Voice } i think it's time you learned a little better, the nature of this silly little mess...

[slapfight]

[this was in no way a good event for Peridot. oh, it had started out well enough, resistances, rebellion, standing up for the little guy, but it had all been wrong, and there for a brief moment, she was something she wasn't supposed to be. not in a metaphorical sense either. in a very real, very horrifying sense.

and then it was over. and she was back to being a gem, as if it had never happened, and was she supposed to forget that? forget that form, that body when she could remember it clearly. this is probably not bothering anyone else, but it's bothering her, and she isn't sure how to bring it up or discuss it or anything.

so she goes to her own stand-by... being bitter.]

Log Date... [she pauses, suddenly realizing she has no idea what the date even is anymore, and then goes on.] Undated Log zero-dash-zero-dash-one.

This is a public transmission from Peridot. Full designation "Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG," a gem formerly of Homeworld and currently of Earth. Allied with the Crystal Gems. [a snort escapes her- the sound pained] See that's the important word there- Gem. That's what I am. I can deny and change my intended purpose until my form dissipates, but I can't stop being a gem, am I right?

[another noise, this one more pained than the last.] As the last few days will attest, I am not right. At all. It seems whatever machinations Wonderland has in place cannot only take our memories, toy with our minds and sense of reality, and keep us locked on this miserable planet that's a poor copy of Earth, but it can also change our entire make-up on a whim. And who's to say it has to change us back? Are there people who've been stuck like this? [her voice rises, hysterical in pitch] Is this why there's a lizard that talks?? I've never seen a lizard that can speak on Earth! They just crawl around and do things with their tongues! I know, because I followed one around for most of an Earth cycle once out of sheer boredom! Maybe he was once a human, and Wonderland decided, "Why don't I just make him a lizard? It'll be great!"

[she stops mid-rant, unsure of where she was even going with this. she's fine. it's okay. she just... needed to vent about it. publicly. now the healing can begin?

right?]

Talking about what makes you feel bad is supposed to make it go away, right? Why isn't it working?

[maybe because that isn't at all talking about it, Peri.]

Comments

[slapfight]

[gasp] So it can be permanent in other places?

[wait until she discovers gem corruption...] That's insane! And an insult to your intended form! How could anyone do that to someone? Wonderland is bad enough, but I've come to accept that behavior from it. I didn't think it would happen in other places.

[deathlessness]

My parents believed they were protecting them. Making them stronger and faster ... giving them the gift of immortality. A gift they never asked if my siblings even wanted.

[slapfight]

[she squints, uncertain of... well most of that.] Wait. I... Huh. And that's... not normal for humans, right?

[that actually comes pretty standard for gems...]

[deathlessness]

Not at all, no. Humans are frail and fragile creatures. That's why my mother created vampires.

[slapfight]

Vam...pires? [Camp Pining Hearts has never had to do a Halloween special.

also she knew humans could make other humans through some bizarre process, BUT NOT ENTIRELY NEW SPECIES. WHAT FACTS HAS SHE NOT LEARNED YET.]

[deathlessness]

Yes. Immortal creatures who live on the blood of the living.

[They probably don't have them on your Earth, Peridot. Nothing to worry about.]

[slapfight]

[....]

That's disgusting. If you're going to manufacture a stronger, more resilient human, then why make them need to ingest anything. The need for a human to constantly consume and expel is such a waste of time, so why not start with that?

[deathlessness]

It was a consequence of defying their nature as humans. Of defying nature itself.

[slapfight]

Consequence of whose authority? Who exactly do humans answer to? [that wasn't in the crystal gem handbook]

[deathlessness]

In my world, the spirits of nature are the sovereigns of witches - or at least those who practice traditional magic. When they feel a witch oversteps her bounds, they engineer consequences for those spells.

[slapfight]

[okay freya she maybe understood about ten words of that.]

...Earth is even more complicated than I thought.

[deathlessness]

[she smirks.]

It usually is. Especially when trying to compare them in a place like this, where there are so many different Earths to speak of.

[slapfight]

Right. I... Try not to think about that too hard. One Earth is complicated enough.

[deathlessness]

That is a sound way of thinking of it. I can't help but be curious, though.