MOSTLY OPEN [action & network]

[hypertoxic]

WHO: Vriska Serket and YOU, plus some closed prompts.
WHERE: All over, really.
WHEN: May 2nd for the prompts in the body of the post, but I'll probably also put up closed headers for the rest of May and use this as a catch-all log as well.
WHAT: Vriska's been a statue for a month. She's going to wake up confused and deeply unhappy. Please hit me up at heartfuls for plotting if you'd like to plan a specific thread, i am 100% open to anything!!
WARNINGS: A foul mouth and an upset teenage disaster with god powers. Anything can happen if you just believe??


[ CLOSED to Minato ]

[ She wakes up.

... first of all. She wakes up, when she doesn't need to sleep and doesn't remember trying to go to sleep. With no real clear idea of why or how or what the fuck, she just kind of abruptly comes back to herself while standing on her feet.

She is so baffled by this state of affairs that it takes her a second to notice the ... rest. The rest, which is: 1) like two blankets wrapped around her, 2) a sign hanging off her neck??, and 3) her hair feels DISGUSTING, why IS that.

Never once in her life and death has Vriska been okay with losing control. And the dawning realization that some Really Weird Shit Must Have Happened without her even knowing does not exactly make her happy. Her expression undergoes an amazing transformation from blank confusion to apoplectic rage in record time. ]

.... Minato? MINATO? [ shrill. very shrill. and loud. she at least recognizes that she's outside their hive when she looks up and boy he better have some kinda answers. ]


[ OPEN to all ]

[ The answers are not satisfying, regardless of what they actually are.

Whenever her talk with Minato ends she'll end up going towards the center of town because it's the best place she can think of to yell at the largest possible number of people all at once. ]

WHAT the FUCK is WRONG with this FUCKING TOWN? I HATE THIS FUCKING TOWN! WHAT THE FUCK!

[ YOU. yes you. god, why did you walk past her range of vision, that was a mistake. ]

EXPLAIN.

[ ... explain what. she doesn't specify, instead just pointing furiously at your face, so, like, take that as you will? ]


[ NETWORK open to all, #005682 ]

I HATE THIS ST8PID AWFUL TRASH HEAP PI8CE OF SHIT 8ULLSHIT TOWN!!!!!!!!
There is 8IRD SHIT in my H8IR and I swear to god I am going to FUCKING KILL whoever 8rought us here!!!!
DXXXX UGH!!!!!!!!

[ did you think she was done yelling. because no. she's not done.

vriska serket is never done yelling. ]

Comments

[inheritance]

[Izuku trembles, just a little. While he's used to getting something like the side eye from Aizawa and even Guren now, it's another to hear those words from someone who's essentially still a stranger to him. He's not used to being called out like this.]

What did you mean just now. "From a dead kid"?

[He's still processing, so asking Vriska questions sounds like the perfect thing to do first.]

[hypertoxic]

Wait, did you not know? Yeah, I'm dead. Actually, I've died twice. Why else would I have these boring spooky eyes? My species doesn't normally have eyes like this, you know.

[ Vriska presses the heel of her palm to her chin, her fingers curling loosely against her cheek. ]

Which is exactly why I know what it's like to die and pretend it's not a big deal, even when it turns out it actually really is.

[inheritance]

[Izuku shakes his head.] You never mentioned that before--just that you're a troll, but not the kind you usually think of when you hear the word...

A-anyway... [It's a miracle that he's managed to reel himself back in before he went too far off on a tangent. There's a new sort of tentativeness to his expression now as he watches her.] I didn't know... [More quietly-] What happened?

[hypertoxic]

[ ...

huffs. ]

Well, the first time I got the shit kicked out of me and as a result slowly and painfully bled to death. The second time a friend of mine literally stabbed me in the back. Oh, yeah, she was here, actually, you might have met her. Terezi. She's gone now, though.

[ she says it all like, super casually ]

[inheritance]

What?! [Izuku's gaze snaps back up in shock. When she said she'd died, he hadn't imagined that it would be in such a terrible way--and twice.]

I...I don't think I got a chance to meet her. Why would she....?

[The first one had sounded horrible enough, but being betrayed by a friend...Izuku can only imagine how much it would have hurt. And right on cue, the very thought of it makes tears begin to well up in his eyes.]

[hypertoxic]

Oh my god.

[ Sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. ]

Don't cry, you dope. Just take my word for it that it was for the best she did what she did. Besides, we're not talking about me! We're talking about you, and why you keep avoiding the subject.

[inheritance]

I can't help it! [You can't stop the leaky tear ducts once they get going! Izuku scrubs at his eyes, turning his face away slightly.]

And why can't we talk about both of us? You've been through a lot, too.

[hypertoxic]

See, that would require us talking about you at all. Which we haven't, yet.

[inheritance]

[Izuku's quiet for a moment.] What do you want me to say?

[It seems like it would be pointless to say that the whole thing had left him shaken when she already seems to have figured that part out.]

[hypertoxic]

I want you to tell me how you're feeling. Really feeling, not whatever line you fed anyone else who asked.

[ The way she says it is not unkind, if still blunt. ]

It's okay to admit you're not okay.

[inheritance]

[He stares at her, looking conflicted. Aside from Guren, no one else has really pushed him to talk like this. Certainly no one from home--he's never really given them the chance to ask, though.]

Is it? What if people are counting on you? [It looks like it's hurting him to even say this much.]

[hypertoxic]

Then it's even more important, [ she maintains, serious and steady. ] Shit like this will break you. And if you've got people relying on you, you can't afford to break at the wrong time because you bottled all that shit up. I learned that lesson the hard way.

[inheritance]

[It's even more important? Izuku knows that he doesn't think it's weak when other people need breaks. His friends are important to him--and every one needs a shoulder to lean on sometimes.

But what if he's supposed to be that shoulder? It feels too much like letting All Might down, letting everyone else down, if Izuku doesn't try meet their expectations of him. If he falls short of what All Might can do, doesn't that mean he's not the right person to fill in those shoes?

He turns his face away, frowning.] Wouldn't it be letting people down if I'm not there to help them?

[hypertoxic]

[ Vriska hesitates, her mouth twisting. ]

God. I'm really not the person to ask about emotional stuff. I always kind of sucked at it, you know? But. That's sort of the point I'm trying to make. I never told my friends shit about how I really felt because I didn't know how, and I was kind of scared to. By the time I finally did it was too little too late. All I am saying is you shouldn't let that happen to you, or the people who rely on you.

[ a beat. ]

Plus, I don't really understand why talking about your problems means you can't also be there for them. Why are those mutually exclusive?

[inheritance]

I think you've been doing just fine. [He says it softly, still avoiding her gaze.

Besides, she's admitted that she was scared, and it's something he can relate to all too well.]

Because... [He curls into himself just a little more, trailing off like he has trouble putting into words just what he's actually feeling.]

[hypertoxic]

... hey.

[ Vriska sighs. John would be better at this. Literally anyone would be better at this than her. But he's got her. ]

If I swear that I won't tell a soul, will you at least talk to me?

[inheritance]

I-it's not that. [Finally, he meets her eyes again, and there's a tight, uncertain smile on his face.]

It's just... hard to find the words sometimes. It's easier to ignore it when you don't say it out loud.

[Even that is a lot to admit.]

[hypertoxic]

I know what you mean. Sometimes it is really hard to find the words to phrase things like that, especially when you're used to never talking about them.

[ a brief pause. ]

Do you want to walk around for a while? You don't need to come up with an answer on the spot. We could just kind of wander around and talk about other stuff until you're ready.

[inheritance]

[Izuku hesitates, fiddling with the cuff of his shirt.]

Okay... I'm not, um, taking up too much of your time, am I? You probably have other people you want to talk to.

[hypertoxic]

[ nudges him with her shoulder. ]

Stop worrying so much. It's fine. Come on.

[ She hasn't got a destination in mind or anything. She's just trying to find some way to make this easier for him. ]

[inheritance]

Can't help it. [Izuku mumbles, but Izuku follows her like he said she would, looking rather like a kicked puppy the entire time.]

My friends mean a lot to me. [Izuku finally says abruptly, after he's been silent for some time.] I don't...want them to...change their minds about me if I say anything. [His voice drops even lower.] I don't want to worry them, if it can be avoided.

[hypertoxic]

[ Vriska sticks her hands in her pockets as they walk, and watches him without judgment when he finally does talk. This feels ... weird, to be on the other side of this, to be the one listening and trying to help. It feels utterly unnatural, and like something she could make a disaster out of at any moment.

But she's trying to stay calm. This ... this is helping someone, isn't it? Without shoving or demanding they do what she want. (Well, as much as usual.) Just trying to listen... that's what people here have done for her. ]

... if I had to guess, they're probably worrying anyway. [ The way she says it is quite frank, but as before, not unkind. ] I'm basically a stranger to you, and I could guess it was probably bothering you. I mean, it's because we have shared experiences, but your friends from home probably know you better than you think. Especially the kind of person you are...

[ A brief smile flickers across her face. ] An overly emotional dope, I mean.

You're not hard to read, is what I'm saying. So, if they already know, but they're still relying on you anyway, then... why would they change their minds once you did open up?

[inheritance]

[Izuku's lips tug into a smile, feeling a flash of amusement despite himself.] You're not wrong. [About being an overly emotional dope, he means.]

I...don't know. [He pauses, brows drawing together, before finally admitting--] I didn't really have friends until earlier this year. Sometimes...I'm just not sure how much they're willing to put up with.

[It sounds pathetic, when he puts it that way, but it's always a fear that he's bothering them too much, or just letting them down by not being at his very best 24/7. Izuku knows how much he is willing to handle when it comes to supporting his friends (a lot), but there's always a coil of anxiety in the back of his mind that even the slightest mistake could mean he's not good enough to keep them by his side.

He has to get faster, stronger, better--at what, he doesn't know. He just has to be more than he already is. Somehow.]