TEST DRIVE - Part 3

[stigematize]

Maybe you've been here for a while, or maybe you just got here. Either way, you're all in the same situation - you've been turned into a magical gemstone and stranded in a foreign world! And all you've been left with is the clothes on your back, stripped of all powers except one.

Clearly, you’ll just have to make the best of it.

How this works:

☆ This is a test drive for cosmographia, which means you should get a little familiar with the setting and premise.

☆ Otherwise, this is just meant to help you feel out how you may play and serves mainly as a chill interest gathering and get together kind of post! No app necessary, and you don't need to play in this post to apply - or vice versa.

☆ Everybody is welcome! There are no character limitations; pg au oc canon pigeon whatever. Just toss up a topcomment and/or jump any threads that pique your interest.

☆ This post will remain open until it begins to approach 5000 comments! Then a new test-drive post will be made.

☆ Rules-wise: Be cool to yourself and others, and keep in mind the other game rules too.

☆ If you do apply to the game and are accepted, and you want to keep the CR, you may so long as what you did isn't setting breaking and everyone involved agrees.


YOUR OPTIONS:

☆ You find yourself in the Heart of a ruined temple. There is a large glowing gem that thrums with some kind of rhythm, and jewels scattered all over the room, kept in strange bubbles. At the very least, touching the large gem will give you a standard info-dump, but some of you might be a little cautious about touching weird luminescent gems. Good thing that there are other people there too!

☆ Or perhaps you already know everything there is to know, and are there in the Heart of the Ruined Temple to greet new arrivals. Or perhaps you simply had business there already, like storing away a corrupted gem from a monster, when someone new seemingly dropped in from no where.

☆ It's Farmer's Market day in the plaza of Waverly Bay! Perhaps you're there perusing the goods and strike up conversation, or accidentally bump into someone and get to know them that way. It's a fairly standard day.

☆ There's an event! You don't really know what else to call them - missions, perhaps? But something in the temple was triggered, and the glowy Heart gem has something new to "tell" you: If you want a new power, you should try telling other people two truths and a lie. Those who you interact with must try and divine the lie from your statements.

You have no idea how something this simple will get you a power, but hey.

Comments

[lumpyspacegem]

[This is quickly becoming a game of gay chicken and Amethyst is too chill to stop it.]

This is the temple err...in a place called Waverly Bay.

It's like our temple except bigger, weirder and lots more gems live here.

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[When will this madness stop? ...Probably when Amethyst wants to move again. Peridot seems too distracted with everything else.]

Other gems? How many other gems? ...Are the other Crystal Clods here?

[lumpyspacegem]

[ Her face falls when Peridot brings them up and she looks away pouting]

Just me, Rose and Jasper. Garnet and Pearl aren't here anymore.

[Just stomp right on that conversational landmine Peri]

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[Stomp? She's going to parade into it and she won't even know.

Huh. Jasper's here? She'll have to erm... "catch up" sometime. Not that it requires immediate action. It can be done later.]

Oh, so your Rose is here? What about the hybrid? They could be great replacements for the fusion and Pearl.

[lumpyspacegem]

[ Welp, that's that then. She's just gonna promptly shove off the little ingrate.]

You can't just replace Garnet and Pearl! They're...they're Garnet and Pearl! I've known them all my life!

[Standing up and dusting herself off]

Yeah Steven's here. And his dad and his best friend. And if you try anything funny we'll pound you flat. Jasper's on our side now!

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[Wow, rude. Aren't you supposed to be friends or something? Wait, is shoving people off acceptable for friends to do?]

They aren't here for you and you seem to like the Rose and the hybrid.

[That second thing?]

...Jasper's... on your side...? What? That doesn't make sense. How'd you find Clodzilla anyway? I haven't seen her since you blew up my ship.

[lumpyspacegem]

It's not their fault they aren't here anymore!

[ Folding her arms defensively because she was totally gonna give you a chance Peri but you're already on thin ice]

She was already here when I got here. And she's from some other universe where she joined us instead of you losers. It's a whole story you can ask her yourself.

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[...Well... if Jasper's here... And how could she be on thin ice? She's not saying anything mean. She's only theorizing. Theorizing is good, right? Right!]

The Jasper probably shattered them if they couldn't help it. That's probably why you never saw them anymore. If you want to be angry, don't be angry at me again. ...Please don't.

[Peridot looks away a little at that last sentence.]

Different universe? Explain.

[lumpyspacegem]

[ She visually facepalms at Peridot thinking Jasper smashed them...but wait what was that last part? It cuts through some of her anger]

Again? You mean other then all the times we were trying to catch you and you were a huge pain in the butt?

[Right, well she can try]

OK imagine a universe where instead of Lapris being stranded on Earth as a mirror, Jasper got stranded on Earth as a box. Then Steven set her free and she devoted her life to protecting him.

[stopdestroyingmythings]

Would you get over that already!? I've been helping you for some time!

[Hey there, Amethyst. Did you notice that Peridot seems... smaller? And without those long limbs?]

That doesn't make any sort of sense. Jasper captured you all and I haven't seen Jasper or Lazuli for a long while. ...Different universe, huh?

...Oh! This is one of your jokes, isn't it?

[lumpyspacegem]

[It's taken her a few minutes]

OK hold on hold on...there's some weird time thing going on here.

[Abandoning her anger for a moment she needs somewhere to sit so she's just gonna grab Peridot by her stubby little hand and drag her towards the entrance to her room]

The same thing happened to me when I got here. I knew stuff that was supposed to have happened that nobody else knew. So we need to figure this out. THEN I can make a joke about it.

[ The room is a junkyard basically with random water falls and pools of water to spice up the piles of garbage and random stuff. Amethyst let's go of Peridot and plops onto a pile of clothes like a chair.]

The last thing I remember about you, was that we almost caught you but we got your leg instead and you flew off. Then what happened?

CW: Spoilers

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[Peridot's going to be squirming and yelling and munbling and flailing all the way until she gets thrown into the pile of clothes. Then she looks around, a little panicked. It takes a moment for her to calm down. What happened after that...?]

...W- well... I tried kidnapping your Steven so I can have him repair the Homeworld Warp, but it didn't work. Then you came and returned me to a true crystalized form. I reformed in your Gem Harvesting Room with your Steven. I managed to escape that, and...

Steven and I went to Kindergarden so I can show him what I know about The Cluster. He told me that you had to help, so I told you. Then we went to some barn to build something so we can get to The Cluster. That's basically where we are right now.

Re: CW: Spoilers

[lumpyspacegem]

[ She listens, nodding and looking unsure, but it does sound like something Steven would do.]

Alright I'm with you so far...what's a Cluster and why do we have to get to it?

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[Peridot grumbles in having to explain this thing a second time.]

It's a fusion of millions of gems deep in Earth crust. It's incubating right now, and I don't want to be around when it activates. When it does, it's going to destroy your earth and everything on it.

[Peridot looks around.]

...Do you have anything here that would be useful? ...My limb extensions?

[lumpyspacegem]

[Excuse her while she takes a moment to process that.]

Wow...glad we're not on Earth right now. At least not that Earth.

[She considers that for a moment]

Is that what you call those things you wear? I thought you just had funny arms and legs. Like a robot or something.

I don't have any of those...OH! Oh maybe your gem power can help! Have you figured out what it is yet?

[stopdestroyingmythings]

Gems can't be robots. And yes, that's what they are. They were a part of me until you clods took them away from me except for the gravity connector.

[Gem... power? Uh...]

...Gem... Power? I used my limbs for everything.

[lumpyspacegem]

Coulda fooled me.

[ A pleased grin. She stands up again hands on hips]

Well you don't have your limb whatevers anymore. All you've got is your gem. And the heart gem in there starts everyone off with one power! So we gotta figure out what yours is.

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[Peridot crosses her eyes up to look at the gem on her forehead.]

...I couldn't imagine what my... gem power... is...

[Cue cheesy 80s training montage?]

[lumpyspacegem]

Well don't worry, that's what you've got me here for.

[She grins wickedly drawing out her whip, it's probably best to montage the next bits as she chases Peridot around her room cracking the whip trying to trigger some kind of offensive or defensive power]

Come on Dottie! You got this!

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[MENTAL KEYSMASH AND MUCH RUNNING AWAY BEING TERRIFIED ENSUES WHAT IS PERIDOT'S LIFE.]

I should've stayed in Steven's expelling room!

[Yeah, Peridot's not even trying to activate her power.]

[lumpyspacegem]

Come on dork! Fight back! The gem wants to keep you in one piece!

[She'll change it up by rolling into a ball and chasing her between the piles of junk]

Dig deep!

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[Stoooooooooooop... She's going to be poofed, Peridot thinks, if this continues too longer.]

I- I can't! I can't! I don't have my limbs...! I can't do anything without them...!

[CAN SHE HIDE IN THIS PILE OF SOGGY, FLAT BOXES? SHE'LL DO THAT. OR TRY TO.]

[lumpyspacegem]

Yes you can!

[ CRASH! Here comes the Amethyst cannonball scattering the wet boxes and Peridot into the air. Lucky for Peri it'll take Amethyst a minute to recover from that as she stumbles around dizzy.]

[stopdestroyingmythings]

[But... but... she can't... She doesn't have her limbs. As soon as she lands, she looks over to Amethyst being dizzy. Amehtyst really believes in Peridot... But...

...

Peridot doesn't. She can't do her finger helicopter, she can't make her screens, she can't generate electricity, she can't fire plasma balls... She can't do anything.

She just sits on the ground and sorta kinda curls up into a ball.]

...I'm sorry I let you down. I'm such a failure.

[lumpyspacegem]

[ What is this strange feeling of guilt she has suddenly? She shakes some crud out of her hair and rubs her arm awkwardly before coming to sit down next to Peridot]

Nah you didn't let me down. You're just...new to this stuff.

[OK, this feels really uncomfortable but she's going to be honest with Peridot]

When I got here I felt like you do right now. The Heart Gem thing took away all my powers except for my whip. So that even Steven's nerdy friend was like...way stronger then me. She had like four different powers and I only had my whip.

I felt...really helpless.