caughtinanetwork

[The new curse has resulted in the Villa gaining one (1) formidable-looking resident Responsible Adult(TM), a nine-foot tall being shrouded in a full-length black cloak and cowl, his face obliterated by mask in the shape of a characature of a skull (as depicted).

Behold, Vatheon, the visage of your new Death Personified, the identity of whom is only revealed when he at last speaks, raising two hands out of his cloak to clap them, twice.]

All right, children! It's the beginning of a new week, and I trust you all know what that means--

[For those who know him, this is Death the Kid, all "grown up". By his recollection, he's been kicking around for hundreds of years, and Death City, the place of his birth, is a distant and fond memory.]

--It's time for our field trip to the coral!

[And it seems he's taken to caring for a Villa full of young children like a fish to water. The apple, it appears, didn't fall far from his father's proverbial tree.]

Line up single file in the foyer, please. If we're done early, we can all have hot chocolate in the Plaza. Don't be late, punctuality is a virtue second only to cleanliness!

[ooc; open to action threads, too, both in the villa and around the bubble.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Whether we want to or not, inevitably we do leave. Our desires and convenience don't seem to play a part in our eventual departure.

[But he can see where the assumption could be made, and doesn't fault the troll that; he should have been more clear.]

I've seen a lot of curses in my time, and nothing ever came close to being able to invent centuries of experiences. I'm afraid you're mistaken.

[Karkat growls under his breath. He wants to argue that first part, definitely, with all his determination to want to figure out how the scientists keep them here or ship them around. However, it would be a needless tangent. He speaks instead on the main subject.]

That is a load out a hoofbeast's back end, and you're the moron trying to read signs and omens in the shape of the plop instead of smelling the stink of the shit you're standing in. I have two years' experience here. I have seen curses change personalities and force behavior into bizarre, awful caricatures. This curse can already erase memories, as my suddenly youthful moirail is living proof of, so don't tell me it can't invent centuries of it for you, too. If it had really been centuries, I would have died before it hit the mark for the first.

Language--

[That peculiar feeling of wrongness was starting to hit him with greater frequency, like becoming gradually aware that you're dreaming while still in it.]

Oh, who am I kidding, the coral will start telling jokes before the day Karkat Vantas decides to censor himself.

...You really believe this, too, is part of the curse?

Even if the coral did tell jokes, I wouldn't quit.

[He's that stubborn. Besides, nothing wrong with adding color to his language. He lacks it everywhere else.]

It's more than belief; it's the fact that there's hardly anything else that could explain it, barring extreme head injury or completely off-base delusions. Still it's the curse that's most likely. You're physically older already; a mental effect isn't that much of a stretch.

T... two hundred years.

[The grim reaper's tone has entirely changed, putting aside the characteristically dignified along with the forced cheer in favor of a low, mortified timbre.

Oops, he's a little upset.]

Two hundred years I thought I waited here. They mean nothing?

[Relax, Kid! It was honestly more like a few hours! Don't go on a vengeful rampage or anythi--]

I've never heard of anything so messed up in my life! What a disgusting curse!

Kid, are you even listening? Those two hundred years didn't happen. Wait until the end of the week, and you and--and all that--will go back to normal.

And don't get to wining about this curse just because of that. This is fucking amateur hour. You are tall and have a weird mask, and you're helping the people who're too young now to take care of themselves. Focus on that, will you? This is seriously not the worst they could have done.

They messed up my--

[His memories, hell, even fucking around with a shinigami's head is a big deal. And there are other reasons for his anger; this is also the guy who did a backwards pirouette off the sanity precipice during a previous curse and throttled Maka to death.

He exhales.]

No, you're right. Of course, the children--our friends--need us.

[He breathes a sigh.]

Good that you realize it. I wouldn't be happy in your position, so don't mistake me on that, but you'll be fine if you just focus on what's important this week. Don't worry too hard about the rest.

Of course. Thank you, Karkat.

[Usually it's Maka being the voice of reason settling his crazy down before he can do something they might regret.

Welp, thank god for Cancer!]

Even if everything that led to this moment isn't real, my duty as a reaper is still real. I'll look after the children. As I imagine you have quite enough on your hands already, I won't keep you.

[Being a shinigami is serious fucking business!]

Edited 2013-01-26 12:28 (UTC)

Yeah, I do. My moirail's been aged down and had his memories screwed with too, so looking after a rambunctious pre-clown-obsession version of him is the brand new thorn in my side for the week. Good luck with your herd. I don't even want to imagine it.

[He sighs.]

Let's just count this as even. Here's hoping for sanity through the week.

[There's an abrupt, abbreviated little laugh at that last part.]

Ahem. Let's not speculate on the alternative. We'll keep things neat and orderly, as much as we can.

If you need any help, the villa is a little crowded, but open to you and yours, naturally.

See you later, Karkat.

[... Yeah on second thought, he really could have picked a better way to put that. Cough.]

Yeah. Let's not.

If it comes up, I'll let you know. If not, spare yourself the concern, and we'll talk when things are calmer.

[Click.]

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