vatheon | New Arrival

Entry tags:

New Arrival

Who: Sollux Captor and ANYONE!
Where: By the coral
When: Today
Format: Starting in prose but I'm happy to follow your lead
Status: Open as Sollux' gaping ocular sockets

He was killing himself. He could feel it in the intense pain that exploded across his think pan like someone was jabbing two culling forks through his eye sockets and then wiggling them around inside his brain.

He was sure he had killed himself. He sort of hoped he had killed himself, because living with that kind of damage was going to suck serious hoofbeast testicles.

And then he'd expected to hopefully find himself safe and sound in the bubbles, where he could spend eternity reliving the few good moments he'd had in his short life and leave the universe-saving and misery to someone else. What he hadn't expected was a whole lot of water, and confusion and a lot of voices, none of which were familiar. It sounded like he'd suddenly landed himself in the middle of a city.

Frightened and confused, he pushed himself up, coughing up a lungful of sea water and yellow blood, and felt around helplessly, searching for something, anything familiar. "Hello?" he called out, but not too loud. Karkat, Kanaya, Terezi and Gamzee had been right there. Why wasn't anyone saying anything to him?

"What happened?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sollux lets Karkat guide him, leaning on him trustingly as they walk, and not letting go until he's sitting on the bench.]

Considering my vision globes are little lumps of charcoal, I'm probably going to be bumbling around like an idiot anyway, you know. What kinds of things do you have here that you couldn't have back home?

I'm speaking in the knowledge sense, moron, not the literal.

[This is not exactly the most comfortable of circumstances, him sitting now somewhat wet and bloody after being leaned on as he was. The blood in particular makes his stomach equivalent do a funny turn, but that fact that it's yellow, not red, keeps him from freaking out. He breathes out, and sets his gaze instead to the form of the coral.]

I have friends here I never could have met there. ... I have quadrants beyond the whole moirallegiance with Gamzee. [Ahem.] I have a hive here that's not a bunch of metal hallways in a lab, and I don't have to share it with the whole team. I have memories here, good ones, and a lot of experiences that have taught me shit I might not have learned otherwise. I've basically built a life here, Sollux, because I've been stuck here that long, and I don't want to lose it.

[Not really what he meant about telling him important stuff, but the question isn't a bad one. A little digression is okay, and really, he's missed just getting to chat with him.]

[Sollux listens to this quietly, and smiles. He and Karkat always teased each other as friends, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care. He cares a lot, and it's nice to actually hear Karkat sounding happy for once. Almost enough to make him forget about the migraine pounding at his temples]

It's about time you had a life - not like you had one before. [he nudges Karkat in the shoulder with his own, grinning] I'm glad you're happy. So you have quadrants? Did you and TZ get over your retarded issues, finally?

[For all he may have missed that teasing, though, it's still annoying. He elbows him back for that.]

Terezi's not even here and hasn't been for months. We--I--it's not your business anyway. You'd just laugh and call me a dumbass or something like that, and I'm not looking to spill my romantic history all over the place, let alone in public.

[He raises an eyebrow] Are you serious? You're not going to tell me?

[Karkat frowns heavily, but of course the gesture means nothing when Sollux can't see it.]

Ughhh. Fine. I was with Terezi for a while last year - a year is a human time measurement a little less than half a sweep long - but then she... got sent back, and things... happened, and now I'm not, basically.

[Which is still not a full answer, and he knows it.]

[Wow, you're not being suspicious at all, Karkat. Sollux slips his arm around Karkat's shoulders]

And...now who are you with? What the fuck, kk, are you pailing Equius or something?

[The way Karkat's posture goes tense and rigid should be telling.]

No, no, we're not pailing, we're not that old, we--

[Wait.]

Shit. Fuck.

[Both hands come up to cover his face, and he answers in a mumbled rush:] He'smykismesisokayandIhaveamatepsritbutit'snothim.

What?

[Sollux' jaw is in his lap]

You're kismeses with the sweaty pervert? Who's your matesprit?

It's better than pitying that disgusting shitlicker, isn't it?

[He glares sideways, huffy and indignant. But that still leaves the main question, which it doesn't look like he's going to be able to dodge forever. And really, it might be better to get it out of the way first.]

Because I know you're going to freak out no matter how I answer, let me preface this with the disclaimer that a lot has happened here. When I say "it's a long story," I mean it is one, and no, I have not gone crazy nor am I on slime or anything else.

It's... [A deep, steadying breath.] It's--Eridan. And no, I'm not going to force you to like him, since you have all the reason in the the multiple universes to hate him for what he did. He's not exactly fond of you either. But he's--he's better than he was, he's grown and changed and gotten better, and the worst weapon he has here is a dart gun version of his Crosshairs.

That's for sure. [Sollux just can't even. No. Equius is big and sweaty and annoying and Sollux can totally relate to hating him, though his own feelings are far too confused to really say that he'd be interested in that kind of thing.

But then it gets worse.]

You're matesprits with that salt-licker?

Would you shut up? I told you, it's complicated, but I have reason. Shouldn't that be enough?

[He draws in a breath and lets it out]

It's enough, and it's complicated, blah, blah. Doesn't mean I can't be shocked. I mean, fuck, maybe it's been a long time for you, but the last time I saw that asshole's smirking face, it was right before he burned out my eyes, killed my matesprit, and doomed our race.

[Again he sighs and gives Karkat a squeeze]

You have shitty taste, but we're still friends, okay?

[Karkat lets out a sigh at that, obviously relieved.]

Good. And I know that, don't think I don't. Why do you think I was so reluctant to say it?

[Aside from the usual shyness.]

And I told you before, hate him for it you want to hate him for it. I can't say I've never hated him for what he did, myself. But before he was in this quadrant, he was my moirail for a long time, and I drilled into him not to ever fuck up like that again. So no killing him, no blinding him - he already is in one eye - and no breaking him otherwise, understand?

Because you're a dumbass.

[He scowls a bit at this lecture]

Right, because revenge has done so much good for me in the past. Look, yeah, I do hate him. But he did me a favour by blinding me, to be honest. And if you can forgive him...[Sigh] Then I suppose I won't give him too hard a time. Okay?

[Karkat nudges him for that.] No I'm not, jackass.

At least you have sense enough there.

But we have gotten way far off-topic. If you're done butting into who I have in my quadrants, let's get back to this place and explanation.

First off, like I told you earlier, this is Vatheon. We were brought here by scientists, who largely refuse to show themselves in any way, though there is one I've spoken to on a couple occasions. I'm not entirely sure of the behind it either, but in any case they're using us for experiments through these things called curses. They happen roughly every other week, though that's not a hard and fast rule, but even if they miss a week they pretty much always start when Sunday turns into Monday. What they are is these random events or effects - things like changing species, changing age, getting followed around by a literal thought bubble, things turning into a real life RPG in a way different than Sgrub, hats that change the wearer's personality, rumors coming true... There's other stuff too, but basically, it's completely random and there's no way to predict what it's going to be.

You following me so far?

[Though he lets his head rest against Karkat's shoulder, he listens intensely.]

So even though the people here experiment on us, it's still better than where we came from?

Just how exhausted are you?

[The continued leaning doesn't get ignored, after all.]

But yes, it is. Most of the time they're bearable enough. Annoying, yes, but not the worst that could happen. Other times there are invasions, which happen maybe every few months, but they're less... scheduled than the curses. Those I don't know the cause of, but there's been ghost pirates, scalebeasts the humans call dinosaurs, rotting fish monsters, and a big tentacled thing called a Kraken. How long they last depends how quick it takes people to find out how to get rid of them, but the city recovers alright. The trick is to just be careful when they happen, find a safe place if where you are isn't enough, and just be sensible.

But most life is pretty peaceful. Hives, hivestems, and any other place you might want to stay are completely free, as are food, clothing, and even unimportant stuff, so long as it's local. Obviously you can't see it, but there should be a curled mark on you somewhere, which marks the people from other worlds. So long as you have that, that lets the shopkeepers know you're a foreigner.

The exception to that are things sold in shops in this district called the Nostalgia Nook - the humans named it, not us - which sell things from people's homeworlds. GrubMart has troll stuff and an alchemiter, for example. Anything there costs Starfish Tokens, which are kept track of by a card you should have with you, and can be earned by working a local job here. But it's entirely possible to get by comfortably without even bothering with that place.

Really exhausted. But...I want to hear this. [Though despite himself, he finds himself fighting a doze as Karkat continues to talk. Even still, he is determined not to fall asleep, and the mention of the Nostalgia Nook has him snickering himself fully awake again.

He sits up.] Sounds pretty straightforward. And not too bad, I guess. So... since I'm a useless blind lump, I need a place to stay.

Edited 2012-03-24 05:29 (UTC)

Well hold on a sec, let me see if there's anything else I need to add. There's a lot.

[He makes little motions with his hands as he thinks, almost counting them off to himself as he mumbles.]

Hives, money, death, Lamufao... You can figure out the SFC yourself... The fairies haven't been around for a while... Time shenanigans--okay, I started on those, but there's a bit more to it. There's no way to predict when someone's going to come here or get taken back to their world. You've been here a couple times yourself, though you obviously don't remember it. That's normal. Usually people don't if they've been gone a long while. When you go back, things continue like you were never gone, and you don't remember anything of your time here.

And just because you have been here before doesn't guarantee what part of the timeline you'll be from when they bring you back, either. You went back and went blind once, but the most recent time you were here before this, you were typing like you did before that happened. And even if you do go back briefly, then get brought here quick enough to remember this place, how long you spent in the Veil won't necessarily equal the time you are absent from this place. Like a quarter sweep back I got sent to the Veil for maybe a few hours, but when I showed up here, five days had gone by.

There's also random comas that hit people from time to time, also unpredictable. When that happens, they're just stuck asleep for a while, don't need food or anything. The only thing to do is to wait until they wake up, and when they do, they're fine.

[Another pause as he thinks, looking around...]

Then while this city is the main thing, there's also an island. You can reach it via this elevator, and it's a long ride, but that's the only way. There's barriers a fair distance away so you can't just fly somewhere else or sail a boat somewhere, either. There's an abandoned village up there, a forest, a lighthouse on the other side of the island, but not much important. I think it's called Fasest, unless that's the name of the planet itself... or just the village, though that's less likely. I'm not really sure. Either way people just call it the island and have done with it.

Any questions on that?

[Sollux yawns and shakes his head. Holy shit, Karkat, this is worse than the walls of text in your memos. But he appreciates that Karkat cares enough that he feels he needs to know everything instantly. It's dorky, but adorable.]

Maybe I'll think of some questions later, but to be honest, it all seems clear to me right now.

[He nods, catches himself, and amends:] Good. It's far from the first time I've explained it, but that doesn't guarantee there won't be an idiot who doesn't get it anyway. At least you're smart enough about it.

Now, for a place to stay... Finding you an actual hive or hivestem isn't going to work right now when you sound like you're about ready to fall asleep on me. My place is no good; I live with Eridan. Feferi lives next door, but she also lived with Vriska for some reason I can't wrap my head around.

[Which raises an awkward subject in his head, but he pushes that one aside for now. Not his business.]

The best recommendation I can make is that when you do go to find a more permanent place to stay, don't pick Larmline. There's this psychopath human there who's about as bad as Vriska, and just because she lacks the mind powers doesn't mean she's not dangerous. Her name's Yuno, and if you ever meet her, don't trust her for an instant, no matter how nice and sweet she tries to act.

[There's something very, very serious about how he states that. But with that said, he puts an arm around Sollux and tugs, indicating for him to get up.]

For now, let's just get you to a hotel. You can rest there, then figure out what to do later.

[Good lord, Karkat, you live with him. Sollux huffs a bit, but nods, then goes completely silent at the mention of Feferi. That's a subject he's not quite sure how to think about, too. If Karkat's moved on from Terezi and wound up with Eridan and Equius instead, maybe Feferi's moved on, too.

Well, it was all very new to begin with. He wouldn't be that surprised if she found someone better. And it wasn't like he'd had huge expectations of it lasting in the first place. He decided he wouldn't force the issue, especially considering how fucked up his body was now.]

No Larmline, got it.

[He gets to his feet and leans on Karkat again, sighing]

Thanks, kk...

[He has reason! Since before they became matesprits, even! But that's part of the long story they aren't talking about at the moment, and best left to be divulged at another time. Particularly when he's got an exhausted friend leaning against him again who needs to get somewhere to rest.]

Yeah, sure. The explanation is standard, but you're also my best friend whom I haven't seen in person in forever. But one last note on that: it helps to know humans user the word houses for hives, and apartments for hivestems.

[He looks around, considering where to take him, then sets on a direction. As he goes he supports Sollux, not taking the full brunt of holding him up, but at least making the trip easier.]

I should probably actually explain ancestors to you, too, while we're at it. First order of business: don't trust Gamzee's, the Grand Highblood. We've got him under an agreement to not kill anyone, which was the idea of mine and Tavros's ancestors if you want to place blame. There's more details beyond that like how we even got him into a position to make that agreement, and what happens if he breaks it, but that's not important right now. Everyone's has been here at some point or another, including the fucking Empress herself, though at least she didn't stick around long. And fair warning that your own is probably going to freak you the fuck out.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

New Arrival

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject