title goes here [Open]

[diamondsare]

Who: Blue Diamond, Open
What: Getting down locations, meeting new 'coworkers'
When: 1-2 days before Event
Where: All over the Carnival
Warnings: None currently



1

[The only thing keeping Blue complacent is knowing she made the choice to be here herself. The indignity of being reduced to a mere aid for others when she was a diamond for stars' sake would be intolerable even for her. But the prize is worth it.. and it's only a year.

A year is still long enough to need to know who her coworkers are and more importantly who those who outrank her are. Not all of them would be telling her what to do, but keeping things working smoothly in case she did need to go to them for something - or them to her for some requisition or other - is simple common sense. A little asking around gets Blue pointed in the right direction..

Which means visiting supervisor's grove. She has a mental list of descriptions and names of those she's supposed to be looking for, and once she spots one (and presuming they don't look otherwise occupied at some other task - Blue is mindful, and she knows what work looks like in its many forms), it's just a matter of saying hello.]

Pardon me. Do you have a few moments?

2

[Peoplewatching follows. There's a lot of people in the carnival, some human, some ... mixed? Some don't seem as if they were ever human to begin with but there's plenty of locations for Blue Diamond to settle down in a somewhat out of the way place and do nothing at all but watch the others go about their duties, sitting or standing depending on location.

The diamond - in this case the Ringmaster - of course set the tone of a location, but it's the lower class gems that always lived and breathed it, and if she was going to blend into this place, she needed to better understand how they behaved, what they did ... and why.

Perhaps you're the person Blue's chosen to watch right now, a silent seven and a half foot tall azure shadow keeping tabs on what you're doing, what you're wearing, everything you're saying.. it might be a little uncomfortable but for the air of benign benevolence she manages to cultivate.]

3

[With a better idea of what this place expects by way of appearance, it's time to familiarize herself with locations. If a new arrival can get there, Blue's going to be there sooner or later, looking around with interest and attempting to at least become familiar with various locations and what they're for.

Roping her into lending a hand with this small task or that one shouldn't take much effort at all, Blue seems interested in learning and being of what assistance she can be. Got a task? Make use of the strange blue lady hanging around.]

4

[There are times when Blue simply leaves the main carnival and heads into the woods for a little bit of quiet to allow herself some time to acclimate to new information and the general headache and effort of pretending to be this entire place's newest Pearl.

The forest prevents anyone from leaving, but Blue isn't trying to leave and perhaps something of the entangling, confusing place understands that. It's easier to find little quiet out of the way spots amongst the trees to loiter a while, even if she's not terribly comfortable with being surrounded by so much organic mass. She'll be here well into the evening, a dark blue wraith between the trunks, seemingly looking for something. She's not lost .. not yet, but that could change at any time with this place.]

5

[Wildcard; bring it on]

Comments

1!!

[fortuneglass]

Eh?

[Carly's had both a hectic few days, and a 'chill' few days. On the one hand, promotion! On the other hand, figuring out all the responsibilities that came with said promotion....on the Other other hand, she was no longer a scout, so those responsibilities were gone!

On the other other OTHER hand... ...Well the list went on, so as she floats down from her own trailer to see a very tall, very blue woman, she blinks.] Me?

[...Yes her, duh. She shakes herself, and nods.] Mnnn, I guess so...I haven't really settled in just yet though, so I might not be able to answer everything...

[diamondsare]

[Based on description, she can check wardrobe off her list. No-one else was likely to match Carly's specific appearance. As Carly drifts from her trailer, Blue smiles; the colors at least are vivid and interesting unlike humanity's endless sea of browns and tans.]

The questions I have are .. fairly specific to your duties I believe. It should be reasonably simple.

[She tucks her hands up her voluminous sleeves simply to give them somewhere to be.]

I am only recently contracted to work here, and it seems I'll be assisting Treasury and Acquisitions, and so I am seeking out those I may be working with in the future who have supervisory roles, to better understand what they do and how I may be of use.

[It was going to take some getting used to to try to remember to act like a servile pearl and not her proper station.]

[fortuneglass]

Wow, both departments..? Though, I guess since the Acquisitioner is gone again, that makes sense...you're probably filling the workload for them then, like how I was keeping the wardrobe department going until now... [She doesn't sound especially haughty about it-it's just a fact that this is how things happened after all, so there's no reason to hide it. She crosses her arms, and nods.] But, if that's the case, then shoot! The first thing I can think of as something I might end up running by those departments right now would be fabric collection, though, we do get a lot of things to embroider into that...gemstones, gold-thread, certain tassles...

[She's rattling off a bit of a list, but she hurriedly shakes her head.] AHH-!! Th-Though, we don't normally get that going until we know WHERE we're going!!

The audience could be totally different depending on after all...you have to know who the performances are for before you can dress them up!

1!

[periphrasing]

[Unfortunately for Blue, there's at least one supervisor here who, despite the Diamond's best intentions, is going to be more than a little wigged out by receiving a simple hello from someone of her stature.

What happens is, when Blue is wandering around the supervisor's grove, the screen door to one of the trailers slams open very suddenly. That's kind of an accident, on Peridot's part; sometimes when she's juggling a lot, she can lose some of the nuance to her metal powers and winds up moving things a lot more quickly and forcefully than intended. That's the case here, because she's preoccupied with carrying a huge box of light-bulbs that's more than half her size down the front steps, while also trying to avoid tripping on the over-eager vegetable dog that zooms past her feet.

As a result, the little gem doesn't spot Blue until she's finished navigating her way down the stairs. She's preoccupied with the box, and with admonishing her weird canine.]

Geez, it's too bad Steven didn't grow you with hands Pumpkin, then maybe you could actually make yourself useful and help me with this box--HHHH---

[annnd that's the sound of her noticing there's a Diamond standing right there. THE. Blue Diamond. Just like Lapis had warned her. Peridot goes wide-eyed and takes a sharp gasp, fumbling her box, claws piercing into the cardboard sides. Her tail stiffens, the tuft on the end frizzing out in alarm, and she flounders, mind racing until she pieces together an assumption for why Blue must be at their doorstep.]

L-L-L-- Lapis isn't here!

[An automatic response, and there's something almost fierce in her tone. If Blue is here to give Lapis more grief, Peridot isn't going to stand for it.]

[diamondsare]

[Peridot is watched unblinkingly from the moment the door crashes open to when she suddenly slams to a stop, the mobile pumpkin noted but not quite as interesting as what seems to be a still-intelligent corrupted gem. ... Perhaps only half-corrupted, she's still recognizable as a Peridot.

One who is friends with her Lapis.

Blue raises one hand, palm out, as if to try to forestall any further yelling, expression one of mild interest. This is the supervisor for technology? ... Well. If they had to get anyone, a peridot certainly suited the task. But the poor thing looked so wrong.]

Be at peace. I am not here to speak to her for the time being.

[Lazuli has her task, keep Steven alive for another year. What else was there to say?]

I wished to speak to you, Supervisor.

[periphrasing]

[Blink.]

You're here to speak to... me?

[That information is clearly throwing her for a loop. As does being addressed as "supervisor"; even her own underlings generally don't bother referring to her with that sort of respect, and to hear it from a Diamond is mind-bending, to say the least. That said, it's a good thing Blue does address her that way, because it at least makes it clear that this is about carnival business and not... rebel business. Peridot might be freaking out even worse, otherwise.

She carefully sets the box down on the ground, scarcely taking her eyes off of Blue the entire time, and then throws up the traditional salute. If Blue is going to extend the courtesy of referring to her by her title, she may as well reciprocate... even if she is kind of resentful of the fact that her presence here is apparently what's making Lapis so upset.]

Peridot, lead Engineer at your service. What, uh... What can I help you with?

[At this point, Pumpkin also meanders back to Peridot's side, sits down to face Blue politely, and says 'arf'.]

4

[squeedlyspooch]

[It's later in the evening when there's a weird scuffling noise coming from nearby, like someone is making their way through the foliage as well but has a severe dislike of anything nature. Which, when you're from an advanced alien species that invented organic sweeps, is not all that surprising.

Zim has been working on numerous doomsday plans, all varying degrees of horrible, all hampered by the fact that he doesn't have his base or much in the way of advanced scientific equipment, but that hasn't stopped him from plotting. And oh boy, has he been plotting! The lack of a need to sleep has been very helpful in said plotting, and now that he's got a few extremely good ideas he needs both a soundboard and probably someone to rant at for a while. With no GIR or Minimoose around and his roommate being so apathetic he has decided the next best victim is the tall blue alien who seemed to think torturing a small human child was an Okay Thing to plan. Also, did I mention she's tall? Still inferior to an Irken, but slightly less inferior than 95% of the other mutants and such here.

It's late enough that the human customers have left, so he isn't bothering with his disguise. For now his wig and contacts are safely stored in his PAK, so if he does need them he can pull them out in short order. Yep, he is traipsing through the dark forest all buggy, trying his best not to trip over roots and other assorted plant things on the ground making this trek more difficult than it should be. But he saw her enter the forest a while ago, so if he can hunt her down here, where they have a semblance of privacy, then great!]

Hey! HEY!! [There is the sound of a yelling and a thump, reminiscent of a small alien tripping over something and landing on the ground face first. There's a moment of silence, and then:] INFERIOR BLUE ALIEN!

[diamondsare]

[It's the little green imp again!

Admittedly Blue does not expect to encounter Zim out here and it really does crush a bit on her quiet time, but he had proven amusing before, and perhaps he'd be just what she needed to take her mind off current events. At the yelling and noise, she turns and begins picking her way back through the foliage, homing in on the sound of all his chaos with ease.

She could complain about being called 'inferior', but he had no idea what being a diamond meant. If he did know he might not even be able to comprehend it. Better to not tax the poor little thing too much.]

Zim, is that you? Have you come up with a plan to defeat your human foe?

[squeedlyspooch]

[For the last bit of this trek he is going to get extremely tired of the uneven ground, and his robotic spiderlegs are shooting out of his PAK so he can skitter the rest of the way. Those things are far more graceful than stumpy flesh legs, even if a regular person would find them kind of unsettling. Also, it makes him taller.]

Nope! Even better!

[He holds up his notepad which is absolutely useless, because it's filled with nonsensical (and poor) drawings as well as an alien scrawl that looks disjointed and scribbly.]

It's my overwhelmingly amazing plan of what I'm going to do to this filthy carnival when I conquer it!

3

[whattaprick]

[ Blue will find the Nightrider a hard man to catch at his trailer because he doesn't generally spend much time there. Instead, while she's exploring the various spots around the Carnival, it's easy to spot him running the obstacle course at the recently built training yard. There's a lot of fire, green lasers, and the occasional explosion as he nimbly hops through the course, and a few near misses, but at the end of it all, he lands in a crouch, only slightly singed.

And then he notices he's not alone, and it's not a face he recognizes, either. New meat or just a recluse? Sometimes it's hard to tell, when people were inhuman before they came here. She's about a foot taller than him, and he briefly considers the idea she could be another of the Ringmaster's former paramours dropping in for a visit before he dismisses it. The only relevant piece of information is that he hasn't seen her before. ]

Come to practice, or just to watch? [ He picks up a towel to wipe his face off, then takes a swig of water, dragonlike tail idly lashing. ]

[diamondsare]

[Blue is endlessly patient when she wishes to be, and there's plenty to do here and there while she's doing it, keeping an eye out for those elusive supervisors she'd missed earlier isn't too hard. Thank the stars they're all so visibly distinctive.

When she stops at what is obviously some sort of training arena, she isn't actually intending to run into Lambert yet, the noise and light and FIRE is just that spectacular and it may well be a show being practiced! Certainly the being dealing with all of it seems acrobatic enough -- no. Unless supervisors have multiple roles, this is one of the ones she'd been looking for.]

To watch. And ask for a bit of your time when you are free.

[She can admit that she's interested in observing, her tone pleasant without being too friendly. He ... might be basal human, beneath the horns and tail and .. are those scales? But if he's at work or busy she'll just ... wait however long is required.]

[whattaprick]

[ To that, Lambert shrugs. The only thing on his plate next is running again, preparing for whatever next world they get thrown into; it's not as if delaying that for a few minutes or hours would make much difference in the end. He's already pretty fit, though sweaty and slightly achey from the exertions he's put himself through. She can easily tell he was built off a basic human shape, and those are indeed scales, gold rounded shapes that catch the light less vividly than his horns.

As to how much of that is the Carnival's influence or something else, that is something she'll have to ask him. ]

You're in luck. I'm taking a break.

[ He'll head over to one of the low poles set into the ground, ostensibly for balance work, and drop down to a sitting position. ]

So, what do you need me for?

4

[wild_magic]

[Susan loves the forest. He grew up in a forest, and it makes him feel comfortable to be here. Most people don't come out here, with as ever-changing and unpredictable it is, and even though he normally likes being around people, it's nice to sometimes have a break.

He's surprised when he sees someone else out here, and more surprised when he sees that it's someone he doesn't recognize. He approaches with a little smile.]

Are you lost?

[diamondsare]

[Most beings Blue's encountered are very obviously changed from base humanoid, this very small version of a human ... actually looks reasonably similar to the rest of the species. When Susan suddenly appears between the trees, he's scrutinized with interest for a moment.

She doesn't seem lost, really.]

No. Merely ... seeking a bit of quiet. I believe I know my way back to the carnival when I am ready.

[wild_magic]

[He nods, looking around them at the forest.]

It is really quiet out here... You picked a good spot! No one else comes out here really 'cause most people get lost.

1

[dorkypantsuit]

He's coming back from doing one labor task or another, not that she would know from the way he looks. Telekinesis means you rarely get dirty, even when doing manual labor. He looks up to Blue as she speaks to him, and then he keeps on looking. Cripes. He wasn't used to being around people taller than him here, but this newcomer easily towered over him!

"Uh. Hey."

[diamondsare]

"Hello."

This one.. gives her a bit more trouble than most; Blue can usually at least identify original species when she spots someone but this time ... either the changes are manyfold and more subtle than usual or this one wasn't human to start with. Her confusion is fairly well hidden under a mask of politeness, at least, and she's not about to stare and be outright rude.

That's what minions were for. She needed to get some, so they could ask the impertinent questions. "You are the foreman, correct?"

[dorkypantsuit]

He smiles, nodding. Some newbie, but not in his department surely, otherwise he would have already known who she was.

"Yup. Call me Psi." He sticks out a hand in greeting hoping she'll introduce herself in kind.

"Need help with something?"

2

[kingsroads]

[ Strange expects to be watched. After all, he's a circus magician now, and what do circus magicians do if not perform? And now that they're out of the damned Mainframe, he can actually do what he's supposed to in the first place!

Blue finds him in the Big Top, practicing and going through the motions of his magic act. Strange is constantly muttering and gesturing at things throughout in a manner that's far too hammy. Water leaps from a nearby barrel into a different barrel, jets of flame shoot out towards the audience, stopping a good six inches away from where the audience sits, a solitary peacock feather turns into a peacock that flies around the room for a while. It's a madcap display of magic that, with some refinements and some alterations, actually could be a wonderful performance.

It's halfway through the practice that he spots said seven and a half foot tall blue woman out of the corner of his eye but it's only after the practice that he decides to talk with her, as Strange gently teases, ]

Most people applaud after a performance, you know.

[ He's remarkably humanoid, six foot tall, slim, with wild hair that looks as if it hasn't seen a brush in weeks, though Strange's mirrored eyes are the most noticeably inhuman feature he has. He's also grinning like a loon, still riding high off the thrill of actually practicing his magic. ]

[diamondsare]

[Magic, real genuine actual magic doesn't exist in her vast empire. Therefore what this human doing must conform to the laws of physics somehow, she just can't... quite pin down how unless humans somehow have managed to steal the abilities of rubies and lazulis.

Maybe that's why she lingers here, hands folded, gaze measured and unblinking, to watch Strange go through his routine. The fire she could guess at, but the bird? Perhaps it was holography. So caught up is Blue in attempting to unravel his performance that she's still standing there when he finishes, still unmoving, brow furrowed slightly, expression thoughtful.

Until he speaks up, and suddenly she refocuses on the human and not what he'd been doing, blinking once in a distinctly owlish fashion.]

I apologize, I am not familiar with the customs of your people.

[Her humans were incredibly primitive and very happy for it, but he ... didn't really look like he'd ever fit in with the zoo, so something was likely very different.]

It was a very clever display, though I admit I'm not entirely sure how ... you were doing such things.

[kingsroads]

[ The customs of his people? Well, that confirmed that the tall blue lady wasn't tall and blue because of the carnival (ever since one of his closest friends grew a tail overnight, Strange has learned not to question these things). Still, Strange is taking this all in stride as he answers, like it's the most simple answer in the world, ]

I am a magician: I was using magic.

[ It's said as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Of course, Strange knows people can arrive at the carnival from worlds without magic and the likelihood that he'll have to explain the ins and outs of magic to the tall blue lady is quite likely. Still, he doesn't mind. Strange enjoys talking and he enjoys magic, so naturally he loves talking about magic. ]

I'd be happy to talk theory. Or, if you wish, I could explain in detail how certain spells worked

1

[drrdrrdrr]

[Amethyst isn't a supervisor, she just shares a trailer with one, so hers wouldn't be one of the descriptions Blue Diamond is keeping an eye out for. Right now she happens to be loitering around back here arranging one of the towers of garbage outside their trailer, though, and when Blue Diamond sweeps past looking for someone else it's hard to miss her.

Amethyst has never seen her in person, of course, but she's seen her likeness carved and painted in crumbling ruins all over Earth, and she gapes at her as she passes, for a moment stunned into silence.

But only for a moment.]

Whoah-- [Her eyes are like dinner plates. She's... afraid, but for her the Diamonds are more like ghost stories than omnipotent dictators. She learned from the others that they were terrifying, but she never learned obedience to their authority.] Whoah-- [She pushes herself up, scrambles forward and then stops herself-] -- Are you -- Blue Diamond??

[diamondsare]

[Amethyst does have one thing going for her in the visibility department: even if she's changed a bit she's very obviously still an amethyst and Blue Diamond has all of the rest of those.

And she knows the sound of their voices. As Amethyst speaks up from amidst her garbage towers, Blue slows down and then pauses, looking back and around with interest. A lapis, a peridot, and now one of her amethysts? Well, if any place suited an amethyst it would be a place like this!

....And it's a tiny amethyst, once she's finally located. Blue re-evaluates instantly as to whether or not this is one of hers; she knows all her gems, especially the ones that she'd adopted from Pink, and she didn't recall a tiny amethyst. A tiny carnelian.. Had she forgotten one? Left one behind?]

I am. And you are Amethyst. Hello.

[Scary diamond or not, she sure seems rather mellow at the moment.]

2

[espigeon]

[Julien's trailer is bigger than average, with a wider door that has a large handle instead of one of the more common latches or knobs. There is only one name stenciled on the mailbox, though, and positioned without leaving space for another. Blue might just be in the area and hasn't noticed that, though. Julien comes out that front door in his human body, short and with dark hair and eyes giving way to shades of blue. Missing Blue entirely he holds the door open.

His bird body, deep-chested and almost as broad as the doorway, similarly with black head feathers and dark eyes in the process of turning blue, starts out the door and, having far better eyesight, sees the Diamond instantly. Both bodies freeze up and look at her, the human one with a guilty expression. This passes. He smiles, and his bird body retreats back into his trailer.]

Hello! Sorry, I didn't see you there.

[diamondsare]

[That there are names on any of these, and that doorknobs are even a thing, has not yet been noticed by Blue Diamond. Who ever heard of a doorknob, or even a latch? She'll find out sooner or later though, she surely had a trailer of her own though things like sleep weren't needed.

What's going on over there is noticed mostly from movement. Another human, fairly unchanged so far it seems, and some sort of animal. The animal is immediately dismissed, they were interesting sometimes but largely not something Blue bothered with. The guilty look she's given however telegraphs across entire species. She's seen that look before.]

You don't have to close your creature in because of me. I am merely passing through.

[She has no idea what the hell it is.]