[003 ★ text]

[guiltapalooza]

I spent some time looking through the network backlog and tracking down the posts that the tower administrators have made before, and I have to say, I'm underwhelmed. A whole lot of ambiguous morals, incoherent and vaguely creepy requests for user log in, and a distressed child. Not a whole lot of answers.

So who's been around for a while? Is there anyone that's been here the longest? And do you have anything to add to the above, because I'm all ears. Even if we can't find a way out, it's worth trying to pool our information.

Before anyone asks why I'm saying this on the network that they presumably monitor, hey, I'd love to talk to them.

In the meantime I'm going to see if I can find out what keeps putting this thing on the fritz every so often, because it's majorly annoying, and also may be connected to something. Anyone computery want to help me out with that?

Comments

[guiltapalooza]

I can get behind that, like, all the way behind that. I'm really more of a research/sidekick type anyway.

Have you made any progress so far? Oh, and I'm Willow.

[benigncancer]

NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT, TO BE HONEST. I ALMOST WISH I WERE, MYSELF, BUT WINDING UP IN CHARGE OF RIDICULOUSLY DANGEROUS AND DOOMED REBELLIONS IS IN MY BLOOD, APPARENTLY.
A LITTLE PROGRESS.
WE MANAGED TO GET OUT OF THIS INHABITED AREA OF THE TOWER AND FOUND SOME UNFINISHED AREAS, BUT WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY ACCOMPLISH MUCH THAT WAS USEFUL BEFORE WE WERE CAUGHT AND KILLED.
IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU, WILLOW, I'M CALLED SIGNLESS.

[guiltapalooza]

I'm sorry that your fated rebellion is doomed. It's really hard being a leader even without the doom. My friend Buffy deals with so much because of it.

Oh, wow, that's worth writing home about! Not the killed part. Sorry about that, too. But it sounds like you made a real discovery, there. How did you find it? Did you go down, like into the tower-y basement?

And I have to admit I'm curious, but is there a reason you're called that? I thought trolls were way into their signs and blood color and making sure everyone knew who was what when.

[benigncancer]

NOT YOUR FAULT, BUT THANKS FOR THE SYMPATHY.
IT'S MY FRIENDS WHO'VE SUFFERED THE MOST, BUT THEY REFUSE TO BLAME ME FOR IT. IT'S SORT OF INFURIATING, ACTUALLY.

WE HACKED THE STAFF ELEVATOR AND WENT DOWN, YEAH.
MY MOIRAIL HOOKED HIMSELF IN DIRECTLY AND MADE THAT ELEVATOR HIS BITCH.

RIGHT, WE ARE.
BUT I'M A MUTANT BLOOD. MY BLOOD COLOUR ISN'T PART OF THE HEMOSPECTRUM, SO THERE AREN'T ANY SYMBOLS FOR ME.
I SHOULD HAVE BEEN CULLED IN THE BREEDING CAVERNS, OR AT LEAST AS A GRUB, BECAUSE THERE AREN'T LUSI FOR MY BLOOD COLOUR, EITHER.
BUT I GOT LUCKY THERE.

[guiltapalooza]

That sounds very familiar. Take it from me, you're never going to convince them to blame you; that's what friends do. I could never blame Buffy for anything, so I think you're stuck.

That's impressive. Elevators aren't bitches for just anyone. Maybe if we could come with a way to fight back against whatever killed you last time, we could try again. If he was willing, of course.

Every time I think I can stop being surprised and horrified by this hemospectrum thing, one of you comes out with something else. How did you get lucky?

[benigncancer]

YEAH, THAT'S WHAT THEY KEEP TELLING ME.
THEY'RE UNBELIEVABLE IDIOTS, THE LOT OF THEM.

HE'S IMPRESSIVE, WHATEVER HE'LL TELL YOU. IF YOU SEE AN ADULT TROLL AROUND WITH FOUR HORNS, YOU CAN TELL HIM SO.

A TROLL FOUND ME, AND FOR SOME UNGODLY REASON SHE GAVE UP HER LIFE TO CARE FOR ME.

[guiltapalooza]

Those dastardly friends of yours, believing in you and sticking with you and everything. It's almost like they care about you.

Oh, wait! Is that Sollux's ancestor? Sollux asked me to make a nightmares-be-gone thing for him a while ago. That was me! I think I'm getting the hang of this ancestor thing.

And here I was told that trolls don't have moms. She sounds like an amazing lady.

[benigncancer]

I KNOW, RIGHT?
THEY MUST HAVE TO SHARE A SINGLE THINK PAN CELL BETWEEN ALL THREE OF THEM.
IT'S THE ONLY EXPLANATION FOR THEIR INCALCULABLE STUPIDITY.

RIGHT, YEAH, PSIIONIIC. YOU KNOW HIM?
THAT THING YOU MADE HIM HAS REALLY HELPED, THANKS.
HE GETS PRETTY BAD NIGHTMARES.

SHE IS.
SHE'S SIMPLY THE BEST THERE IS.
HER NAME IS THE DOLOROSA. SHE'S HERE, NOW.

[guiltapalooza]

Clearly they don't stick around for the sparkling praise.

I haven't met him before, just heard of him. But you're welcome! I could make sleep satchels years ago, they're so easy. It seems silly to keep it to myself if it could help.

I'll have to look out for her. I'm glad you got to have someone like that here with you. Even if it's better for them if they're at home, I think the worrying's going to kill me.

[benigncancer]

I SEE YOU'VE MET PSII NOW.
AS YOU CAN SEE, HE'S TOO NICE FOR HIS OWN GOOD.

IN MY CASE, BEING AT HOME ISN'T NECESSARILY THAT MUCH BETTER.
BUT I DEFINITELY AGREE WITH THE SENTIMENT.

GOOD LUCK, WILLOW.
IF I FIND OUT ANYTHING AT ALL, I'LL TALK TO YOU.
WE ALL NEED TO PULL TOGETHER TO SURVIVE.

[guiltapalooza]

[Oops she kind of ships them now, good job. But she doesn't want to ask about them in case it opens up a can of awkward, so she'll just keep that to herself.]

He is really nice! And you're pretty nice, too, caps aside. I'd be happy to work together with you, and anyone else. Hopefully we can get somewhere.

[benigncancer]

Wait, what do you mean 'caps aside'?

[guiltapalooza]

Oh, no more caps! You didn't have to, I got used to it, it was just kinda... shouty.

But you seem really nice so I think the shouty is probably just incidental?

[benigncancer]

Yeah, uh, sorry.
It's sort of a habit, but I really don't have to do it if it seems shouty.
I just feel like... I need to be heard.

[guiltapalooza]

Don't apologize! I said I got used to it. Now it makes it seem like you're sad without them, and I will not be responsible for sad.

Though I promise I hear you no matter what font you have going on.

[benigncancer]

I'm not sad!
IT'S JUST A TROLL QUIRK THING, I GUESS.
I JUST DON'T REALLY FEEL LIKE THE THINGS I'M SAYING ARE PENETRATING MY AUDIENCE'S THINK PAN UNLESS I'M MASHING THE CAPSLOCK BUTTON BEFORE I START.
BUT IT'S PRETTY RIDICULOUS, ACTUALLY. EVEN I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

oh are you the one that made that for me? awesome, thank you. iit helps a lot.

ii'm sure sollux has already offered to help you hack the system, or iif he hasn't he wiill soon.
but iif ii can help, ii wiill. liike SS saiid ii can hook myself diirectly iinto the system iif ii can fiind a port.

ii really don't liike doiing it, but... iin the name of gettiing us out of here, ii wiill iif ii have to.

[guiltapalooza]

Oh it's you! I mean, it must be you. Hi! It's nice to meet you and you're welcome. Just let me know if you need another one, okay?

One of him has offered, yeah. I'm a little worried about how it could turn out, but I think we need to give it a go. Let's try conventional methods and see what happens before we bring you in, if need be. I don't want you to get hurt again.

Hooking yourself into a system like the tower makes me kinda nervous to think about. Its life energy feels all... off. I can't imagine what it's like electronically.

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

yeah iit's me. niice to meet you, too.

hookiing iinto the elevator was... unsettliing, to put iit miildly.
there iis something very wrong wiith thiis place, and iit reads iin the code, too.
ii was able to subdue iit, but iit scrambled my thiink pan pretty badly.
and of course ended up kiilliing me iin the end, but ii'm kiind of gettiing used to that, here.

[guiltapalooza]

So you go by the Psiioniic? Sollux mentioned you to me a couple times, but I'm not entirely clear on how this ancestor thing works. I met Eridan's but he's pretty much a jerk, and not even that good at it, either.

Yeah, I've been kind of hesitant to absorb any more energy from it for my spells. The one time I did, it affected me badly. [Made her a little bloodthirsty, actually, which was not unprecedented for Willow, but it didn't typically happen that fast. The coldness of the life force, which was usually so warm from the planet, just hadn't helped her circumstances at the time.] So I definitely want to save that idea for a last resort, because wow, that sounds terrible and there's no reason to put you through it if we don't have to.

For now the plan is: regular hacking and making a database of the monsters that have been around since the renovation. I'll see where I am after I finish that, if that's okay?

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

the Ψiioniic, actually, but that's close enough.
ancestors and descendants are supposed to be trolls who share blood colour and symbol, baΨcally.
theoretiically we would have a lot of the same genes, iin order to be that Ψiimiilar.
iit was really only consiidered a legend or a myth, by most people.
but there do seem to be an awful lot of sets of them runniing around thiis tower.
iif you're talkiing about dualscar, that's a pretty good descriiptiion.

so are you a mage? iit sounds diifferent from my powers. ii can't draw energy from anythiing but myself.

[guiltapalooza]

Oh, uh, hang on, let me look up the unicode for that... Ψiioniic, got it.

I think maybe the trolls that have appeared here are really important, in the history of your world, so those are the ones the tower is more interested in? It's just a guess, but none of you seem exactly like small fry in the grand scheme of things. But yeah, I was talking about Dualscar. I think I'm supposed to find him offensive, but I just can't bring myself to.

I'm a witch! Kind of like a mage. I can draw on energy in myself, in other people, or from the planet I'm on (which has been Earth up until the tower happened). It's a learned skill. I think yours is impressive enough on its own.

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

yep, you got iit. or you can cut and paste, that works too ehehe.

iit's posΨiible, though the exiistence of several iiteratiions of certaiin trolls iis a liittle confuΨiing.
sollux iis pretty cool. ii thiink he's a lot liike ii was as a wriiggler, from what ii can remember anyway.

as for dualscar... well, 'offenΨiive' iis a relatiive term ii guess. he's never done anythiing wrong by the standards of our culture. he's totally wiithiin hiis riights to demand superiior treatment.
the standards of our culture just suck hoofbeast bulge, iis all.
ii'm certaiinly not fond of the way he acts liike ii'm stiill hiis slave. and ii can't really fiight back, yet.

ii would love to see what sort of powers you have! you say 'learned', could anyone learn iit? iit's not an iinborn abiiliity?

[guiltapalooza]

And use the cheater method? Never. I'd have to turn in my geek cred.

Tell me about it, it's way confusing. I've mistaken someone for someone else like six times already, which is super embarrassing. But I'm glad you and your descendant get along so well! That must be really nice.

Well he's plenty offensive by my cultural standards, but he's also kind of stoic for a really effective Big Bad, in my opinion. ... Wait, what do you mean you can't fight back? What's preventing you? [Cause she's sure about to offer to help at the drop of a pin if she can.]

Theoretically anyone can learn it, but it has some inborn talent associated. Everyone's naturally better at certain things than others, and magic is one of those things. But it still takes some know-how to use. My powers sort of do whatever I want them to that I have enough juice for, to be honest?

[2nd_dii2ciiple]

condiitiioniing stops me. ii am... was... a slave.
most Ψychiics are, especiially iif they have any real power. ii was conΨiidered the most powerful mage of my tiime.
dualscar and the condesce, my two former owners, don't really want to accept that ii'm not anymore.
and Ψiince ii can't really argue diirectly wiith them, iit's hard to conviince them otherwiise.

sounds really powerful. maybe ii can get lessons sometiime. don't know what ii could offer iin exchange, though. my kiind of magiic requiires iinborn talent.