forest.

    Though Brim supposed that in this case they were the aliens, actually. Huh.

    "You have done more than enough. Go, rest."

    Frowning slightly, the Lapis Lazuli tilted her head, even as the elder rubbed a singular talon along his beak.

    "But...we're not done! I still haven't finished filtering out the reservoir and I know that some of the hunters got sick-" Something becoming worryingly common, even if it had been expected. An organic species did not spend thousands of years living aboard sterile starships in the void and then suddenly make contact with countless forms of bacteria and other contaminants on a world filled with foreign life without issues cropping up, after all. "-while moving through the forest. I could-"

    A sharp click from the old bird's beak silenced the Gem, his tone turning admonishing.

    "You are tireless in body, but the mind is another matter entirely. Rose Quartz has promised to return soon and provide some of those tears of hers to aid the ill. The hunters will be fine, and they will be celebrated once we have our first proper meal in this place."

    Leaning forward, the former ship captain brought up his feathered arms, gently batting her backwards.

    "Now go do something else. Either rest or find some distraction you might like, so long as it isn't more work."

    Hesitating slightly, she tried to peer past the elder as a handful of her adopted kindred carried some strange, furry creature with bony potrusions sticking out of its head into the midst of the camp, others opening up containers that some local humans had gifted them.

    "But-"

    "Brimming River, I will not repeat myself again. Go and relax! We'll send Talon to find you when you're needed for something important."

    She was older than him by several lifetimes, had been present when he'd hatched from his egg amidst the rest of his clutch, and was far more powerful than him with even the slightest access to some form of water besides.

    She'd literally watched the crotchety old bird grow up.

    And yet despite those various irrefutable facts, merely uttering her full name in that damned mothering tone of his was enough to send the Gem scrambling away. It always was, somehow.

    In the deepest, most private parts of her mind, the Lapis Lazuli reasoned that it was because it reminded her of her first father, even though he'd been a soldier of the old world, rather than the captain of a warship.

    "Going! Going!"

    It was annoying but...maybe the elder had a point. A little break probably wouldn't kill her in the end, and she could take the time to look around the forest for materials suitable for a new nest! Considering her old one was probably little more than stardust at this point.

    Yes...yes that would work. Maybe she could even go and bug Viridian later!

    ---

    Brim's 'little' break had, somewhere along the line, escalated.

    She wasn't quite sure how she'd gone from searching for potential nesting materials to lugging around her lightform's volume in loose twigs, but that was simply the reality of her situation right now.

    Was it primitive compared to industrial heating blankets and pillows? Yes. Did she care? Not really. It was an experiment in nest building after all!

    Crack.

    Blinking, the blue Gem paused, setting down her latest find and glancing around warily. She hadn't wandered too far from the Enclave, but it was much darker than it had been before. Maybe some local predator was sizing her up?

    The sound of something moving a few paces away all but echoed through the air, drawing her attention and prompting the Lazuli to draw some water out of the canteen she'd taken to carrying around with her, eyes narrowing.

    Only for said eyes to promptly widen right up at the orbs staring back at her from the shade. Luminous green, with a bleeding red ring layered atop each one.

    "...H-hi?" Was it some kind of animal? Feathers, what if it was one of those 'corrupted' Gems? Sure, Talon (and some of the former Imperial soldiers) had been dealing with those things near nonstop since the big fight, but it wasn't necessarily impossible that she'd missed one, right?

    Hesitation wracked the Lapis for a moment, long enough for the apparent owner of those eyes to step out from the shade with a rumbling sound that she interpreted as a chuckle.

    "Hello."

    Brim looked up.

    And up.

    And up.

    The figure was a Gem. A Gem that had been crouching to fit in amidst the shrubbery while silently watching her. And now that she wasn't crouching, her eyes were able to flick over the newcomer's multicoloured lightform, taking in the myriad of features making up the tall stranger's existence.

    "Uhhhh-"

    Then she finally noticed three rather important details. Namely a pair of very familiar Pearls neatly stacked together in the middle of what she now realised was the fusion's torso, alongside an Emerald embedded in her chest.

    ...

    Her hands went up to her mouth, palms flat against each other, thumbs beneath her chin, and fingers barely brushing the tip of her nose, because apparently Viridian, Vermilion, and the Emerald admiral had all fused, and now that fusion (who looked almost exactly like Green Onyx except...bigger) was staring down at her with what almost seemed like a hungry look-though that might have just been her incredibly biased imagination and maybe she was just reading the situation completely wrong and oh she needed to say something but what could she possibly-

    "Brim, say something."

    "Huubuhuubauwhuu."

    Her response was elegant and refined and perfectly comprehensible, though for whatever reason it caused yet another deep chuckle to escape from the fusion, even as the Lapis felt a long since familiar heat all but surge up her neck and settle at her cheeks.

    Forcibly moving her hands to sharply tug at the sides of her hair in some effort to get her wits back around her, the Lazuli plastered on what she hoped was a friendly smile.

    "Hah, t-that was intentional! Mhm. So ah...when did this uh...yeah?"

    It was almost insidious, how quietly a Gem of that size could move, though she could probably chalk that up to the union being composed of not one but two Pearls. If she'd learned anything since her first meeting with Viridian and Vermilion, it was that the servant caste Gems were almost scarily graceful at times.

    "Viridian and Emerald wanted to form Green Onyx for a while. Vermilion kind of got caught up in things, and now here I am."

    The (MASSIVE SUPER BIG WOW) figure shifted her posture, arms all but flowing around her as she leaned down to stare at Brim with those spooky eyes of hers.

    "Then I had some time to think, and my components all decided it would be nice to come see you."

    Blinking rapidly, the rogue terraformer slowly gestured to herself.

    "...Me?"

    The fusion spread all four of her arms wide, fluttering her long lashes.

    "Yes. We all-or rather I, in this case, wanted to go talk to my pretty Lapis Lazuli. Talon was very helpful in pointing out where you went, lovebird."

    Her pretty Lapi-?

    Oh.

    ...Oh.

    She had less than a second to feel a second blush begin surging upwards to replace the first at that comment (nicknames? They were doing nicknames now?!), only to promptly let out a horrifically embarassing squeak as two of the fusion's arms drew forward, hands big enough to encircle her entire damned waist slipping around her lightform and lifting her into the air as if she herself were just a twig.

    An instant later and she was being smushed up against the far larger Gem's chest, two hands holding her up by the legs and a third resting against her back, keeping her pinned incredibly close to the amalgam's own lightform.

    ...

    "Eeeeeeek!"

    She was going to explode. This was it for Brimming River, first and last of her name. Thus ended her one Gem lineage, with her stupid stupid thoughts prompting her to sound out a courting call without even thinking. But to be entirely fair she'd already done that with Viridian, so at this point was there even any dignity left to lose?

    Even worse was the fact that the green Pearl's portion of the merger clearly remembered the meaning behind it, considering the wide smirk now stretching the fusion's features apart.

    "Hm, your hair is shorter than Emerald's. Softer though."

    Finally, she realised what the fourth hand was apparently being reserved for, just as a set of dexterous fingers began to gently play with her locks. "I've settled on Jade Onyx as a name, by the way."

    An incoherent noise escaped her lips as one of those digits just barely brushed against her gemstone, intentionally or not.

    "Hm. You're really such a vocal thing. Beautiful too. Maybe I should just call you songbird instead?"

    Beautiful. She hadn't been called beautiful by anyone in-oh feathers.

    Pat pat.

    "Mhm. Songbird might be more fitting."

    Her only response to that was to start thumping her head against Jade's chest, even as she internally pondered whether her whole face was a different shade of blue at this point.

    "You're being mean..."

    The self proclaimed Onyx merely pat her head a second time at that statement, yet another rumbling chuckle sending shivers through the Lazuli's lightform.

    "Would you like me to stop?"

    It took less than a second for her to wrap her arms as far around the fusion's chest as she could, incidentally pressing her cheek against the Emerald gemstone directly in front of her.

    "No!"

    She went completely still as the hand messing with her hair moved, a single large yet elegant finger slipping beneath her chin and drawing her gaze back upwards.

    Those eyes looked a lot less intimidating from her current position, for whatever reason. Maybe it was the downright sultry smile Jade was sporting. Or maybe it was the distinctly softer look the fusion was now shooting her way.

    But hey, what did she know? She was just a pretty Lapis!

    Hehehehe-

    "Well, then I certainly hope you're alright with a bit of a transition. I've had my fun for now, I think. Time to let the others have a more direct go."

    Brim blinked at that, slowly running the words through her head.

    "...Wait. Wha-"

    Light.

    ---

    Fuuuck if that wasn't a rush.

    Alright, back to...back to just me. Just Viridian. Two arms, two legs. Check. Overwhelming sense of strength and comfort gone as well? Yes.

    Yep, back to...being a Pearl.

    ...Yay.

    Stars I was going to need to work on not getting addicted to that...that feeling of power-

    Right! Focus.

    Quickly blinking away the usual sensory aftermath of a fusion (this one was definitely on the upper end of things) as I slowly processed the jitters from the sheer...intensity that had been my brief existence as Jade Onyx, I finally relaxed.

    Then my perfect recollection made itself known. I remembered the plan my fellow components and I had agreed on while floating around within Jade's mind, after all.

    Without leaving even a second to doubt myself, I lunged.

    "Ack-!"

    Brim could do little but yelp in strangled shock as a pair of Pearls all but stuck to her sides, right before Emerald wrapped her arms around all three of us.

    It was in that horrendously mushy group embrace that I idly pondered the knowledge I'd gained while part of that union. Namely that Vermilion had apparently developed a thing for our resident Lazuli at some point, something made all the more evident by how tightly she was clinging to the terraformer.

    Good for her. And for Brim, probably.

    The blue Gem in question remained silent for a moment in the face of our combined assault, shock written across her face as she slowly glanced left, prompting a smirk from me, then right, getting a shy smile from my batchmate in turn, and then upwards at Emerald's nonchalant stare, before finally returning to just looking directly forward with a blank expression.

    ...

    Huh. Had we perhaps gone a little too far-?

    "...THIS IS BULLYING!"

    Ah, she was almost violently hugging back now.

    Good, everything was fine then, even if the hug itself was-oh fuck that was definitely getting more than a little tight-ow!

    "Brim. You're squeezing the Pearls."

    "Eeeeeeek!"
     
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    • I am awake, in the web, shattered and burned.
    A dance, through the darkness
    Tonight, we hunt a bird
    Creeping through, I hunt as one
    Chirping and songs resonate ahead
    We have found our prey
    Divide And CONQUER!
    I am still awake, captured and cornered, a burning shard of a greater darkness.
    Another burst of chapters received happily.
     
    LOG-082. New
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    • New fic! Go check it out! Still haven't forgotten about rocks though!

    LOG-082.

    "There you are miss Viridian, one classic deep dish pizza!"

    Admiring the box clutched in his hands, I accepted my prize from one Kofi Pizza, reaching into my storage with a free hand and sliding over the appropriate payment needed.

    "Thanks Kofi, you're the best."

    The man merely nodded firmly, adjusting his shirt with one hand and accepting the cash with the other.

    "You are a loyal customer! And those crimson women you recommended are excellent workers! Please, always feel welcome at Fish Stew Pizza!"

    Giggling in response to his ever dutiful tone (and inwardly sighing in relief that the pair of Rutiles that had wanted to take up jobs were doing well), I nodded and made my way out of the restaurant, shooting a resting Nanefua a quick wave as I did do.

    From there, it was a relatively relaxing walk down the boardwalk, even as I did my best to slurp down my meal without making a mess of things. Something you wouldn't think excellent balance would be used for, but hey, when it worked it worked.

    "Hi Viridian!"

    Blinking, I glanced to the side, then down, taking in the small lightform of a Ruby. My eyebrow quirked upwards as I instantly recognized her. Facet 2N2A, Cut 9XA. If I recalled correctly (which I always did, of course), she was one of the Rubies hanging around with Garnet.

    It had been a decent while since the lot of them had learned about her status as a fusion and well...there'd been a small but no less chaotic riot over that. Albeit for vastly different reasons than what might traditionally expect from the footsoldiers.

    Namely due to their respective reactions to her components. They'd been torn between treating her as one of their own, or protecting her like nobility thanks to the Sapphire making up her other half. In the end, the lot of them had just decided to follow her around like little ducklings, whenever they weren't getting up to some other form of trouble.

    Not that the fusion seemed to mind, thankfully. That was-wait, I was sidetracking.

    Focus on the little soldier patiently waiting for you to respond, you silly Pearl.

    "Hi Ruby."

    The red Gem beamed at my acknowledgement, hopping in place. I waited a moment, then tilted my head when she simply continued to stare up at me.

    "Was...was there something you needed or...?"

    Comprehension flashed across 9XA's features at my words, before she slapped a hand against her cheek, palm pressing against her gemstone.

    "Doh! I forgot. That other Pearl told me to find you!"

    ...Huh.

    Bringing up a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair back into its place, I gestured to the warrior gem with the arm currently keeping my pizza from toppling to the unforgiving ground below.

    "Vermilion or Pearl?"

    9XA hesitated.

    "...The red one or the pale one?"

    Then she visibly thought for a second, before clapping her hands together with a determined expression.

    "The pale one! She said she wanted to talk to you about super important Pearl things! In her room!"

    Ah. Well, it had been a few days since...

    "I'm gonna build a nest! And it's gonna be comfy! And shiny! And we're gonna sleep in it! And we're gonna cuddle! And fuse! And maybe other things if everyone's comfortable with it-!"

    ...That.     Forcing down the slight flush threatening to creep up my face at a certain terraformer's plans, I instead ran my hand along the back of my neck and nodded.

    Right, yeah. It had been a few days since then. She'd probably have spoken to Rose about Bismuth by now.

    "Thanks Ruby. I'll head over and have a chat with her. You want this pizza?"

    She blinked at that, before snapping her fingers. "Right! That's the eating thing! The Amethyst had us practice that!"

    Smiling slightly, I leaned down to hand the box over to my shorter counterpart's outstretched hands.

    "And how's that coming along-"

    She bit down, deep dish pizza and cardboard alike disappearing into her maw as she violently chewed through it like a starved animal. My eyes remained wide as the entire thing vanished within a few more frankly horrific bites, the Ruby letting out a belch before covering her mouth with her hands.

    "Oops! Excuse me! The pale Pearl said we need to say that if we burp!"

    ...

    "Do...did Amethyst show you how to digest stuff...?"

    She nodded proudly at that, patting her stomach.

    "Yep! We read a few of those books. Or actually, she read them to us! And then we copied her when she showed us-" Oh Stars what even were the logistics of 'showing' them a digestive system? "-how to do it. I couldn't really make the stomach acid humans have, but that's okay. I can just burn whatever's inside my lightform! Watch!"

    And watch I did, in mildly horrified fascination as her stomach briefly let out an alarming glow, before she opened her mouth and let out a small cloud of smoke.

    "See! I incinerated it!"

    I stared at the casual usage of her powers, then promptly started clapping at the beaming Ruby. Because holy shit if that wasn't mildly impressive.

    "Wow! Good job!"

    The little trooper stood straighter at that, even as my attention was briefly drawn towards several other Rubies apparently waging war against seagulls in the distance.

    "Thanks!"

    ---

    A flash of light, and I was back in a certain room filled with fountains.

    "Pearl? A certain Ruby said you wanted to see me?"

    Click.

    I turned just in time to see a figure step out from next to one of aforementioned fountains. It wasn't Pearl. Instead it was...what I assumed was Quille. She'd apparently found some new clothes during her time on Earth, since she was clad in a long jacket, a red scarf that had been wrapped around her lower face, and sunglasses of all things.

    Regardless, we stared at each other for a few seconds, before the not quite standoff was interrupted by the sound of rapid muttering, the Gem I'd actually planned to see coming into sight dragging a whiteboard, for whatever reason.

    "...Pearl?"

    She glanced away from something apparently scrawled on the board, and I idly noted that her own hair seemed a little more frayed than usual, even as she visibly perked up at my presence.

    "Viridian! Good, come here please! I've been speaking with this friend of yours regarding some issues I've been having and it's all proven very enlightening so far, but I'd rather have your input as well!"

    Hesitating, I glanced at Quille, who gave me that helpless motion I'd seen Brim perform a few times, something which I'd since come to realise was the Avian equivalent of a shrug.

    "...Alright? Is there any particular reason you wanted my thoughts on ah...what even is this anyway?"

    There were a couple hands holding on to each other, and she'd, for whatever reason, printed out several pictures of herself, Greg, and Rose at some point and stuck them to various sections of the board, connecting them with bits of red string.

    ...Oh. Well that could imply any number of things. Just what was I walking into here? I thought we were gonna talk about Bismuth!

    Alas, I wasn't willing to bring up the missing rebel in front of the uninformed Gem in the room, and Pearl wasn't capable of reading minds, as far as I knew. Instead, she just continued mumbling to herself for a moment, adjusting a few of the strings.

    I glanced at Quille again, gesturing to my counterpart and waiting patiently as the other Gem brought her hands up and began to go through the familiar motions I'd seen back when I'd technically been her prisoner.

    'I taught her about relationships.'

    A second passed. I staring at her blankly, before making a simple gesture.

    'What?'

    Her hands moved slightly faster in response.

    'She was having romance issues due to Rose finding that organic lover of hers. I tried to help.'

    I continued to stare. Quille made that weird shrugging motion again.

    'I was really bored.'

    ...

    Biting my lip, I slowly made my way over to the whiteboard, and tapped Pearl on the back.

    "Oh! Viridian, yes! Sorry, sorry. I was a little distracted."

    Leaning past the renegade, I stared at the...the mess covering the surface of the board. Off to the side was what seemed to be some comprehensible words in Gem Glyph. Rather distinctly, I could read out 'poly' scribbled at the top of the drawings of hands holding other hands in various configurations.

    ...Oh boy.

    "So anyway I've learned a few things, and am in the process of learning a few more! Apparently, Rose and I have communication issues! Who would have thought?"

    The words sounded sarcastic. In stark contrast to her utterly serious tone.

    Bringing up both of my hands to my mouth, I took a deep breath.

    "...Why am I here again?"

    The Crystal Gem turned to glance at me, cyan orbs staring into my own green ones.

    "Well because you have a functional polycule of course! I'm still ah...trying to process whether I'm truly comfortable with Rose, Greg and I entering one of our own. So I'd like to compare notes, so to speak!"

    The renegade paused, hesitantly tapping her fingers together.

    "I'm more than a little nervous at the prospect. Another Pearl's perspective would be rather helpful."

    I blinked.

    "Okay. It's...touching that you feel that way but...I'm not in a polyamorous relationship though?"

    Pearl blinked right back.

    "But Quille said you were?"

    Turning, I stared at the Avian Gem, who made a scoffing motion before raising her hands once more.

    'I spoke to Brim after she came cheering to me about your date. She was very detailed about things. Don't delude yourself.'

    ...

    Huh.

    Setting that thought (and the many, many feelings attached to it) to the side for the moment, I nodded.

    "Right. Okay that's...yeah. I'm...going to need to leave for a while. Emerald wanted to talk with me and Garnet about whether we have somewhere safe she could have the Peridots park the robonoid frigate they've got sitting in orbit. I'll...come back and we can talk about this after?"

    Pearl nodded at that, so I promptly turned around, grabbed Quille by the hand, and started walking towards the door, glaring at the larger Gem's attempt to gesture at me.

    "Hush. We'll talk outside."

    A flash of light later, and we were in the relative isolation of the temple's exterior, allowing me to round on the dark Gem and point at the door with my free hand.

    "You were bored."

    My grip loosened, allowing both her hands to rise up once more and start gesturing.

    'Yes. And I like teaching. They were all very ignorant about their situation, and still are in most respects. I'm trying to get them to talk and keep things from exploding.'

    I brought a hand up to rub the bridge of my nose.

    "You were bored...and decided to teach that walking disaster what it means to potentially exist within a polycule."

    'Yes.'

    "With Rose and Greg."

    'Yes.'

    Bringing my other hand up, I pressed my palms against my cheeks for a moment, slapped them once, then nodded.

    "Okay then. I can't bedgrudge you for trying to do what you were...sort of made for, I guess?"

    Abruptly, Quille froze, a clear uncertainty clouding her eyes behind the red lenses of her shades. There was a long pause before she gestured with her hands again.

    'You know what I am?'

    Blinking, I quirked an eyebrow at the taller Gem.

    "Yes? I saw your gemstone. Even if it looks a little different, it's pretty obvious you're a Nacre variant of some kind."

    She paused at that, before ripping her scarf down with a hand, the bewildered Gem obviously trying to say something, failing, then beginning to shift parts of her mouth into a vaguely unsettling shape in clear irritation.

    "H-ow. How long have you known?!"

    I gestured vaguely.

    "Around a little after we all got settled? I was kind of busy you know. Didn't really see a need to point it out."

    The off colour blinked dumbly, before pointing at me with a clawed finger.

    "You spoke about the caretakers at the Reef. About the abuse you and your batchmates suffered there. I thought you'd be a lot more uncomfortable about this."

    Holding back a snort, I settled for a shrug instead.

    "No offense, but you barely resemble those lanky freaks. Why are you like that anyway? I didn't think an off colour Nacre was even possible."

    She hesitated, before tugging her scarf back up.

    "Reasons that I'd rather not have anyone else hear, if I can help it."

    Her eyes narrowed behind her shades, her arms crossing even as her tone suddenly took on an amused lilt. "I won't lie, I'm...glad you're not angry at me and all, but I'm...also kind of disappointed at your reaction as well. This has been a remarkably boring reveal."

    That time, I failed to entirely hold back my snort, prompting another blink from the Nacre.

    "Yeah well too bad. I'm not the type to get angry at Gems for being a certain caste. Besides, I have way better things to do than freak out about your existence, you weirdo."

    Her only response to that was to grumble incoherently behind her scarf, the big drama queen.
     
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    • I'm handed the recommendation to read through a new story while I'm on my desktop, Opera GX allows you to have more than 50 tabs open with no loss in framerate and I have too many tabs open on this computer...

    While I'm certain that your recommended story is well worth my time, please remind me about it next month. Hopefully, I'll have sorted them out by then...
    I was wondering what Quille was before this latest chapter, thank you for relieving (Edit 1: of) my curiosity on this subject.
    It seems a teacher has found an ignorant teacher to teach...
    That last sentence sounded much better in my head...
     
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