On the platform: New characters and old ones that want to come and meet them!

[utopiamods]

As you all crowd onto the platform with your new and still bizarre mix of faces, expressions, clothing and wild theories, you are met by two girls. Both are in uniforms that would match if not for the colour differences - skirts, waistcoats, and light summer shirts that seem totally inappropriate for the thin layer of snow and ice coating the station platform. Both have a beret with a crest - one shows a sword, the other a shield.

At the first lull in the chatter, the shorter girl speaks up, her soft voice somehow cutting over you.

"Excuse me,"

She explains, in precise, quiet sentences, that they're prefects, representing the two schools in Rakuen. Nanami of Fortitude, she says, placing a hand on her own collarbone, and Santana of Conquest, here pointing to the taller girl she's leaning against. The girl nods, looking fairly bored.

"We will be sorting you now. When we say your name, please move quickly and quietly to whoever called you."

"Yeah," Santana interrupts, "Then we can go back to the dorms. It's not getting any warmer however many times they make us do this."

They separate, moving to stand several metres apart, and both pull a list from their waistcoat pocket. Alternating, they start to read out your names.

Comments

[wakingsavior]

[ John jumps a little at the contact, and turns around quickly, and finds himself face-to-face with... someone who doesn't look human. There are horns. And glasses. And something kind of familiar about her.

Sorry, Vris, he hasn't actually ever SEEN you.

He raises his eyebrows expectantly and gives her a hesitant wave. Who is this and can she tell him what the fuck's going on? ]

[fabricates]

You're in Fortitude with me, Egbert.

[She stares at him expectantly, which is dumb because she knows he's never seen her before but she was sort of hoping he'd just be able to guess. She rolls her eyes, running her hand through her hair as her wings flutter.]

John, I'm insulted. After helping you out allllllll throughout your session, you don't know who I am??

[wakingsavior]

[ Wait. WAIT. She knows his name, she has wings, and and even though he's never seen it, he has totally imagined that eyeroll. He lights up, and hugs her.

It's Vriska!

...Now if only he could actually, uh... tell her he knows who she is.

He pulls back after a minute and flails around a little, trying to convey his utter confusion with hand gestures, then covering up his ears, shaking his head, and shrugging helplessly.

HELP ME, VRISKA-WAN KENOBI, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE. ]

[fabricates]

[HELLO INTERRUPTED PERSONAL SPACE. She just stands ramrod straight while he gets his hug on. She guesses she should have expected he'd be a huggy kind of person, but well. It's too late for that now. When he releases her she takes a step back to reclaim her personal Vriska bubble: no people allowed.

And then she just stares at him.]

What the hell, Egbert? This is no time for one of your shitty games of human charades.

[wakingsavior]

[ FACEPALM

John very carefully and clearly points to himself, then plugs his ears, then covers his mouth.

HE CAN'T DO ANYTHING BUT CHARADES RIGHT NOW, VRISKA. ]

[fabricates]

[Oh. Oh, there's a sinking feeling. Like something's wrong. She won't let that show, she'll just mask it with an unimpressed expression. You're killing her here, John.]

Oh my god, don't tell me you're mute like Strider. I know I've heard you talk before.

[What about the other part, though? The ears? She opens her mouth to speak, shuts it again. She doesn't want to ask.]

[wakingsavior]

[ Okay. Okay. He's had a little speech therapy with the same therapist who helped him with his lipreading. He doesn't... use it much, because he really can't vocalize much of anything clearly, but he does have one phrase as perfected as he can manage, for times such as these, when no one can sign and he has nothing to write on.

The words are... a little muddled, but understandable enough, and a little on the quiet side. ]

I am deaf.

[ he follows this up with a helpless shrug and awkward foot shuffling ]

[fabricates]

[Ugh, shit she should have just asked instead of having him say it. She would have felt less shitty. Maybe. Despite the intense need to look away from him, she keeps looking at him. She is the worst friend ever she should really apologize, except apologizing is not a troll thing so she doesn't.]

You can't be from my timeline, then. [No that's not the right thing to say.]

Well, whatever. It doesn't really matter. You should just get a PDA.

[wakingsavior]

[ Oh, timelines. Well, John doesn't really care - Vriska is Vriska, right? Even if it's a different timeline, they're totally still friends!

John smiles at her and shrugs a little, sheepishly. He has no idea what's going on. Lead the way, he gestures, though he's not sure she'll follow it.

And don't worry about it, Vriska, he doesn't mind, he just always feels a little self-conscious when he tries to say words because he knows he sounds a bit odd. ]

[fabricates]

[Vriska cares because she knows she's from the alpha timeline and that means this is a doomed John. Well, he's probably safe while he's here so she doesn't have to worry, right? Right. Yeah. That works for her.

She got the gesture but she... Doesn't know where he wants her to take him.]

Where do you want to go?? I can take you back to the dorms or to the city to get a PDA to text on... How do you even communicate without a computer?

[wakingsavior]

[ A PDA would be nice, but don't those things cost money? He kind of wants to figure out what the hell's going on before he tries to buy anything. He doesn't even have any money!

The last question makes him laugh, though - mostly soundless, clearly amused. He starts signing quickly, just to mess with her a little. ]

<<'I use sign language most of the time, silly. You should learn it, it's very useful.'>>

[ Ok, but in all seriousness... he purses his lips and then mimes sleeping. Dorm? He can probably find a pen and paper there until he figures out if he has the money to buy a PDA. He's cool with that. ]

[fabricates]

[What the fuck is happening. John is flapping his hands in ridiculous motions is what's happening. She squints.]

What the hell was that.

[She isn't sure why she keeps talking, but maybe if she does it'll be easier to understand his charades. It's still John, after all, and she isn't going to ditch him just because she can't understand him. She's going to guess that sleeping mime meant dorms, and if it didn't. Well, she had time to waste walking him around.

She isn't sure if she should wait for his answer before starting to walk or if she should just start walking. He wouldn't be able to hear her if he couldn't see what she was saying, right? Ugh, this was a pain.]

[wakingsavior]

[ Okay, seriously, whatever else this place has, it's got a friend. John can deal with everything else if he's got friends.

He laughs and shakes his head a little, then grabs her hand and tugs it a little. Come on, Vriska! If he can't watch her while they walk, the quicker they get to the dorms the sooner they can talk more! ]

[fabricates]

[HER PERSONAL BUBBLE. Okay no, she's got this. It's just John being John. And she's Vriska fucking Serket, something as silly as him grabbing her hand is not something to recoil from. She extricates her hand anyway, because it just reminded her of that last conversation she'd sent him and that incredibly embarrassing confession of hers. Why had she done that again?? Because she's dumb. Stupid stupid dumb. She's just going to pretend it never happened.

She takes the lead to take him back to the dorms. Shouldn't she have let him go with the group? Oh well, she's taking him to the dorms anyway so it shouldn't matter.]

[wakingsavior]

[ If John had gotten to have that conversation with her, he'd protest the stupid stupid dumbness thought, but alas, he did not.

He lets her get her hand free, though, and follows her gladly. He's pretty sure she knows where he's supposed to be... ]

[fabricates]

[She'd deny it even if he had gotten to it, so it's just as well. Vriska doesn't do embarrassed well.

And she totally knows where she's going, thank you very much! She squints upwards toward the sun before looking back down and continuing towards the dorms. It's still really strange to walk around in the daylight like Kanaya does. She opens her mouth to say something once or twice before snapping her mouth shut at the last second. She's not going to look like an idiot, even if he wouldn't be able to hear it anyway.]

[wakingsavior]

[ By the time they reach the school, John is practically bursting with curiosity about what this place is, how they got here, what they're doing here.

After they get on the grounds, John reaches out and taps Vriska's shoulder. When she turns, he mimes writing on a piece of paper, with a hopeful expression. Help a guy out, Vris! ]

[fabricates]

[Okay, this could be easy to understand. She'll become a master of charades. Simply the best there is.]

I've got some paper in my respiteblock. Keep following, Egbert! And don't wander off.

[She leads him to her room, letting them in and rummaging around through her things. Her part of the room is pretty trashed. Books and paper and covers strewn haphazardly. She finds the notebook she'd procured for school, predictably bare of notes but not lacking in awesome doodles of her FLARP character.

Turning to him, she hands off the notebook and a pen she'd managed to find in her color.]

[wakingsavior]

[ John immediately takes them and, after a brief moment to obviously admire one of her doodles, scribbles out a note ]

thanks! hi vriska it's really good to see you! where are we????????

[ And yes, he does painstakingly write out eight question marks. ]

[fabricates]

[...John this is why you're her favorite. But you're give her ego way too many boosts by doing that. She flops down on her bed, shrugging.]

It's this dumb place called Rakuen. They're cagey whenever you try to ask anything specific about it. It's soooooooo annoying.

[wakingsavior]

[ John wrinkles his nose, and sits on the edge of Vriska's bed as well, sitting cross-legged. He's kind of tiny when he folds up like that - he's got long legs for his size, but he hasn't really hit his growth spurt yet, so he's just kind of... awkward ]

is it a school? what do we do, just go to classes or something?

[fabricates]

[That's fine, she's pretty gangly herself. She peers at the paper before nodding and looking back up at him.]

Classes and battling. The classes are boring and useless. I'm not even sure why they have them.

[wakingsavior]

battling?

[ John is getting a little nervous now. It's one thing for him to kick the asses of constructs in Sburb, but... ]

[fabricates]

Yep! Every week is a round and there's a handful of Players and a whole bunch of Weapons. You make Vows or whatever and battle each other so you can be the winning school.

[wakingsavior]

[ Well that makes everything clear as... slightly less muddy mud. John'll figure it out, though ]

huh, ok.
um, i don't suppose you know what room i'm in?