[Fic] "Trollstuck," part 41 - Homestuck
Oct. 11th, 2013 01:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
edenfallingback to part 40
I'm still not sure quite where to put the chapter break, dammit. Well, I have Friday and Saturday off from work; hopefully I will get a bunch of writing done between necessary errands and that will give me a better feel for the length of the remaining scenes.
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Trollstuck, part 41
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====>Be Jothan
The intruder's shadow spills across the floor a second before he turns the corner himself. You don't actually relax that much, because what in the world is Equius Zahhak doing in Vriska's hive? Also, how did he find her respiteblock? You're pretty sure he and Vriska aren't on visiting terms, and he is the one who built Jarlia's dreambot, not to mention he has a crush on Aradia that's visible from the far side of the pink moon. No, wait. From the far side of the empire.
"What are you doing here?" you ask.
Equius looks oddly disappointed to see you. "I came to-- that is--" He pauses, then starts over. "I must speak with Vriska Serket immediately on a matter of great importance."
"Are you working with Aradia?" you demand. "Did you know about the ghosts?"
Now he looks actively upset. "Ghosts?" He's starting to sweat a little. Oh, ick, why does he always do that? He's a blueblood, can't he afford some kind of treatment?
"Aradia sent ghosts to haunt Vriska for no good reason -- she has no right to take revenge since Tavros decided to forgive Vriska -- and now I'm afraid Vriska's going to do something really drastic, like kill herself! She sounded awful when I talked to her on Trollian and I haven't been able to get hold of her since then."
"Oh." Equius looks at your hammer. "Did you intend to use that on her?"
"What? No!" You shift the hammer into only one hand, let it swing beside your leg like an awkward pendulum. "I was going to break down her door." You bite your lip, then figure you might as well go for broke. "I kind of broke down your door already, and one of your windows, and I had to borrow a crowbar and some rope to get across the canyon. Sorry, man. I was in a hurry."
"I see," Equius says in that snooty, disapproving way you swear he must secretly practice in front of a mirror. Except you've seen him pull that on Nepeta and then degenerate into shouted yes-no-yes-no fights, so it mostly makes you want to laugh.
"Do you have a better idea?" you ask.
"Hammers are inelegant. A bow to shoot out the lock would be ideal, but given my current lack of equipment, I suppose I can improvise," Equius says.
Then he punches out the doorknob and lock plate.
====>Enter lair
It's just a respiteblock, no matter what Vriska likes to pretend. Equius pushes the door open with a ridiculously gentle tap, like he's afraid the door will explode if he breathes on it sideways. You rush past him into the room, not quite daring to say anything. Vriska must have heard the doorknob hit the wall, but she hasn't said anything and that's...
You're just not going to think about the implications, all right?
At first you can't figure out what you're seeing. There's a weird black-purple glow over the far end of the block, from Vriska's computer desk to the wall. It hurts your eyes and makes no sense -- how can light be black? That's just wrong. Vriska is slumped in her computer chair, head down on her desk with her hands pressed to her temples. You can't tell if she's breathing.
Light flashes on the wall, brilliant red and blue cutting through the eerie, underwater glow, and your eyes dart over to follow. It looks like a movie projection, the climax of a major action sequence, but you don't recognize the film. There's a... psionic? Yeah, and they're throwing crazy energy blasts all around, at... somebody's blown-up hive? And some kind of weird mutant anybeast? Huh, an alien invasion flick? But why wouldn't Vriska invite you over if she wanted to watch a new movie?
Red-blue flares again. This time a fainter flash of red deflects it, and you realize there's another troll in the scene -- another psionic, weaker, trying to fend off the first. The colors of their blasts look weirdly familiar. You squint, trying to figure out if you've seen this film before, and if so, why you don't remember the plot. Huh. Now it looks like there's a third person off to the side, just kind of standing around? That's so dumb -- why do bystanders always do that instead of running away? You wish the camera would switch to close-ups so you could place the actors and maybe work out the film title from there.
"Oh. Oh drat. Nepeta was right. They were all right," Equius says in a funny, choked voice.
You look over at his face, gone gaunt and devastated.
When you look back at the screen, you recognize the actors.
One second later, you recognize their corpses.
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I love the sound of shattered illusions. :-)
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continue to part 42
Okay, I think I will get started on revising the early parts of chapter 9, regardless of where I eventually decide to end it -- what you've been reading is basically my... not quite rough draft, but not anywhere near what I'd call polished either. Maybe draft 1.5? Anyway, I need to add a little bit more sensory description and scene-blocking, and also clarify exactly how destroyed Aradia's hive is, because that's going to be relevant to future stories. *evil grin*
I'm still not sure quite where to put the chapter break, dammit. Well, I have Friday and Saturday off from work; hopefully I will get a bunch of writing done between necessary errands and that will give me a better feel for the length of the remaining scenes.
---------------------------------------------
Trollstuck, part 41
---------------------------------------------
====>Be Jothan
The intruder's shadow spills across the floor a second before he turns the corner himself. You don't actually relax that much, because what in the world is Equius Zahhak doing in Vriska's hive? Also, how did he find her respiteblock? You're pretty sure he and Vriska aren't on visiting terms, and he is the one who built Jarlia's dreambot, not to mention he has a crush on Aradia that's visible from the far side of the pink moon. No, wait. From the far side of the empire.
"What are you doing here?" you ask.
Equius looks oddly disappointed to see you. "I came to-- that is--" He pauses, then starts over. "I must speak with Vriska Serket immediately on a matter of great importance."
"Are you working with Aradia?" you demand. "Did you know about the ghosts?"
Now he looks actively upset. "Ghosts?" He's starting to sweat a little. Oh, ick, why does he always do that? He's a blueblood, can't he afford some kind of treatment?
"Aradia sent ghosts to haunt Vriska for no good reason -- she has no right to take revenge since Tavros decided to forgive Vriska -- and now I'm afraid Vriska's going to do something really drastic, like kill herself! She sounded awful when I talked to her on Trollian and I haven't been able to get hold of her since then."
"Oh." Equius looks at your hammer. "Did you intend to use that on her?"
"What? No!" You shift the hammer into only one hand, let it swing beside your leg like an awkward pendulum. "I was going to break down her door." You bite your lip, then figure you might as well go for broke. "I kind of broke down your door already, and one of your windows, and I had to borrow a crowbar and some rope to get across the canyon. Sorry, man. I was in a hurry."
"I see," Equius says in that snooty, disapproving way you swear he must secretly practice in front of a mirror. Except you've seen him pull that on Nepeta and then degenerate into shouted yes-no-yes-no fights, so it mostly makes you want to laugh.
"Do you have a better idea?" you ask.
"Hammers are inelegant. A bow to shoot out the lock would be ideal, but given my current lack of equipment, I suppose I can improvise," Equius says.
Then he punches out the doorknob and lock plate.
====>Enter lair
It's just a respiteblock, no matter what Vriska likes to pretend. Equius pushes the door open with a ridiculously gentle tap, like he's afraid the door will explode if he breathes on it sideways. You rush past him into the room, not quite daring to say anything. Vriska must have heard the doorknob hit the wall, but she hasn't said anything and that's...
You're just not going to think about the implications, all right?
At first you can't figure out what you're seeing. There's a weird black-purple glow over the far end of the block, from Vriska's computer desk to the wall. It hurts your eyes and makes no sense -- how can light be black? That's just wrong. Vriska is slumped in her computer chair, head down on her desk with her hands pressed to her temples. You can't tell if she's breathing.
Light flashes on the wall, brilliant red and blue cutting through the eerie, underwater glow, and your eyes dart over to follow. It looks like a movie projection, the climax of a major action sequence, but you don't recognize the film. There's a... psionic? Yeah, and they're throwing crazy energy blasts all around, at... somebody's blown-up hive? And some kind of weird mutant anybeast? Huh, an alien invasion flick? But why wouldn't Vriska invite you over if she wanted to watch a new movie?
Red-blue flares again. This time a fainter flash of red deflects it, and you realize there's another troll in the scene -- another psionic, weaker, trying to fend off the first. The colors of their blasts look weirdly familiar. You squint, trying to figure out if you've seen this film before, and if so, why you don't remember the plot. Huh. Now it looks like there's a third person off to the side, just kind of standing around? That's so dumb -- why do bystanders always do that instead of running away? You wish the camera would switch to close-ups so you could place the actors and maybe work out the film title from there.
"Oh. Oh drat. Nepeta was right. They were all right," Equius says in a funny, choked voice.
You look over at his face, gone gaunt and devastated.
When you look back at the screen, you recognize the actors.
One second later, you recognize their corpses.
---------------
---------------
---------------
I love the sound of shattered illusions. :-)
---------------------------------------------
continue to part 42
Okay, I think I will get started on revising the early parts of chapter 9, regardless of where I eventually decide to end it -- what you've been reading is basically my... not quite rough draft, but not anywhere near what I'd call polished either. Maybe draft 1.5? Anyway, I need to add a little bit more sensory description and scene-blocking, and also clarify exactly how destroyed Aradia's hive is, because that's going to be relevant to future stories. *evil grin*
