#There IS one connverse fic that I actually did really hoped and was oh so curious to see what happened next. Last update on | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

avatarmerida · 4 years

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The Grilled Cheese Timeline

Set between I Am My Monster and The Future because I need to know when the first Connverse kiss happened. Please excuse any spelling errors, I wrote this at 5AM

Edit: The text disappeared for awhile, but if you’re seeing this I obviously fixed it! Thanks for your patience and support of my first Steven Universe fic!

Connie delicately knocked on the glass, after making sure he wasn’t sleeping and once she saw his encouraging wave, she allowed herself to let herself in.

“Hey there,” she said in whisper, so quiet he wouldn’t have been able to hear it if the room hadn’t already been dead quiet.

“Connie!” He exclaimed as much as he could, sitting up from the bed to see her head peeking in through the sliding door.

“You sure you’re up for a visit?” She said cautiously. “Cause we can always do this over the phone if you’re not-.”

“No I’m fine,” he insisted in a time she truthfully believed. “Really. I promise. I’ve been resting so much, please come in!” He sat up straighter to prove it to her, to prove it wasn’t the facade he had become so familiar with months ago. She saw the Steven she knew and marched in, bringing her collection of papers onto the bed where he sat.

“Okay, so half of this is what my mom recommended and half is my own online research,” she began as she spread the pile onto his sheets. “Once I realized cost wasn’t a limitation with your dad, it made the search much easier, but makes limiting much harder. There’s a a lot of overlap, but then again meeting up in person is a huge factor-.”

“Did doing this take away from your studying?”

“Steven, that doesn’t matter,” insisted Connie. “Even if it did, I’ll always put you ahead of my studies whether you like it or not! I’ve dedicated my day to finding you a good therapist but if it takes longer I don’t care. And I’ll know if you’re lying, so don’t rush this because of me.”

“I know, I know,” he laughed as a blush found it’s way to his cheeks. He watched in adoration as Connie shuffled through her collection of papers, he face scrunched in determination. He knew her studies were important but in all honesty he was overjoyed to have this quiet time with her after all the chaos.

“Are the gems home?” She asked as she organized.

“No,” he said. “They’re in town. Garnet said they were doting on me too much and that it was important I have this day away from them.”

“Future vision?”

“Most likely,” he sighed contently, basking in the sun that shone through the window. “I know she likes to keep things random, but she likes knowing I’m making the right progress, I guess. Pearl has made me more soup than I know what to do with.”

“I can see that,” laughed Connie as the various bowls around his room suddenly entered her sight. “Want me to make you something that’s not soup?”

Steven looked at her with wide eyes. “Connie, I would love nothing more.”

So they relocated to the kitchen as Connie opened each cupboard, looking for something to make. Each cupboard had a plethora of soup cans.

“Why did Pearl get so much soup?” She asked

Steven shrugged. “It’s what humans eat when they’re sick,” he said. “I guess dad mentioned it once to her and after everything that happened... she really wanted me to get better.”

“I guess I understand that,” said Connie as she slowly closed the cupboard. “Hmmm how about... a grilled cheese? I don’t know what else-.”

“Yes!!!” Steven sang with a bolt of energy he hadn’t had in weeks. “Connie that’s perfect!”

“Okay,” she smiled, happy to see him happy. “But only if you look through those pamphlets while I make it.”

“Deal,” he said, sitting down at the table totally focused, determined to read each one cover to cover. The two coexisted in silence for a few minutes, engrossed in their tasks until Steven found the courage to speak. “Wow, they all seem so...”

“Experienced?” Offered Connie.

“Serious,” said Steven. “I... I guess I didn’t realize how much was wrong with me...”

“Hey, hold on!” Said Connie, turning down the burner and rushing to sit beside him at the table. “There is nothing wrong with you.” She said as she waved a spatula in his face.

“I mean, everyone keeps saying that but-.”

“But nothing!” She said, setting the utensil down to take his hands in hers, though he looked down at the table. “You’re kind and sweet and smart. Therapy isn’t about finding what’s wrong with you it’s about helping you understand things. It’s about helping you find answers that are difficult to find by yourself. You’ve helped everyone else, this is just a way to help yourself.”

“Like help m-my trauma?” He tried to laugh. Connie nodded. Steven took a deep breath. “But what about you?”

“Me?”

“When your mom said I had trauma,” he began. “In the hospital... she asked me... and all the things that... there was so much you were there for. The bubble, almost drowning, Homeworld...”

“Steven...” she said softly, he turned from her, afraid he would cry. The very notion that she felt even a fragment of what he had felt...

“Steven,” she continued. “I’m okay.”

“You say that now,” he said, wiping away a tear. “But that’s what I thought. And I don’t want you to hate me. I mean, I don’t hate the gems or the diamonds or anything but... you... I brought you into this... and I know you said...”

“We’re in this together,” she finished with great strength. “No matter what that means. If it’s sword fighting and intergalactic travel, that’s fine! But if it’s just sitting and talking and reading Unfamiliar Familiar, that’s fine with me. If it’s sad sometimes and hard to understand, well... that’s fine too.”

“But...”

“Steven, I used to think my life was too boring for you, but you liked me for me. And I like you for you, whether or not you have a magical destiny or unresolved issues. As for my trauma... I always had you. You were there to reassure me that I could handle it or you took the blow for me. You were the best friend I could ever hope for... plus my mom has made me see a therapist since I was 8...”

“Oh,” Steven chuckled, slightly embarrassed.

“Yeah,” She replied, returning to the stove. “I come with issues of my own. But I promise it does help. Even though most of my sessions, my therapist didn’t quite believe me when I said I was taking sword fighting lessons from an ageless alien gem warrior.”

Steven laughed. “I bet that was a first!”

Connie laughed with him. “Before that we mostly discussed my trouble making friends, and then I met you. And then, we mostly talked about you.”

Steven exhaled sharply. “Me?” He dared asked, nervous.

“Yeah,” she chuckled, focusing on the melting cheese. “I mostly talked about my crush on you.”

The sandwich sizzled on the pan but Steven did not continue the conversation. Connie turned and saw his face contorted in shock and surprise.

“What?!” He exclaimed, louder than he had spoken in days.

“What?” She repeated, genuinely confused. “Oh, wait. Did you really not know I had a crush on you?” She said it so casually as she flipped the sandwich.

“No!” He said, nearly falling out of his chair. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Well, I didn’t know,” she said, her face slightly blushing. “Not really. I just talked about you a lot and how you made me feel. I though it was just what having a friend was like! But there was so much going on-.”

“Connie!” Exclaimed Steven, far too dramatically. “When was this?”

“Oh wow,” she said, her mind racing. “Not too long after we met, I guess. I think it was when around the time you healed my eyes was when I-.”

“That was so early!”

“Steven, we were young!” She laughed, flipping the sandwich before it burned. “I was still developing my opinions on romance! Besides, if my mother knew I had a crush on you she never would have let me come over so often. Though, I’m pretty sure she suspected-.”

“Your mom knew?”

“Probably,” she laughed at the memory, looking a plate for the sandwich. “But of course she didn’t want to assume. It’s probably for the better, she would’ve only been stricter.”

“I can’t even imagine that,” laughed Steven as Connie brought over the finished creation, cut in four triangles just as he liked it. They each took one and basked in its warmth. “Mhmmm so cheesy!” He exclaimed, savoring each bite. “I guess it’s for the best, mostly because I’m pretty sure I’ve had a crush on you since before I even knew what a crush was! Haha, she definitely wouldn’t have let you come over then!”

Connie nearly spit out her sandwich. “What?” She managed to say despite a mouth full of bread.

“Yeah, I guess I can talk about that in therapy,” he said as he chewed, deep in memory. “Maybe? Is that what you’re supposed to do?”

“What do you mean?”

“I- oh no,” he cut himself off, afraid he had said too much. I mean, I guess I didn’t make it a secret, but is therapy only for secrets? Was it supposed to be a secret? I mean, when my dad talked about my mom and how they were that’s how I thought we were-.”

“Aw, Steven,” she said, covering her mouth as he swallowed her bite of grilled cheese. “That’s... actually really sweet.”

“R-really?” He asked, suddenly bashful.

“Yes,” she confirmed, unwavering. “I mean, schmaltz has always been your department. You were always better at this kind of stuff anyway, feelings and knowing how people felt. You made me better too. I always thought you knew! Like... like the day you healed my eyes I was... well, maybe not..”

“What?”

“Well,” she began, only a little nervous. “I had heard stories about... romance.... a little and how it worked. And that day when you told me that story... I wanted to reassure you I guess, I almost...”

“Almost what!”

She started laughing. “I almost kissed you!”

“What?!”

“I know!” She exclaimed, the laughter increasing. “You were crying and for some reason I thought... oh, can you imagine? If I had and then my eyes had healed? Oh!” She wiped away a tear as her laughter began to subside. “I mean, it only took me nearly three years later to try again but...”

“Try again?”

“Oh, before I went to space camp I thought-.”

“Wait, you still had a crush on me before space camp!?”

Connie liked at him as though he was playing a practical joke on her. “Yes,” she said bluntly. “I though that was... obvious?”

It was his turn to nearly spit out his sandwich. “What?!”

“Steven, I thought you knew!” She exclaimed. “Isn’t that why-?”

“Why what?”

“Why you, uh...” it was still an awkward subject to bring up so causally.

“I proposed,” he grimaced, though with less despair than before. The memory had been demoted from a trigger to a slight embarrassment. “I realize now I skipped a lot of steps, huh?” He chuckled.

“Ya think?” Connie said with a raise of her eyebrow, joining the joke and the two shared a grand laugh. Steven missed the sound of her laugh, the way she laughed when it was only the two of them: unfiltered and loud.

“Oh boy,” he sighed. “Do you think I would have had better luck if I had just asked you to be my girlfriend instead?”

“Definitely,” said Connie as she rose to put the dish in the sink, responding like it was an inquiry she heard every day.

“Wait, really?” Asked Steven, his grin almost too wide for his face.

“I, uh, mean maybe?” Sputtered Connie as the conversation caught up with her. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “If that was something you wanted, I mean...”

“Like when Archamicarus asks Lisa if she’ll follow him to the misty forest? Even though he doesn’t know what might happen?” He tried. Connie turned to him with wide eyes, the comparison sending a thunder bolt through her heart in the best possible way.

“And Lisa says of course, no question,” she continued, moving back over to the table to the seat beside him. “Because they’ve always been there for each other and this next step was written by the great elders.”

Steven moves his chair closer to hers. “And when they walk past the everlasting volcano, all he can think about is how her eyes shine in the light and how much he wants to see her eyes shine forever.”

She moved her seat closer to him. “And even though Lisa knows there’s a bigger mystery to solve, all she cares about is being by his side, even as they enter the deadly oasis from which no one returns.”

His hand gently clasped over hers on the table. “T-those are really good books,” he said quietly.

“They’re very well written,” agreed Connie as she found herself engrossed in his eyes, moving closer and closer to him. The distant between them was growing smaller as they each tried to think of more book quotes to say but found themselves determined to see the moment through. A familiar wind blew through Connie’s hair as she timidly placed her free hand on his cheek. Her eyelids grew heavy as a old feeling swirled in her heart, this time unrushed as her face inched closer. Steven follows suit and a new shade of pink creaky on his face, this one welcomed and filled will suspense. He wanted nothing more than to instantly end the space that separated them, and as he-

“Steven we’re home!” sang Pearl as she burst through the front door, shopping bags gracing her arms. Connie and Steven immediately faced forward, fiercely blushing and trying to act as though nothing had been interrupted, because nothing had been interrupted unfortunately.

“Yo, we gotchu more soup man!” Added Amethyst. “Hurry up and eat it so I can eat the can!”

“Amethyst, eaten two already,” sighed Pearl. “Oh, hello Connie!” Pearl said, delighted to see the girl. “Will you be joining us for lunch? I’ve got plenty of soups to chose from!”

“Um actually, I think I should be heading out,” she said quickly rising from her chair. “I think I left some pamphlets at home and we want to make sure this decision is as informed as possible and it’s getting late so I should go. Bye Steven!” She grabbed her bag and made and mad dash past the gems.

“Hello Connie!” Greeted Garnet, carrying more soup as Connie passed her running down the stairs. Lion met her below as Garnet made her way inside, beaming. “So, Steven, I trust you had a good time while we were- oh no.”

“What’s wrong?” Asked Amethyst.

Garnet lowered her glasses to confirm her suspicions. “We’re in the grilled cheese timeline,” she said simply, starring at the half eaten piece that remained on the table. “We should’ve returned 4.6 minutes later. We’ve messed up his funky flow.”

“What?” Asked Pearl with a faint smile.

“No time to explain,” said Garnet calmly. “Steven, bring this to Connie.” She reached to her left and showed him a bright blue umbrella Connie had left there months ago. “She forgot it.”

“It’s not even raining,” replied Steven, and at that very moment a loud crack of thunder ripped though the air. “I’m okay... but, she has Lion. He can teleport; she won’t get wet.”

“Steven, she forgot it. And she wants you to bring it to her.” Garnet said this slowly, hoping to never over explain herself. Steven realized how little convincing he needed to chase after Connie as he grabbed the umbrella and ran. He skipped the stairs and floated down, luckily Lion hadn’t teleported yet.

“Connie!” He called as loud as he could, though now the rain was getting pretty intense. He worried she wouldn’t hear him over the rainfall. “Connie!”

Lion was about to jump though the portal, but luckily, at the last second, Connie turned around.

“Steven?” She asked, confused. She hopped off Lion and ran toward him, worried. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” He said as they met in the middle, the rain dowsing their faces.

“Are you sure?” She chuckled lightly. “You’re soaking wet.”

“Exactly!” He said proudly. “That’s why I brought you this!” He went to present her with the umbrella but saw his outstretched hand was empty. Confused, he looked around and saw the umbrella several feet behind him laying on the ground, practically still st the temple. “Garnet said you, uh forgot something. Hold on.”

He generated a shield to keep the rain off them, the least he could do since he blamed himself for her getting wet now. He moved closer to her to ensure she was covered, the pink light reflected on them and Connie was grateful as she assumed it hid her blush.

“Garnet said that huh?” She asked brightly, fidgeting with her hair.

“Yeah,” he sighed, disappointed he couldn’t come to her rescue. “But I dropped it. Unless you forgot something else.”

“I think I might have...” she said and his eyes look to her in confusion. Hers were certain and soft as she stepped closer and placed both hands on his face. He remained still as she pulled herself In to erase the space and place an eager yet chaste kiss on his lips. His eyes widened beige they closed as he absentmindedly dropped the shield and placed his arms to his sides, out of disbelief and uncertainty. But soon enough he leaned into it and a familiar glow surrounded them.

Suddenly, Stevonnie stood in the rain, the cool water flattening their hair but they didn’t mind. They were embodied in a warm sensation of love, that was somehow both familiar and unfamiliar. It was curious and certain but most importantly it was shared. They spun around, embracing themself smiling like they’d never smiled before.

“Wow,” they murmured, a conversation buzzing within them. They erupted into a collection of giggles, giddy beyond belief.

“Is this gonna happen every time we kiss?” Laughed the Connie part of them.

“Every time?!”

Another flash of light and Connie and Steven returned to the beach, right back in their positions minus Steven’s shield to hold back the rain. Steven looked at his friend with wider eyes than he thought he was capable of, suddenly unworthy of her gaze but she refused to surrender it. He cleared his throat, not really wanting to leave this moment but he knew if they didn’t she’d catch a cold. “Lets uh, get Lion, better uh... get you home.”

She smiled as followed him over, their fingers laced which was nothing new but somehow now... it was. He used his floating powers to lift her onto Lion’s back, which he knew he didn’t have to do but she was glad he did.

“So, uh, is... that what you forgot?” He asked from the ground, his collar somehow feeling hot in the rain.

“Yeah,” she said as Lion made his way forward, the pairs eyes never leaving one another. “Thanks for holding onto it for me. Think I’ll forget it again tomorrow.” Lion dashed off into the portal as she left Steven with a parting wink. He stayed there a few moments after she left, processing what had happened and when it finally sank in he leapt I to the air victoriously.

“Steven!” He heard Pearl call from the house. “Come inside for some soup! Garnet says you’re going to catch a cold!”

#su #steven universe #steven universe future #suf #connverse

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universallywriting · 4 years

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Just curious about some of the points you made in that ask about the SU fandom being on its way out. You pointed to the show's ending as something closed off. What would be some components of an ending that you think would be more conducive to an ongoing fandom presence?

THESE WILL NOT MAKE THE SHOW BETTER. I want to clarify this before I start at all. A show having a strong fandom has nothing to do with the quality of writing. Amazing shows die in darkness. Terrible shows have huge fandoms. Having a fanbase that’s extremely motivated to create works has nothing to do with a good or bad show.

So, not from a “this is a good writing” perspective, but from a “this is how you get fan content” perspective, here are my thoughts on this:

1. No road trip ending. The road trip ending locks you into one specific scenario. When the show ended, aside from goodbye art, practically everything was road trip art and stories. Which are really fun! But, uh... how many road trip stories and pictures do you actually want? And let’s say you don’t want to write the road trip... Well, fuck you. Because Steven’s gonna be on this road trip for months at least, and Connie’s going to college and the cool kids are

2. Don’t split up all your characters. Steven Universe Future literally ships off every important townie but Connie and Greg in a single episode. Sadie, Lars, Kiki, Jenny, Sour Cream, and Buck all have goals and plans that involve them being out of the story. In a single episode the show says “these people will spend years apart with only brief visits.” SUF also wraps up Steven’s relationship with gems, having him say goodbye to them and even having him say flat out “I might not ever move back”.

3. Don’t obliterate your world’s lore, cause a major shift in all interactions, and yeeto skeeto. Shattering is reparable. Corruption scars are fixable. The gempire is dead. Humans and Gems appear to be seamlessly intermingling. What does that look like? What’s the world gonna be like now? Boy oh boy, I hope you plan to do a lot of work to figure that out.

These three things combine into a cocktail of “goodbye character interactions, hello whole world of nothing we know about”. Do you want to write an SUF fic? Make a comic? Draw art? Well, I hope you enjoy making a bunch of OCs, original backgrounds, and plotlines, because SUF has upset basically everything fan creators build off of to create more fan content.

4. S H I P P I N G. Shipping. Fucking, like, shipping? Encourage shipping. Imply more. Give your fans more.

But there’s so much more to storytelling than

IT’S FANWORK. Like, I’m sorry to people who don’t like it. I know it’s not the most important thing in the world. But you know what the vast majority of fan content is? It’s shipping. It’s romantic relationships being explored. We can talk all day about the reasons why that might be problematic but at the end of the day if you want a fandom full of content you need to provide ship fodder and a lot of it.

Look at Miraculous Ladybug. Most people in the fandom don’t even like the show anymore! They’re literally just there because of the LOVE SQUARE. If you give people compelling romantic character interactions, they will write so much fanfic and make so much fanart of adorable romance.

But although BisPearl is adorable, we don’t see loads of their interactions - they have to share an episode with Steven and Connie. It’s really hard to ship when you have about three minutes of screentime.

And then you have connverse, which almost exclusively existed to support Steven’s declining mental state. And that shows that Connie is a great girlfriend and that Steven can rely on her, but what does that tell us about their dynamic? If I throw them into a romantic AU where Steven isn’t traumatized, how is that going to work out? What do they act like? How do they flirt? We catch brief snippets of it, but that’s not the kind of thing that fuels a ship for a broad audience.

Steven Universe Future is an epilogue series, and it did its best to wrap everything up. And that’s a kind of good writing! It can be extremely satisfying and extremely soothing. But fandom thrives on the little blank spots in your world, on the hints of things that could be greater. It’s a delicate balancing act of providing enough to prompt the viewer, but not answering enough that you close them out.

#steven universe #steven universe future #meta #suf meta #su meta #Anonymous

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lalikaa · 4 years

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“I’ll Always Be”

That was some finale!! The connverse kiss gave me a lot of feelings, so I turned those feelings into this fic.

I hope you all enjoy it!!

Link to the fic is HERE, or you can read it below!!

~~~*~~~

Oh god, oh god, he could really not screw this up again.

Granted, the first time he’d been sixteen, overwhelmed by his own trauma and desperately trying to piece himself together, blindly believing a proposal would heal his hurting.

The second time he’s been twenty-three. He’d waited seven whole years. Seven years that he and Connie were in a long-distance relationship. Seven years of Steven eagerly planning their engagement, of long conversations with Ruby and Sapphire about all the potential weddings they could have.

However, Connie had sternly told Steven several times that he was not allowed to propose to her until she’d graduated from college. So he had dutifully waited, and on the night of her graduation, after the party, he had gotten down on one knee, with the no-longer-lit glow bracelet (it seemed as though even spending over a decade in a freezer couldn’t save it), and tried again.

Instead of the alarmed reaction he’d received the first time around, Connie burst out laughing. Steven was perplexed, and could feel himself starting to glow in embarrassment.

“You said to wait until after you graduated! Well, you have, haven’t- haven’t you?” He sputtered.

Through her fit of giggles Connie responded, “I didn’t mean to propose literally the same day I graduated, silly! We’re still so young!”

“But we need to get married before you become president!”

“Steven, how many times have I told you, I want to be in the senate.”

Steven sighed, hoping it would help his stomach unclench, his shoulders untense. But it was hopeless. Connie had said no.

Again.

Before Steven could completely crumple within himself, Connie quickly leaned over and kissed him, slow and sweet.

“Steven, it’s not a no, it’s just… it’s just a not now.”

“You said that last time.”

But he didn’t argue it further.

And now, here he was, twenty-seven, and ready to try again.

After all, the third time’s the charm. Right?

Right.

They were staying at a bed and breakfast on Marlantic Island. It was March, and spring was blossoming. They were both living together in Capital City now, where the cherry blossoms had begun to sprout tiny buds from the trees. Connie had become one of the youngest congresswomen in history that year, and so they had decided to move to the city to be closer to Connie’s work. Steven was still busy as ever with being an intergalactic ambassador, but to help pay the exceedingly high rent for their tiny apartment in the city, he did a number of various part-time jobs, including but not limited to; a musician who played for tips, a museum gift shop employee, and of course, working at a hot dog and ice cream stand.

Getting used to the living in one of the largest cities in the country had been a big step for the two, but together they were making it work.

Steven had insisted that they take this weekend trip to relax from the various stressors of their lives, and to celebrate spending nearly a year living together in Capital City. It had taken some coaxing for Connie to come, but she eventually agreed when Steven seemed crestfallen at the possibility of her rejecting his idea outright.

And now, here they were on the cozy island, not too far from the city, but far enough to where the atmosphere was far more serene.

They had just gone out for dinner at a quaint restaurant in town. Connie had taken a shower when they’d returned, giving Steven time to set the mood. He set out the numerous candles he’s brought along and arranged them artistically on the small table as well as the wooden ledge of the balcony. He also set out jam and biscuits, a vase of daffodils (Connie’s favorite), and his guitar.

Connie came out, and cooed over his decorations, with a glitter in her eyes. She came over and gave Steven a kiss, and it was then that Steven knew that she might be on to him.

Ah, well.

It was still a little brisk outside, but they were warm cuddled up on a blanket on the porch swing on their private balcony overlooking the beach.

“It’s beautiful here,” Connie murmured.

Steven couldn’t help himself when he said; “Not as beautiful as you.”

“Oh, stop,” Connie giggled. “Everyone knows I’m the smart one in the relationship, and you’re the pretty one.”

Steven grinned and sang softly; “I’d rather be tall, I’d rather be smart…”

Connie leaned against him, her head nuzzled perfectly on his shoulder. Steven leaned his head against hers and the two sat quietly for several moments, before Steven finally broke the silence.

“You know, Connie, I actually wrote you a new song.”

Connie leaned back, brushing her hair behind her ears as she whispered, “I’d love to hear it, Steven.”

Steven kissed her forehead, then got up to retrieve his guitar where it was leaning up against the balcony ledge. He turned to face Connie, and with the ocean waves providing a lovely sound in the background, Steven sang the new song he’d written for his love:

I’ll always be the biscuit to your jam

Because you take me for who I am

I’ll always love you to the moon

Whisper I’ll be back to you soon

When we’re apart I can hardly take it

But being with you, I know I can make it

‘Til the summer sun sinks down

With you I know I’ll never frown

We’ve been together through a lot

But here’s what I have been taught

You’ll forever stand by my side

Even when I want to run and hide

I love you more than words can say

I’d love if you’d say the same

I’d love for everyone to know

How my love for you just grows and grows

I’ll always be here when you need me

And joyful with you, I always will be

So it is now I must confess

I sincerely hope that you’ll say ‘yes’

As Steven had hoped, Connie was crying by the end of the song.

He set his guitar aside as she stood up, just in time before she embraced him, her tears dampening his shirt. When she tilted her head back, the breeze causing her hair to stick to her wet cheeks, Steven brushed it aside gently. He was surprised when she reached up to wipe his cheeks, and only then he realized he’d been crying as well.

It was then that Connie kissed him, soft and warm, only the candles illuminating their presence, the only sound the ocean waves lapping slowly on the shore.

“Oh, Steven,” she breathed, after breaking away from their kiss. “Yes.”

She did have to grab his hands before he floated off the balcony, and it was then that the couple burst out laughing.

“I’ll always be by your side, Steven,” Connie said as soon as Steven was grounded again.

“I’ll always be by your side, too. I love you so much, Connie,” Steven said as he squeezed her in another tight embrace.

Connie leaned into his hug and said softly; “I love you too, Steven. More than you’ll ever know.”

“Jam buds forever?” Steven grinned.

“Jam buds forever,” Connie smiled.

The night ended with biscuits, jam, and an excessive amount of smooching.

#steven universe #steven universe future #suf spoilers #connverse #connie maheswaran #lali writes things

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weedle-testaburger · 4 years

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Jamweek Day 3: College

Since a lot of my Connverse fics are about them dealing with kind of angsty stuff in a fluffy way, I wanted to try something a bit more comedic for this: Steven goes to stay with Connie, Patricia and their roommate at Jayhawk and Connie finds a slightly unorthodox way to make him less nervous and the day more interesting. There will be fluff, though, don’t worry!

“Welcome to Jayhawk,” Steven read on the sign as he entered the college town at long last. Gazing out at the views, he smiled as he realized the other reason Connie had wanted to come study here besides the prestige- it was really pretty. The reds and oranges of the falling leaves, the sprawling towers of the University of Jayhawk campus, the vibrant shops along the main street he was passing through… in many ways it actually kinda reminded him of the homely feel of Beach City, even though it was practically the other end of the country.

He wasn’t sure whether to feel comforted or kinda homesick at that thought.

Double-checking his GPS to make sure he had the right address and wouldn’t turn up at some random student’s place and confuse them, he pulled into the nearest parking lot he’d been able to find to Connie’s house share and called her. “Guess who’s just gotten to Jayhawk?” he asked as she picked up. “Me?” she teased. “Well, you’re the one who got in there, but I’m here too,” Steven laughed. “How’s setting things up been?” “Pretty good, actually! I’ve gotten my room all set up, Patricia seems to be settling in alright, and I think you’re gonna love our roommate!” Connie answered chirpily.

“Cool, cool,” replied Steven quietly. “I guess I’ll see you when you come down, I’ll be waiting by the Dondeye!” He put down the phone and sighed anxiously. It was just meeting a new friend of Connie’s, what was the worst that could happen? Surely when he kept falling over on the ice rink over and over only for Connie to come to his aid when he first met Daniel and Patricia should’ve taught him he didn’t need to worry about that, especially with her around? Right?

And yet… here he was worrying about it again. His therapist had told him something kinda helpful about it- that going through new experiences, even when they’re familiar or you feel like there’s a precedent for them, is often scary just because of the unfamiliarity, and that’s OK so long as you press on and try. He took a deep breath, leaned against the Dondeye and waited patiently.

Seeing his jam bud rush into the parking lot, wearing a cute yellow sweater and shorts and grinning at him, cheered him up a bit, and he eagerly greeted her with a hug. “It’s so great to see you again, Steven,” she murmured happily. “Aww, same to you!” Steven beamed. “I’m glad you’re kinda settling in OK.” “Thanks,” she replied. “So, you ready to come meet Ritchie?” Steven nodded and giggled in a way that she could tell was him covering up his anxiousness, and her face fell a little.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. “I was about to ask you the same thing,” said Connie seriously. “If you don’t wanna meet him, I-“ “No, I do, I’m just, you know, I’m scared he’s gonna think I’m weird or he’s not gonna like me or something!” Steven blurted out. He looked down ashamedly, and Connie held his hands softly. “I’m sure he’ll think you’re really cool! I know it’s scary meeting new people, but I’m here, and I’m gonna try and make it as OK as I can. And even if he doesn’t like you, that doesn’t mean me and Patricia will suddenly not like you either!” “Thanks,” Steven mumbled, smiling weakly.

She looked at him, still holding his hands, and smiled herself as she thought of something to ease the tension for Steven. “You know something else about Ritchie?” she giggled. “He really likes weird college practical jokes. And that gives me an idea…”

Patricia rushed to answer the door as she heard the knock Connie had told her to expect, and opened it to see a familiar and quietly giggling enby in front of her. “Hey there, Stevonnie!” she smiled, struggling to keep a straight face almost as much as them. “Nice to see you, Patricia!” they replied, and as she led them into the kitchen, they finally saw Ritchie. He was a redhead with a cute smile, messy hair and an Archemicarus T-shirt. No wonder Connie likes this guy, they thought to themself. “Hi, Ritchie. I’m Stevonnie!” they said, putting out a hand for him to shake. “Uh, hi,” Ritchie laughed a little surprisedly as he looked up from the egg in his frying pan and shook the enby’s hand. “So, you’re Connie’s partner, right?” “You could say that,” Stevonnie answered. “You alright?” they asked as they noticed Ritchie’s bemused expression. “Yeah, I’m just surprised cause I thought Connie said she had a partner called Steven?” He had heard her mention her partner liked femme stuff, but apparently he’d underestimated how femme she meant. “Oh, Steven’s short for Stevonnie,” the enby clarified, a little giggle of mirth escaping their mouth as they said it. Glancing over at Patricia, they noticed she was struggling to keep her composure too. “Okay,” Ritchie replied, sort of floored but going along with it nonetheless. They seemed nice enough, after all. “Speaking of Connie, is she back from that grocery store run yet?” “She should be back soon,” Patricia smirked as the three of them headed into the living room.

As they sat down, Ritchie finally said something that made Stevonnie lose their composure. “Um, Stevonnie? You seem really cool and everything, but… I dunno why, there’s something about you-“ The enby finally started laughing like a dumbass, and so did Patricia. “OK, OK, Ritchie, I’m sorry!” they said at last. “Lemme explain, or I guess, let Steven and Connie explain!” Once they said that, they glowed brightly and seemed to split, and once Ritchie had come to his senses from the weird thing he’d just witnessed, he saw Connie and her partner lying on the floor giggling.

In disbelief himself, Ritchie started laughing along with the other three. “Wait, what just happened?” he laughed. Steven picked himself up off the floor, much more relaxed now, and smiled at the laughing Ritchie. “OK, let’s try this again,” he managed to get out before the four of them started laughing again. “So, uhh, I’m Steven,” he said finally, and as the laughter finally died down, he explained, “Basically, I have weird alien powers, and one of them is that when me and Connie want to, we can fuse into someone who’s a combination of both of us. That’s who Stevonnie is!” “Gotta be honest, if you’d started with that, I probably would’ve been less confused,” Ritchie smirked.

As Steven sat down on the couch next to Connie, he decided to follow up on what Stevonnie had noticed when they were fused. “So, uhh… do you like the Spirit Morph Saga, then?” “Yeah, that’s how I met Connie!” Ritchie said. “Funny story, I got into it through the movies, and she convinced me to read the books.” “Oh, cool!” Steven replied. “He ships Lisa and Archemicarus, too. I think you guys will get on alright,” teased Connie.

After a lot of rambling about plot points, and the four of them rewatching The Unfamiliar Familiar, it was getting pretty late. “I should probably go,” Steven said, getting up. “Are you sure? If those two are OK with it, you could stay here for the night,” Connie replied. Patricia and Ritchie nodded in agreement. “Really?” asked Steven. “Of course! You’re really nice to have around, and I don’t wanna see you go just yet! If you’re OK with that, I mean,” said Connie softly. Steven blushed, and the two of them kissed softly. As they headed up to Connie’s bedroom to sleep, Steven mumbled, “Thanks.” “Aww, it’s no problem, Steven,” she replied. “Not just for this, for everything,” he explained. “For sticking by me all this time, for being such a sweet friend and such a sweet partner. I dunno how to explain it, but… I’m so glad I can count on you to make me happy when I’m worried about stuff. I hope you feel the same about me.” Connie hugged him softly. “Of course,” she murmured. “How could I not?”

#personal crap #tim's fics #steven universe #jamweek #connverse #su connverse

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shinneth · 4 years

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what is your absolute favorite ship? How did you start shipping Stevidot? And rant about any ship you feel like, good or bad? :))

… you fool

OH GOD ALL-TIME FAVORITE SHIP YOU SAY. YOU KNOW DAMN WELL I CAN’T CHOOSE ONE.

(it’d probably be Stevidot anyway; objectively I’ve done more for it than anything else I ever shipped in my life and it’s absolutely precious both in platonic and romantic forms)

BUT IN THE INTEREST OF FAIRNESS… and attempt to tone down redundancy, let’s see what other ships earned the “OTP” label from me!

I mean, I pretty much had to lowkey ship Mamoru Chiba x Ami Mizuno because Usagi/Mamoru is basically what Connverse wishes it could be as far as the Ultimate Ship goes. So at the height of my involvement in the fandom (you know, late 90s era), I was never brave enough to make anything for this ship. But the few times they get to interact in the classic anime is legit adorable stuff and I wish we could’ve had more of it.

Before Gem Ascension, before Travels of the Trifecta, my greatest multichaptered epic was a Digimon Tamers fic called By My Decision. I was a hardcore Digimon fan in my early teen years well before I ever got into Pokemon, in fact. And I shipped shitloads of pairings in Adventure and 02 - I can only imagine how many of those would be demonized by the new age fandom puritans of Tumblr nowadays. You can actually see literally everything I ever shipped on my FFN profile here.

But I didn’t really make anything for the first two seasons. Tamers was what really sparked my inspiration, because Takato and Jenrya… honestly, they’re just adorable together. They get to bond a lot, they’re really in touch with their feelings (contrasting to token girl Ruki who was a stiff hardass most of the time), and I often got the impression that Jenrya, unlike Takato, really doesn’t have any other friends.

So of course, I tormented these two on the regular in my story. I of course didn’t forget Juri (for I love her dearly); I was kinda trying a love triangle subversion with Takato angsting over loving both Jenrya and Juri… while Juri’s still got so much PTSD (story is 2 years post-series), shipping is hardly on her mind, and Jenrya’s outright in denial of his feelings for Takato to the point where it very literally screws him up and awakens some inner darkness of his own. I even had Jenrya and Juri bond, but it was pretty platonic stuff.

Still, this ship was way down on the totem pole at the height of Tamers’ fandom. Very frustrating. Takato/Ruki and Jenrya/Ruki were way more popular and I hated both of those ships something fierce. I love Ruki, but I just cringe at the idea of shipping her with either of her fellow leads. Then Jenrya/Ryo got something of a cult following that I couldn’t stand; admittedly I was jealous it was getting the representation that I felt Takato/Jenrya desperately needed more, and I also didn’t like Jenryo in its own right, anyway.

But yeah. Jenkato is a very underappreciated ship that I loved dearly and invested many of my teenage years into.

So, here’s a fun fact: While I played the classic games (my cousins had a Sega Genesis), the way I was mostly raised on Sonic was via the first two cartoon series and the Archie Comics version of the franchise. Archieverse was largely based on the SatAM cartoon; Amy Rose also didn’t exist in the show and it took about 25 issues for her to show up in the comic.

So I was big on Tails x Amy. For a long-ass time. And really, the ship was really only feasible in the Archie continuity. There, Tails is actually older than his usual depicted canon age and Amy is introduced to be around his age before she artificially aged herself with a magic ring so that she could later take on her Sonic Adventure design.

Before that… in these years, Sally was the most well-known love interest of Sonic in the west. So Sonic/Sally seemed like a lock (none of us knowing how Sega felt about that at the time) - and in retrospect I honestly believe it’s a far better Sonic ship than his more well-known modern alternatives.

So, because of Sally’s prominence, Amy was relegated to Sonic’s fangirl and her crush wasn’t really that big a deal. Honestly, that was for the best, as I by far found Amy way more tolerable in Archie’s incarnation than the majority of her other canon contemporaries (Sonic the Comic Amy Rose is more of a competent badass, though).

Tails and Amy had some good banter in Archieverse and the few times they were allowed time to do stuff together as a duo, they were very cute and endearing and I loved them.

Tails also had a lot more going on in terms of character development and backstory in Archieverse. Like, a lot more going on. He even had a “Chosen One” deal that sadly didn’t have a very good payoff, but. It’s more than what they really do with Tails in any other continuity.

Bear in mind, I started on these comics when I was eight or nine years old. Yet I followed this comic well into my late teens and even part of my early twenties, so you can tell Archieverse Sonic has shitloads of lore to it to have that long of an ongoing narrative.

After Sonic Adventure was released, then the Sonamy shipping started to explode. Amy was front-and-center in the spotlight, Sally became the obscure figure in the fandom, and it’s more-or-less stayed that way ever since.

But I was like “It’s okay! Tails and Amy are still tight in Archieverse! Sucks they have to adjust to Sega’s many changes but they’re still best buddies who’ll hopefully get married one day….”

Then 25 Years Later happened and for some goddamned stupid-ass reason, Tails was paired with Mina the Mongoose and I believe Amy was suspiciously never ever mentioned in the future timeline stories (as Sonic and Sally did become endgame in this little series).

Tails and Mina had little to no interaction, and Mina was largely there to be a potential Sonic love interest, and even after she moved on, she got together with another character and still didn’t interact with Tails.

I was sooooooo pissed off. Archieverse was my one hope for Tails/Amy becoming a thing and they ruined it for me. :(

I did get a consolation prize in Geoffrey St. John x Hershey becoming so canon they actually did marry. That’s another one I shipped ever since they first interacted years and years ago.

Of course, Hershey was then “killed off” - and was set for a major comeback, but Ken Penders put a stop to that and had them both erased from reality because fuck Ken Penders, I actually got a nice thing and you yanked it right out of my hands.

Genis Sage x Mithos Yggdrasill from Tales of Symphonia, a ship I hardcore loved enough to write about. Also a ship I think Tumblr would burn me at the stake for shipping at all, but you know what? Fuck Genis x Presea. It’s a boring-ass puppy love ship that in its own right should be lambasted similarly according to anti logic.

…. did I get sidetracked? I did? Pfff. Okay, let’s try and get to another question.

How I started shipping Stevidot?

Pretty simple story, really. I binged SU all the way up to Escapism (Change Your Mind hadn’t aired yet) last December/January. Also watched a looooot of Youtube clips. Most involving Peridot.

And inevitably, most involving Steven as well.

When I started getting into Peridot and SU as a whole enough to seek out fanfiction and whatnot, I didn’t really have any set shipping preferences at first. But when I made myself think about it… honestly, Stevidot just felt the most natural to me. I wanted to see stories about antics with those two specifically - I never liked Lapidot and Amedot did nothing for me ever. So Stevidot was like, pretty much the only thing I really focused on after a while.

Then I found A Gem Like You. And suddenly, INSPIRATION! I developed headcanons for Watcher’s fic, I started reading as much Stevidot as I could, and I was convinced it was the best pairing in the world and fucking hell I need to give it some representation after I noticed how relatively niche it was in the fandom.

And so, Stevidot consumed my soul for all time. I hope those clods are happy.

Rant about a ship, you say…

Good god, that really does need to be its own post. I have so much to say about various ships in general, I may need a bit to… uh, figure that out. Or throwing out some random ones I’d know about would help my focus, fff.

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