10/14/15

Last belated entry for Artist/Writer's Choice Sunday.

Decided to do another crossover but this time with Steven Universe. This would probably be confusing if you don't watch the show as I've based this on loosely on Steven Universe canon with some alterations and this also has spoilers for recent episodes.

Steven = Clark

Greg = Jor-El

Pearl = Imra

Amethyst = Tinya

Garnet = Luornu

Peridot = Brainy

Clark Universe

Clark was not human, nor was he a Crystal Gem like Imra, who was a Pink Sapphire, Tinya, who was an Onyx, or Luornu, a fusion between three Tourmalines. When Clark was little the Gems went by their Gem names but chose more human names to better blend in on Earth around the time Clark started grade school. Honestly this might have been better accomplished by faking aging for now Clark looked like he was the same age as the women who raised him.

His mother had been a Blue Diamond before she gave up her physical form to bring Clark into the world. Unlike the others she had never picked a more human name but everyone always referred to her as "Blue" when they spoke to her. Half the time Clark forgot that his mother's gem was the same diamond that sat on his stomach now.

For most of Clark's life he heard "Blue this" or "Blue that" and Clark knew the Gems and his father Jor-El missed her greatly. When he was old enough to go on missions with the Gems he tried to do what he thought his mother would have done but he often felt himself falling short of their expectations. Clark wondered if he would ever be super enough to fill her shoes.

Sometimes Clark spotted Imra staring at his mother's portrait on the wall, fiddling with her gem that looked like an earring on her right ear, and thought Imra would be happier if it was Blue there rather than Clark. And when Tinya lashed out at his father for taking Blue away from them, pulling at her gem that looked like a barrette holding back her bangs that could never be removed, that Clark knew how much Tinya missed her. And though Luornu, with her three gems over her chest near her collar bone, was the most affectionate with Clark, Clark wondered Luornu was actually looking at him sometimes rather than who he used to be as she did when she looked beyond the present into the future.

As Clark grew older his relationship with the Gems strengthened in some areas and weakened in others. He was still a child to them despite almost being an adult human and was often left behind when they had to go on more dangerous missions or to keep an eye on the Peridot currently keeping residence in his bathroom.

When they first met Peridot the gem looked like a giant robot. Not Transformer giant by any means but more than double them in size. The robotic appearance fell apart like an empty shell when Luornu managed to cut Peridot down, forcing them to their gem state.

Before Peridot, their gem on the center of their forehead, Clark thought all Gems looked like humanoid females even though they were technically genderless. That changed when Clark saw Peridot reform, with the robotic armor gone, Peridot looked more like humanoid boy. Peridot still had green skin and magenta eyes but now without the armor Peridot also had blond hair and a sleeker smaller body; shorter than Clark and the other Gems.

At first Peridot had been terrified when he reformed. He thought Clark and the Gems meant him harm and that everything around him was a weapon. Tinya joked that Peridot was no Brainiac but once Peridot calmed down a bit, Clark thought he was quite smart, able to build Gundam like machines and other devices when allowed to tinker.

Though Peridot was helping the Gems deal with a threat against the planet, the Gems did not trust him yet and did not want to leave him unsupervised at any time. That left Clark to be left behind and watch him whenever the Gems had to leave.

Being left behind bothered Clark at first but he came to enjoy his time with Peridot, showing him rain and other things the Earth had to offer. It was also oddly flattering that Peridot would turn to Clark whenever something new still scared the smaller Gem and Clark often had to restrain himself from calling Peridot the nick name for him he came up with in his head.

Clark tried to not think too much on it as he told Peridot about last July's fireworks, "And then my father-"

"What is a father?" Peridot asked.

"You don't know what a father is?" asked Clark.

"I wouldn't ask if I knew," Peridot snapped.

"Well, uh, it's sort of hard to explain," Clark tried to think of it in Gem terms. "It's sort of like, ah, the result of a fusion but for humans."

"Humans can't fuse," Peridot protested.

"I said like a fusion," Clark clarified. "It's like if two Gems took off a chip of their Gem," he ignored Peridot protesting that Gems would not purposefully damage themselves that way, "and then fused those two pieces together to make a new third Gem. The two original Gems would be that third Gem's parents, typically a father and mother but there are lots of different variants for parents as well. A human named Jor-El is my Father and my mother was Blue Diamond."

"But you are Blue Diamond," Peridot frowned.

"No," Clark sighed. "Blue Diamond gave up her physical form so I could be born, er, made."

"Why would Blue Diamond give up her physical form for you; she never even met you," pointed out Peridot.

Almost immediately Clark's eyes began to sting and he felt a lump building in his throat. He tried to push it back but he felt it growing the more he struggled and soon tears were starting to leak out.

Peridot only stared at first, and then leaned in for a better look at Clark's face. He lifted a hand and touched one of Clark's tears, not quite wiping it away before examining his now wet fingertip.

"You are leaking," Peridot stated before frowning and looking at him. "Is this some sort of outward sign of damage? Did I cause you to be damaged?"

Though Clark wanted to assure Peridot that he hadn't hurt Clark, he couldn't find the strength to speak. He almost jumped when Peridot put his hand on Clark's arm.

"I apologize Clark, I did not mean to cause you damage," Peridot said it so softly that Clark almost missed it.

Slowly Clark smiled, "It's okay Brainy; I'm okay."

Instantly Peridot drew back his hand and yelled at him, "What did you just call me?!"