#su-z

One year ago one April Fools bit gave birth to Rilley, who then became my favorite OC and gave rise to my OC universe! So time for a celebratory doodle dump! Some of these are older, tho

POST CRUSH A A A A AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA post crush and dazzlings collab when???  hells yeah

Commission for @bookishdelight of K-Lo and Su-Z being out and proud in front of their fans and the world.  Thanks so much! :)

Like 90% sure no one actually cares, but for those who do, here’s the next bit.

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Another peaceful day in Beach City, the sound of waves breaking against the shore dominating the scene.  At least until an excited shout breaks through.

“Take that!” Tim shouts, bringing his practice sword to bear against Rodney's.  The other hybrid meets the blow head on, grinning as he pushes his training partner back.  Connie watches the two boys trade blows back and forth before calling the match to a close after five minutes.  The pair pant and grin at each other.  “Next time, Rodney, you're mine.”

“Bring it, Tim,” he answers, smiling.

“Yeah yeah, macho men, now go clean up,” Connie orders, standing.

The boys laugh and run off to put up their practice weapons and take a dip in the ocean to cool off.  Off to the side, Mary and Elizabeth are watching quietly as Steven shows off some sword skills, Eric following along.  The younger half gem looks incredibly focused as he follows along, grinning from time to time at Mary on the sidelines.  Adam and Eve are off on their own, meditating side by side.  Connie takes a seat beside Mary and Elizabeth, asking the older girl if she'd like to practice with her spear.

“O-oh, okay.”

Connie stands, whistling to Lion.  He bounds over, and at a glance his forehead shines, a long wooden staff appearing.  Connie takes it and gives it a few practice spins before taking up her stance.  Mary takes a deep breath before raising her hands up.  Her body seems to flow as she spins in a slow circle and reaches up, light shining from her gem as she draws her spear out.  Her eyes open slowly as she looks down and sees it.  “Ready?” Connie asks, disturbing the girl from her revery.  Mary nods quickly, gripping her spear like she's been shown.

Mary makes the first move, light on her feet and plunging forward.  Connie deflects the spear to the side, but Mary reacts and turns it into a spin to strike from the other side.  Connie uses a two-handed block to stop the spear cold before pushing forward and throwing Mary off balance.  She responds by rolling back, quickly standing and blocking an upward strike...that never came.  Connie came in from the side, stopping her staff an inch away from the girl's side.

Mary sighs and steps back, bowing.  Connie bows back and plants her staff.  “Not bad, Mary, you're getting better.  But you mustn't always resort to the same blocks and forms.  Adapt to the battle.  Don't react, just act.”  Mary nods and lets her spear fade before sitting down and taking a deep, calming breath.  Beth pats her back softly in silence.

Tim and Rodney return about then, soaking wet and laughing as Steven finishes his lesson with Eric.  “Hey, Uncle Steven, can Tim and I practice with our weapons now?” Rodney asks excitedly.  Steven scratches his chin in thought before shrugging.  A glance at Connie gets them an additional shrug, and the boys whoop before taking their stances.

Rodney stamps his feet, pumping himself up before rocking his head forward, summoning his crash helmet.  Tim weaves his hands together before doing a backflip, landing with a hand behind his back that draws his trident.  Eric mutters jealously, “Showoff.”  Steven sighs and sets a hand on the youngest boy's shoulder.

Tim and Rodney get right into it like usual, both immediately going for a direct strike.  Tim brings his trident down in a powerful swipe, blocked by Rodney's helmet, a resonate tone ringing out.  They continue like this, constantly trying to outdo the other.  Tim spins and stabs with his trident, trying ever angle he can, while Rodney just keeps pushing forward, blocking much with his helm or his bare hands.  Eventually, Steven steps in and ends it.

“Alright, you two, it's a tie.”  The boys stand panting and grinning at each other.  “So, has everyone had their fill of combat training for the day?”  The kids and Connie all nod, smiling at what's next.  “Alright, time to practice gem powers!”  The kids shout excitedly, and even Connie lets herself clap a little.  “So, anyone been practicing and would like to show what they've learned?”

“Uncle Steven!”  Eric rushes forward first, bouncing in anticipation.  “I learned how to shape-shift into something else.”  Steven groans internally before motioning to continue.  Eric laughs and spins around.  When he stops, he sits on his now haunches, grinning a toothy grin.  He's turned into a purple version of Lion, and Steven laughs in relief.

“Very good job, Eric.  You're getting better at this.”  Eric smiles at Steven's praise, proud to be recognized.  He changes back and sits down.  “Who's next?”

Tim jumps forward, bouncing up and down.  Steven and Connie can't help but grin, already guessing what it is.  Tim throws out his hand dramatically toward the water, and as the wave comes in, it doesn't go back out.  He pulls it closer, and it lifts off of the ground in a continuous tendril.  He gathers the water together into a sphere, grinning at his audience.  Beth starts clapping first, smiling softly.  He sends it back to the ocean as everyone congratulates him, even Rodney putting down his pride to be impressed.

Steven asks if anyone else has anything to show, but with no responses breaks them off for lunch, saying that gem history started after they eat and have a small break.  He smiles as the kids run off, laughing and joking.  Connie takes his hand and smiles.  “They're growing up so fast.”  Steven nods sagely, smiling softly.

“I didn't even learn to use any of my powers til I was twelve, a while after that until I could control any of them.  And look at em go.”

Connie sighs and leans up, giving her husband a soft kiss on the cheek.  “The Gems would be proud of you.”  Steven nods, his smile sad now.  “Come on, you don't expect the kids to cook their own lunch, do you?”  She laughs, pulling him along by the hand.

Steven laughs, following.  “After that debacle with Eric's spaghetti?  Not even.”

As the Universe family eats their lunch, Eric turns to Steven with a question.  “Hey, Uncle Steven, you said you tried to rehabilitate those gems in the temple, right?”  Connie and Steven stop mid-bite, looking at each other.  “Did it not work?”

Steven sighs, sitting back.  “Well, it almost worked, at least for the Centipeetle.  But, I never really had a chance to try again.  And, I suppose I never thought of trying again.”  He nods slowly.  “Maybe it's time to try again.”

“Can I help?” Eric asks excitedly, causing Mary and Connie to chuckle.  After a moment, Adam looks at Eve and laughs lightly.  “Hey, stop laughing at me!”

“Now calm down, Eric.  Sure, you can help.  We can start tomorrow.  Before that, though, Gem History.”  Eric, Tim, and Rodney all groan, causing Steven to grin wryly.  “Hey, remember.  You're all half-gem, too.  You need to know about that half of your heritage, too.  Now come on, today we're covering something interesting.  The Rebellion.”  This gets the kids all excited.  He never talked much about what he had learned of Rose's Rebellion on Earth, only giving them bits and pieces, but now they get the full story.

Seated in the living room, the gem kids all look up at Steven in excitement, even Eve and Beth are more animated than usual.  Steven lets them stew a moment before growing serious, causing them to give a collected shiver.

“The Rebellion is the single most important event in Gem history on Earth, the moment a group of gems decided to stand against the destruction of worlds for the sake of Homeworld's conquests.  My mother, Rose Quartz, led the rebellion and succeeded in throwing Homeworld off of Earth.  She fought alongside like-minded gems and even humans stood to fight.  It was a long, terrible fight, but in the end, Earth was able to find peace of sorts.  After that, though, the gems went into hiding, isolating themselves away from the humans.  That's because they faced a very serious threat:  Corruption.”

The kids listen in rapt attention as the older hybrid speaks.  “Something had...changed, perhaps because of what happened during the rebellion, perhaps something caused by Earth.  But gems began to grow sick, and it wasn't long before the true terror was discovered.  The Corruption would begin in the limbs of their construct, but once it reached their gem...they became twisted, monstrous versions with only one goal:  Destruction.  Many gems of the rebellion succumbed to the Corruption, all but Rose's inner circle.  So, they began to seek out and collect the corrupted, saving them from themselves in the hope of one day curing them.”

After their Gem history lesson, Steven let the kids have the rest of the afternoon off, reminding them to be home for dinner.  With the kids about doing whatever, Connie and Steven decided to take the time to relax together alone in their room.  Steven holds his wife close, lost in his memories before his thoughts move to something equally disconcerting.  “Hey, Connie.  You ever wonder...if the kids think about their fathers?”  Connie scowls a little at the question before nodding.

“Well, I would think so.  Remember, in the end we are still just 'Uncle Steven' and 'Aunt Connie.'  Doubtless they wonder about their human sides...”

“What if...they want to go be with their dads?”  Connie sighs at her husband's worried tone.  “Or if their dads decide they want them.  I don't think we'd have any right to deny them.”

Connie sighs before leaning up to softly kiss Steven.  “Steven, if that does happen and they decide to go with them...  Well, it's their choice, I suppose.  We can't deny them something like that.  What if you'd never been able to meet your dad?”

Steven frowns, looking away.  “I think it's getting time to tell them about their dads.”

Connie nods slowly before kissing his cheek.  “But not today.  We'll talk about it in the next couple days when there's nothing going on.”  Steven nods, smiling again.  “Now, I know for a fact that the kids are hanging out at the arcade for at least the next two hours...”

Steven smirks, rolling over and kissing Connie, laughing together.

Late that night, as the entire Universe family sleeps, a black van drives into Beach City, dropping off a lone passenger before leaving.  The man's blond hair is loose and his eyes gleam behind a pair of glasses as he looks upon a storefront.  “Good to be home.”