[OPEN] i don't need love, for what good will love do me?

[slapfight]

Who: Peridot AND YOU
Where: This mysterious neon land that belongs to no one. no one at all.
When: Throughout the event.
Rating: PG
Summary: Peridot gets a few things she's always wanted and screams about singing being the answer to everything.
The Story:


𝐚. 𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞

This is... Odd. Peridot's not used to odd, even with Wonderland being as it is. She just can't get her head around all these warped monstrosities that keep trying to befriend or offer her things. For the most part, she's skulking about in an agitated mood, because events are stupid, but at least most of them make some measure of sense. This one is just... stupid.

But it isn't all stupid, as she comes to find out. She stakes out a spot underneath a stuffed animal tree which seems to have sprouted a number of big-eyed green beings that make her eyes widen in wonder.

And then, all of a sudden, a huge shadow passes over her. The owner of the shadow is a giant yellow woman. Peridot yelps and skitters backwards until she hits the trunk of the stuffed animal tree, but the woman only clasps her hands to her chest and kneels- even kneeling she's still taller than the tree.

"Oh, my Peridot," she croons in a voice that is authoritative, yet somehow also compassionate. "You're right. You've always been right. I have been a dreadful clod. I want daily logs on all your findings and I will implement all your ideas straight away. You're going to usher in a new era of Homeworld."

Peridot lets out a squeak and looks around until she spies someone else who seems to have come to investigate the GIANT WOMAN. "Do you... Do you see this?" She looks so transfixed, so delighted. Please someone tell her this is real.


𝐛. 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐞𝐯'𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐞

Peridot has been of two minds this entire event- torn between getting everything she wants and knowing it's all just a program tapping into her needs. That said, she isn't expecting the sudden shift in the event, and it makes her want to stamp her feet and scream about these stupid locals and their stupid fixation on zombies.

Once she knows what she has to do, she's even more annoyed. She has found a portable karaoke machine and is running around with it dragging behind her as she's pursued by a horrifying zombie dog. She's screaming loudly the whole time.

She's hard to miss.

𝐜. 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝

[WHATEVER ELSE YOU MIGHT WANT DURING THE EVENT.]

Comments

b.

[determinedest]

FIGHTing back, they already know, won't do much. Dipper's announcement stated as much, which means they need at least two other people to ensure that they can make sure these particular zombies don't hurt anyone else.

Peridot has fortunately already located a karaoke machine, even if the little canid trotting behind her isn't giving her much chance to use it. Frisk activates their shield with a blitz of gold light and, in a movement they've been practicing for quite a while yet, deftly hurls the thing so the rim of the disc clonks the little dog right across the head.

...the shield was supposed to boomerang back to them after that, but that's okay. That's good enough. The poor thing is disoriented enough by the impact, giving them ample time to scoop up their shield and flick it off before stretching out an open, eager hand in Peridot's direction.

"We have to go."

[slapfight]

"Frisk!" Peridot grabs a hold of their hand without even the slightest hesitation and without missing a step in her fleeing, begins dragging them along. "We need higher ground or-or something. And another person. Hnngh. I need to find Lapis."

She's mostly vomiting stream of conscious stuff. The zombies aren't even a threat to her, because she doesn't have brains, but because she's chosen to deny the wonders of this brightly colored hell, they're still coming after her. They might still be able to poof her, and she did make a promise to Lapis she wouldn't let it happen again.

"Why does it have to be singing?"

[determinedest]

“You have perfect pitch,” says Frisk, apparently puzzled as to Peridot’s frustration with the requisite method of defeat but nonetheless allowing themself to be tugged along. Shouldn’t she be excellent at that? Then again, maybe the lack of a third person to their ensemble puts a stop to that.

They really do need to find Lapis.

“Can they eat you?” And, by extension, Lapis?

[slapfight]

"I know! And singing is fine! But it's supposed to be for fun- a solution without a problem! It doesn't do anything else!" This is illogical and not at all what she was taught. She never believed she'd have to use her perfect pitch to save her own life.

She makes another agitated noise. "No, but they can damage us enough to poof us. And Lapis and I have an agreement that we're never ever going to allow that to happen to one of us again."

[determinedest]

There’s a lot to unpack here.

They’re rather certain that no one sets out to be intentionally poofed, though they could be wrong. It wasn’t their assumption that Peridot ever put herself to n harm’s way deliberately, either. But the fact that they made a promise implies it was foreseeable as a genuine problem. But why?

It didn’t sound much like death at all.

“But Wonderland doesn’t do logic.” AS IF SHE NEEDED THE REMINDER.

[slapfight]

"I KNOW." Why does she ever, ever think that things will be different? "Every time I think there's some sort of internal logic, I get proven wrong again. Of course, if it's really reading our minds that makes entirely too much- oof." She almost trips dragging the karaoke machine and scowls at it, letting go and raising her hand so it can float behind them. She doesn't miss much of a step doing it either. Running for your life has that effect.

"See? I'm so discombobulated I forgot I have metal powers!"

[determinedest]

At least it'll make running from the zombies easier.

"I'm pretty sure it's Gravity Falls' fault this time." So at least there's that; zombies that are vulnerable only to a very specific kind of harmony sounds like the arbitrary sort of rule that would apply to the creatures of Gravity Falls. It makes them only slightly more tolerable than ordinary zombies, but that much more difficult to dispatch.

a

[punful]

[There is...a giant over here. Pretty much everyone is taller than Sans, but this is, wow, on a whole different level. And normally Sans would avoid the everloving fuck out of this whole situation, just given the nature of the event, but he sees a small, familiar green dot (haha) at the giant's feet. Welp. The good thing about people that big is they tend to be fairly slow--and if nothing else, Sans can still teleport.]

[Hopefully neither Peridot or the giant yellow lady will mind Sans sidling up from out of nowhere. And hopefully they won't mind the weird cloud of what appears to be the cosmos that's trailing behind him, full of galaxies and stars and comets and planets and other such nonsense.]

hey, uh, yeah. i see it. is she, uh. usually that tall?

[slapfight]

[On the contrary, the conjuration of Yellow Diamond seems absolutely delighted by this new arrival, and Peridot looks between her and Sans like she isn't sure if it's appropriate to introduce them.

She errs on the side of not, speaking in a hushed voice to Sans- if anything she wants to gauge what happens if she ignores her Diamond. This feels so right and so wrong at the same time.]

Of course. What else would you expect from gem matriarchs? [She scoots closer and gulps.] Sans, I don't know what to do about this.

[punful]

[She's even taller up close, and this is completely horrifying. He hates when people can just loom like that.]

gem matriarch...

[He's pretty sure she's mentioned that. Something about the diamonds.]

guess that, uh. makes her your boss?

[He gives the yellow giant a faint grin and a wave. Then he lowers his voice and turns back to Peridot. Hopefully the giant's hearing isn't so good from way up there.]

you, uh. you know this is some kinda...dream world, right? i don't think much of this is--uh, real.

[slapfight]

Former. [Said in an even lower voice. Yellow Diamond, meanwhile, waves back, clearly oblivious, because that's what Peridot would want.]

Well, of course, it's not real. [Peridot's concept of "whisper voice" doesn't quite last very long. that's more like "normal inside voice."] Nothing in Wonderland is real. But that doesn't change how events work. Something is going to happen.

[The Yellow Diamond behind her slowly narrows her eyes and looks down at the two of them, becoming progressively more stern. Something's up.]

[punful]

[Sans's eyelights flick up toward the giant again and he catches the expression on her face changing. He's starting to think this is the sort of dream world that doesn't want you to wake up.]

easy, uh--not so loud. but yeah, it seems like it's...sorta manufacturing whatever we want. like the closets do, but on a way--

[He grins and glances up at the giant again.]

--heh, bigger scale.

[slapfight]

So what happens if I say I don't want it? [She at least goes back to a whisper, but the damage is already done.] ...You don't think it's like the Shadows, do you?

[That happy little stuffed alien tree is suddenly struck by lightning, burning instantly to the ground. Peridot whirls around to see that Yellow Diamond has gotten back to her feet.

"What is this complete lack of gratitude, Peridot?" The way she says Peridot, and not her identification code grips her in a way she can't explain, especially when compared to the sudden coldness. "I'm offering you everything you could possibly want and you're just going to squander it?"

Peridot squeaks and grabs Sans' hoodie tightly.]

It's exactly like the Shadows.

wildcard cause I'm doing a thing

[ssmisery]

[This event is definitely going south. The zombies have upgraded from occasional inconvenience to official outbreak. (AGAIN.) And now of all times, Lapis is MIA. So it may be a relief to at least get a text from her.]

Are you all right?

[slapfight]

LAPIS! THERE YOU ARE. Are you okay?
Have the zombies gnawed on you? Do you know we have to defeat them by singing?

[NONE OF THIS IS AN ANSWER.]

[ssmisery]

I'm fine.
Tell me you didn't answer this while in immediate danger, at least.

[slapfight]

Of course not. I'm completely safe. I'm in a tree.

[ssmisery]

Okay. [Maybe not great, but what does she know, she's not there.]
Look, I don't know what's going on where you are, so if it's actually dangerous I'm trusting your judgment.

[slapfight]

[after a period of silence]

THE TREE WAS A BAD PLAN. IT TURNED EVIL. WHY IS THIS EVENT SO TERRIBLE? AT LEAST OTHER EVENTS ARE STRAIGHTFORWARD ABOUT LYING TO ME.

b!

[jamminshield]

[It's not long before there's a curly-haired boy frantically running nearby and trying to catch up to her.]

Peridooot! I don't think that karaoke machine has any scream metal on it!

[slapfight]

[Peridot doesn't know what scream metal is, but she hears metal and realizes she's been dragging this stupid thing by hand. She stops- both to let Steven catch up to her and to start levitating the darn thing.]

I almost forgot. See, Steven? It is made of metal. [That's an interpretation of what he said, I guess. Not that it's doing much good against the horde of zombified neon wonders coming at them.]

[jamminshield]

No, I mean- ...Well, yeah, you are right... [There's little use in explaining the misunderstanding right now.]

But it's great that you have that! That means we can sing! Sing our troubles away!

[slapfight]

It was only supposed to be a solution without a problem! I never thought it would be a solution to a problem. [She makes an exasperated noise and grabs a hold of Steven's hand, dragging him towards a convenient hidey hole where the pursuing brightly colored zombies might not see them.] See? This is the kind of madness we deal with in Wonderland all the time.

[jamminshield]

W-well, the more you know? [He offers meekly and then is dragged along to that convenient hiding spot! Then he hunches over near Peridot.]

O-okay, this is definitely turning out to be one of the less happy events. I never thought that there would be zombies here... Are you alright, Peridot? [He has no ideas if zombies can affect gems, but he might as well check up on her anyway.]

[slapfight]

I'm so tired of running. [The agonized caterwaul in her words makes it hard to take her seriously. She is nothing if not overly dramatic.] First it was Yellow Diamond, and now it's this.