caughtinanetwork | .oo2. ♉

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[the camera clambers on as the SFC gets knocked off a shelf by a massive, candy colored bull's horn as Tavros shakes his head. He's currently dressed like Pupa Pan, complete with a pair of fake wings strapped to his back]

But, uh… Tiger Beetle, is the one that is supposed to be rescued.

[Nepeta lets out a small growl of frustration, making the feathers in her hair shake. She is quite obviously dressed as Tiger Beetle, and its just as obvious they've been having this argument for a while now, interrupting their happy fun pretend times.]

No no no, that doesn't make sense! Tiger Beetle is furocious, just like her name! When those nasty purrates tried to capture her she went grrr and bit all their heads right off!

But… Pupa Pan is the hero! He, uh… always flies in, on his great big wings and, uh… saves the day with his, strength and c-confidence!

But purrhaps this time he didn't need to! Beclaws Tiger Beetle already did it fur him! So instead of fighting the mean purrates they can fly somewhere else together and have fun and more adventures!

[Tavros had better watch out, at the word fun her hands came up in front of her with her fingers curled towards her palms and she half-crouched in her typical pouncing stance. And on adventure she does indeed tackle him, laughing.]

[Tav topples backwards off his metal legs and lands with an audible OOF off his back, flailing a moment before he starts laughing too]

That sounds... like a good idea!

Then Tiger Beetle and Pupa Pan fly off to...where are we going next??

[She's half flopped onto him as she asks, still giggling as she fixes the angle of his hat which got knocked askew during her pounce - and then notices the light on the SFC blinking and pokes at it with one of her feet until it switches off.]

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Don't worry, I've already talked to him and efurything's okay. He's been furry nice to me and helped me a lot at furst. And I know you are! [She beams at him.] I'm furry purrleased fur you!

Uh huh, Mister Signless gave me a purrlace to stay and I've had teapurrties with Mister Psii but it's a little crowded ofur there so Tavros asked me if I want to share his hive with him. And yes they've all expurrlained the purrlace to me already.

How the fuck did I not talk to you before if you were living with my ancestor?

[Facepalm.]

But fine, good, one less job for me to have to do.

How am I suppawsed to know?!

[Well, she'd been staying inside her respiteblock and moping about Equius most of the time, that could very well explain it.]

...I'm glad to see you again, Karkitty.

[Sigh.]

Whatever, don't worry about it. At least shit's been calm for most of the month.

But yeah, I've been in this place for over an earth year, nearly half a sweep, if you discount the short while I was gone when they sent me back to the Veil for whatever reason. No lost memories though, unlike most of you people who go missing.

You've been here that long?!

At least you didn't furget. I hate not knowing what I did when I was here befur. ...do you like it here? Gamzee sounds really happy and a lot of other people don't seem to mind it either.

It sucks sweat-stained hoofbeast behind some of the time, but in all, it's better than being stuck in the Veil. If I had an active choice, I'd pick this place first without much hesitation, even knowing the kind of crap that goes down now and then. At least the bulk of us are alive here, and I am determined to keep it that way.

It's a lot better than the Veil fur sure. I didn't think so at furst but having efuryone alive and safe...

And getting to meet all the adults! I like them so much, they're the bestest!

Some of those I could do without, but... that's another part of it. I've met people here I'd never have the chance to otherwise, and like hell am I turning my back on them.

Uhmmm, yes, I heard about that one. But Mister Signless and Mister Psii and the Dolorosa and Darkleer are all so furry nice and they all looked afurter me lots too!

We couldn't leave even if we wanted to anyway though, right?

[Skeptical look to that.]

Darkleer's an ass. You and Gamzee and Equius can like him all you want, but don't expect me to be his buddy any time soon, as in it is never happening, the end.

And no, leaving is not up to us. But if there's one goal I have her, it's finding out how this crap works so that people can have a choice.

When I got here he was the furst one to help me! [She looks indignant now.] I didn't know what was happening at all especially afurter...what had just happened at home, but he came and picked me up and helped dry me off and gave me new clothes beclaws my others were covered in blood and held me until Equius came! And when I was sad later on he talked to me until I felt better!

That's a good thing to work fur...can I help?

And fucking great for you, but he's never done anything half as great for me. You got help when you met him; I thought he was going to kill me, and not just because he was an adult.

Inasmuch as you can, I guess. It's slow going, because information doesn't crop up much.

What? Why? What did he do??

I'll keep an eye out, yup yup! And repurrt back to you!

He cornered me in an alley, loomed over me, and poked me with the arrow he killed my ancestor with. You know, a nice friendly greeting like any sane person would make.

Edited 2012-01-08 11:27 (UTC)

You're right, that was really mean of him. Did he apurrlogize? If he hasn't I'll talk to him and...

[Something else he said finally gets through to her.]

He...Mister Signless? Darkleer killed him?

No, he did not "appurlogize", and there is no convincing you're going to do that would work there. Gamzee would have done it first if there was, I bet.

And yes, he killed him. He was called the Executor then, before he was the Expatriate. You know a troll speaking out against the caste system wasn't going to last forever there, right?

But Mister Signless is the nicest troll I ever met! [She's just grabbing at her hair and dropping her quirk and trying not to cry - she's lost too much lately to hear of more awful things. Most of what Karkat just said goes over her head besides the fact that Signless was killed and her new friend was responsible. No one had bothered telling her about all that.]

And? He's the best ancestor I could have, and that doesn't do a goddamn thing to change the past. He's basically the biggest heretic to ever exist.

He is, however, here now, and he is going to stay safe so long as he is.

[If Nepeta was slightly more level-headed and not still secretly reeling from watching Equius die followed by dying herself, and arriving here to find Equius wasn't pale for her any longer, she might have been able to make sense of his words. Alternia was gone, after all, and what was in the past was in the past.

But now she's just covering her ears and whimpering quietly.]

[Karkat can certainly see that, and it makes him sigh, not irritated, but something softer than usual.]

Listen, alright? The Signless has made it through a lot, and he has far more help and support here than he did on Alternia. He's going to be fine. Darkleer hasn't laid a prong on him here, as far as I know, and he sure as fuck is not going to repeat what happened back in our universe. I will not let it happen, you got that?

I don't know any more! People have to stop hurting each other!

[She'd trusted Gamzee as a friend and he'd killed her and now someone else who she thought of as awesome and a great new friend had apparently killed the nicest troll she'd ever met and who'd taken her in, and assertions that it won't happen again aren't doing much to reassure her.]

Nepeta. Listen. Don't just babble on about shit, seriously, shut up and listen to me for a minute.

Have you heard about the Grand Highblood? He's Gamzee's ancestor, more terrible than he was sober by a fucking longshot. He showed up here a while back, and everyone promptly freaked the fuck out for the obvious reasons. The most of us wound up living up on the island for a while to keep away from him so that we could stay safe.

But the thing is, we worked out a plan. We all worked together, figured out how to do it, and in the end we shot him with a dart of concentrated sopor. Well, Eridan's the one that fired the dart gun, but the point is the plan couldn't have gone down without a big fucking group effort to make sure it went off without a hitch. And it worked.

Out of all the plans we could have done, out of all the different ways that would have involved harming someone, we worked out a way that didn't have that.

So trust me, alright? I'm not the leader for nothing. I can't say times before that have gone perfectly, but I learned from them. And that's why this time, and in the future, we will solve shit as fucking peaceably as we can.

Edited 2012-01-08 13:44 (UTC)

I'm listening!

[And she is, nodding once as he mentions the Grand Highblood, the look of fear on her face unmistakeable when he says he was so much worse than even Gamzee was when sober.]

I'm glad it worked out that way. [She rubs at her face, looking tired and miserable suddenly. She'd been doing such a good job of pretending everything was fine until now.]

I nefur said I didn't trust you! I just shouldn't be here. I'm supposed to be dead and being here is wrong, I'm no use to anyone. I don't want to be here! [Because when she'd lost the one thing that gave meaning to her life, there seemed like no point being brought back to life just to watch more people get hurt and have to continue to fight.]

[Karkat looks at her for one long moment, expression working itself into something complicated. He's reminded of when Equius came back to Vatheon from dying, of how he acted then, the things he said, and how time eventually helped.]

You're not of no use. You are here and alive for however long, which as it stands is not up for either of us to decide. I've never been dead - my dreamself died, but that doesn't count the same way - so I can't understand all the shit you're going through. Just...

Give it time.

Everyone says that as if there's anything else I can do about it.

[And it's probably the strangest thing of all, to hear Nepeta of all people sound bitter.]

I have to go now, Tavros is waiting for me.

[By which she means she's going to go crawl under some piece of furniture like a wounded animal licking its wounds, and stay there until she feels better or someone drags her out.]

[VIDEO]

bethehugejerk - 2012-01-08 15:07 (UTC) - Expand

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