#001 [open]

[ceruleanspid8r]

Characters: AU Vriska and the people who meet her (aka open)
Setting: Dorm 1-13 / Cafeteria / Exploring
Format: Starts action, but will follow
Summary: The tower has another new cerulean blood and she's not happy about it. Note: please specify if you're meeting her in/by her dorm, in the cafeteria or roaming the tower (in which case you get to pick where)
Warnings: Rage and swearing. Violence likely if provoked.

Dorm 1-13
[Anyone who happens to be passing - or to be inside - Dorm 1-13 when Vriska awakes will be treated to a loud, angry scream as she waits rather impatiently for the sleep paralysis to wear off. When she can finally move, there's more swearing as she takes in the unflattering outfit she's wearing. Soon, she'll notice the chest and change into something more appropriate. And it's then she notices the collar - in green, of all colours! Feel free to run into her either in the room or just as she's leaving it.]

Cafeteria
[This is actually Vriska's second visit to the cafeteria. Her last visit ended in the need to throw up so she's back, scowling as she eats some oatmeal and periodically tugging at the collar that just refuses to come off. There's no-one else at her table, though, if you dare approach]

Exploring the Tower
[Once fed, Vriska starts to roam the tower, on the hunt for anyone who can explain what's going on - whether this is a ploy to pull the blue-bloods into line or if something more unusual is afoot. She'll be taking in most of the floors at least in passing, her trusty cutlass in hand, so feel free to run into her anywhere]

Comments

[ceruleanspid8r]

Sure, if you want.

[She sheaths Mindfang for now, though her hand doesn't stray far enough that she can't grab it if this turns out to be a trap]

[guiltapalooza]

[Trolls are always so suspicious. Willow has decided to ignore it whenever possible, and hope that they'd figure out on their own that humans operated on different rules.

She leads them down another flight or two of stairs, and when they come out they end up on the floor that's composed of lounging furniture, the walls sheer glass windows looking out into the clouds. It's become her go-to floor for talking; the cloudy scenery is lulling, and the chairs and couches are comfortable. Willow sinks into one of them and gestures toward another that's across from her.]

Sit? [she suggests.] My name's Willow, by the way. And if you haven't run into one of us before, I'm a human.

[ceruleanspid8r]

[Vriska follows, close enough to not seem like she's trailing but not close enough to imply any kind of trust. When they arrive at the floor, she ignores the invitation to sit in favour of walking to one of the windows and staring out]

I know. There was one of you waiting for me when I woke up. Not that she was a huge amount of help...I think she was a she, anyway.

[guiltapalooza]

... Well, I'll try to do better than her. [She was really going to make Willow work for any ounce of friendliness at all, wasn't she?]

Can I have your name before I go spilling my guts to you about the tower?

[ceruleanspid8r]

[Oh yes. As an unknown quantity, Vriska's automatic response is to distrust.

But geez, apparently humans had this obsession with needing to know names before having useful conversation.]

You know, I can just as easily figure this place out myself. But fine. It's Vriska.

[guiltapalooza]

But this way you get to skip the fun parts, like hearing voices and running into yourself.

Which... I guess I can start with that. It seems like everyone here is pulled from different versions of reality-- not just different planets, but different universes or times. It also likes to take more than one of the same person, sometimes, but never more than two.

[ceruleanspid8r]

[Okay, that's a lot of stuff that makes no sense, sounds ridiculous or both but Vriska's going to focus on just one part of that]

Well I can get behind thinking someone's so awesome they need two of them but why only two?

[guiltapalooza]

[Shrug?] No clue. One of the mysteries of the tower, I guess.

Like... some of the floors might look okay, but have a secret trap about them. This one's alright as far as I know. But we have been getting a lot of weird, freaky monsters roaming around lately, too, so it's probably not possible to be too careful.

[ceruleanspid8r]

But if the traps are secret, what's to say this one just hasn't been sprung yet?

[Yep, guess who's going to be expecting the worst from all of the floors now. And yet, oddly, the part where there's monsters leaves her unphased]

Still, good to know they're not leaving our fighting skills go to waste. Nothing like a brawl to get the blood pumping, that's what I say.

[guiltapalooza]

You have a point, but if they are, they're a lot better hidden. Not like the time I spent a few hours in the forest and started hearing dead people. [Or rather... person, but Willow's definitely not about to get into that.]

... Brawling type, huh? [Her eyebrows go up. Somehow she's not surprised.] Not really my thing, but there is plenty of it here.

[ceruleanspid8r]

Dead people don't talk.

[Especially not when they're fed to her spiderlusus.]

Well, it's not for everyone. But having things I'm allowed to beat on is definitely a good thing.

[guiltapalooza]

Maybe not where you're from. Kind of a regular thing for me, just, usually they aren't disembodied when they do it.

[That was a little more understanding than Willow was frankly expecting from her. She starts revising her mental opinion.] Good for stress relief? [she suggests.] I usually use the library for that.

[ceruleanspid8r]

Maybe you're just whacked in the head like our Empress. She's all about the voices of the dead too.

[Vriska's all for understanding when the thing she's understanding is that not everyone is as awesome as she is]

Yeah well, books aren't going to keep the urges in check. And I'm not going down the poison route again, no matter how many hints this place drops.

[guiltapalooza]

I'm not whacked in the head. [She rolls her eyes.] I thought of that. A couple other people confirmed it for me, that it'd happened to them, too. So it's definitely the tower, and not just me.

Books at least help keep the urges in check, [Willow counters firmly,] at least for me. But what exactly is the, uh, poison route? Cause I think I agree with any and all lack of poisoning.

[ceruleanspid8r]

Or maybe you're all insane.

[And as if that weren't enough to score some unfriendly points, there's a derisive snort to go with the comment about books being a cure for violence. Something no pure blue or purple would consider as a possibility.

At the question about the poison route, Vriska throws the bottle of sopor pills in Willow's general direction]

Weaned myself off 'em a long time ago and I have no intention of getting hooked again.

[guiltapalooza]

Pretty sure it isn't that one, thanks. Unless you'd like to join the ranks of the crazy.

[Willow fumbles the catch, startled, and has to retrieve it from her lap. She examines it with a trace of apprehension, but is unable to read the script on it, of course.] ... Good on you, [she says finally, glancing up and meaning it.] I know how hard that can be to do. What are they?

[ceruleanspid8r]

Well it's never strictly been proven that I'm not already there.

[Of course, in her world "crazy" is relative]

They're sopor pills. Calms the violent urges so that when the highbloods decide they want rid of you, you're too whacked-out to fight back.

[guiltapalooza]

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, how about that?

--Sopor, like for sleeping? [She looks more interested now, but also grim at that description.] Man, I didn't think it was actually possible for me to dislike this highblood/lowblood thing more than I did before, but look at that, you've proved me wrong.

[ceruleanspid8r]

Sure, if you want.

[Not like she cares either way]

That's its original purpose, yes. But bit tricky to make sure your new world order sticks when the ones you're trying to shut down are more naturally violent than you are. Obviously poisoning us is the way to go.

[guiltapalooza]

[And then belatedly, it clicks in her head. Her eyes fly wide, and she blurts out with,] Wait, you're blue but you're on the other end?

Are you-- you must be from Eridan's world! Seadwellers are on the bottom where you're from, right? [Whoops, suddenly like ten times more excited to be talking to her.]

[ceruleanspid8r]

[Well that's odd. But not overly unexpected after her conversations in the cafeteria.]

If Eridan's the fin-face I ran into before then yeah, we're from the same world.

[guiltapalooza]

That's him. But could you ix-nay on the insulting nicknames? He's my boyfriend, and I'd be obligated to get all huffy at you.

[Clearly a dire threat.]

[ceruleanspid8r]

[Oh yeah. She's shaking at that threat, Willow. Real threatened here]

Please. That's not even me trying to be insulting. If that's the worst he's ever been called then he's pretty blessed for a sea dweller.

[guiltapalooza]

I know that, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it. That's why I was telling you in advance, [she stresses.]

[ceruleanspid8r]

[She rolls her eye at that]

Fine, jeez. Honestly I don't care enough to come up with anything worse because, wait for it, he's actually not important enough for me to think about all too often.