thecapitol | lord have mercy

Who| Karkat and OPEN
What| After ~~nearly half a sweep~~ a year away, Karkat's back in the tribute tower. He's not happy about it.
Where| D1 suite, elsewhere in tribute tower, in the capitol itself
When| Week 6 and beyond
Warnings/Notes| I'll be putting up some prompts in the comments for the three locations, but otherwise feel free to make your own wildcard prompt! JSYK, Karkat has been revived a week or so after he died (roughly concurrent to when Kankri got resurrected from his) and looks roughly a year older than he was last time anybody saw him. As for warnings... there will be language, probably references to Karkat's death and a little bit of Homestuck spoilers.

Familiar overhead block surface.

Karkat blinks his occular orbs in dismay. He-- he fucking knows this place. Memories come flooding back. Panem. He's in fucking Panem. Held captive by the fucking Capitol humans. Here he was, half-a-sweep older, and now, now, he knew what a fucking travesty that really was.

"We made you," he mutters under his breath. "You should be worshipping us, not fucking turning us into reality television."

There's a paper container of mixed goods next to him on the resting platform. Karkat shakes it out onto the thermal retention fabric. A bottle of what proved to be some kind of artificial scent. A hat in the shape of a gelatinous sea creature. Rubber bouncing spheres in the shapes of his, Signless, and Kankri's heads. A pendant with an enameled picture of a hamburger on it. Gummy candies in the shape of hamburgers. A black shirt with the word DEAD written in his own blood color. A toy figure of himself whose head came off when you squeezed it.

Karkat stares down at the assorted goods. "What the fucking fuck?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Yeah, well, it's your fault for fantasizing about me-- chirping alone." Karkat has a pretty good fucking clue what that's supposed to be a euphemism for.

"Is that not what all the sad little crickets do? Or have I once again stumbled onto some phrase that means more than I think."

He gives Karkat a sideways glace. He had just assumed that chirping alone was a good phrase for something trolls without friends do.

"It doesn't mean more than you think," Karkat replies huffily, "I just know the things you like to insinuate. And I'm not a fucking cricket, dipshit."

"Cry your pardon, grasshopper. I meant no disrespect by it."

Maybe Karkat really has grown up if he's not going to throw a hissing spitting fit over this.

"Or a grasshopper," Karkat adds irritably. It's more that his fit-throwing threshold has been raised, Bert. Give him time.

"Well you're no fucking butterfly! I've seen trolls with wings. And unless you're hiding them up your waste chute, you've no wings that I've ever seen."

Without his nicknames, Cuthbert is nothing. He will find one and make it stick.

"Why do you have to even compare me to a human insect at all?" Karkat protests. "Can't I just be a fucking troll?"

"Do you not understand the value of a nickname? For humans 'tis a gesture of familiarity and love."

Bert doesn't know how to make it any clearer. Except maybe: "And I certainly care for thee... beetle."

"Oh," Karkat says, suddenly studying his shoes. "I hadn't-- I thought it was just you being a dick again. I mean, we do have nicknames and fuck, we even use them that way. I just--"

He looks up at Bert. "I care for you too... monkey."

"Of all the openings I give you, that's the best you can do? I could think of a dozen better nicknames!"

But just so the moment isn't entirely ruined, he ruffles Karkat's hair and taps his finger against one stubby horn.

Karkat lets him. "Shut up, you're as much a naked pink monkey as I'm a beetle."

"Picturing me naked, are you?"

Sorry, Karkat, Bert often hears only what he wants to hear.

Yeah, that's going to get Karkat to jerk his head out of Bert's hands.

"No! I meant that you have less hair than other monkeys! Oh my fucking lord, Bert, you're incorrigible."

Edited 2014-03-28 22:52 (UTC)

"Then stop encouraging me."

He is only slightly saddened by the loss of a Karkat to pet. He will pout all the same, though.

Karkat glares at him for the pun. "You encourage yourself."

"Often. But I also encourage you, do I not?"

He won't deny that he eggs himself on when no one else will.

"That's one word for it," Karkat replies, rolling his eyes.

"If that's how you take it, mayhap I'll keep my encouragement to myself from now on."

Bert put his hands on his hips, teasing.

Karkat rolls his eyes again. It's his stupid destiny, he guesses, to provide Cuthbert Allgood a straight man. "I'm sure you can get all the encouraging you need that way."

He's not entirely sure where this conversation is going anymore. This happens a lot with Cuthbert.

Karkat doesn't need to know where the conversation is going, it's best to just let it take him there.

"I do, which is why I turn to thee for all my vitriol and hate."

Karkat's cheeks heat up. "Yeah, well, good," he says, suddenly nonplussed. He kicks Cuthbert's shin before leaning up to brush his lips against Bert's cheek.

He's upset to be kicked, but it's worth it for the kiss he gets. This troll stuff takes a little getting used to.

"Is that what I get for talking about how well I please myself?"

Karkat shrugs, then bites Bert's ear. More lightly than he'd want to, because humans are fragile.

"You mushy grey bug. I have half a mind to haul you up to the first floor and mock you mercilessly."

That counts as flirting, right? Bert really is trying now.

"Fuck off," Karkat growls. He bites Bert's ear harder. "Do that and I won't let you make out with me in my block," he whispers.

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tis_allgood - 2014-05-02 21:56 (UTC) - Expand

sleeplessinalternia - 2014-05-18 04:39 (UTC) - Expand

tis_allgood - 2014-05-18 17:35 (UTC) - Expand