MSPA fan fiction 2

[Shadow of the Lotus]

Hello and welcome to the MSPA fan fiction thread! This is the thread to post any fan fiction you may write that involves any of the various MSPA characters created by Andrew Hussie (though certainly it primarily references characters from the current adventure: Homestuck). This is the second fan fiction thread for the MSPA forums! The first thread > located here < actually took more than a year to finish so it's entirely possible this thread will be around for a long time as well.

Please keep in mind that any and all fan fiction posted must adhere to the rules and guidelines otherwise governing the forums. Though a written medium, the art rules apply to fan fiction as well. This means that pornographic writing is not permitted! If you have a question about whether a fan fiction is acceptable or not: PM a moderator or admin to ask if what you want to post is within guidelines.

Fan fiction Directory

(I'll put a link here to A03 eventually; this post will be shaped up a bit later. I don't think I ever got an e-mail from A03 or anything; what's happening with the project of moving all the fics over there? Oh, and I'll put something up here about PMing people about reviews or something. I dunno. This is just the basic nebulous post I guess. You are freed from the shackles of thread 1! Post your writing with pride!)

[Tenebrais]

Y'know you should probably remove the hyphen from the title. Most people call it fanfiction or fan fiction; the hyphen just makes searching awkward.

Looks like I got the last fic in the previous thread! I'd still appreciate any comments or criticisms of it here.

[PaulPower]

Looks like I got the last fic in the previous thread! I'd still appreciate any comments or criticisms of it here.

It was neat! I hadn't really read the previous parts, but it makes me want to go back and read them now you've started getting into the plot.

Anyway, let's get the ball rolling. Graven_Image should enjoy this one, going by his avatar .

2fortstuck

Setting: some time before April 13th 2009, but after the Scout update. Sometimes, when the mood takes them, the Chums like to play GAMES. And sometimes the Trolls use something other than Trollian to interact with them...

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Dave stared across at RED's sniper deck through his scope, and grumbled to himself. This round was not going well. RED were winning by 2 intel captures to 0. Granted they had a 4-to-3 player advantage because John hadn't showed up yet, but even so, the three of them were playing like a bunch of noobs fresh out of noob academy. Although clearly it wasn't his fault. He was pretty evenly matched against the enemy Sniper. It was Rose and Jade, yeah, they weren't doing their bit.

ectoBiologist has joined team BLU

"Hi guys, sorry I'm late!" came John's voice over the chat.
"Jeez, Egbert, do you ever show up for anything on time?"
"This thing took forever to load. Must be all those custom sound thingies..."

Dodging behind cover so he could check what class John had picked, Dave groaned. Medic. John always picked Medic. Okay, it was a vital class and he was pretty good at it, but probably not the best choice right now. Medics were no good without combat classes to heal.

"John, can't you go Soldier or something? I mean look at the rest of the team. I'm Sniper, Rose is Spy, Jade's Engy. Medic's a step in the right direction but it's not going to achieve much on its own."
"Well, I dunno, Dave, I'm not very good at Soldier. I guess I could go Pyro, but I'd probably just end up spy-checking..."
"You know, Strider, you could always go Soldier, and have John as your pocket medic," called Rose.
"Hey, I'm doing a very important job here. Someone's got to keep their Sniper in check. You go Soldier."
"I'm the only person who's picked up their intel so far!"
"Yeah, but you couldn't get out with it, could you?"
"Nevertheless."
"I guess I could go Soldier..." piped up Jade, "... but I think my sentry's the only thing stopping them getting that third capture..."

Dave groaned, and headed towards Resupply. "All right, all right, I'll go Soldier. Rose, try and backstab their sniper so we've got a clear path. John, once I switch I'm going to start self-damaging to help you build up uber, so be ready. Jade... uh, keep swinging that wrench, I guess. We've got to turn over a 2-0 defecit, let's make this count..."

Rose sidled into position behind the enemy sniper and decloaked just as Dave and John were emerging from the BLU base. The sniper hesitated for the tiniest fraction of a second, wondering whether to shoot the soldier or the medic first. It was all she needed.

tentacleTherapist [backstabbed] gallowsCalibrator

Always shoot the medic first, thought Rose. "Sniper down," she said coolly. "And careful you two, there's a sentry covering their courtyard, in the corner by resupply. I'll try and get it sapped, but now they know I'm nearby it probably won't work..."

* * *

"Ugh, stupid human software not catering for the sensorially-different," moaned Terezi as she waited in the respawn queue. "Why can't it let me smell spies coming in from behind me? I'd be able to if this were real."
"Anyone else spotted the irony of Terezi playing Sniper yet?" asked Karkat.
"Hey, I can taste those blueberry bubblegum uniforms a mile off - when they're in front of me. Why weren't you watching my back, Mr. Pyro?"
"I'm trying to lead Tavros on an assault on their intel room because, in case you hadn't noticed, we're 2-0 up and we should be pushing for victory. Can't get into the intel room, though - they've got a sentry in there."
"Oh, fine. I'll go back to Demoman when I respawn. I was only doing this to keep their Sniper in check, and he's changed classes now. Anyway, yeah, spy on the battlements, incoming soldier-medic pair. Get ready for some hurt, Sollux."
"Okay, thankth for the headth up..."

The pyro heading towards Sollux carried the name carcinoGeneticist, but Karkat had just told him that he was currently attacking BLU's base...

twinArmageddons [shotgunned] tentacleTherapist

"Thpy down!"

But the spy had distracted him just long enough for the soldier-medic pair to round the corner, uber ready.

turntechGodhead + ectoBiologist [rocketed] Sentry (twinArmageddons)
turntechGodhead + ectoBiologist [rocketed] twinArmageddons
turntechGodhead + ectoBiologist [rocketed] Dispenser (twinArmageddons)
turntechGodhead + ectoBiologist [rocketed] Teleporter (twinArmageddons)

"Thit. Thorry, guyth."
"And I thought we had enough problems already," said Karkat. "Speaking of which, Tavros, why did you decide to be a scout?"
"Ummmm, well, scouts are good at carrying the intel, yes?"
"Yeah, but they're fucking terrible at dealing with sentries. And pyros aren't great at it, either..."
"So, umm, why are you playing as pyro then?"
"Because, idiot, someone had to stop their spy creating havoc. And someone had to organise an assault to take the last intel. And wouldn't you know it, once Terezi switched to sniper those two someones ended up being the same person."
"I, uhhh, I wish I'd done that achievement farming now... this might, uhh, have been a good time to use that, uhh, canned drink that makes you invincible..."
"Yeah, well, it's too late now..."

* * *

It was kind of lonely down in the intel room, thought Jade as she heard the chatter from her friends over her headphones. But everyone had an important job to do, and she was used to being on her own. Besides, she had her nice sentry and dispenser friends for company. But a pyro and a scout were hanging around outside, and she was locked in something of a stalemate with them. If they came in here, they'd be easy prey for her sentry. But she wouldn't stand a chance if she left the room. Something was bound to tip the balance one way or the other eventually, though. She sure hoped it was her way.

"Rose, when you respawn... d'you think you could help me out down here? I'd like to get rid of the pyro and scout..."
"Okay, I'll go... yes, why not. I'll go Heavy. As improbable as it sounds."
"Just as long as you don't get into character," chirped Dave.

ectoBiologist has picked up the INTELLIGENCE!

"Oh, sorry Dave, do you want it?"
"Nah, it's cool, you're faster than me anyway."
"Okay."
"Saying that, I'd still better go first up these stairs..."

But Dave had reached the top of the stairs when John noticed the trap. "STICKIES!" he yelled, a second too late. Miraculously, Dave survived with 1 hit point left. Thank goodness for overhealing, thought John.

"Run!" Dave yelled back at him. "I'll hold them off"

Healing Dave up as much as he could before the beam broke, John darted forwards. Dave grimaced at the screen. In a fair fight, Soldier should beat Demoman. But he only had 75HP now...

gallowsCalibrator [pipebombed] turntechGodhead

"Ka-BEWM! I'm a grey Alternian noclops!" laughed Terezi as the soldier exploded in front of her. But she didn't smell the medic running off with the intel until it was too late. She had to admit, that was one advantage of light over chemicals: it did travel faster. She sent a few half-hearted sticky bombs after the medic, but he was too fast and too far away by now.

Still, it wasn't over yet. "Karkat! Tavros! Incoming medic with our intel!"
"On it," replied Karkat. Medics were easy pickings, at least...

* * *

John arrived in the safety of his base. Or at least, it should have been safe. He was worried about what Jade had said about the pyro and scout... he could try attacking them with the Blutsauger, but he didn't fancy his chances...

But he was in luck: Rose had just emerged from Resupply and, as promised, she was now playing Heavy.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there John. Let's get you over the finish line."

John gratefully followed Rose down the spiral stairs to the intel.

* * *

Karkat lay in wait, watching the intelligence on the radar get closer... closer... NOW!

tentacleTherapist + ectoBiologist [minigunned] carcinoGeneticist
tentacleTherapist got REVENGE on carcinoGeneticist

"Finally. That guy's spy-checking was a pain in the structurally superfluous new behind."

Tavros heard the minigun whir, saw his teammate go flying backwards out of the stairwell. Advance or Abscond? Silly question. He was Tavros Nitram. Abscond.

But sometimes it pays to check the direction you're absconding in...

gardenGnostic + tentacleTherapist [sentried] adiosToreador
ectoBiologist has captured the INTELLIGENCE!

"YES!" yelled John.
"Well, now we're only 2-1 down," said Dave, once he'd recovered from having his ears bawled out. "Okay, good work guys. But there's a long way to go... and now they know what they're up against..."

[Metaflare]

TF2+Homestuck=My dream. :3

[Graven_Image]

TF2 Homestuck?

Ebuh. Ebahadawah.

The awesomeness is fritzing up my language centers.

[resdaMalos]

I hadn't given Castlebound a fair shake until I read that last fic, and I'm sorry I didn't. Needless to say I'm going to be backpedaling and reading it all now. Good work Tenebrais.

2fortstuck is also amusing; I am curious how exactly the trolls got their hands on the game, though. Good read!

Scratch, Chapter 2

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The planet moved in slow motion below as Dave continued his long journey, as if the beating clockwork heart of the planet needed to be re-wound. It was his turn to wind it, he mused, his right hand's movement nearly an unconscious action now. He was winding it, making it move, with every rotation of the record.

David Strider, the master of time, more so now than ever; time bent to his will, moving only when he deemed it so. Absolute control was his.

And yet...

He didn't want it. His newfound power over the timeline had taken him out of it, in some respect. His job was clear - keep the timeline moving - and it's hard to take a break when all of existence rides on your right hand making tight little circles. Near-omnipotent control over time came with a price, one he was unwilling to pay. And he didn't like that.

He never even asked for it in the first place. Dave handed Dave a slew of alchemized gear, then did an acrobatic fucking pirouette off the handle and into his sprite. "Hey, you're the Knight of Time now. Go get 'em."

Dave stopped a moment, the record scratching again. He had just successfully psychoanalyzed himself. And in flowery prose, too. Rose was rubbing off on him. He made a mental note to talk to John a little after this, dumb himself down again.

If they got out of this.

Dave took frequent breaks; it's not like anyone would have noticed. In those frozen slivers of time, he could do anything he wanted. Sometimes, he abandoned Unreal Air and hopped down to the planet, pushed imps off of steady ground into midair, then returned to his airborne post, snickering as he watched them fall instantly to their deaths. Other times, he watched and rewatched the same plume of fire ignite from trapped oxygen beneath the churning lava, studying the artful circles it produced.

But most of the time, he just watched, his entire world a still life, his muscles aching, but his mind oddly clear.

Knight of Time. That was his title. His birthright, passed down to him by... himself, he guessed. He had simply accepted it as fact. In the future he is the Knight of Time, so that made him the Knight of Time now. But who's to say that that hadn't happened to him before? Was there a Dave from some other timeline that had told Davesprite the same thing? Infinite Daves from infinite crapsack timelines conferring infinite knighthoods to infinite Daves. Infinite knights - an infinite army of idiots waving around infinite broken swords and infinite red turntables. "Hey, you're the Knight of Time now. Go get 'em."

No. Somewhere along the time line before it got twisted up into some motherfucking Gordian knot, David Strider earned his knighthood. Then he passed it down to himself, who passed it down to himself. Right?

The title itself was a little ridiculous, now that he was sounding it out.

He began to shiver. Heat could not radiate through frozen air. For a brief moment in time, the first time in god knows how long, Dave felt cold. It was a sudden shock, and he wondered why he hadn't noticed before, but the cold was a balm for his aching wrist, so he took it in stride.

The gate loomed in front of him. He spun the timetable faster, not wanting to understand the experience of being instantly transmitted across the Medium moment by moment. He allowed time to stop once properly in the Land of Light and Rain, and took another rest.

He was glad to have his sunglasses, offering minor protection against the glare until his eyes adjusted. But as the planet became more readily viewable, he gasped. The landscape was beautiful. He had never given it any thought. It was a stark contrast to the constant red glow and heat of his planet. The frozen waves were as glass, yet yielded to his touch; the sand had a welcome grittiness. If he wasn't so set on finishing the game, he'd have no problem setting up shop here. But as it was, he had business to attend to.

He looked around, finding the gates looming over Rose's house, and began the second leg of his journey. He spun the record again.

Dave did little more than stare as Unreal Air towed him across the ocean; the light that emanated from the clouds and poured into the ocean, usually flashing epileptically, seemed to melt and blend and fade from color to color. It was like Aurora Borealis turned up to eleven, and Dave was its sole witness. He marveled at it, sometimes forgetting to spin his record, and realizing his mistake when the lights stayed one color for longer than he thought it should.

Rose's house drew nearer. He took a little pride in seeing the skyscraper he had designed come into view, in sharp relief better than the resolution of any computer screen. He aimed for the bottom, where Rose's old room still was, and where she probably would be waiting for him.

He approached her window, and knocked. Rose looked up, her eyes meeting his. Slowly, she smiled. He hoped against all hope that she could fix this. That this was even something to be fixed. He adjusted his shades, ran a hand through his hair, and smiled back.

Here goes nothing.

is...
is this okay

[Graven_Image]

Oh, yes. It is very okay.

[PaulPower]

2fortstuck is also amusing; I am curious how exactly the trolls got their hands on the game, though. Good read!

Well, Sollux is the master hacker, he probably acquired it from Steam... somehow. Hence his becoming an honorary member of Team RED for this game.

(As for the Chums getting around the age thing... Grandpa's dead and would encourage Jade on anything to do with GUNS anyway, Bro wouldn't give a stuff, and Mom might not like it but Rose would rebel against her anyway. John's the tricky one, but Jade or Rose could probably buy it for him online without Dad noticing).

Scratch, Chapter 2

is...
is this okay

It's a whole lot better than okay

[Roflstilzken]

I will now be able to post away my really awkward and silly fan fiction NOT ABOUT THE SERIES, OH NO but about you guys.
The fans.

It's more interesting to me that way.
I think I'm going to kick it off with THE BIOGRAPHY OF LOTUS.

Which will, of course, not make any connection that he's a flower with legs. Nope. c:

[Red Pen]

Hey resdaMalos, Scratch is awesome.

Anyway, a shiny new chapter for the shiny new thread! More shenanigans with Dave, the alt Crew, and Rose!

Part 1: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread...=1#post3880657
Part 2: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread...=1#post3882155
Part 3: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread...=1#post3899736
Part 4: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread...=1#post3904475
Part 5: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread...=1#post3927875
Part 6: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread...=1#post3956414
Part 7: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread...=1#post3986329


Unhinged - part 8

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She took note, as she typed, (I'm not an unreasonable man.) that Dave had been trying to get ahold of her again, (...we can make a trade...) and she read his correspondence out of the corner of her eye (...can't vouch for the condition she arrives in.) while the imps watched from all sides.

An odd thing to say, given the situation, and so very very non-suspect, which was why she suspected it immensely. Dave was the master of irony, but he couldn't do subtle.

TG: hey rose
TG: ive been workin on this rap...

When she got back to Derse, she nonchalantly removed her headband and set it aside, got a firm grip on a generous lock of her golden-blonde hair, and yanked.

- - - - - - - - - -

It took an almost painful amount of concentration to keep his dream iShades working long enough to send his message, and then Dave slouched back with a sigh and let them shimmer and dissolve back into his usual sunglasses.

-- turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at ??:?? --

TG: hey rose
TG: ive been workin on this rap
TG: and i need an opinion here
TG: damsel pinin in the keep abyssal
TG: beautify the verticals, textile missile
TG: spellin to the resident templar, declaration
TG: maiden for the aidin here: needs some liberation
TG: so yeah
TG: this thing is going nowhere fast
TG: spinning round in circles like its nascar
TG: your help would be appreciated
TG: anyway later

-- turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] --

He'd talked to Jade enough over the years to know a few things about dreamselves and their limits. If he decided he had four arms, he would have four arms. If he wanted to fly, he could fly. And if it suddenly seemed like a good idea to be wearing fully functional iShades, well, that shouldn't be a problem either. Jade could have done it easily, but for Dave it was both a struggle and a ridiculously satisfying triumph.

You're not the only one who can slip vague hints into your messages. Give me a sign, Rose. Show me where you are.

He was scrambling through enemy territory, half-flying and half climbing up the deep purple stone of the towers, a thousand feet above the distant network of alien geometries that made up the twisted infrastructure of Derse. He darted from window to window, wrapping his hands around the embellished iron gridwork that crossed each one and all too aware of how glaringly his bright violet pajamas stood out against the dark planet, a beacon for any wandering eyes in the opposite tower.

He'd begun with the very base of the palace, where narrow, sunken windows bled shafts of light into row after row of cells. Dark shapes shifted within, but none of them were human, and so with growing anxiety he worked his way steadily upwards, searching for Rose.

At first there had been swarms of pawns and low-level imps in every room he checked, scurrying about in their menial tasks as if the whole of Derse were some giant insect hive. Further up the crowds thinned, and as he neared the top of the tower Dave found only dingy hallways and darkened rooms. They'd been lively too, not so long ago, but the lived-in clutter and lack of dust told Dave that the pawns within had evacuated, and quickly. It seemed as though quite a lot of the palace staff had abruptly resigned in a very short amount of time, and Dave was smugly sure he could pinpoint the exact moment they had made the decision.

But minutes became hours, and still Rose Lalonde was nowhere to be found.

At last, Dave alighted on the very peak of the tower he'd been searching, on a decorative outcropping just below the massive pearl-white orb containing John's kernel, and stared out at the other three towers while trying very very hard not to think about what Jack and his lackeys might be doing to Rose at the moment.

Givemeasign, givemeasign, givemeasign...

Cold, empty air. Purple walls and purple windows so dark as to be almost invisible against the black sky.

Givemeasign, givemeasign, givemeasign...

Purple cornices and purple balconies and purple walkways and purple stairs and RED.

Dave blinked and focused on the tiny pinpoint of crimson halfway up the wall of the far tower. It had to be her. It was something red in a deep violet world, on a planet where nothing red had any right or reason to exist; it had to be her.

And so with a leap he took off, flying as fast as his imaginary body could go and with his eyes still fixed on the distant color as if afraid it might disappear. A mass of red streamers was flying brazenly from one window, brilliant against the endless background of dark violet.

A small, ironic smile crossed Dave's face.

"Rose? Hey, Lalonde!" He darted quickly forward and, leveling with the window, pulled a few of the streamers aside. "I can't believe you. All these writhing flagella flapping in the breeze, it's like a sign saying 'prison cell of a girl who's really freaking obsessed with tentacle monsters, rescue at your leisure.' Seems a little too obvious, if you ask-"

The tiny Dersite who'd been meticulously tying streamers to the window stared back at him with wide eyes.

"You?" Dave began disbelievingly, and then Courtyard Droll whipped his crook out of nowhere, shoved it through the window frame, and smashed it into Dave's face with an unpleasant crack.

He went reeling backwards from the blow and clapped a hand to his face to stem the flow of blood from his rapidly bleeding and probably broken nose. By the time he'd recovered, Droll was already dashing away down the hallway as quickly as his stubby legs could carry him, shouting at the top of his lungs. "Draconian! Draconian, he's here!"

Dave cursed vehemently and pounded on the wrought-iron grating over the window. He'd been so careful to stay out of sight, and now in a matter of seconds everyone in the palace was going to know he was there. The Knight of Time cast around a panicked glance and caught sight of a balcony only a few feet away. Without so much as thinking about what he was doing, the boy shot off along the wall of the tower. He wrenched open the door and sprinted off down the inner hallway, following the sound of Droll's voice.

Rounding a corner at full speed, he caught a glimpse of that garish monster of a hat retreating down a wide staircase up ahead. A quick leap and his frantically pumping feet were no longer touching the floor - he was flying forward in a spectacular swan dive and for once defied the cinematic laws pertaining to stairs by colliding perfectly with Droll's back. The two of them hit the ground and rolled, carried several more feet by Dave's momentum before coming to a rest with the human on top.

Blood was still running freely down Dave's face as he kneed the Dersite in the chest and clapped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up, you retarded little- whatever you are." he panted.

The room they'd wound up in was dark, but the glow from the huge four-windowed screen dominating one wall was enough for Dave to make out a large, old fashioned study-turned-control room, with a vacant office chair and a board of levers and dials at its center. The view on the screen was bifurcated, one side showing the balcony he'd just entered from and the other displaying what looked like a little reading room, filled with shelves of books and two large armchairs, one of which contained a human girl in violet pajamas...

A thrill of adrenaline shot through Dave at that. "Rose...?"

And then someone kicked him hard in the ribs.

Winded, the Knight lost his grip on Droll and rolled to the side. One hand wrapped around his throbbing torso, the other at his face while his nose fountained blood, Dave felt a bony foot press itself against the back of his head and pin him to the floor.

"Don't call him that," the Draconian Dignitary's voice said icily, somewhere above him. "And you're going to die now. I'll make it quick."

Dave tasted blood and stone tile, and he spat and cursed again. "I'll make it quicker."

Dave's dreamself might have been weak and unarmed, but his brother would have disowned him if he couldn't throw the Dignitary off after a rush of adrenaline like that. He shoved himself to his hands and knees, grabbed Draconian's ankle, and yakned, and the tall Dersite overbalanced and fell. He caught himself on the long control board behind him, but Dave was already running off down the hallway.

He reached the balcony and leaped off it in another dive, not bothering to fly, just plummeting. The angry shouts from behind and above him were swallowed by the roar of the wind in his ears, and his heart was making some sick beats against the inside of his aching ribcage; not because he was unsure or afraid, but because he'd seen where they were keeping her and he'd seen that she was alright, and he'd seen something even more important than that.

Because he'd seen her window, and it faced the moon, and there was a glint of something gold tied to the bars...

- - - - - - - - - -

"John!"

The moment the shadow fell across her window Rose was darting forward, reaching through the grating and sliding her slim fingers perfectly into his, pulling him in, wanting to do something stupid like press her face to his and smell his hair, because even though she wanted to solve this problem on her own, it was the most amazing feeling in the world not to be alone anymore.

"Uh, no. Dave," said the boy currently being pinned against the bars by Rose's vicegrip. "Clingy much?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she pulled away, feeling embarrassed but careful not to show it. "Oh, sorry."

"'Course if you'd rather have John, I could always just go back to my tower and-"

"No, of course not!" Rose said a little too quickly, grabbing his hands again. Some calculating part of her mind, watching the scene from behind her eyes, was quick to comment on how needy she seemed. Pretending to be brave, but terrified. Pretending to be strong, but helpless. Pretending to be a loner, but so very afraid to be alone. Not after everything that had happened. "It's just that Jack implied that it would be John who..."

She trailed off. "Oh, no. He didn't, did he?"

Dave watched her blankly. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

A small smile crossed Rose's face. "I think I just psychoanalyzed myself. Nevermind." She squeezed his hands happily. "I've never been gladder to see you, Strider."

"See, that's pathetic. This hardly even makes my top ten." But she noted that he made no move to pull his hands away.

Looking down, she saw that there was dried blood on his palms and down the front of his pajamas, and Jack's idle threat raced across her mind again. "Dave-"

"Keep your voice down," Dave warned her. "They've got this big screen and they're watching us right now. Dunno if they can hear us, but they can sure freaking see us, and seeing as half of Derse will probably be breaking in to kill me in a minute here, I'd rather not share our intimate plans with them."

This was news to Rose. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Dave, what happened?"

"Nothing important. What happened to you?"

At last Rose broke her grip and fingered her awkward and lopsided haircut, mangled on one side where she'd torn quite a lot of it away. The missing locks still hung golden in the window, tied around the bars where they'd shine like a beacon against the dark backdrop of Derse. "You said in your message to leave a sign of some sort, so that John- so that you would know where to find me. And it was all I had to work with that wasn't purple."

He immediately began tugging at the bars, trying to work them out of their niches in the deep violet stone. "You ripped your hair out for that? God Lalonde, you psycho freak."

Her smile widened imperceptibly. "And yet it certainly seems to have worked. You can stop that; they don't come out."

"I'll make them come out."

"Dave, stop!" she hissed, clutching the bars from the other side. "Listen to me. As improbable as this may sound..." A quick glance to either side and she quieted further, her lips barely moving as she spoke. "I don't want to be rescued."

The Knight stared at her from behind his shades. "You've lost your mind. They've freaking tortured you or something and you've gone totally batsh*t insane."

"But I haven't, Dave. Believe it or not, I have a plan to turn this situation to our advantage. I've been shoehorned into Jack Noir's inner circle, and I'm going to bring him down." She could hear feet pounding against the tile of the corridor outside. "You have to trust me."

"Bring him down? You are batsh*t insane. How are you going to-"

The sound was getting closer. "If you want to help, bring me something to write with. I have a feeling I'm going to need to journal about this."

"Oh god, is this really an appropriate time for your stupid Zazzerpan slashfic?"

She smirked. "Dave, I'm surprised at you. There is never an inappropriate time for Zazzerslash. Farewell, now."

He opened his mouth to speak, but at that moment the door burst open and the Draconian Dignitary rushed in, panting frantically and flanked by several guards while Droll trailed along behind him. Immediately Rose shoved Dave violently away from the window and gave a rather convincing howl of outrage.

"Strider, how dare you?! I made a promise! I made a promise to all of them!"

He floated there, just outside, and gave her a dumbfounded look. "Rose, what the-"

"You don't understand! None of you understand what it was like to hear him talk about it and know what he's gone through! I can't go back to playing the game and just... just pretend I never heard it!" She wiped crocodile tears away from her eyes in an over-exaggerated motion. "Go ahead and stop the Reckoning, Dave. But Jack earned this. Earth is doomed either way, and always was, and you know it. So whatever you're going to do, you can do it without me."

There was dead silence in the room for a moment while Draconian looked from one to the other, and then Dave gave her one of his signature cool-guy ironic nods and darted away.

"And what are you looking at?!" Rose rounded on Draconian and the unnamed pawns, and they backed out of the room slowly at her look of fury. "Can't a girl betray her best friends in peace?" And she stalked forward and slammed the door in his face.

Part 9: http://www.mspaforums.com/showthread...=1#post4057105

[Solaris]

There is no face to accurately portray my face right now.
I love you
Especially for the Zazzerslash.
Best thing I have ever contributed to this forum.

[Orange]

A new fan fiction thread. After all this time.

Guys. I'm proud of you. So proud.

...so proud.

[resdaMalos]

Nice work Red Pen. I especially liked the signal Dave sent Rose. But I'm a little confused, mostly because I might be trying to find hidden messages where they aren't.

Was there any coded message Dave was trying to send, or did Rose come up with the idea of flagging her window on her own?

[Red Pen]

Nice work Red Pen. I especially liked the signal Dave sent Rose. But I'm a little confused, mostly because I might be trying to find hidden messages where they aren't.

Was there any coded message Dave was trying to send, or did Rose come up with the idea of flagging her window on her own?

Basically, the message Dave was trying to send was "tie something to your window frame so I can find you, because my search is going nowhere fast." As Rose noted, he fails miserably at subtlety. (Turns out it's hard to rap like Dave!)

[resdaMalos]

...aaaand now I get it. Ha.

No coded message at all. Dave was just being pretty blatant about it. This makes it THAT MUCH BETTER.

[raequiem]

resdaMalos: I didn't get a chance to say so in the last thread, but Scratch is fantastic. You have at least one person refreshing this thread constantly, waiting for the next chapter.

Red Pen: I am so drawing art for you right now. This is great.

[JudgeDeadd]

Scratch is awesome, everybody in the world likes it, great writing, nice scenery

[northernVehemence]

Yay, a new thread!!

Red Pen, you're awesome as always. i've been waiting for the next chapter for so long!!

and Scratch is great. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I've never played team fortress, so I feel like i missed out on a lot of the jokes, but it was fun to read anyway.

This thread's off to a great start!

umm also i succumbed to peer pressure and did one of those song meme things i guess.

show spoiler

hide spoiler

Helter Skelter -- Dana Fuchs

Vriska bared her teeth as she watched Tavros struggling to get back into his rocketchair. After her grip on his mind broke, he had scrambled over to the far side of the room and remained there, shivering, as she had sulked and shook her Magic 8 balls. Now, apparently, he had decided that he had had enough, and was trying to surreptitiously reach his chair and escape.

But that wasn’t it at all. Equius would have decided that he had had enough. Even Eridan would have, too. But Tavros didn’t look angry or sick of her -- he just looked frightened. She wanted to scream in frustration. They could never have any blackrom potential if one party refused, under any circumstances, to hate the other.

So Vriska did what she thought any good kismesis would do: announced that he was a useless, crippled sack of shit and kicked him in the ribs.


I Wonder What is Keeping My True Love This Night -- Kate Rusby

Sighing, Aradia looked up at the sky. She was supposed to have met Sollux at his hive compound hours ago, but when she had arrived, he was gone. She had asked his lusus where he went, but the biclops had just grunted and waved in the direction of the mind honey. Disheartened, she had returned to her own hive and tried to contact him mentally, but he was keeping his mind closed.

There was little for her to do at home but try to half-heartedly resume one of her digs, but she was distracted, constantly pausing to inspect the night sky for any sign of purple light.

She squinted up for the umpteenth time, and, lo and behold, there was a faint purple glimmer on the horizon. Her eyes widened and a wide smile broke out on her face as she climbed out of the pit to meet him.


Ticket to Ride -- the Beatles

Kanaya watched in horror as her friend, her moirail, her auspistice client, the object of her flushed affection, heaved a shaking Tavros up to eye level. This isn’t right. This can’t be happening. And yet there Vriska was, flickering on the screen as she pulled Tavros into a merciless kiss.

Her jaw fell open. She had always thought that, as auspistice, perhaps she could have nudged Vriska in her direction. This isn’t right. Maybe their pale feelings for each other could have developed into something more flushed, if they had had time. No, she shook her head. I can’t believe I could ever have been so stupid.

She could feel her eyes stinging. Her newly prototyped lusus laid a gentle tibia on her shoulder.


Overboard -- Ingrid Michaelson

Terezi had always been independent. Her blindness had only seemed like a disadvantage in the beginning, before she had learned to “see” with other senses. She had even raised herself, without the benefit of a lusus looking after her.

Even now, in the laboratory in the Veil, she was more than capable enough to take care of herself. Feferi and Tavros used to try to help her navigate around the laboratory, but they quickly learned that Terezi was in some ways more observant and adaptable than they were. She had memorized the layout of the labyrinthine station in a few days, and occasionally had to be summoned to guide others around.

However, having been raised in a tree, away from other trolls, and without the benefit of a custodian to guide her, she naturally was less adept at dealing with certain kinds of situations. Most of what she knew about the different kinds of troll romances, she learned from Nepeta. Which is why Karkat was extremely nonplussed one day to wake up to a freshly-appearified deer carcass outside his door.


All the Way Up to Heaven -- Guster

Tavros gulped, looking at the pie in front of him. Beside him, Gamzee watched him expectantly, his wide, toothy grin stretched lazily across his face. “It’s...I mean, I’m really, um, not so sure about this, Gamzee,” Tavros stammered. His lusus had always urged him not to eat the sopor slime, and here was his best friend offering him a homemade pie made of the sticky green substance.

Gamze clapped him on the back and ruffled his hair. “Shit, man, I never want you to be doing nothing that’s gonna make you uncomfortable. I just want you to be as happy as I am, motherfucker.” Tavros looked back down at the rapidly cooling pie. Gamzee was his friend, and he ate the sopor slime regularly...plus, he did seem pretty happy most of the time...perhaps one taste couldn’t hurt?


I’d Give It All For You -- Cast of “Songs for a New World”

Sollux could feel Aradia’s presence before he could see her. Cold breath made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and one of her ghostly webbed hands reached up from behind him to rest on his cheek. “Sollux,” she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

He turned to face her, such as she was, glaring at the faint red form shimmering in the low light. For once, she had chosen to forsake her robotic chassis. “Why did you do it, Aradia?” he growled, unable to contain the waver in his voice.

She lowered her eyes and removed the hand from his cheek. “...I don’t know,” she confessed. “I needed Equius then. I realize that it must have hurt you.”

Sollux snorted. “So now what? Are you -- ” His voice halted abruptly at the feeling of her near-transparent lips on his cheek, as soft and tenuous as the fluttering of the wings of his mind bees.


Get it While You Can -- Janis Joplin

Nepeta knew she was taking a great risk when she stumbled upon Karkat, asleep at his terminal. She had taken to wandering the laboratory at night, missing the feeling of hunting out in the plains that used to surround her cave. She often found the other trolls sleeping, and it reassured her somewhat that even in the face of their own imminent deaths, some of them could still take time for something as normal as sleep.

But she had never seen Karkat sleeping before. He always made sure to retire in his own room, away from the others. Nepeta knew that he had been up for days, ceaselessly working with the humans, so, she deduced, he must have simply collapsed at his computer from exhaustion.

She regarded him for a moment, his cheek mashed into the keyboard and a stubborn scowl on his face, hovering between wanting to watch and knowing she should leave him alone.

After a few moments of consideration, she removed her green overcoat and laid it gently on his shoulders.


Dona Nobis Pacem: IV. “Dirge for Two Veterans” -- Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

On the checkered landscape of Skaia, the white and black soldiers parted momentarily in a display of diplomacy. Both sides had sustained heavy losses, and they now broke ranks to dispose of their dead.

The trolls, too, had suffered. Two of their members were dead, although Karkat had to keep reminding himself that it was just their dreamselves that had died. He would wake up to find both of them still alive, though perhaps a little less than well, in the laboratory.

Still, it was a jarring sight as the remaining ten trolls gathered around the fallen bodies of their friends. Beside him, Sollux closed his eyes and shook his head. Karkat heard Nepeta begin to cry. Feferi was having a hard time too -- she gave a strangled sob and leaned over to rest her head on Eridan’s shoulder, who patted her back as he stared grimly down at the bodies. Aradia knelt down and reverently closed their eyes, and Equius took her into his arms when she rose again. Gamzee’s ever-present smile was gone for once, and Terezi’s shrill laughter was silent. Even Vriska was affected, Karkat noticed with some satisfaction, watching the vivid blue tears work their way down her cheeks.


Suffer for Her Sins -- Terra Naomi

Another young troll walked, seemingly voluntarily, to the end of the pathway. Her arms hung limp at her sides, and her eyes were glazed. Equius turned away when the white fangs descended, but Vriska watched the whole gory scene impassively.

When it was over, the troll’s sickly green blood staining the lusus’ mouth and webs, he turned to go back inside. As much as he agreed that the lesser-blooded troll probably deserved to die, seeing Vriska’s mind-control powers in action disgusted him. At the doorway going back to her hive, he paused and called out her name. Vriska remained standing almost as still as her victim had minutes before.

Finally, she turned to face him, and he was quite surprised to see her shaking where she stood, her arms both metallic and organic wrapped tightly around herself. “This used to be fun,” she choked. “But since Aradia sent those...those things after me, I -- ” But Equius shook his head and opened the door. It wasn’t Vriska’s fault that she had been raised by such a troublesome lusus, but she had to learn to keep such thoughts to herself, or else she might be the next one walking into the beast’s fangs.


Stuck On You -- Elvis Presley

Eridan shot another furtive glance at the clock. He had been waiting for Feferi to get online for hours, and he was starting to worry that she hadn’t made it into the game at all. He imagined her underwater castle assaulted by the meteors, her lusus letting out a moan at the sight of her ward, crushed under -- no, he couldn’t let himself go there. Feferi was safe. She had to be.

Finally, a chirp from his computer alerted him to the fact that someone had begun trolling him. He jumped into his chair and breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed that she had come online. However, he reminded himself, that only meant that he had one more trial to face. Tonight was the night that he was going to tell Feferi how he felt about her. He had made up his mind hours ago.

Eridan could already imagine how overjoyed she’d be to learn how flushed he was for her. He had played the scene over in his mind countless times -- how he confesses his feelings for her, and the proceed to become an unstoppable team in this game, more powerful even than Aradia and Equius. He also pictured other things, holding her tight and running his fingers through her long black hair, but again, he couldn’t let himself go there just yet. First, he had to make sure she was okay.

His heart pounding, he reached for his keyboard and began to type.

also also there is some fanfic fanart here and here. Keep being awesome, everybody!

[Sushi Database]

oh shit, new thread

yeeeaaa

I havent had my computer for a few days but I'll try to get some work done on Zazzerpan part 3 in celebration

oh damn new unhinged and i hadnt even read any of scratch. :O Both are epic!

[Cancer Cowboy]

Someone needs to get a bottle of champagne out here, we need to christen this beautiful new vessel the right way.

I can't explain to this thread how excited I am for the wonders that are sure to unfold on these wonderful pages.

God Speed Fan Fict Writers! GOD SPEED!

[Shad]

Red Pen I just want to say that I love this fic so much you don't even know oh gog

[Teleharmonic]

Woo! More Unhinged!ADAPT IT INTO AN AUDIO DRAMA RED PEN I COMMAND YOU Love this story!

Also: nV, six jillion points for the Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem.

[northernVehemence]

Wow, of all the songs, I thought for sure that would be the last one anyone ever recognized. but i'm glad you got it! it's a beautiful song.

[Teleharmonic]

Sang it in college.

[northernVehemence]

Sang it in high school! *high fives*