Escape From Homeworld: Planning/Gemsona stuff goes here

Also a neat picture i just thought of: all the pearls looking at a holographically projected map, heads held at an angle pondering how the FRACK they ended up this terribly lost.

 

FINALLY ONLINE AGAIN omf im so done with my internet problems (i may well not join for a few days until those are sorted, so i don't immediately jump in and start slowing everyone else down)

so I GOT MORE ART DONE

Spoiler: Pink Marble

The final redesigned Pink Marble, who only uses the 'Pink' clarifier when Older Marble (actually Pure Marble, or just Marble, but i'll refer to her as Old Marble for differentiation purposes) is being discussed/is also present. The left is her more traditional/slightly dressy outfit, where she's playing good socialite/acolyte. I'm considering that they might be, socially speaking, expected to be historians? Which puts Marble in a good position to have witnessed the decades past, and she could well be in a position to have more information about the Crystal Gems if we wanted additional routes of communicating information to the Pearlsquad. The column-like 'banner' that Marble is wearing is basically Old Marble's signature iconography.

Spoiler: Azurite

And this is Azurite. Strictly 'they' pronouns-they would likely identify with male pronouns in other situations but that's not so much an option here at this stage, and they wouldn't wish to rock the boat and draw undue attention in the meanwhile. My rough concept for them and further details about their backstory, I'mma put under a spoilercut. General warning for like... they are Not A Nice Person. As much as they might play it well enough in public.

Spoiler: Azurite Concept

Azurite is an unstable mineral when exposed to water or air, à la Malachite. Which should give you a bit of an early heads up as to the potential danger of the individual. They are Old, and quite possibly they were originally intended as being a Pearl caste, but the volatility and frequency of rebellion and antisocial behaviour lead to the line being discontinued, in favour of a more malleable and easily produced organic gem race. This particular individual managed to survive because of the ability to sublimate their violent impulses (hello MAJOR STEPFORD SMILING REPRESSION), and through the good will of Old Marble- who took interest in 'discontinued' gem types. She assisted in remaining training and support of Azurite, and so has basically a vintage assistant. One with a reputation, for anyone who even remembers the Azurite line, for going psychotic and attempting to murder their 'owner'.

Old Marble is about the only person that Azurite has any loyalty to. They hate Homeworld and all it stands for, but as their one motivation is to ensure their own personal survival, they will play nice with the hierarchy until there is opportunity to overturn it. At the moment, they are occupied with caring for Young Marble, taking care of her combat and espionage training, and they have some affection for her- mostly as long as she remains manipulable and a useful means of allowing Azurite to access areas of Homeworld that otherwise would be closed off to them, as an assistant-caste gem.

Next bit is uh.... so baSICALLY I HAVE ANOTHER POSSIBLE CHARACTER IDEA (i'm sorry i work with a lot of characters) which can be a bit schroedinger's gem, depending on how comfortable people are with the concept? And the gem-type can vary depending on people's preferences. BUT, IF PEOPLE DON'T LIKE IT, THEN I CAN LEAVE IT OUT.

Spoiler: The Mad Green

See that gem on Azurite's cravat? If you ask them about it, they'll say that it's a long-broken gem, a memento from a past associate they were close with. A bit macabre a fashion choice, but both Marbles don't appear to have an issue with it, and will take more issue with anyone objecting to how Azurite presents themselves, so there's nothing much to be done about that.

Except, that's partially a lie. It is an associate that Azurite was close with- but she's a perfectly healthy, sapient gem, with a trapping setting that functions much like how Lapis Lazuli's mirror kept her trapped. She remains entrapped there nigh constantly, in a sort of comatic state, vaguely aware of what is going on but 'dreaming' away much of her time. The only time when Azurite will release her from her setting is when their life is in danger, and they require more firepower- and occasionally when they need someone to fuse with (and this is the only gem that Azurite will ever deign to fuse with, they refuse any other partners).

When they do emerge, it often becomes clear why she is not typically let loose. This gem is insane. This gem is feral. She is powerful, and she is violent, and she will go on rampage- she would make Sugilite look reasonable. The only person she cares for and will alter her behaviour for is Azurite, with whom there is a... weirdly functional codependancy at work. They make a powerful and intelligent fusion (name undecided) but because of Azurite's physical instability, it's not possible for them to maintain permanently. So, to ensure that the mad gem wouldn't get herself into trouble and get herself crushed, she lets Azurite keep her and pretend that she is just a dead decorative memento. She gets to stretch her legs now and then, and she doesn't really care about the world beyond that.

I would kinda like to make her an emerald, for the danger level, but if that's a bit much then i can find some other gem lmao. aLSO OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FOR WHAT THEIR FUSION IS CALLED i can't think of one wweh

also here i did gemsona dollmaker versions of them IM LAUGHING LOOK HOW DWEEBY AZURITE IS

 

Later further ideas (someone let me know if the double-posting is annoying, i prefer not to edit too much if it's been more than a couple of minutes since posting)- if the intention is to get them offworld, perhaps we could use a need for fuel for more long-range trips (I imagine Earth is far enough away that Labradorite might not have enough fuel aboard the ship to reach it) as a means of bringing Marble into things. And, the specific idea for how to connect them up would also allow for a bit of a fancy dress interlude!

If Old Marble contacts Spinel through the rebel spy network, she could let them know that, if they will go and meet a contact of hers, she might be able to help them with the financial aspects of getting out to Earth. The contact ends up being Young Marble and Azurite, and the meeting would be at another smaller special event that the Pearls can dress up and disguise themselves to infiltrate. Then Marble and Azurite join the troupe, and provide directions to where they can pick up fuel- and then we can toss in more plot problems and such at that location to lead on to yet more ADVENTURE. How does that sound to people? (that also then means i hold off on active play until everyone is done mucking about at the party, which gives me IRL more time to sort out my internet situation)

EDIT: also Azurite is not intended as 'a Pearl but Improved', they're insanely buggy and have physical instability issues (hologram form presents with missing limbs, similar to Baroque's lack of arms, cannot hold stable fusions) so they're a Worse Older Model basically??

 

I am definitely all for getting super lost in space and maybe doing some alien planet exploring XD (wants desperately to suggest cameo inclusions of her OC spaceraces)

Although calling it 'Space Odyssey just makes me think of 2001 Space Odysessy, and I doubt we really want to get quite THAT weird and existential XD

 

some long-form/longer-term thoughts:

• the character designs are fascinating. I am really interested by the mad gem's similarities to corrupted gems - and the implications, if you do choose Emerald, are pretty severe. Marble has to have a lot of clout with the Diamonds (or be very good at hiding things) for that to be kept quiet - or else I suspect the mad gem would have been crushed by now. could be interesting to play with.
• I like the idea of the Marbles being historians. It feels like a luxury that the Diamonds would allow themselves, as they feel very secure in their reign (well, outwardly, at least). I wonder how this could play out between Melon and the Marbles, since Melon has made it her mission to document the more horrific tendencies of the Diamond Authority's rule.
• speaking of Melon: I am pretty sure her ship is quite able to carry everyone where they need to go, seeing as she's assumed to be independent and long-range. however, we haven't discussed the long-term necessities of transporting a bunch of gems, just in terms of canon. I've mentioned (through Gray) some ideas about ship maintenance - I'm not sure gems would use fuel, necessarily, but perhaps a sort of focusing of energy, which could need to be recharged?
• If the Marbles are on Homeworld, they could be a source of extra transport (especially if @cryptoThelematrix wants to bow out as she's quite busy, which I think could be arranged without too much trouble - not that I'm assuming she will want to bow out, that's just a thought), or of cover/false identification, or even just a safe house. I can't imagine it would be difficult for Marble to order a half-dozen Pearls just on a whim. Maybe she's sentimental about those rebellious Pearls and wants to have a memento of how strong and powerful the Diamond Authority is. (Diamonds: "you are a very strange one, Marble. but fine. whatever floats your shuttle.")
• If the Marbles are not on Homeworld (and again I think this would be easy as pie to make happen - we need to document this one thing on this one colony and we have to be there, so, bye!), then they could be all of the above as well as an extra planet to stop off at that is not Earth (if we wanted to keep the CGs out of the picture for now). We do have at least some members of the group that are NOT convinced of rebellion yet (Gold Pearl, Black Opal, just to name a couple off the top of my head), and so they might well push for "well, okay, I'd like to not be immediately associated with a bunch of gems that are gonna get crushed, so maybe drop me off somewhere else?"
• We might also consider just kicking off on our own and being pirates. Gray, for one, doesn't have a lot riding on going to join the Earth rebellion. She'd be happy to be a courier/messenger/supply runner. Joining the Earth rebellion could be really dangerous! And also there is a lot of galaxy to see.
• I think the group's various reactions to Azurite would be really interesting. I suspect some of the Pearls would have a lot of respect for them, as an old Gem, but some of the others would not quite understand why they were still around/why Marble bothers. Some interesting dynamics there.
• What are the Marbles' goals? They've been around for fucking ever, so it doesn't seem like their goal is to overthrow the Diamond Authority. If not, why not? And if it's a matter of time, what's holding them back? Do they want to create a repository of some sort, of old/discontinued Gems? Why? That seems stagnant. Have they given up on overthrowing the Diamonds? Why? I imagine they would like Hematite - and also that could throw some shade on their "magnificent wonderful benefactor" status, which, while it's totally cool to have a character like that, super-multifaceted characters are fun and good for you.

Some immediate thoughts:

• I vote Gray uses the fancy stealth scanning tech and discovers there's no one there so we can get on with things. We're stuck again. (I know people have been busy, but we've also all started deferring to one another. Which is fine.)
• We have no team leader. This plays into our problems in the previous point. I don't know who would be best, story-wise. We have a bunch of followers and not a lot of leaders. Melon might be the most obvious choice, but I don't know how keen she would be on actually leading this bunch of rebels - she seems to want to dance to her own drum and not be held down by anything. but that could be an incorrect reading of her character, I dunno, I'm not @cryptoThelematrix. XD lso, the Pearls' tendency so far in their rebel-ness has been to do whatever the hell they want, which is an obvious result of suddenly being free, but this also causes problems.

I don't know I'm just throwing things at the wall. What do you guys think?

 

I think we can work with the 'old bugged discontinued servants' spin for azurite. And considering the fact that homeworld is REALLY NOT HOT on heterogenous fusions i'd probably suggest the mad gem being an Azurite as well? maybe?

I think there should be an appointed by popular vote team leader but at least for lavender it would be very importat that this leader gets voted on. She also thinks Gray would make a super great leader but cannot actually say so since poofed.
I'm also super cool with the Pearls ending up being space pirates! I just think earth is probably the closest thing they have of a general idea for direction so while they might not join with the CGs, i think it'd be logical if they went in that general direction for starters just bc they have no idea what to do or where to go otherwise. Going to Earth because there is rebels there seems like a thing people would do when they are suddenly faced with way too much agency and freedom and also an empire trying to dissolve them at their backs.

 

Cirtrine would be fine with leading, so long as other people nominated her and it would definitely be a 'uhh are you sure OK then' situation. Spin's got her own agenda and the others, idk...

Honestly if it were up to her she'd vote for Lavender, but she's poofed ATM XDD (Also I am on my tablet RN before I go to do the weeks groceries, so I full expect to be ninja'd by the time I've even posted ^^;;

 

@IvyLB when are you thinking you will regen Lav? I know you are busy and that's why you poofed her, so no stress, I'm just wondering for storyline's sake.

re Azurite potential fusion:

• if it's not an Azurite, even more necessity of keeping it hella under wraps - or, even more clout for Marble with the Diamonds. (could be one of the impetuses for heterogeneous fusions being a no-no? it seems like the sort of thing that early Gem society would have had no reason to condemn until something really bad happened)
• if it is an Azurite, that's more fodder for "this class of gem is Never Getting Made Again".

I don't think the question of a leader is going to naturally come up in the group until they are at least off-planet - the immediate need to GTFO is overriding everything else, so I think the de facto leader will be Melon for the time being (seeing as she has the biggest ship and the most resources). Once the group is relatively safe (perhaps on the way to Earth? Ivy, you raise an excellent point re: this is where rebels happen sooooo), the topic of "what the hell do we do now" could come up - Spinel, like you said, has her own agenda, so does Melon, we have the issue of non-rebellious Gems like I mentioned. also, space travel in small enclosed spaces is an excellent place to have difficult discussions about your future and who's good at leading a team! 8D

I was also thinking possibly about Gray - she's got the logic to do a lot of it, but she sure as heck would vacillate on whether or not she thought she could do it. She would feel like she ought to defer to Gems with more training/experience in leading (i.e. Citrine, Melon, Spinel - each of which has their issues, which we've kinda touched on).

I wonder about it ending up a cooperative leadership, with two or three people? Gray is good with the logistics, Citrine is a good military thinker (who doesn't have their own things to be getting on with, like Melon and Spinel - but that's just my thought), maybe someone else too? I don't know... *ponder ponder*

 

Spinel can probably be convinced to go places after getting that little weapons hoard of hers to RQ; she's used to kind of working for the rebellion as a free radical and wouldn't object to going pirating and so forth once she gets what she considers her current main mission (preparing the rebels for the weapons that'll be used against them by homeworld soon) completed.

 

ambulant hospital care thing ends wednesday. And while I am technically free on the weekend to fuck around and could RP I'll probably not regen Lavender over the weekend bc I'd have to come up with a reason for her to pull out of stuff again for another three irl-days.

 

yes. it will be absolutely awful and great :D

 

I still need to figure out what to do with Celestine and Opal!

 

ah, fair, i neglected to think of melon's ship's capabilities. but yes, if there is anything else that the troupe would need, Old Marble would certainly be able to provide it. i guess considering gems don't need to eat, there's reduced need for 'too many people, need extra supplies' as a plot device, unless we start inventing other needs.

• the Marbles being Strange But They're Allowed To Be Strange fits perfectly with my concept of what Old Marble is like! Yes she is the sort to order large amounts of Pearls on a whim (or 'order', and actually be rehousing and hiding
  
• if Melon is interested in documenting the atrocities of Homeworld and is affiliated with rebellion already then we could well say she knows Old Marble, if @cryptoThelematrix were up for that.
• we could combine that with the Marbles being situated offworld as- perhaps the suggested plan would be, if we have members who would rather just be dropped off, to go to the Marbles, who would be able to disguise the not-so-rebellious characters and give them a safe place to continue living. once there. OOC, we could also use a safer but more structured environment as an avenue for then convincing those to end up joining the revolution- or to become space pirates, if that's what people prefer!

the Marbles' goal is to endure. They are not typically active participants in revolution, but they will ensure that money and supplies go in the right pockets because their current role in Homeworld is that of the Special Exception, and thus rather unsure. Under the current regime, there can be no broader Marble society, because only the Historian (and her whimsical needs for a 'daughter') are allowed. Homeworld has deemed the type of mineral they are made from to be better used for construction- and not even as a slave race, but not even worthy of being brought to sapience. Old Marble has a long memory, and she is emotionally disconnected from much of this, but it does mean she's capable of playing the long game. So she ensures that she supports revolution and rebellion, without risking their current positions and continued wellbeing.

Young Marble wanted to be a rebel from the beginning, but the insistence that she learn how to lay low and play the decorative historian assistant unfortunately... took hold a bit too well. She can be extremely lazy and prone to selfish and immature tantrums. She'll take initially to the order that she's to leave society to help these rebellious Pearls (and others) with enthusiasm- but we'll probably see how that enthusiasm will waver and diminish as she finds out that this sort of survival is bloody hard work. She cannot just lounge around and read books all day when she feels like it, she'll have to pull her own weight. Get ready for some Prime Marble Sulking when that realisation hits. :P

so yeah- they're not purely wonderful benefactors. Young Marble wants to believe more violently in the cause, she views it more as a general injustice which needs to be righted, but her socialite training has affected her quite a bit. Old Marble, if she considered a burgeoning revolution to be detrimental to her desires and wellbeing? The Diamonds would likely get a quiet heads-up and nod in the right direction to start quelling it. This could well be how she has such a strong position where she is. If Rose Quartz's rebellion is not the only one- Old Marble could well have been the death of past revolutions, which took more of an 'eat the rich' approach to their dreams of a new Homeworld. If anyone can dig up these (and other) flaws in their philosophy and confront the Marbles about it, I absolutely welcome it!


as for azurite and the mad gem-

• yes, she is intended as being basically borderline corrupted! arguably if she gets pushed too far/exposed to the wrong sort of stimuli, she could well turn fully corrupted- but OOC, i'm going to forever put that off until we get some sort of canon explanation for what causes corrupted gems to become corrupted (PLEASE SUGAR TELL US I MUST KNOW)
• re: heterogeneous fusion- well honestly i think that the fact that Azurite is carrying around a secret gem with them would be something Not Okay with society. even if that sort of thing could be permissible, publically they are nothing but an old and highly dangerous personal assistant. not someone you would want allow to have a hidden bazooka, regardless of how influential their owner might be. so i think that the main issue with the mad gem's presence would be that she's there at all, not necessarily what sort of gem she is (that just would upgrade or downgrade the sort of danger she presents, not eliminate it). the Diamonds almost certainly do not know about the mad gem.
  
• i am quite attached to the concept of- here is a gem who should be the aristocracy, who should be smart and influential in all the ways that Homeworld expects an Emerald to be. but she is nearly feral, she's primal, she's an abomination in the Homeworld's eyes- absolutely a gem that needs crushing, regardless of her technical caste. hence- while azurites can be green enough to suit my aesthetic needs, the social impact of her presence wouldn't quite fit the role i want it to fit?
• additionally, in typical Homeworld society, Azurite probably will not wear her quite so openly as in that profile pic. Maybe she gets painted over with silver, maybe she isn't displayed visibly at all, but kept hidden away inside their jacket. as Azurite wouldn't change their outfit just because joining the revolution, I didn't bother with Homeworld/Rebel alternate designs

additional notes along the lines of 'please someone go after this fact IC'-

• Azurite is never likely to let the mad gem run free. but i do suspect that, after the pearls and company realise that they are carrying around a nigh-permanently imprisoned gem, there will be some objection to this behaviour. OOC, the mad gem is a mean asshole even when she's at her saner limits, but IC- they don't know that! and i would be delighted for characters to argue that she deserves more time not being trapped in a gem-setting, and that she could well be rehabilitated.

 

THESE ARE RAD THOUGHTS

I will ponder them and add/build tomorrow sometime! :D

 

If anyone wants me to do anything specific w/ melo please tag me and ask cause i have the next 3 days off but currently have no idea what to do with her. if you do a "cmon, lets GOOOO" post, assume she's bringing up the rear, unless otherwise instructed.
I'm around, but kinda braindead

(also i love the marble stuff but am too spoonless to write more coherent than "yes this good continue")

 

I am trash who enjoys fusions too much

Fusion!

Granite maybe?

 

oh my gosh THEY LOOK FABULOUS look at those shoulderpads ♥♥♥ (i love melo's outfit btw it's so sunny and gorgeous)

 

:D I'm glad you like her!
Also that you like melo! You've read the threads so you know her backstory, the whole bait thing. But yes! I quite like melo's design, even if it ends up down grading when she finally poofs for the first time.
But thanks!! :D

Edit: also fun fact it's midnight here in central Canada so I'm off to bed. Seeya!

 

yessss, i've really enjoyed seeing everyone's characters and backstories- and ALL THE DIFFERENT COSTUMES i wish i was as inventive with different character costumes, mine tend to be pretty simple and single-uniform haha....

HENCE WHY I TOTALLY WANT A FORMAL DRESS PARTY FOR THE PEARLS AND COMPANY TO ATTEND (but this time of their own volition) omg they should all get to look flash and gorgeous IC

 

*excited costumer noises*