And I Don't Know How

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All the various gems in Homeworld Bound! Some notes:

The Zircons from the Trial are okay and seem to be running for some form of election. Mayhaps the president of homeworld?

There's a big shot of the throne room with some distance gems. We can see a Jade and a Ruby together, Lemon Jade seemingly okay and fused, a quartz soldier and one of the unidentified green gems from the era 3 ball, and the tour group.

The tour group has a plum pearl with a forehead gem giving the tour. (I left two shots here to give you a view of her gem). We can also see a squareidot and a sapphire in this group.

A wall gem seems to be free to roam! And three pebbles are seen outside of Pink's room

The two gems Yellow heals are currently unknown. The orange one seems to be a nose gem and the blue one is a chest gem. They seem to know each other.

Also the fact that Yellow seems to be able to go into a bubble without popping it? But off topic.

Cherry Quartz and an Aquamarine seem to be hanging out on the happiness clouds Blue has.

"Oh- I don't think my name is important to my day to day life. People come and go from me so often that it's unreasonable to give them my actual name. You can just call me the Gardner."

Meet the lovely "Gardner" - my idea for a purely hypothetical partner for both Peach and Grey from the lovely @prof-peach. More about them under the cut!

Gardner came upon the island very suddenly. One day they were not there and the next... They had situated themselves within the greenhouse, pulling weeds with a hum in their throat.

Peach and Grey paid them no mind at first. No questions of where they were from or what they wanted of this island. But, one day they received news of the guardian pokemon from the restricted north end spotting the seemingly very smart individual having a bloody picnic on the very border of the land, with a very surly Sylveon on the other side joining them - all at ass o'clock in the morning.

Peach confronted Gardner the next morning and started asking questions. Mostly what the hell they were thinking and how they had gotten the Sylveon to eat with them when that Sylveon had been there for literal years with human blood on its muzzle and a dead, violent stare at any who passed it. Who the hell were they?

Gardner's answer?

They weren't anyone special- just someone who found themselves peckish on a insomnia induced walk and found themselves entertaining a "very kind" and "pleasant" Sylveon. They really had no idea they weren't supposed to be there until a guard pokemon tried to usher them away.

Peach and Grey kept an eye on Gardner after this and learned more of the odd fellow.

Their past is a mystery. They wave off any questions of who they were before this, and don't answer where they're from. If the accent is anything to go off of, they at least grew up in Galar. They loved to garden, seeing Peach every day in the greenhouse. They see Grey most often in the breeding center, a seeming expert on the craft of raising and caring for eggs, carrying pokemon, and reering any abandoned young. They learned of their partner pokemon; the dear elderly November the Roselia, the freshly hatched Peep the Hoothoot/Oricorio hybrid with no wings and only one leg, the aptly named "Surprise" - a stubborn unknown egg they always have in their overalls that has refused to hatch for a while now, and the mentions of another partner the duo know nothing of- but that is missed dearly.

Grey was the first to get closest to Gardner, wanting to make sure the fellow was legit at first but... They were so kind and lovely! Sure, they didn't talk of their past, but Peach didn't either at first. Maybe they had family issues as well. And, this island was open to anyone looking to escape from their lives. So long as they didn't cause trouble. The true terror in their eyes at the idea of returning to the mainland, and the voracity they defended the place during attacks with sealed it.

This "Gardner" was a friend.

A... friend who seemed to flirt without realizing they were flirting. A friend who wrote and passed letters to Grey when they were relaxing in the same room, and he wrote back. A friend who stayed up all hours to watch a sickly egg they weren't sure was going to make it. A friend who cried happy, blubbering tears seeing two pokemon find love. A friend who sang odd songs, and cooked terrible food at all hours of the night. Who straightened Grey's clothes with a passing comment that there was such an odd spot that looked a bit funky. Who made tea and awful snacks Grey ate anyway while they watched eggs. Who held his hand as they walked. Who pet his more vicious pokemon and became a staple to life.

Grey fell hard and fast for Gardner. They were just so... Lovely.

Peach was apprehensive but... Let Grey do as he pleased. Helped Grey pick out an outfit to ask the lovely Gardner out. Sat and listened as Grey gushed about the lovely night they'd had and how Gardner didn't even seem to know it was a date until Grey outright kissed Gardner's hand at the very end of the night.

Peach fell for Gardner when Gardner seemed to be sticking around more and more. Their knowledge of plants and grass pokemon was... attractive. And the "Secret notes" Gardner left to boost Peach's day were nice. How Peach learned of the horrific burn scar that covered most of their torso that they waved off after taking off their shirt to warm a cold pokemon. How they still pet Val... a bit apprehensively but kindly. How they could gush about Grey together, and plot ways to woo their man. Gardner seemed to hid a mischevious side that showed more when around Peach. How they watched Peach wrestle a protective Ursarang and offer a nice drink after. How she was slotted between the cuddling Gardner and Grey at night. How Gardner would try their best not to wake them when their insomnia kept them up. How they convinced the Sylveon they met all that time ago to return with them to the main island. How Grey lit up to talk about them. How they laughed and snorted and were just lovely and-

Oh.

Oh dear.

Peach was encouraged to pursue Gardner by an estatic Grey. They both had two hands to hold them with! Peach was, of course, stubborn and refused to do anything until the notes Gardner left turned into "secret admirer" notes. Then she had to confront the silly, sweet Gardner and be taken out on a nice moonlit walk.

The three are all very happy together.

They can never know Gardner was originally hired to bring Peach back to her family by any means necessary, or face more, worse consequences than the burn they endured. How they used to be a hired breeder for the family Peach never met, but their heart couldn't take the treatment the pokemon endured and they paid for it with this favor. How they didn't mean to fall for Grey and Peach, but they did. How it's never been an act, but that Sylveon incident was planned. How that's their Sylveon and always has been; that mysterious "other partner" and their first pokemon.

They can never know.

Decided to redesign Dolomite. with bits pulled from @pocket-gems lovely redesign of her! 

Gwendolyn jumped as the front door to the home he was staying at slammed open. He sat up from where he sat, placing his propped up feet back onto the floor. "Illy?" He stood and approached the woman he'd come to know as a friend who had somehow found where he was staying. "What are you doing here?"

Illendra stood in the doorway, dripping wet from the rain outside. She glared up from under her wet bangs and spoke clearly. "How do I die?" Her voice was firm, but shaky. And her eyes, dark with hate and anger. Wet with something other than the rain.

Gwendolyn drooped at the question and extended his arms to Illendra, trying to comfort her. "Illy. You know I can't-"

"Don't give me that shit, Rolfe!" Illendra stepped inside, pointing an accusatory finger at Gwendolyn. "I know you know and, damnit, you're the only one I can trust to tell me!" She motioned angrily, "Just- be the rebel you say you are and fucking tell me! I can't do this if- If I don't- If I don't know what he-" Illendra looked away and hugged herself. 

Gwendolyn sighed and took off his coat, placing it over her shoulders gently. "Let's get you dried off, yeah? We can talk about this later, okay?"

"No!" Illendra shook off his coat, "I'm tired of all this! I'm tired of not knowing, of you looking at me with that pitying fucking look in you eyes-" Gwendolyn flicked his eyes away sheepishly at the point, knowing he'd been doing that. "I'm tired of- of Boss and this stupid fucking fate, and the stupid fucking curse bitch and- and-" Illendra buried a hand in her hair roughly, tears spilling freely at this point. 

Gwendolyn blinked a few times, before sighing deeply and looking behind himself a moment in thinking before looking back to Illendra. "You know if I tell you, you can't go back to not knowing."

"You think I don't know that, Gwen?!" Illendra's voice cracked, sniffing angrily and wiping her eyes roughly. "I just.... Wouldn't you have wanted to know?" She looked away, hugging herself, "Before you made your own mistake? Left for your own fate?"

Gwendolyn looked to the floor, distantly. Thousands of screams and the terrible sirens rang somewhere in his mind. He bent down and picked up his coat, "You're impaled," Illendra startled at him actually saying something, instead of saying sorry and moving her along. He began to fold the coat absently, not looking at her, "In your abdomen. Right above your belly button. Your lung gets pierced and the sword exits to the right of your spine. You go into shock pretty much immediately, after he removes the blade. So you don't feel much. You bleed out, I think."

Illendra blinked a few times as Gwendolyn talked, having turned away from her and hung his coat over the arm of his coach as he spoke. He swallowed thickly and leaned on the coach, head hung as he took off his hat and put it on his chest in a mourning method. "I- .... You're not alone. As you die. There is someone there. I cannot say who, but it is not him. He flees after you fall. A small comfort, I know but...." He choked on what he could say after that. 

Illendra sniffed and clutched at her stomach, gripping her shirt fabric there roughly. She smiled, however, tears flowing freely, "Thank you, Gwen."

"Sure," Gwendolyn's own voice cracked dryly, trying to ignore the future gurgling of pain and fear ringing in his ears. Knowing it was him who had to hold her as she died. Comfort her and tell her that it was okay. He didn't know if she would realize it was him. And she didn't need to know it was him. But... She didn't deserve to die alone. He knew he'd go there as soon as he knew. He knew he'd want the same. And so he'd give the same. For her. Because he-

"I'm sorry I asked you do that-" Illendra looked away a moment, sniffing, "I just-"

"It's fine," Gwendolyn pretended he wasn't crying and ran a hand through his hair. "You want something to drink? And a towel? You're dripping all over my carpet." 

Illendra looked down before laughing bitterly, "Sorry. Sure. Thanks." 

Gwendolyn nodded and went to the kitchen. Leaning against the wall next to the doorway after he finally entered it and covering his mouth. So he could finally sob openly.

Sometimes you just gotta draw your kooky time boy with no context.

The Bard's Song

Tomorrow will take us away, Far from home. No one will ever know our names! But the bards' songs will remain! Tomorrow will take it away, The fear of today, It will be gone! Due to our magic songs!

No-one should ask you for the name Of the one Who tells the story

Life’s Too Short To Be Dancing With The Devil

Where am I? My hands are tied. Turn on the lights, And I see you standing, Over me, It's hard to breathe! I can't believe that you'd do this to me! Years of us building the trust up! No love was ever enough. I'm foolish to think we were friends. It's funny how it ends. You know, When times get tough you always give up. I know your smoking gun's the tip of your tongue. You take your aim to point the blame It's time we let it go. So save your lies, behind those eyes you're a devil in disguise!

My soooon!!! ❤❤❤❤ I adore how he turned out in your style!! Thank you again so much for drawing him!!

EXP Mini Commission for @yaboy-robin !

Amethyst(?

Went for a sorta mad scientisty look. I think she’s nice and kooky! I’m gonna call her Dizzy :)