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One hours work on the car restoration this morning. I know it was an hours work because I was out running ten k. While he is pondering his options with the diff issues he has gone ahead and put in the brake lines and clutch lines. Son got the lines made up at his work, they look cool, so shiny and new.
Getting some wood to build a table. Not like a dinning table or anything. We just ordered a wood lathe so we need a table for it to go on. Can’t wait for the lathe to come in so I can start playing with it. Gonna make some cool looking goblets and bowls
Been thinking about Destiny islands from kingdom hearts.
So I been working on this for a year and half now on my ps4 not finish yet so hopefully by the end of year maybe I’ll get it done
My long weekend project, I had almost forgotten how much I love building in minecraft, it's so peaceful
Act 4, Chapter 3- Rated R for Strong Conciliatory Content
Act 4, Chapter 2- [Insert Transition Chapter Here]
Words: 3,930
Tags: AU, Meteorstuck, moirallegiance,
[Ao3]
[Previous Chapter]
[Act Masterpost]
February 19th, Year 1 of Sweep 2
You are Terezi Pyrope, and you are about to engage in the next step of your very important plan. Which is not to say that you are not feeling a little anxious or that you are not genuinely feeling a little pale for Rose, but… that is not the point.
This is for her. This is for them. Even Karkat.
“...and I suppose that addressing that issue and setting up ground rules will be important to do at some point in the near future, this is perhaps not the most romantic of subjects.”
“No. That’s alright,” you assure her. “Just follow me.”
You grin and open up the door to your respiteblock. “What comes to mind first?” you ask. You have about as much experience, to be honest, as Karkat does. Maybe less. You haven’t even watched many films. But you have a general, intellectual idea of what is supposed to happen here.
Rose stops for a moment after she steps inside, evidently examining your room. “Well first I would like to preemptively apologize. Human romantic interactions tend to actually be somewhere between that of flushed and pale interactions and thus I may end up behaving with some slight quadrant confusion in that manner. This has already proved somewhat of an issue with Kanaya, though I suspect that--”
You laugh. Of course. Rose isn’t even a troll. It isn’t like she’ll have expectations. It’ll be fine, no matter how bad your pale fumblings may be.
“Right. Kanaya.” You grin. “I will get used to it.”
This shouldn’t be too hard after all. But enough about you, this whole thing really is about fixing Rose after all.
===> TEREZI: Be Rose
You are Rose now, and now in addition to feeling apprehensive about your first decidedly pale encounter (for which you have little reliable information on what to expect), you find yourself having already made a fool of yourself. Of course Terezi would know about humans. She has been dating Dave after all.
“I suppose you would have the opportunity to understand it,” you reply. “That will likely make things somewhat easier, if infinitely more awkward. I’m not sure what implications being quadrant corners with one’s sibling is supposed to have.”
“I’m not sure either,” she says. “Since that isn’t something that comes up for us. At all. Maybe there don’t have to be implications?”
“Yes,” you confirm. “I suppose we therefore have the capacity to determine what protocol should be in such situations.” Fine. Enough pleasantries. You take a deep breath before continuing. “In any case, it is my understanding that activities in this quadrant tend to consistent largely of the sharing of feelings, and related psychological counseling as well as varying degrees of non-sexual physical closeness. Is this interpretation approximately correct?”
“Yes. I can put together a pile now actually.”
“Right. I’ve always been curious about that aspect of it. I suppose it never needed to be explained in detail to a troll audience.”
Terezi scurries around the room getting out blankets and pillows and the odd shirt and whatever assorted soft items she comes across. Slowly these items manage to assemble themselves into a rough mound with several plushies figuring prominently near the apex.
“...That does seem to be aptly described by the word ‘pile’,” you note. “It looks comfortable. Also, very you.”
Two blankets in hand, Terezi flops forward onto your pile, then flips over onto her back. “You can add some things next time if you’d like,” she offers
You pad carefully over to the assemblage, and sit down carefully. “I will have to see what old knitting projects I can dig up.”
Terezi nods, and reaches to pull you in closer. You allow her hands to guide you as you try to make yourself comfortable.
“You’re worried,” she begins. “Don’t try to make it soft. Just let it out, as soon as it occurs to you.”
“I suppose that this will necessitate the end of my amateur psychology business?”
Terezi shrugs, you can feel her shoulders move against you. “I want Dave to be understanding of troll things. I have to do the same, right? That is, when I have a kismesis, Dave might feel like I have two matesprits. So if he has to be understanding of that and how it’s not the same then so do I.”
You breath an internal sigh of relief. However much you have wanted to try this, you would be loathe to give up your practice. “Well I suppose that I will then just need to be extra careful” you say “to make sure that I keep my amateur interactions strictly professional. Though this does make me wonder if the need for greater understanding was not part of your reason for initiating this relationship.”
Terezi somewhat awkwardly pats you on the shoulders. Your current horizontal positions make this gesture less than natural.
“We will figure it out” she says. “You don’t worry about it. I will let you know if something bothers me, and then we will figure it out from there. Like moirails do.”
You nod. “Thank you for being understanding.”
“What else?” Terezi asks. “All of your worries. All of them. Sink into the pile and let your worries out.”
You take a deep breath. “Very well, I am getting there,” you say, tension building in your stomach once again. “You may have noticed that I do not open up about my troubles easily. It may be overly-cliche, but I think it is likely due to the nature of the relationship I had with my mother. She would treat any complaints I had in such an exaggerated manner as to bespeak mockery. Thus, I suppose I have learned to keep my worries unvoiced.” Oh God. Now you appear to be psychoanalyzing yourself rather than giving her a chance. Nice going Rose.
Terezi doesn’t seem to mind though. “My lusus wasn’t very good for that either,” she says. “But she was an egg.” Another beat before she turns her head back towards you. “You know that you’ve been doing your best, right?”
And there the two of you finally arrive at the meat of the issue. “No. Actually I do not know that,” you reply. “In fact, I might go so far as to say that I have been somewhat far from my best these last weeks. Remiss in my duties even.”
Terezi takes one of your hands and guides it over her cane-shawl. You flinch back at the contact with the abominable symbol, but Terezi holds your hand firmly. “This was a good cane, but I broke it.” She runs your hand over the splintered wood as she continues. “That wasn’t the cane’s fault. It just couldn’t deal with the force. So it broke.” She releases your hand, and moves to cup your cheek. “You are not a cane,” she says. “But you can still break. Like you did. The difference is that you can come back from it, while this cane, if I tried to put it back, would never be as strong as it was the first day. It’s not your fault if you break. If anything it’s my fault because i didn’t help you sooner. You did your best. You were pushed too far. You broke. You did your best. Say it.”
You feel her sightless gaze fixed on you, as her words dredge up the fear and pain and selfishness that has left you hiding from your gifts these past weeks. You hear your voice wavering as you begin to speak “I-I broke.”
Terezi holds your arms. “It’s not my fault that I broke. Say it.”
You try to obey, you really do. But the words catch in your mouth. In their place you find all the fear and pain that you thought you had sealed away tightly over these past years coming loose and springing to the surface. You reach out, and your hands find Terezi’s shirt. You pull her close as you cry an age of tears into her shoulder.
===> ROSE: Be the other girl
It is some time before Rose’s sobs settle down into softer crying, and then to silence, and finally speech again. “Wow. I really am a mess, aren’t I?”
“When a wound is left open it festers,” you reply. “You have to apply an ointment to heal it, and the ointment burns. Sometimes more than the original pain.”
“Yes. That was not one of my more pleasant experiences. But I feel much relieved having been through it. Thank you.”
“That’s what moirails are for. We are strong for each other. You lean on me, and depend on me to keep you from breaking, and you don’t have to worry.”
Rose tightens her hold on you.
“Do you trust me Rose?”
She doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. “I don’t know if I do. I want to. But the reality is of course more complicated.”
“Keep going.” You are trying to sound soothing, layering your voice with a little chirping purr. Whether human-soothing is the same as troll-soothing, you aren’t sure. You were never Dave’s moirail.
“Well, on the one hand, despite having lived in close quarters for over a sweep, we have never till now been close. And so it is hard to know.” Rose pauses for a bit, rearranging the position of her head against the pile. “And then there are other things. Although our species have much in common, I am reminded from time to time that there are significant and often unnerving differences.” She glances away almost guiltily before continuing. “And well, for example, when seen from a human perspective what is being done with Karkat seems to be unreasonably terrible.”
You growl. You realize, halfway through, far too late, that this is not a Good Idea, and Rose starts and pulls back before you stop yourself. You squeeze her, pulling her in close, trying to make up for the growl. “I just want you to live,” you say miserably. “All of you. You and Dave and Karkat and Kanaya and the Mayor. And Karkat doesn’t understand. I have to do this.”
Rose squirms between your arms, but you don’t let go. “You have to understand, Rose. I’m trying to save you. Especially Karkat. He has the clown in his room right now. What if the clown breaks out? The first person to get hurt is going to be Karkat. That idiot! And then who’s next. We can’t take him on one on one. And… Oh Rooooseeee…” You bury your face against her shoulder. “I don’t like this. But I have to make sure that everyone listens. Especially Karkat. Or we’re going to die. And. And… That’s why you have to be strong, Rose. Because I don’t think I’m going to be able to be here for long.”
A distant part of you notices Rose shift, notices her relax against you as you continue. “The clown is going to kill someone. And I… can’t let it be anyone else. That’s my responsibility. Keeping all of you safe.” You breathe in deeply, taking in her scent, trying to get a fix on her, hoping that you haven’t destroyed everything. “Please tell me you understand.”
“I understand.” Rose squeezes you briefly. “But I don’t see why protecting Karkat necessitates turning him into a pariah. If anything it seems to me that this is more likely to drive him to irrational consideration of Gamzee’s safety over the rest of ours. And even were it necessary,” she presses her forehead against yours. “I’m not sure how long I could stand to see him treated this way.”
“It’s… That’s… This is how it’s done. I don’t want to hurt him,” you insist. “N-Not too badly, anyway. Not permanently. I want him to keep living. But he has to be made to understand. He can’t act like this anymore. So I’m being careful. Gamzee won’t hurt any of you, but Karkat has to understand, and… And this is how you’re supposed to do it. I never practiced for this. But I’m trying to do what I’m supposed to.”
“But why must it be done this way?”
“Because. Because it keeps order in the ranks.”
“The ranks? There are six of us here. Seven if you want to count the Mayor.”
“I don’t know. I thought that I might have to do it, when I was younger,” you hold her to you. You need her to understand. “Most promotions come because your superior made a grievous mistake. I played it out like my court cases so that I would be ready when I was older, and I would know exactly what to say, and just the right tone of voice, and everything else. And I never thought I wouldn’t kill them. Some say there are benefits to leaving them at the bottom for everyone to pick on, but that goes wrong sometimes. I was going to be smart,” you say, and you smile a little. “But I couldn’t kill Karkat. That wasn’t the point.”
Despite yourself, you begin to cry into her shirt a little. “And I have to know exactly what to do. I have to keep you alive. Even that red-blooded fool.” Rose tightens her hold on you, begins to rub one of your shoulders. “So he has to know how stupid he was so centuries from now he won’t do it again. Do you get it? It has to burn and it has to scar so that he won’t do it again.”
“Yes, I understand. But this can’t be only way.”
“W-What else am I supposed to do?”
You hate yourself. How weak you are, with your sniveling tone and your faltering strength. What sort of moirail are you? How did you let her maneuver you into this position without even trying? How are you supposed to fix her when you are falling apart?
You are killing them, you piece of hoofbeast droppings.
“Karkat is smart despite the metaphorical garbage that usually issues from his mouth. Talk to him.”
“About what? Don’t you get it?” You want to scream at her. You want to hold her by the shoulders, shove your face in front of hers and scream, yell, rant, until your voice is gone, why is she so blind? “I’m killing the clown,” you explain. “M-Maybe not very soon, but I have to do it. Even if somebody else does it, the responsibility is mine. I told Karkat that I would keep anyone from dying. That’s what I was going to do that he couldn’t. But I knew, I knew, before I said it, that I was going to break my promise. Because Gamzee has to die. I’m going to fail no matter what, but that’s why I’m doing it. So it’s my fault.” You bury yourself further in her shirt. “And then I’ll have to be punished. I can’t let it be any of you. Especially you. Y-You have to take over after me. After I’m… gone. You can’t have that on your hands.”
Rose pushes you back a bit to meet you forehead to forehead. “Terezi, no. You are not going to have to kill Gamzee. That is not an alternative. We will find another way.” She pauses for emphasis. “If it means shutting him in a metal box and throwing away the key, we will find another way. Even if this weren’t Karkat’s friend we were walking about. Even if he was going to threaten our safety again. We are not going to kill Gamzee. Or you.”
“W-Why? Rose, d-don’t you care--”
“Something happens,” she says, her voice straining to remain in control. “Something terrible happens if we let him die. Terezi, this is important. Do you understand me?”
You nod as best as you can under the circumstances, with your head between her hands. “Then what else can I do?”
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll just have to figure something out together.”
“I… I can’t be weak,” you say. “But I can be weak here. Rose…” You choke. “I-I think I’m broken.”
“Well that just means that we have an opportunity to rebuild you better than you were before,” Rose smiles back at you. “I’m told that when a bone is not set properly it can heal wrong, and that the only way to fix it is to break it again and reset it. So Terezi, what shape do you want to heal into?”
“A… better one? I don’t know. I stopped thinking about that. I’m trying to go for long enough that you’re fixed. And then I’m done, and you can do it. I’m just the… transitional head.”
“I’m flattered,” she replies. “But I don’t think that it works that way. My impression was that the moirallegiance deal was that everyone got healed. So, Terezi, think about it. Who do you want to be?”
“I was going to be R-Redglare.” Your voice is muffled. You’re pressed against her shirt again. “I don’t know anymore. There isn’t a place for Redglare. Or legislacerators. We won’t be going to the new session. I don’t know what I’m supposed to be! But I felt better, in a way. I knew what I was supposed to do today. I had responsibilities and they mattered. And I knew exactly what I had to do. It was like when my lusus taught me how to smell, and suddenly being blind didn’t matter.”
Rose holds you closer. You are held.
“It’s not easy finding a new path,” she says softly. “But you can do it.”
“But I don’t, I don’t have anything else.” You try to curl up more tightly against her. “I’m lost.”
“I’m here for you.” She begins to rub your back. “We’ll find a way out together.”
“This wasn’t supposed to be about me…”
You sound disgusting. You disgust yourself.
“Are you so disappointed to learn that I have something to offer you here as well?”
“I… don’t know. I don’t think so?”
“Are you sad that I’m not going to let you go through with your plans to valiantly sacrifice yourself?”
You make a noise that is almost, but not quite, a growl. “Maybe…” you say quietly.
“No.” Rose says it emphatically. “No. If you die, Dave loses a matesprit, I lose a moirail, and everyone loses a friend. You are already too much a part of this group for us to lose you. Is something the matter that this seemed like a favorable alternative to you?”
“No. No. I just… This is just the only thing that I know how to do. Don’t you get it?”
You try to pull away from Rose, but she only lets you go a little.
“You tell me what I’m going to do. You can’t just… leave me without any options.”
“I cannot decide that for you,” she insists. “but I can help. There are far too few of us left to mete out justice at the end of a noose, but surely you cared for more than just the hangings.”
“I’m trying to do what’s best for you. Kanaya isn’t fighting this. Even karkat isn’t fighting it. He knows that he fucked up. Even if he’s angry he still knows. Y-You can’t treat us like humans.”
“I appreciate that,” she nods. “But as I understand it, it is my role here to do what is best for you. You cannot simply sacrifice yourself, even if you do not know what to do with yourself. And maybe you are correct. Perhaps I will just need to stuff my discomfort about Karkat’s situation. Chalk it up to cross-cultural dissonance. But I think that there has to be a better way. If he understands, why do we need to treat him like this?”
“I’m… I’m not doing anything to him you know,” you find yourself searching for reasons to backpedal. “I didn’t tell him to leave. He did that on his own. I have talked with him. I have extended aid. When he can deal with it he will come back.” You think back to what happened in the commonsblock. “He knew enough to know when to leave. He has enough judgment for that. I think he has enough judgment to know when to come back. I wasn’t sure before, but I have talked with him since lunch. I believe that he is taking this to heart.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
You smile a little.
A time passes until Roes finally breaks the silence. “This is not at all what I was anticipating. The books always made it so dramatic. And yet seemed to miss out on the sheer intensity of it.”
“You’re pretty good for this being your first time.” You rest your head against her. You take a moment to stretch, your arms going out wide. None-too-subtly, one wraps around Rose more properly than it had been before.
Rose grins. “Well, perhaps there is some merit to spending lonely afternoons attempting to psychoanalyze one’s housepets.” She relaxes into the new configuration, pressing slightly closer. “though at some point we are going to need to have an interspecies discussion of body language norms.”
“Just do what I do. We do it better. I mean you don’t even have moirails.”
She laughs. “I suppose. But the, uh…” She paps you tentatively. “That. It seems a bit unusual from a human perspective.”
“Oh.” You pap her in return. “You mean that?” You pap her again, a little higher, on the forehead. “Or were you meaning that?” You smile. You pap her on the shoulders.
“Yes. That. Were those first two intended to be notably distinct in some way?”
“No.” You pap her on the shoulders again. “I just like doing it. You made a funny expression.”
“Ah, yes. You were messing with me. I am glad that my reactions have proved a source of great amusement.”
“Oh.” You should, um, you should probably bring up something else while you’re at it. Another intercultural miscommunication. “And Kanaya would never mention it, and we all knew that you didn’t know, but you’ve been flirting pale with Kanaya.”
Rose curls up a bit. “Yeah, I know. How bad was it?”
“Do you remember when I found you a few hours ago? With Kanaya?”
“Oh. Oh Terezi, I’m really sorry.”
You snort. “The court forgives you. And anyway,” you add, whispering. “It’s actually been pretty funny, in a sick kind of way. Mostly at Kanaya’s expense…”
It is now Rose’s turn to hide her face in her moirail’s shoulder. “Apparently I am not as adept as I had thought at this quadrant thing.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Rose relaxes some, and smirks a little. “Well, I guess I’ll just need to find a way to make it up to her.”
“There are plenty of ways for a matesprit to do that. I’m sure that you’ll think of something.”
Rose smirks harder.
You pap her on the head, and adjust some hairs. “Do you feel better now?”
“Yes. Considerably so, thanks to you.”
“That’s what moirails are for. Now go make up with your matesprit.”
“That sounds like a very good idea. And I suppose that you must have business of your own to attend to.”
You yawn. “Yes. Lots and lots of business.”
“Ah. I see.” She hugs you one more time. “Very well, I shall take my leave.”
Rose carefully disentangles herself as you yawn again.
You drift off as she tucks the blankets in against you.
Act 4, Chapter 2- [Insert Transition Chapter Here]
Words: 2,529
Tags: AU, Meteorstuck, sopor, Poor communications hijinks
[Ao3]
[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter]
[Act Masterpost]
February 19th, Year 1 of Sweep 2
You are finally Terezi again.
“Rose? I’m sorry to be coming and going but…”
Rose stops saying something--what was it was about anyway?-- and looks at you. “Anyway, I need to know where the sopor came from. We may need to give some to Gamzee very soon. Karkat is apparently frantic about it, which may be a case of everything as usual or of something worse.”
She’s looking at you like something is dreadfully wrong. Oh well, you can pap her about it later; you have to make sure that nobody is killed by a fucking insane clown first.
“Right. The sopor. It came out of the machine that you and Dave discovered. While there is still a considerable quantity on the floor nearby, the mixture with coffee is somewhat unfortunate.”
“Was there a code for it?”
“Well technically there is a code, but I believe that it requires some sort of exotic grist that we lack access to.”
You turn the air teal with some choice words.
Rose appears to be understanding of your frustration. “Yes, well, it is almost as if someone does not wish for us to be able to replicate the products of that machine.”
“How did you get it the first time?”
“Simply feed a shard of mirror and piece of cloth into the orifice.”
“And that should do it?”
“Yes. Be sure to have something to gather it with.”
“Thank you.” You tap your glasses.
-- gallowsCalibrator [GC] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --
GC: H3LLO K4RK4T GC: 1M S3ND1NG YOU TH3 D1R3CT1ONS GC: YOU H4V3 TO GO TO TH3 M4CH1N3 TH4T D4V3 4ND 1 FOUND 4ND 1NS3RT 4 SH4RD OF M1RROR 4ND 4 P13C3 OF CLOTH GC: M4K3 SUR3 TO H4V3 SOM3TH1NG TO COLL3CT 1T W1TH GC: 4LSO GC: 1 WOULD B3 N3GL3CT1NG MY DUT13S TO NOT 4DV1S3 YOU TO D3V1S3 4 CONT1NG3NCY PL4N CG: IT’S AT THE BOTTOM OF A GIANT FUCKING PIT? GC: Y3S
You nod at Rose as you head out. “I’ll be back soon!”
GC: 1 W1LL OF COURS3 B3 W1LL1NG TO H3LP YOU PROCUR3 TH3 N3C3SS4RY 1NGR3D13NTS BUT TH3 CLOWN 1S ULT1M4T3LY YOUR R3SPONS1B1L1TY CG: ALL I NEED IS A CODE FOR A MIRROR. DO YOU KNOW THAT? GC: 1 DO NOT BUT 1 W1LL LOOK FOR ON3
-- gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --
You smile, feeling genuinely at ease; everyone acted as they should have at lunchtime, Karkat has come to you for help, and Rose is your moirail. Everything is working out.
You knock on the wall before you enter Can Town. “Dave! I need a mirror!”
“Terezi?” Dave gives you a puzzled look. “I know that mirrors are kinda the shit now what with all the humans here using them to perfect their rad hairstyles, not that these curls need it or anything, but you kinda need to be able to see to make use of one.”
“It is important.”
He does a doubletake, apparently realizing that you are being serious right now.
“It is about Gamzee,” you explain. “I need it for the sopor.”
“Oh sure, uh, this way.” He gets up and leads you to his respiteblock. “I’m just going to pretend that that made sense.”
You follow him into the attached ablution block, where he retrieves a mirror. “Is this good enough?”
“I believe so.”
“And really do trolls not use mirrors or something? It’s like an essential part of any bathroom setup for some inexplicable reason.”
“Thank you Dave,” you say, ignoring his ridiculous question.
“Yeah, no problem.”
You message Karkat.
-- gallowsCalibrator [GC] began trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --
GC: 1 H4V3 4QU1R3D 4 M1RROR. CG: WHERE IS IT? GC: 1 4M 4T D4V3’S R3SP1T3BLOCK. COM3 F1ND M3.
-- gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG] --
He arrives gratifyingly quickly.
“Karkat.”
“Terezi.”
“You seem tired, Karkat. You should get some sleep.”
He bares his teeth. “I’m not sleeping until I’ve taken care of Gamzee. Where’s the mirror?”
You hand it to him. “It should not come as any surprise that I have some experience in knots.”
He doesn’t look at you when he takes it. Good. “I have my own rope.”
“If you think it may be necessary I would be willing to teach you some that might be useful in restraining the clown.”
“I’m fine. I’ve already thought of that.”
“I am glad to hear that you are proficient. I am here to help.”
He grunts wordlessly.
“And keep us alive,” you add.
“Great. My emotion ducts are overflowing with joy globbets to hear that. Bye.”
“Thank you again, Dave,” you say to your matesprit after Karkat has left.
“Yeah, no problem, just come to see me next time you need random crap for no explicable reason.”
You give Dave a kiss and depart. You have to go see Rose! Your moirail! What fun!
You are feeling pretty okay about things, all of it considered.
-===> TEREZI: Be your moirail
You are Rose again, and you are thinking about what you saw, what Kanaya must have been referring to when she mentioned the shawlchuck. As your brain seems to be regaining a modicum of functionality, you continue to ponder the recently witnessed proceedings, and are rapidly coming to the conclusion that they do not sit well with you.
“It will get better, Rose.” Kanaya is trying to be reassuring. “Neither of them were hurt too badly. That is a good sign. But you need to listen to me. If we don’t let the situation progress naturally then it may get worse. Terezi is going to feel threatened right now and she needs us to show that she can trust us, and that we trust her. Or… I don’t know what happened, so I can’t say how bad it may get, but this would certainly be the best course of action.”
You look back at Kanaya.
“Are you okay? Under the circumstances I would suggest that you talk to Terezi about this, but also, under the circumstances, that may not be quite the best.” You feel really weird about this, but… “You can tell me what is wrong.”
“Why did this have to get so complicated all of a sudden?” You pause. “I understand that there are cultural differences involved in this situation, and I trust your understanding of the troll end of things. However, simply going along with this ostracisation of Karkat is going to make me very uncomfortable. In a human context it would simply be a very terrible thing to do to a friend.”
“Remember that it could have been worse. It… It should not be permanent. I do not think that Terezi would do that. That kind of thing happens when a group needs someone to direct their more destructive urges against, more than would be appropriate for a caliginous relationship.”
“That is not very comforting.”
“Terezi could have killed Karkat, or vice versa. But they did not. So this must be only temporary. It is effectively serving the same role as Terezi’s shawlchuck.”
“It seems worse than that. While the latter merely seems like a somewhat grotesque symbol of personal dominance, the former seems to be effectively expelling Karkat from the group or at the very least relegating him to the position of a second-class member of such.”
“Terezi apparently decided that Karkat’s actions had endangered our lives. If she were simply in a legislaceratorial squad, operating under a similar belief, then I have no doubt that she would have carried out a field execution. However pragmatic her other reasons may have been, she is also trying to be merciful. I do not like it either, I must admit, but what else can we do?”
“Well I suppose I shall have to do my best to treat this as merely another somewhat shocking reminder of the differences between our two cultures, and do my best not to rock the metaphorical boat too significantly.”
“Rose, what if Gamzee had hurt Dave? What would you be thinking then? Dying at Gamzee’s hand would be neither heroic nor just. Gamzee could have done many things to him.”
“Kanaya. Please. Stop.”
“I am sorry.” She looks away.
“I really do not need to be thinking about those possibilities at this juncture.”
She brightens suddenly (and literally). “As you are Terezi’s moirail, as of an hour ago, perhaps you may be able to sway her somewhat.” Kanaya loses her intensity then. “I… don’t know how. And I would advise against it. But as a Seer if you were to find a way then I would support you in it.”
You smile and put your hand on Kanaya’s. “Thank you for your honest, if difficult to hear, advice.”
“You are welcome. And I hope that you will not allow this to sway your feelings about Terezi.”
“I will need to think on the matter further.”
“I cannot be everything that you need. You need a moirail.”
You nod. “But enough of that for now. At this present moment I am going to consume some more of this generously procured chocolate and bask in your company.”
Terezi takes that moment to reappear and greet you with a hug. “I am sorry for having to leave so suddenly. Duty called.”
You return the hug, smiling slightly back at her.
“Is there anything that I can do for you now, Rose?”
You sit up a bit. “Oh, uh, I guess we do have a lot to get sorted out, but…” You look back at Kanaya. “Perhaps a little later?”
Kanaya fidgets. You’re not sure what she’s trying to say.
“Okay.”
Terezi leaves you.
You smile, and snuggle up against Kanaya. “This is going to become a scheduling nightmare, isn’t it?”
“Wait until you have filled your other two quadrants.”
“That indeed sounds like a nightmare. A wonderful, wonderful nightmare,” you say.
“I don’t know who you would wax black for.” You can feel Kanaya shrugging against you. “Perhaps you will not have to worry about it. Part of me regrets that, but I am trying to remember that you do not have the capacity to feel as though you are missing something if you lack those quadrants.”
“Yes. They do seem very strange to me, which is part of what makes them so intriguing. But I guess that we cannot know what the future holds. And by that I mean that there are numerous ways by which we might attempt to ascertain the contents of the future, but I am not intending to apply any of them to this particular conundrum.”
“Of course.”
After what would have been a lovingly-edited montage set to a sentimental tune, were your life a film or even a low-detail web animation, you sit up. Quite reluctantly, you might add. But you do have new obligations.
“I suppose I should go find Terezi,” you say.
Kanaya agrees. Enthusiastically.
“I would like to thank you though. You have been so good to me these last couple of days.” You lean toward it. “I really appreciate it.”
“It is… no problem at all.”
You kiss Kanaya. In fact, you kiss her rather a lot.
-===> ROSE: Be the Rose who has finished kissing Kanaya
You are now the Rose who has finished kissing Kanaya, after some arbitrary but generous length of time.
“So I guess I’ll see you at dinner then?” you ask.
“Yes. But you should go talk to Terezi! We have plenty of time to do other things.”
“Yes. Of course. I will go do that presently. Until dinner then.”
When you head to her room, however, you do so via an unusually circuitous route.
-- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] --
TT: Hello Karkat CG: WHAT IS IT? TT: I realize that there is some sort of troll custom involved here that I do not entirely understand. TT: But I just wanted to say that from the perspective of a human, I thought that the way you were treated this afternoon was really very shitty. TT: I would like to apologize for my part in the matter. I suppose I have the excuse that I was not in the best frame of mind myself at the time, but it seems like that might be of little comfort to you. CG: WELL I’M NOT ONE HUNDRED PERCENT SURE WHAT YOU’RE REFERRING TO EXACTLY, BUT IT’S NOT REALLY A CUSTOM TO WEAR A BROKEN STICK AROUND YOUR NECK. THAT’S JUST TEREZI BEING A COMPLETE ASS. CG: BUT. THANK YOU, ROSE. TT: Not a problem. Now comes the unfortunate bit where I sadly must appear to backpedal some moderate distance. TT: I have been advised that it would be best for me to not interfere with these proceedings. TT: I am ignoring this advice to a degree by contacting you, but I am not sure how much I will be willing to do so in public at least until things cool down a bit. CG: SURE, COVER YOUR ASS. TT: Please, Karkat. Were it merely that, I do not think that protecting my own reputation would be sufficient cause to leave you in such an undesirable situation. However, I get the impression that complicating things could lead to deeper divides within our already small group. CG: I GET IT. CG: WHO THE FUCK KNOWS. MAYBE TEREZI WILL BE THE BETTER LEADER ANYWAY. TT: Thank you for understanding. If there’s anything else that you need that can be provided covertly, please do not hesitate to ask. CG: NOT NOW. BUT I’LL EVENTUALLY NEED TO SLEEP. I MIGHT BE ABLE TO GO ANOTHER NIGHT OR TWO, BUT NOT LONGER. CG: SOMEONE WILL NEED TO WATCH GAMZEE, AND NOT TEREZI. TT: Hmmm. I will need to see what can readily be done about that. I am not sure that I can disappear for guard duty for an entire night without being noticed, but perhaps I can get assigned to the task by Terezi’s administration. CG: WELL, THAT’S BETTER THAN ROTTEN GRUBLETS. TT: I am sorry that I cannot do more and sincerely hope that this situation will resolve itself quickly. CG: THANKS.
-- tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG] --
And now you begin to actually proceed in a more logical direction toward Terezi’s room. You very much hope that you have not jinxed things by going behind Terezi’s back like this almost immediately. It would seem an inauspicious start to a relationship.
You encounter Terezi on the way.
“Rose?”
“Terezi. I was just looking for you.”
She smiles. “What do you need?”
You take a deep breath. “Well, I am unsure where exactly to start, especially given that my knowledge of troll romance is mostly taken from romance novels pilfered from Karkat’s collection. And while I suppose that addressing that issue and setting up ground rules will be important to do at some point in the near future, this is perhaps not the most romantic of subjects.
“No. That’s alright. Just follow me.” There’s something different about her grin.
And here is where we would fade to black, were this a more respectable sort of story. But it is not, so we will not. Hopefully you can deal with some conciliatory raunch.
After this chapter break, anyhow.
Act 4, Chapter 1 - The Shawlchucks
Words: 4,690
Tags: AU, Meteorstuck, Mutiny, Ostracism, Troll power dynamics, Moirailegence, Poor communications hijinks
[Ao3]
[Next Chapter]
[Act Masterpost]
February 19th, Year 1 of Sweep 2
You are Dave Strider, and as you enter the kitchen you are desperately hoping that everything will be normal today. Terezi is the only other person present, sitting at the table and eating what looks to be a thick stew. She’s wear a shawl around her shoulders, a red one with the two halves of her broken cane dangling from either end.
“Dave!” she exclaims. “I missed you at breakfast.”
“Yeah, I ran off to Can Town pretty fast. Some heavy-duty construction shit going down there.” Read: I needed some time to think and the Mayor’s good company. Actually, don’t read, because you’d slobber all over the page, and it would make this conversation hella awkward. You start to root around the fridge for some food.
“Do you want to have lunch with me? I would have expected someone else to be here by now. Nobody showed up for breakfast either,” she adds.
“Well, I guess everyone must have gotten their schedules all backwards and shit. I mean, if everyone missed out on the totally standardized breakfast time. Haven’t even gotten a chance to show them the not-coming-out-of-the-backside-of-a-cow coffee yet.”
“Oh.”
You finally decide on some frozen pizza. Karkat comes in as you stick it in the microwave. He has a nasty-looking bruise above his eye. And another on his cheek. He also doesn’t look like he’s slept a wink. You’re a little unsure as to how you should react to him, and eventually settle on a brief nod in his direction. Karkat isn’t making eye contact with you or even glancing in your direction. He just goes straight for the alchimeter and starts punching in some cards.
You shrug and wait for the microwave. Karkat alchemizes a few grubloaves. After he leaves, Terezi takes her mostly-empty bowl and goes off to the alchimeter herself. She alchemizes a piece of… some sort of meat. Decent-sized. You’re not sure what it is.
Karkat is still near the alchimeter, and he’s staring at her. No, at that shawl she’s got on her. When’d she pick that shit up anyway? You take a closer look and notice the ends of her still-bloody, broken cane tied to each end like some kinda wearable nunchucks. What in the name of holy fucking shit is that about? You look back over at Karkat, inwardly disquieted but keeping your expression perfectly neutral. Really you just don’t want to look at the nunchucks.
Karkat’s still staring at the whatever it is, seemingly frozen. Terezi gets her meat, drops it in the bowl, and heads back to her original place at the table, sitting across from you. She takes the meat in both hands and tears into it with her pointy teeth as if it’s a small woodland creature that she needs to tear the neck out of.
“What the fuck,” you hear Karkat mutter. You don’t think he’s talking about the meat.
Rose and Kanaya take that moment to appear beside you, Kanaya shepherding her girlfriend over to the table and sitting her down beside Terezi.
“WHAT THE FUCK?” Karkat again, at a much higher volume, still holding grubloaves under his arms.
Rose briefly glances at Karkat, but says nothing. You wonder if she’s been drinking, if she’s got a headache or something. Kanaya puts an arm on Rose’s shoulder, as if she’s trying to say something.
“What kind of pizza is that?” Terezi asks you.
“WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK!?!?”
Rose looks over at Kanaya. She seems to be considering saying something, but doesn’t. She looks back at Karkat, and Kanaya puts her hand on Rose’s shoulder again.
This isn’t feeling any better than last night’s fucking scary episode. Like last time, you’re not sure what else to do but play it cool and hope that something happens to make this not a thing anymore. You are so not in your element this week.
“What do you think? The same fucking pepperoni as always. It’s not like we had the foresight to bring a huge variety over. I mean normally I would plan ahead when I’m going to be stranded on an asteroid forever but, y’know, this time I just decided hey, fuck it.”
“You could have experimented. Maybe for dinner I’ll make pizza with grubsauce.”
“What do you want me to get you?” Kanaya asks Rose.
“Fuck you! Fuck all of you!” Karkat is literally shaking, probably with rage.
Fuck. You have approximately zero fucking clue how to deal with the loud, obnoxious, stubby horned, and apparently invisible elephant in the room right now. You hope that maybe someone else has a fucking clue.
-===> DAVE: Be someone else who hopefully has a fucking clue.
You are now Kanaya, and you are busily trying to navigate lunch without you or your matesprit running into more trouble than necessary. “What would you like for lunch?” you ask, trying to draw Rose’s attention away from Karkat.
“Excuse me, but has something transpired of which I have not been made aware?” Rose speaks softly, but still with some of her usual cutting tone.
“We can talk about it later in more detail,” Terezi mutters. “But there was a… disagreement about Gamzee, as I am sure you remember.”
“I see.” Rose glances over at Karkat again, somewhat apologetically.
You abandon the attempt to get the name of some sort of food out of your matesprit. You head to the alchimeter, trying to remember how to make chocolate, recalling Rose’s fondness for the dish. Chocolate is considered to be a serviceable lunch, right? You move quickly, hoping that Karkat will think that you are ignoring him because you are so concerned about getting Rose something to eat.
Which you are. Concerned, that is. Even concerned about getting Rose something to eat. But you are also concerned with the shift in the power dynamic which apparently happened… sometime after you left Karkat behind with Gamzee, and before Terezi woke you up a little earlier than you would have liked, rapping on your door and asking that you make an accessory for her.
You’d had some suspicion of what was going on when she gave you the details and held out the pieces of her broken cane for you. It isn’t pleasant, seeing that you were right.
Even more unfortunately, maybe, is that Karkat makes eye contact with you as you approach. He glares at you.
You turn away and try to do a good job remembering how to make food, but it is really hard with Karkat just… well, not looming over you, exactly, he’s really very short, but with the way he’s acting it’s obvious that he’d loom if he could.
“Kanaya. Look at me.”
You do not look at Karkat. The lines have apparently been drawn already, and you are not going to mess with them. You may not be happy about it, but… you don’t know what to do. You weren’t expecting this, and you don’t know what other surprises might be coming, or how at risk anyone may be. You just don’t know what to expect.
All that you can gather is that there was an exchange of power. A mutiny. And not knowing anything else, you can’t afford to make an assumption that might get you or Rose hurt.
“LOOK AT ME, YOU NOOKSUCKER. FUCKING LOOK AT ME! FUCK YOU WITH A FRONDBRUSH! LOOK AT ME!”
“Don’t make this harder on both of us,” you whisper. “And leave Rose out of this. Whatever happened.”
You can’t be sure that Karkat won’t be retaliating. You can’t be sure of anything.
You come back to the table with a plate full of delicious chocolate for Rose. She smiles at you as you set it before her. You return the smile, somewhat more weakly than Rose-- you can see that Dave was observing you and Karkat.
“You know, Kanaya, a diet consisting entirely of chocolate and related products is typically not considered conducive to proper health.”
“Oh. I am sorry. What should I get instead?”
“No. It is fine. Under these circumstances it is a welcome respite from the standard balance requirements.” She takes a small bite of one of the pieces. You smile, somewhat more strongly this time. You did a good job!
“YOU ARE THE MOST VILE SACKS OF GLOBULAR PUSNUGGETS I’VE EVER SEEN. YOU CAN ALL GO STICK SPINEPLANTS UP YOUR CHITINOUS WINDHOLES.”
Exit Karkat.
Everyone is a little shaken. At least, everyone who isn’t Terezi. Rose eventually returns to eating, as she rests her head against your shoulder. Dave looks down at his food, then back at the door that Karkat left through.
Terezi shakes her head just the tiniest bit.
“Y’know, I guess I’m not actually that hungry. Got important work to get back to anyway.”
Terezi sighs.
“Those ramps aren’t going to build themselves,” he continues. “And then what would all the bikers make their sick jumps off of?”
“Stay safe,” Terezi says.
It is obvious that she is not joking. Dave looks back at her. “Sure. No problem. I know how those biker gangs are,” he adds after a beat. “I can handle myself.”
“Dave. No joking. If you see the clown then you take the Mayor and you get away from there. Do you understand?”
“Chicken out and call for backup. Yeah, I got you.” You can detect just a hint of a confrontational tone in his voice.
Terezi smiles just a little bit, and returns to eating. Dave nods in your direction, then leaves.
You feel some of the tension leave your body. It seems that you have successfully avoided the worst of the danger. That is assuming that nobody else is planning to shake things up further.
-===> KANAYA: Be someone about to shake things up further
You are Terezi Pyrope. Since taking command of the meteor, you have been thinking about what needs to be done, and you have determined one matter in particular that needs to be taken care of, and preferably soon. You have been nervous though about broaching the subject.
You look around. Karkat is gone. Dave is gone. Now might be as good of a time as ever.
-===> TEREZI: Do the Political Thing
“Rose… ah…”
“Yes?”
Rose appears to be at least a bit more relaxed, on top of whatever turmoil she’s bottling up.
“This has been stressful for you. And…”
Rose raises a questioning eyebrow.
You have not ever actually done this before. You are finding “Do the Political Thing” to be a little difficult when it involves romantic solicitations.
“I have not acted rightly by you. As a fellow Seer I should have been there for you. I know what it must be like to go through this. And I know that you are blaming yourself for many things. You could have foreseen it. But I could have too! Even before we met up.”
Rose is looking over at you more seriously now.
“When Eridan and G-Gamzee went… And I killed Vriska. Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough for another way. Or maybe I did and there just wasn’t one. But I’ll never know if I did my best or not. But I am fixing my mistakes, including this one,” you declare. “Because I’m going to be there for you when you need it. If you’ll let me.”
You pull out a card and put it in front of Rose. “It’s... “ You swallow and pause.
Rose looks at the card somewhat quizzically as she carefully picks it up.
“It’s by Troll Edgar Allan Poe,” you finish.
She opens the card and begins to read it. You know what it’s going to say. You wrote it down, after all. You can hear the verses go in your head, as you observe Rose.
MY LOY4LTY 1S YOURS MY D34R TO COMFORT FROM YOUR D33P3ST F34R 1’LL SOOTH3 YOUR SORROW WH3N YOU CRY YOUR P41N, YOUR R4G3, H3LP P4C1FY 1’LL DO MY B3ST TO G1V3 TO YOU 4LL TH4T 1 C4N 4ND 3’3R B3 TRU3 4S YOU 4R3; THOUGH 1 C4N’T B3 4LL TH4T YOU MUST D3S1R3 OF M3 T4K3 WH4T 1 OFF3R, 1 1MPLOR3: MY MO1R4LL3G44NC3, OFF3R3D 3V3RMOR3
You’ve gone through it in your head two and a half times before Rose finally says anything.
“Is this…”
You are more than a little bit on edge here. Someone starts trolling you about something on your shades. It’s Karkat. You ignore him..
She looks back down at the card. “I apologize for the bluntness of my upcoming question, but my unfamiliarity with troll culture necessitates it. Was this intended as a pale solicitation?”
You nod. You don’t trust yourself to say anything.
“Oh. This is, uh, unexpected.”
“I should have done it much earlier.”
Rose glances quickly over to Kanaya, who gives an encouraging smile. She must be hoping rather strongly that Rose will pick up a moirail. It has been rather embarrassing for her lately, finding herself having to give pale comfort to her matesprit, and only a sense of decorum and respect for her has kept you (and Karkat too, presumably) from bringing up the matter.
“I, uh-- um…” Rose says eloquently. She takes a short moment to compose herself. “I seem to be facing the quite unusual problem of not being able to figure out appropriate words to match this situation. This being as you might guess an unusual event for someone of my typical levels of loquaciousness. I suppose that it has become apparent that I have not been in pristine shape lately on the psychological level and therefore that I may be in need of such a relationship. However, our differing cultures might make such an arrangement somewhat more complicated than would otherwise be the case.”
“But you and Kanaya are matesprits, and you make it work.”
Rose spares another glance at Kanaya and then a more intent one at you.
“Oh. And I also drew... this...“ You slide a picture over to her. “I… thought you might like that. Dave likes pictures…”
Rose glances down at the picture. She appears somewhat startled at first, then takes a slow, sly look at it.
“The colors didn’t come out right with your Aspect symbol. Your… tentacle thing smelled better.”
“This is--this is definitely the sort of thing that I can see Dave liking.”
“I thought… since you and he are genetically similar, that you might like it too.”
“How in the world did you find one of my mother’s pictures?”
“I didn’t know it was one of your… uh, mother’s pictures.”
“So let me get this straight. You are trying to win my pale affections by means of a picture taken from my mother’s collection modified in ways that are known to be appreciated by my brother?”
“I am beginning to think that I should have done something different.”
“You have absolutely no idea how completely batshit that is, do you?”
“I thought it was just a picture,” you say. How did this go so wrong? You were sure that this would work. What did you miss? “I thought that you liked wizards.”
“No, I do,” she says. “It’s just… Well, it’s complicated. But thank you.”
You wait patiently, a little more heartened.
Rose looks back at the picture and the card. “I’m not sure how I could possibly refuse.”
You hug Rose with one arm. It’s maybe a little forward, but… who cares about that? You’ve done it! Rose even hugs you back. She must be caught up in the moment.
You let go after a few seconds.
“I have to go,” you tell her. “I have to see how Dave is doing. And you need to eat,” you add emphatically. “I will be back soon.” You rush off to go find Dave.
-===> TEREZI: Be Dave.
You are now Dave, busy in Can Town just like you said you were going to be and-- oh, what’s this?
-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling turntechGodhead [TG] --
CG: HEY FUCKASS. CG: TELL TEREZI TO CHECK HER COMPUTER TG: wow ok ill just do that TG: ill literally just send her a message on her computer telling her to check her messages TG: or maybe ill just shout really really loudly and hope that her superhuman smell picks it up CG: SHE’S NOT RIGHT THERE? TG: if by right there you mean can town then no CG: YOU TWO ARE LIKE CONJOINED WIGGLERS AND YOU’RE TELLING ME SHE’S NOT THERE? TG: hey this might surprise you but i have my own life TG: sometimes i can like do things on my own
“Hello Dave.”
Oh. Well then. Terezi sits beside you and begins to help with the assembly.
“Oh hey TZ. Uh, hey, Karkat says to check your messages. But like I didn’t tell you because, well, fuck him.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“And because I was just telling him how you weren’t around and it would make me sound silly.”
“What does he want?”
“No clue.”
“Ask him?”
“So you want the guy who just said that he wasn’t in ready contact with you to relay your messages to him for you?”
“No. Just ask him what he wants. And if it’s important enough then you’ll tell me.”
You sigh, and bring up pesterchum on your shades again.
CG: BULLSHIT, STRIDER. EVER SINCE YOU STARTED DATING TEREZI YOU TWO HAVE BEEN GLUED TOGETHER BY THE NUBS. CG: GOD, I DON’T KNOW HOW SHE CAN STAND YOU. OR YOU HER, FOR THAT MATTER. CG: SO SURE, GOOD FOR YOU, GIVING HER SOME SPACE. TG: yeah well fuck you. TG: what the fuck do you want with her anyway? CG: I WANT HER TO CHECK HER FUCKING MESSAGES. TG: you know what i mean TG: unless you literally just wanted her to check her messages so that i dont know TG: she can see your shitty ascii art or something CG: UNLESS YOU KNOW WHERE TO GET MORE SOPOR, THERE’S NOTHING YOU CAN DO FOR ME, STRIDER. CG: MY QUERIES ARE FOR TEREZI. CG: SO BACK OFF. TG: sopor why the hell would i know anything about where to find your sleep sludge? CG: YOU WOULDN’T CG: THAT’S THE FUCKING POINT
“He wants to know where to find sopor apparently,” you tell Terezi.
“I don’t know where it is, but I will find out. Excuse me.” Terezi pats you on the shoulder, then leaves. Yeah. Why the fuck would Terezi know?
-===> READER: Wonder why Karkat was asking Terezi in the first place.
You are wondering why Karkat is contacting Terezi. You really wish you could just be someone who knows what that’s all about.
-===> READER: Be someone who knows what that’s all about.
You are now Past Rose. You are woken from your rest after the exhausting events of the previous day by the incessant beeping of your pesterchum client. You are still afflicted by the revenge of last night’s inebriation, and so the high pitched beeping is proving particularly irritating. You find that it is Karkat messaging you about where you got the sopor.
You really do not want to deal with this right now. Terezi and Dave found the machine, right? You tell Karkat to ask Terezi before deactivating pesterchum and gratefully bury your face in your pillow once more.
-===> ROSE: Go back to being Dave.
You consider returning to Can Town, but put that off in favor of egging Karkat on a little more.
You wonder what Rose and Kanaya and doing.
-===> DAVE: Be Kanaya
You are now Kanaya, and you are dealing with the reality of Terezi asking Rose out on a pale date being a thing that just happened.
Rose is busy looking out the door after Terezi. “That was… unexpected.”
“I know. I am very shocked, myself. But I think that it is good, don’t you?”
Rose manages an actual smile. One wonders what Terezi has wrought… “I hope so.”
You put a hand over one of Rose’s. You are glad that you don’t feel awkward having nothing to do but watch your matesprit eat. Yes, you are definitely not feeling awkward. “And I would advise that you give Karkat some space. I am not completely sure what has happened.”
Rose looks up at you inquisitively. You get the sense that you have come to the part of the script where you are supposed to acknowledge this inquisitive look, but you don’t want to do that on account of being pretty sure that the script is going to very quickly lead to you having to elaborate on what you are pretty sure has happened.
Alas, Rose is not content to leave the film of your life on pause, and gives you only enough time for her to finish a bite of chocolate. “In that case, what do you know of what happened during that time period?”
You are really not happy with having to explain. In case that hasn’t been made clear.
“There has been a… change of management, as you might put it. Karkat is no longer in control. Terezi has assumed command.”
“Oh. I see.”
“It would be best for you to stay away from Karkat for now. Until everything settles.”
“And I suppose that given the display earlier today that there are larger ramifications of this than a simple alteration in overall direction of our projects?”
“Yes.”
Rose waits for you to elaborate. You are happy to let her wait, and eventually you reach the point where she knows that you know that she is waiting, and you know that she knows that… you know what? Let’s just skip ahead to when you finally explain.
“Ah.” You look around to see if there might be some other person to take over for you, and are displeased to find that the room is as empty as it was the last time that you looked. “I… Terezi will need to establish her authority. I am not sure why it happened, but it is about Gamzee. That is, I know some of why it happened, but I don’t know what was said or how badly they hurt each other. I am hoping that it was not much.”
A look of concern flashes on Rose’s face, but you continue talking, fully aware that taking a tangent will only cause another long delay. You want to just get this over with now. “Terezi had to ask me to make that shawlchuck for her, so I presume that there was not much blood. But there may have been another reason for it.”
You squeeze Rose’s hand. “Both of them were walking today. That is a good sign.”
“Well let me note that the treatment of Karkat this morning has made me uncomfortable, and the mention of potential--albeit past--violence morso. Howev--”
“Rose? I’m sorry to be coming and going, but...”
Oh look, Terezi has come back. What has she been up to?
-===> KANAYA: Be Terezi Five Minutes Ago
You are now Terezi five minutes ago, in the halls between Can Town and the commonsblock. You are going back so that you can ask Rose about where the sopor came from. Because that is what Terezi was doing five minutes ago. And because she then is you now.
For the hell of it, you decide to check on Karkat’s messages.
-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] started trolling gallowsCalibrator [GC] --
CG: OK SO YOU’RE BEING A BULGELICKING FUCKFRONDED BITCH BUT WE ALL KNEW THAT ALREADY. THAT WAS THE FIRST THING I WAS EVER SCHOOLFED ON IN THIS PATHETIC JOURNEY TO NOWHERE. NO SURPRISES. CG: DID KANAYA MAKE THAT THING AROUND YOUR NECK? I BET SHE DID. FUCK YOU. FINE, YOU’VE MADE YOUR POINT. CG: ALL I ASK OF YOU, SUPREME LEADER OF THE FUCKASSES, IS WHERE ROSE GOT THE SOPOR FROM. CG: YOU GONNA ANSWER THAT OR ARE YOU IGNORING ME HERE TOO? CG: FUCK YOU, TEREZI. AND I MEAN THAT, SINCERELY. EVERY LETTER OF THOSE TWO MOST EXPRESSIVE WORDS IN THE TROLL LANGUAGE AND THEN SOME. THIS IS A NEW LEVEL, A WHOLE NEW DIMENSION OF “FUCK YOU.” CG: I MIGHT BE A LIMPHOOFED MUTANT IDIOT WITH FUCKING CANDY CORN HORNS, BUT I SWEAR I’D RATHER CUT OFF MY NUBS WITH ONE OF MY OWN SICKLES THAN HAVE TO SIT HERE WITH JUST GAMZEE AS COMPANY FOR THE NEXT HUNDRED SWEEPS. CG: WHERE THE FUCK IS THE SOPOR. CG: YOU CAN’T STILL BE EATING LUNCH.
-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] stopped trolling gallowsCalibrator [GC] --
By the time that you’ve read the message a third time--a part of you is weirdly delighted by how pissed off you have made him, and another part of you is less-weirdly delighted by how he seems to be taking his demotion-- you reach the commonsblock.
Unaware of the conversation that has been going on in your absence, you poke your head in.
“Rose? I’m sorry to be coming and going, but…”
A wonderful conversation is probably about to ensue, so the obvious thing to do is to check back on Dave and Karkat.
-===> TEREZI: Be Dave
You are Dave and you are continuing to bait Karkat about the whole stupid run around he started what with asking you to ask Terezi to ask Rose about the sopor. I mean really, you think he might have missed a few people in that chain.
TG: and you expect that terezi does know where the sopor is TG: wow karkat i thought we were glued at the nubs CG: I DON’T FUCKING KNOW. SHE’S A SEER, THAT COUNTS FOR SOMETHING. CG: ANYWAY, LEANING TOO MUCH IN ONE QUADRANT ISN’T HEALTHY. TG: eh maybe TG: why dont you just ask rose TG: i mean she was the one who found the stuff in the first place CG: I ASKED ROSE, SHE SAID TEREZI KNEW. TG: wait rose said that she knew TG: well shit why didnt you say so CG: I JUST DID SAY SO TG: i wonder if she was referring to the fucking coffee machine CG: WHAT THE FUCK THAT STUFF IS NOT SOPOR. I’M PRETTY SURE EVEN IN HER GREATEST STATE OF INEBRIATION, YOUR SISTER WOULD BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE. TG: yeah i know but you had to see this machine man TG: it was some fucked up shit CG: WHAT ARE YOU BLITHERING ON ABOUT? TG: the fucking coffee machine that we discovered on your dumb exploration quest CG: YOU FOUND A COFFEE MACHINE. YOU MEAN OTHER THAN THE ONE HERE? TG: no we were exploring the depths of the meteor and after exploring far and wide managed to stumble across the coffee machine in the commonsblock TG: that was some pretty nasty exploration shit there TG: real lewis and clarke stuff TG: i mean we had to traverse like two hallways just to find that common room CG: OH MY GOD CG: I DON’T KNOW WHY I’M EVEN TRYING. JUST TELL HER TO CHECK HER MESSAGES WHEN YOU NEXT DECIDE TO LOCK NUBS. TG: yeah ill let her know CG: GOOD.
-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] stopped trolling turntechGodhead [TG] --
-- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling turntechGodhead [TG] --
CG: THANKS.
Huh. Look at that, Karkat has a civil bone in his body after all. He’s in mighty need of some calcium to strengthen it up though, that’s for sure. Maybe you’ll give him like a metric ton of milk for Christmas this year.
Anyway, we’ve been dancing around this for long enough. It’s time to stop being Dave and start being someone else again.
-===> DAVE: Be your Supreme Leader
Who? Oh, Terezi. You are pretty sure that she is not your supreme leader, but something weird has gone on and hey, you guess you wouldn’t be opposed to referring to her as Supreme Leader Pyrope for ironic purposes. Though she’d probably prefer to be referred to as Supreme Judgesmasherator or something like that. Did Alternia have a Supreme Court? What did they call it? You’ll have to ask her about that. If, like, you cared. Which you don’t, obviously. Alternia was insane and you don’t care about any of it.
Anyway, you’re Terezi again. Except, you’re not, because this is a perfect time for a chapter break.
Act 4- Land of Relationships and Drama
[Ao3]
Summary:
TT: I realize the importance of passing on knowledge of these events, as they were a critical piece of the narrative that has lead us all to where we are today. TT: However, despite this, I am still loathe to revisit what was certainly one of the worst experiences of my life. GC: COM3 ON, 1 W4SN’T TH4T B4D GC: >; ]
Chapters:
Chapter 1: The Shawlchucks
Chapter 2: [Insert Transition Chapter Here]
Chapter 3: Rated R for Strong Conciliatory Content
Series Table of Contents
