queenofheartsrp | 1;; (briefly) video, voice, action

1;; (briefly) video, voice, action

[Blank is not a morning person. She isn't even a daylight person, really. More used to being shut up in a dark room for ~~days~~ hours on end with the only light coming from her computer screens, the glare of the Gardens' sun had made her squint, whine pathetically from the brightness, and roll over in an attempt to go back to sleep.

Which worked....for maybe five minutes before nature itself conspired to drag her back into consciousness. (Like twigs sharply poking places that should never be poked.) So now, sitting upright with her brain running on sleepy autopilot, Blank reads the various scrolls provided by the cats with an distracted and uncomprehending sort of amusement. Oh, had she been kidnapped? Ha ha ha, silly terrorists, don't you know that interrogation doesn't really work when you surround your target with pretty flowers and woodland animals?

If she had been properly awake and not so convinced that this was ~~another~~ some crazy dream brought on by all those chemicals in her energy drinks, Blank might actually be scared about this situation! Or at least doing something more sensible than repeatedly poking and prodding the Vine out of curiosity. Eventually, the besieged plant offers the telltale mirror.]

-guess it couldn't hurt...oh! [Awkward staring into the glassy surface, then a sheepish grin.] Wow, I didn't expect that to actually work. I guess this is gonna be really lucid... [Prods the mirror.] So, uh, is this how I talk to my captors? I'm pretty sure I have those, being kidnapped or whatever, even if I'm dreaming about it all at the same time- [Blank gives it another poke, and the video portion of the feed suddenly ends as the Vine interprets the gesture as a desire for the voice option. Blank's voice continues on, surprised now.] -what the hell was that? Hey!

[Rustling sounds as she pokes the thing again, but the Vine is getting annoyed by this point and grows stubborn, refusing to bring back the mirror for more than a few taunting moments. Each glimpse of Blank shows her quickly growing more exasperated until she's outright flailing at the plant like an idiot.]

Ugh, if this was a computer, there'd at least be a manual! Why isn't there one, anyway? Or like a hundred? It's supposed to be my dream, not some gardener's.

[Our freshly arrived, often sleep deprived hacker, ladies and ladies.]

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[―until she catches the glimpse of who it is. A tall, lanky, familiar-looking person talking about computers. This isn't someone new to Gabrielle... in fact, she knows this person. For a moment, she stands there shocked. She didn't really expect anyone else from her world to show up after Aya left.]

Blank? [She asks with a hint of relief in her voice.] You're―

[The realization hits her immediately. The Blank in her world is a man―one who's always been joked around about looking like a woman upon first glance―but there are no men here. Which means...]

―a woman.

[She responds automatically at the sound of her name, not really thinking about it- this weird plant was more interesting, a stranger element of this "dream" she really couldn't account for.]

Uh huh, I'll be right with you....in a minute...

[And Blank goes back to jabbing at the Vine like Bart Simpson with a shiny red button. It's extremely reminiscent of any other time, back home, when she was neck-deep in codes and one of the others tried to bother her.]

[She watches Blank struggle with the vine, not really processing exactly who is calling her. It's strange, to see Blank here, looking as she had looked back in her world. Even when she knows that she is a woman.]

[It hits her... the mere thought of it all! At first, her lips curl into a smirk, but then she begins laughing as she watches her previous co-worker picking on flora in the middle of the Garden.]

[Blank puts up with this for a few minutes before shooting an exasperated- but not angry -look over her shoulder at Gabrielle.] Look, do you mind? I'm kinda in the middle of-

[And then she stops in mid-sentence, mouth hanging open for a long moment....before slooowly turning back around and speaking to the empty air, as if alone:]

....I guess this is the part where the dream takes a really kinky turn and proves those big-name psychologists right. I gotta cut down on the caffeine at this rate.

[She actually sounds more worried about this than interested. Scandalous!!]

[Gabrielle muses a bit more, pleased with someone she knows being here once more. Even though she and Blank are not particularly close as she was with Aya, it's still a comfort to see someone here who always makes her laugh.]

[The comment about the dream though makes her wonder what she, herself, in this Blank's world is like. It seems as if she does not fully recognize her, which must mean she's not a woman in Blank's world, but rather... a man. Trying to hold back the amused tone in her voice, Gabrielle decides to play along with it for now.]

Don't you think I make a beautiful woman?

...Oh god, she's talking again. [Blank clears her throat awkwardly, and then ponders her awkwardness because....hey, isn't this all in her head? It's not like anyone else will ever know, right?

Right! And yet that thought doesn't really make her feel better. Gabriel is her friend, but not that kind of friend.] I, uh, swear this doesn't happen often. Or ever, really. Not that you aren't a good looking dude! Our bitch of a boss lady probably fantasi- wait, gross! Nevermind! Um... Er, that is, I didn't really expect to have a dream with you in it, Gabriel, and especially not with...yeah.

[Rubs the back of her neck.....being Blank is suffering.]

The handsomeness did transfer over well, though, since you asked.

[Gabrielle knows that even as a man, she would be quite handsome (because really who doesn't think of themselves as the opposite sex?), but it's still quite an amusement to her to see Blank acting like this. She believes in Blank's many-world interpretation, especially since she's arrived here... but encountering one that's her world, but a simple difference of a men and women, is probably the most interesting thing she's run into yet.]

[She takes a look at herself.]

You really did capture me pretty well, I have to say! You don't normally fantasize about me this way?

Edited 2011-09-13 21:54 (UTC)

[A strangled, frustrated noise, drawn out into a whine.]

I don't! Ever! You're my friend so that's, you know...weird! [cray who????] Almost as bad as hypothetically having these dreams about the Chief.

[She crosses her arms, mock hurt written on her face.]

I can't believe you would compare me to the Chief. After you went all this way to subconsciously turn me into a beautiful woman, too.

[WHY CAN'T SHE WIN AGAINST THE FIGMENTS OF HER OWN IMAGINATION???

just

flops over on the grass]

...I give up, I want another dream.

[She walks over to Blank, her ponytail slips forward as she peers down―body blocking out the sunlight behind her. As much as she would love to keep going on with the joke, she knows that it's probably a good idea to explain exactly what's going on.]

Remember when you told me about the many-worlds interpretation... About how changing the past creates another universe?

[Blank is rubbing her face, as if to grind out the fabric of this experience to make room for another. Her response is muffled, a little weary. Oh, come on brain, stop being douche to yourself.]

Of course I do. ...Why?

This is the place where a lot of those universes combine. I'm not a figment of your subconscious―

[Her fingers reach out to swipe against Blank's shoulder to prove her statement.]

―I'm not Gabriel. I'm Gabrielle. In my world, you're a man. The Queen who runs this place seems to bring only women into the Garden, so I guess we both come from different universes where we're both women.

[She jumps a bit at the touch and sits up, blinking, regarding Gabrielle with those young brown eyes that are so open and yet don't really reveal much at all. Blank licks her lips a little nervously and says, carefully:]

...a man, huh. [Taking this one step at a time! Her voice is maybe a little higher than Gabrielle might remember, but that's where the obvious differences end- with all her clothes kept on, anyway.] To be honest, I think I preferred the dream idea. [She breathes in deep and looks away for a moment, running a hand through her hair.

But she's a forward-thinking person, and as much as she hides behind a persona and would probably like to hide from this reality as well, Blank can't. It's just not in her. After a long couple of moments, Blank speaks up again.]

Hey, uh- Gabrielle? I have a question.

[Gabrielle thinks she could never explain the different events that went on in her world and in this one, all of them are so peculiar that it even seem far to unreal for her. Everything seems so distant now―fighting robots with Aya, sharing her life with Fela, finding out Hyde's intentions―all of them seemed as if they were leading up to something, but to what? Has anything really changed since she's arrived here?

Smiling down at Blank, she tilts her head curiously. Her ponytail gently shifting behind her.]

What is it?

[The slightest of pauses before she tries for a grin - it's a little shaky, a bit sheepish, but bright enough.]

Can I still call you Gabby?

[She laughs. The nickname was fondly regarded by her, for only Blank to use. It seems fitting for her to still use it, even with their worldly differences.]

Of course you can! I wouldn't dare think of you calling me anything different.

[It's the reminiscent nostalgia of those old times, that seemed so much more long ago than they actually are. The familiar feeling of companionship, even when the two weren't particularly close. A comfort she's missed, especially after Aya left.]

[A wave of relief at Gabrielle's acceptance - and it's strange, maybe, to feel that way over such a small thing, but Blank doesn't question it. The nickname is something known and familiar, a piece of the world now lost to her. A string to wind around her fingers that can help her find her way back.

And it's almost funny how much she unconsciously needs such small, vital attachments for all the distance so carefully cultivated to set her apart.]

Yeah?...great! I can't really imagine calling you anything else, so it works out.

[She brings her knees up to her chest and holds them, rocking a bit as she quietens to consider a new thought.]

Are we the only two here? Y'know....[from the crew.]

[She looks away for a moment, watching a cat paw through the Garden. It weaves in and out of bushes until it finally sits itself in a sun patch and begins to bathe itself. There's a quietness in the air―only sounds of the birds chirping and nothing more.]

Aya was here... briefly. We arrived at the same time, oddly enough, but she left a few months ago.

[Looking back at Blank, she presses her lips into a sad smile. These things she must accept, for dwelling on them will do her no good. Even with her short time here, she was fortunate to see her again. The memory of who she is not lost amongst the darkness.]

It was for the best, though. She needed to be back with her family.

[Blank watches her, a look of worry creeping into her eyes. A thousand questions bubble up in her throat, not the least of which being Aya was a girl?, but all are choked back, shunted aside. Because it's hard to miss the unhappiness in that smile.]

...still, that must have been rough on you.

[She uncurls again, lanky body stretching out a touch.]

It is.

[She's not afraid to say that to Blank. They were never particularly close, but even Gabrielle has her weak moments. Pretending she's always strong for everyone else does weigh down on her sometimes―the mask is harder to keep up when someone she knows is here.

There is a sigh, a small relief on her shoulders. She's missed Aya, she still misses Aya. There is no way to get over someone you cared deeply about, especially when they were the only person who knows you best.]

I shouldn't complain, you're here too, after all. It's good to see a familiar face that isn't the Chief or the boss.

[For a moment Blank breaks her gaze away from Gabrielle, regarding the clouds instead. So faraway, within sight yet out of reach, the same here in this new world- the one she wants to see? probably not -as they are back home. Her co-worker is the same way, Blank can already sense, regardless of this swapping of genders.]

I think it's okay, to complain now and then. You've been here awhile, so....you've got more right than most. [She shifts a bit closer, fidgeting a little, gives a helpless laugh- a stab at being cheerful.] I've been here ten minutes and I already want to start whining. So if you ever want to complain, I'll listen....[does she expect to be taken up on the offer? no, but it's something she had to say regardless] ...'cause I'm glad to see you, too, Gabby.

[The words sting like an arrow and she's not sure why. Three years―three years since it's all happened―and only a few since she saw Aya again. There are nights where it's too much for her, where the loneliness washes over her like the force of a great tide, swallows her up until she can no longer breathe. Those are the nights that scare her the most, what if she becomes that again? What if she attacks the inhabitant here, like Zinc attacked her?]

[The smile is genuine, mixed with a hint of sadness behind her eyes.]

Thank you, Blank. It feels like ages since I've been in familiar company...

[But the sun feels warm against her skin, everything here is alive (we're alive, says the bride), and there are things she will never be able to obtain, but she thinks that this second chance is worth something. For nobody else had one. Not Rebecca, Aya, or Cray.]

I suppose I should tell you more about this place before you get any more confused, hm?

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1;; (briefly) video, voice, action

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