Kevin Armstrong (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
tarnishedavenger) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
piper902020-04-20 03:58 pm
tarnishedavenger) wrote in piper902020-04-20 03:58 pm
Entry tags:
- alia,
- brainiac 5,
- bunnymund,
- dave strider,
- gadget hackwrench,
- guts,
- jack spicer,
- kevin armstrong,
- nora valkyrie,
- sam winchester,
- saturday,
- stacia novik,
- tenten,
- ✘ cayde-6,
- ✘ ciaphas cain,
- ✘ doreen green,
- ✘ emily grey,
- ✘ kevin ingstrom,
- ✘ peter parker,
- ✘ phosphophyllite,
- ✘ rey,
- ✘ ronan lynch,
- ✘ sirius black,
- ✘ steven universe,
- ✘ sylvain jose gautier
001: Group Introductions - TEXT
[During a lull in the party, Armstrong taps out a quick message to the network. Not that private one, he doesn't trust it. They can answer whenever they like, so long as he gets an answer. The trick would be wording it.]
So, we're all in this for now. You've had your welcome cake, but you can't meet everyone in a party, no matter how hard you try. But, since we've all been encouraged to sign up with Jorgmund, I figured now would be a good time to get some introductions done. Talk about any specialties we might have.
Share information that we feel comfortable sharing. This isn't to pressure anyone or to force out any dark secrets.
[Not where watchful eyes can see, at least.]
Besides, I prefer doing this to making a cute information sharing game.
So, please, make your own threads within this post to keep everything organized.
So, we're all in this for now. You've had your welcome cake, but you can't meet everyone in a party, no matter how hard you try. But, since we've all been encouraged to sign up with Jorgmund, I figured now would be a good time to get some introductions done. Talk about any specialties we might have.
Share information that we feel comfortable sharing. This isn't to pressure anyone or to force out any dark secrets.
[Not where watchful eyes can see, at least.]
Besides, I prefer doing this to making a cute information sharing game.
So, please, make your own threads within this post to keep everything organized.
no subject
[at all. Unless this counts.]
Is it uncomfortable for you to share?
no subject
He's taken aback by the question, a little. Which is dumb. It's not like people never ask him if he's okay. Comfortable is just... different. Not that a lot of the people here outside of the new hires are in a habit of asking anything in either of those veins, thinking about it. ]
It's fine. Just been a while since I had to explain it fresh.
The Diamond Authority was, well, the Diamonds. They headed up the Empire. There's White and Yellow and Blue, and there used to be Pink. I mean, technically I'm Pink because that's my Gem, but my mom was ACTUALLY Pink.
Anyway, I guess they made a lot of the first Gems? And every Gem got made to do a really specific thing. Like, some were servants, some were bodyguards, a lot were soldiers. But making a lot of Gems took a lot of resources, so the Empire got into colonizing. And terraforming. Which wasn't great for all the organic life out there.
Pink Diamond's first colony was Earth. But once she got to know it, she felt bad about the idea of killing everything on it, which is fair. So she sorta started a Rebellion trying to free it, and everyone fought for a few thousand years. And then she faked her death and changed her identity because she wanted the other Diamonds to stop sending soldiers. It sort of worked? The end of the war is kind of complicated to explain. I think it's better to just say there were a lot of losses and a couple superweapons, and my mom didn't really think it through when she made that plan.
The other Diamonds left Earth alone for a while. That was partly because they left a big Gem weapon in the core of the Earth to destroy it, but that's not a problem anymore.
Anyway, my mom and dad met and fell in love, and then she stopped existing so she could have me. And then I wound up meeting the Diamonds. And you know, they obviously had a LOT of issues to work through. But we got there. And now Gems have free will and they don't colonize worlds. We traveled around and dismantled all that. It's, uh. Phase Three for Gem society.
I like to call it the best phase.
... Maybe I shouldn't have said I'd keep it short.
Sorry, I have so many pamphlets back home that do this better.
no subject
A whole cultural revolution is a lot to have to explain. You can take your time. No wonder you need pamphlets.
Who was helping you do all this? That can't have been easy, inheriting a whole war. How have you been doing since?
no subject
I had the Gems. The Crystal Gems. That's what the rebellion was called. It was just Garnet and Amethyst and Pearl for a while, but they were always there to help. They're family. And there are even more of us now. My dad doesn't really mix with Gem missions, but he's around for dad stuff. Connie was there for... pretty much everything? She's human. And I know just about everyone in Beach City.
The diplomacy stuff was mostly me and the Diamonds. They had a lot of apologizing to do. I'm retired now. And that's. You know, it's something.
no subject
You're young for a retiree, but I hope you stay that way. Sounds like a lotta work for one kid. Did it get in the way of school, or were you apprenticed in a trade?
no subject
My dad's a musician, so I know a lot about that, but that's more for fun. I was running the Little Homeschool for a while with my friends after I got back to Earth. Not long term. It didn't feel right for me. But I did learn a lot about administration.
I don't know. That's a later thing to figure out, anyway! Nothing but time back in Beach City.
Kind of a bigger deal to help figure out this. Uh. "Stuff" stuff before any of my stuff stuff.
What about you? Is going past hobby with chocolate going into the chocolate trade?
no subject
[Steven's attempts at deflection are so much more clearly just that - attempts at deflection - when they expose how much human kid culture he managed not to get.]
no subject
Look, I know it hurts not to be recognized, and I'm sorry. But I'm gonna have to ask you to take it easy on the human dad. For all we know, no one ever told HIM who you are, either. There are dad-shaped angles to consider here, okay?
[ Dad-shaped angles are the most important piece of intergalactic diplomacy. Philosophically. ]
no subject
Are you safe back home? Or do you still find yourself in danger over cleaning this war up?
no subject
I'm totally safe back home. Everything's... about as over as it can be, I think. All the fighting is done, Earth's safe, no more invading planets, the Diamonds are doing their thing. Whatever that thing is now. All I know is it's not invading planets.
I don't see how there could be any more surprise problems left. Fingers crossed.
... Apart from getting here.
But that's a different type of surprise problem.
no subject
[The end of surprise problems is one thing, but what's this kid doing with all the problems that fighting in someone else's war leave someone with?
Sticky Ben down there looks like he's uncovering some . . . reluctance to acknowledge personal problems down there.]
So, what are you doing with your time back home now that you don't have a war to fight? Is it what you'd be doing if there'd never been a war at all?
no subject
Well. If there was never a war at all I probably wouldn't exist. There was always gonna be some baggage to deal with there. That's just how it is.
These days I'm... I guess I AM doing what I'd be doing back before I was allowed to go on missions, if that counts. Only with a better handle on my powers. You know, putting my feet up for a while.
[ That's a nice way to not have to say he's apparently the only person in Beach City who can't figure out what to do with themselves. ]
no subject
It's real fortunate that this conversation is happening virtually because Bunny has a moment where he either wants to cry or punch something.]
And now you're stuck here. Being forced to fix someone else's problems, when you've already been doing that - how long?
[he'll punch someone over it, eventually.]
no subject
That was only like two years. And some change. The Diamonds did a lot of the heavy lifting that last year. We took the training wheels off for them remembering their manners and everything.
[ He means it as a joke even if it is perhaps slightly true.
Because the important thing is, the Easter Bunny is nice. This is going right into the niceness tank. Steven's metaphorical pockets are filled to the brim with people being kind and invested and concerned on this very Rig, which is a weird boost in these shock collar, corporate cake party, everyone's been kidnapped times.
He will support them if it turns him into a shriveled up raisin of a teen by the end of this. ]
Look, it's gonna be okay. Okay?
With everything going on here, I think "me having to do stuff I know how to do already" can stay pretty low on the list. If it even belongs on the list in the first place. Because I'm fine keeping it off.
no subject
[He's frankly usually hesitant to SAY things will be okay. Sometimes things do not end up okay, and it's irresponsible to tell a kid that if there's a possibility it won't be.
But he's got to say something encouraging, and that's always the challenge of directly interacting with his charges, instead of just working in their background.]
As long as we're working together, 'okay' might take a while, but we've got a good chance of getting there. Any bumps on that road to 'okay' though, let me know, willya? No need to be shy about it. We're all on the same road here.
[He just sounds so much like he's used to NOT asking for it, even in impossible circumstances.]
no subject
[ He can just about convince himself he's not lying to these responsible adults when he says he'll totally talk to them. And he would absolutely believe himself if he wasn't already starting to feel bad about it. He's really pulling people away from bigger, real problems and lying to their text message faces once they're there. The web that never stops weaving. ]
Not to go off track or anything, but the capital letter in Guardian says "very official title". Can I ask about that?