lord have mercy

[sleeplessinalternia]

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?"

Comments

[letthemburn]

"That doesn't mean it is right for them to do as they have," Iskierka offers in return. It's not fair, otherwise, and as much as she knows that the world generally isn't fair she would have much preferred things to be at least a little more so.

[sleeplessinalternia]

"I'm pretty sure since they're the ones with all the power they get to decide what's right," Karkat says, grumpily. At least, that's how he's always understood the world to work.

[letthemburn]

It's not entirely less true in Iskierka's world either. She's done well enough for herself by virtue of capturing ships back at home, but there aren't any ships to capture here, and very little by way of actual wars to be fought. Unfortunately, this leaves her at a not insignificant disadvantage when there isn't one.

"It is power they should hardly have. And I should burn them, if only I could."

[sleeplessinalternia]

"Well if you ever can," Karkat says, "I hope you do." He hesitates and then asks, "Is burning something you're supposed to be able to do? Some of the shit Terezi's babbled about you guys over the years makes it sound like you have all kinds of natural weapons and shit."

[letthemburn]

"Why, of course it is," Iskierka answers, seizing quite gladly on the opportunity to talk about herself. "I am a Kazilik, and we are firebreathers all. But they have made it so I cannot here. It is ever so inconvenient."

[sleeplessinalternia]

"Assholes," Karkat says. "I bet you could burn this whole place down if you wanted to. So is a Kazilik like your caste of dragon or something? Do dragons ever breathe other stuff?"

Because even though he never really cared about dragons before, it is pretty cool that Iskierka has that kind of natural weaponry, even if the capitol turned it off somehow. And maybe learning about dragons will distract him from how close he came to not coming back. If nothing else, knowing all this dragon shit will make Terezi so fucking jealous.

[letthemburn]

"Oh, it would hardly even be hard," Iskierka answers without missing a bit. "Especially if I were my proper size."

Not that she wouldn't be incapable of burning down the whole of the Capitol as she is now, but it would take something more like a concerted effort, and while Iskierka is certainly not adverse to that idea faster is probably better in this case. Which most likely means waiting, and that's something that has never entirely appealed to her.

"But it is never a caste. It is a breed, and there are acid-spitters besides. And one that can create a great storm of wind, should they wish."

[sleeplessinalternia]

"Caste, breed, whatever," Karkat says, leaning forward. "That's still pretty fucking cool that you guys have different weapons. What do you mean by natural size? Did they shrink you?" He's going to be able to impress Terezi so much, this is so fucking great.

[letthemburn]

"We do not all have weapons," Iskierka answers, shifting her wings slightly as she does. "It is only some of us and the rest must do with claws and fangs. But they most certainly have made me smaller. I should not have been able to so much as fit inside otherwise."

In fact, she might not have fit particularly well in the streets either, but at least she would have been more herself than she currently is, which would have been significantly better in the long run.

(And probably not fair in the Arenas but Iskierka is less concerned about that.)