004 → All hail the insect queen

[wrigurun]

Characters: Wriggle Nightbug, Open
Setting: Floor 41
Format: Post in action, tags in prose or action
Summary: Wriggle takes a short tour of the new rooms. There's one in particular which catches her eye.
Warnings: Insects and the likelihood of Wriggle being a massive creep.

[Being back in her repaired dormitory was an odd feeling. With repairs completed she was eager to see the status of the meadow and forest that she so often inhabited. Not even caring to check what was in her trunk (she had everything she needed on her person) Wriggle made her way to the stairwell

Almost as soon as she set foot on the next floor down she could tell something was wrong. Even with her short memory she could tell that this wasn't here before. The urge to look and see what was in the cells was almost too much but the stairwell distracted her as Wriggle wondered if the rest of the tower had changed. What if the forests were gone? What if there was nowhere left in the tower that was a suitable insect habitat? No, no that couldn't happen! Wriggle flew down the stairs, skipping over the barred room and almost skipping the one after.

Something caught her attention. It was very slight, a twitch in her antenna. Her curiosity overtaking her, she'd suddenly forgotten all about checking the rest of the tower. Wriggle drifted in, her sense of movement increasing. It was everywhere, vaguely unsettling but at the same time rather familiar. Reaching out to touch the walls she felt something crawl onto her hand. There was nothing unfamiliar about that. Brining her hand closer to her face she tried to get a better look at what it was.

A common garden variety centipede. So all that movement was... oh.

Oh.

Hell

Fucking

YES! ❤

Wriggle had not been this excited since she arrived at the tower. Making her way furthur into the room she reveled in the company of her newfound companions. A throne room fit for insect royalty such as herself. They chorused at her command and bent and shifted at her will.

This floor belonged to her]

Comments

[isthatashortjoke]

A constant grumble could be heard in the crawling halls and in the distance you could see a faint glow that grew brighter as it got closer. Once in view one could see the resident short grand and powerful Veigar making his way through the hall with a sour expression on his face... Well as expressive as the glowing eyes and mouth could be.

"Low maintenance, pathetic defenses and now they can't even keep the blasted tower cleaned! WHERE ARE THE DAMNED JANITORS IN THIS WRETCHED PLACE!"

Veigar scoffed and continued his undeterred walk. It appeared as if the bugs were clearing the way due to his magnificent presence! And not because he was clearly abusing magic for mundane things like making a path through the halls.

"I'll make sure to place a complaint about this squirming hovel! They'll hear me out!"

[wrigurun]

No sooner had he finished speaking, he was accosted by a small swarm of flying ants. Nothing harmful, they were clearly sent to annoy.

"What are you calling a squirming hovel?"

No more than a few metres away sat Wriggle in what appeared to be a throne formed out of insects. Through her annoyed expression there was a faint sense of cockiness as she regarded Veigar as if he were an intruder.

[isthatashortjoke]

"Away with you you gnats!" Veigar called out as a show of forced pushed anything away from him.

It was the voice that peaked his interest simply because whoever decided to reside in this place must be lacking sense.

"You. Are you a native of the tower... or just one of the poor beings who got dragged into this wretched place?"

[wrigurun]

"What's it to you?" she demanded of him. Crossing one leg over the other her face began to be lit by an eerie glow as fireflies started to float around her.

Noting the force he used to push her welcome party away, Wriggle became slightly more wary of him. She'd thought it strange when the bugs seemed to part for him. Could it be that he was the same as her.

[isthatashortjoke]

"WELL AREN'T YOU RUDE?!" .... Veigar... you should talk about being rude.

"It matters because it'll make the difference between an odd chat in the middle of squirm central or me COMPLETELY OBLITERATING YOU AND THIS ENTIRE FLOOR!" he boasted with a powerful aura.

"I'm not too fond of those that brought us to this place to be guinea pigs so I've been looking to let them know exactly that."

[wrigurun]

That same aura caused Wriggle to lurch from her seat, which promptly melted away from under her leaving her floating in midair. Insects started to swarm as she reached for one of her spellcards, readying to whip it out if need be.

There was no reason for her cockiness to cause danger for her friends.
"I'm not with them! I was bought from a different world!" Wriggle stated, staring down her unwelcome visitor. If he was looking to pick a fight she would gladly give him one.

Just anywhere but here.

[isthatashortjoke]

A sly grin crossed over Veigar's features and he took a step forward. A caster huh? Or at least some form of magic user. That would be the biggest advantage if they did get into a fight as caster as his preferred and easiest prey.

However, he wasn't here to fight, especially not one who wasn't an owner of their glorified prison.

"I see, very well, you are safe then." he replied nonchalantly as he moved forward again.

"But tell me? What exactly are you doing sitting in one of their many trapped floors? Are you awaiting death so eagerly? You do know that most of the 'themes' of each floor are just a facade for what really lurks in the dark waiting to eliminate you for their twisted experiments right?"

[geometry]

[Bugs. Bugs everywhere. Bugs on the floor; bugs on the ceiling; bugs on the staircase; bugs on hiS ARM OH MY GOD GET THEM OFF.]

[So maybe now would be a bad time to mention one of Equius' many... problems. Bugs. Bugs are A Problem. Technically anything that's less than air-vacuum clean is a Problem, but for the most part he got over that as soon as he saw the frog-infested swampland that was the Land of Lotus and Frogs. He got over water and most natural objects, with the little croakbeasts everywhere. But there was one thing that he absolutely could not stand under any circumstances, and that thing was bugs.]

[He didn't want to step off the staircase, just because look at the floor in that room; it was crawling with the stuff. At least here he could see the floor, and that meant he could squash a few of them without more crawling up his leg. So this is what he does, squashing and flailing and trying to kick them back down, until he notices a familiar figure in the distance. Oh my god. Wriggle. Fucking Wriggle. Of course she would find her way in here. Oh my god. So, being totally helpful as usual, Equius called to her from the stairs.]

Get out of there!!

[He wouldn't have held it against her if she thought he was a girl by the sound of his voice.]

[wrigurun]

[Being just as unhelpful, all Wriggle can do is smile and wave]

Hey Equius!

[At least until she sees the crushed corpses of many insects beneath his feet. Her memory may be a little short and she may be a little scatterbrained but she's by no means stupid. Furrowing her brow she sends the command and a swarm of bugs scatter out from the main room, engulfing his feet and trying to drag him in]

It's really rude to kill my friends you know!

i am so sorry

[geometry]

[...]

[If Equius could hear her question, he certainly would have answered, but he couldn't. He was too busy screaming and clinging to something, anything, that would stop these bugs from dragging him into a feufruigbiturgh3uitfctrubegifirtuhgjkdhjiigtgjifehuirhg SYSTEM ERROR SYSTEM ERROR SYSTEM ERROR]

Equius you precious baby

[wrigurun]

[Honestly, she should have expected that reaction but it really does frighten her. Calling back her insect foot soldiers she makes sure to clear the area around his feet from anything that could get killed. Swarms of bugs lift to meet her feet at each step as she makes her way across the room to him]

C-come on Equius, calm down. I mean you completely deserved it but please stop screaming. Equius? Equius? Hey, can you hear me?

his life is quality

[geometry]

[Yeah, she kind of really should have. It took a while for Equius to realize that the bugs were gone, but after he did, he began to calm down... slowly. He looked up and saw Wriggle again, closer this time, not even bothered at all by the bugs; they just stood on helpfully, making a clear circle around her feet.]

D-did... did... d-d-d...

[What a dip.]

[wrigurun]

Did...?

[She leans a little closer, as if trying to read the answer on his face. Really, the circle around them was more for the safety of the bugs but a semi-almost-not really-coherent Equius was also a plus]

[geometry]

D-did you... do that?

[He was still pressed flat against the spine of the staircase, looking at Wriggle the insect queen with wide eyes.]

[septette]

[Doop doop don't mind her flying by the new floors and--

1) hello there is a room made of bugs

2) is that...the bug girl from Gensokyo? The one from the moon incident?]

Wriggle?!

[If she was drinking something, she would be spitting it out.]

[wrigurun]

Who's there!?

[The voice doesn't seem particularly familiar. Wriggle whips round to see who it is, but she doesn't particularly remember their face either]

extreme backtagging as discussed 8|;;

[septette]

[She scowls, putting her hands on her hips. Of course it's Remilia you silly bug. Remilia with heterochromia. Remilia with full-body burn scars. Remilia with a torn wing.

Nah even if she was normal-looking...]

It's me, dummy. Remilia Scarlet. From Gensokyo?

[wrigurun]

Oh! You're the-

[She grinds to a halt and you can practically see the gears turning in her head. Wriggle knows she's seen Remilia from somewhere... maybe. There's something vaguely familiar about her but she can't quite place it]

...ghost?

[So close...]

[septette]

[Sigh]

The vampire.

[wrigurun]

[For a moment she seems kind of lost, searching in her mind for the exact match. Suddenly her face lit up again in realization]

I remember now! You were with the shrine maiden!

[Still not quite getting it... But her expression switches to one that's a lot more cocky]

Are you here for another round? I won't lose this time!

[septette]

[........oh my god no why is she stuck with the bug the bug is too stupid for her own good SHE'D EVEN SETTLE FOR CIRNO, AT LEAST CIRNO REMEMBERED NAMES AND FACES]

The maid.

And no, I don't really want to fight you.

[hystericull]

[Oh, fuck.]

[Had he gotten lost again? What the fuck was this floor?]

[Gamzee stepped off of the staircase (rather gingerly, seeing as he was dragging his broken, nasty ankle behind him) onto the... crunchy... floor of this level. He'd certainly been around this height of the Tower before, and he certainly did not remember anything like this being here. Even if his memory was useless as it was, shot to hell and back a thousand times over, he'd still have some vague recollection of being here. ...Wouldn't he?]

[It didn't matter. He continued on, unfazed by the scritch-scritch-scritching and jerky rustling of unseen critters. It was only when he was pretty deep into the room did he notice two things. One, this room was crawling with bugs. Two, there was a little shorty fairy he'd grown to know sharing the space with him.]

[Their last encounter... well, to be honest, he didn't really remember much of it. It was right before his great Psychopathic Freakout which totally was not embarrassing to everyone involved and everyone who had happened to be in the library while the Tower was collapsing. Hopefully she hadn't been in there at the time to witness that pathetic display. One could only hope.]

[Play it cool. Fuck, like there was any other way he could play this. He had been substantially and quite effectively chilled the fuck out since then. This was one of the few times he'd actually unglued himself from Karkat long enough to go to a floor on his own. He still felt pretty nervous about it, truth be told. Seeing Wriggle here helped a little, though.]

First girl I all seen in this motherfuckin' place what's ain't all bein' afraid of these little dudes.

[wrigurun]

[Near the back of the room sat Wriggle on a small pedestal of insects. The fireflies nearby offered their glow as she carefully studied the bugs in her hand. Considering the number of insects in the room it would be impossible to identify all of them but it would be nice to have an idea of what was living here.

At the sound of Gamzee's voice she lifted her head. She was a little unsure of how to respond. The memories she had of him were conflicting for sure but she couldn't remember which one happened when. He seemed pretty okay though, at least he wasn't yelling. With a small smile she rose from her seat and drifted over. The ground under his feet became slightly uneven for a second as she instructed the bugs under his feet to not let him fall through]

Well, I am an insect myself.

I don't see why everyone's afraid of them, they're harmless if you don't try and hurt them.

[hystericull]

[Oh, fuck, he was this close to faceplanting as she shifted those bugs around beneath him. Gamzee was arguably pretty great at keeping steady - contortionism, balance, skills of that nature were some of the only things he was actually good at, which was probably the only thing that saved him from making an utter fool out of himself.]

Debatable.

[He grinned devilishly, a few fangs poking over his lip.]

Wait, wait, wait. I thought you all was to be tellin' in a motherfucker that you all was a fuckin' fairy bitch or some shit what's fuckin' like that?

[wrigurun]

[By now the insects had settled, forming a barrier to stop him getting sucked into the abyss. Wriggle had almost suffered that fate but of course, she had the means to prevent it. That grin made her uneasy but she tried her best not to show it and keep up with what he was saying as best she could]

Y-you were the one who keeps calling me a fairy. I told you, I'm a firefly!