blah blah void blah blah spiders blah blah science [open]

[youbarium]

Who| Carlos and anyone
What| Since Carlos's survival hinges on his ability to act like he doesn't care, he's going about his business as usual. Even though he and Cecil had a very short-lived but very public romantic relationship, he's acting like he doesn't care. Come make his life harder. Come ask him how he feels.
Where| The D10 rooms, a coffeeshop, and the Speakeasy
When| After Penny and Cruentus's classy, classy announcement.
Warnings/Notes Possible mention of torture, drinking in the last prompt. Also, the first two prompts will involve Carlos denying any real feelings for Cecil. If you want an honest discussion with him, it'll have to be in the Speakeasy.

PROMPT A: D10 common room

Carlos had known what to expect. Penny had announced that Cecil would be avoxed, after all. He had known this was coming.

That had not made keeping a straight face during the broadcast any easier.

He turned off his communicator and knew that if he was going to make this act convincing, he couldn't hide up in his room all day. Carlos hated this act. It was like he had told one lie in the Arena and hadn't been able to stop lying since. It disgusted him. However, he knew that at this point, he had no choice.

There was no need to fake the irritation on Carlos's face as he walked out into the D10 common area and sat down in one of the chairs. He pulled out a notebook and began to scribble in it. Was he writing or drawing? It would be hard to tell...

PROMPT B: TRIBUTE CENTER COMMONS: GENERIC CAPITOL COFFEESHOP

Here Carlos was, sitting in the very place Dave had brought his last words to Cecil, drinking something too hot for the midsummer weather and talking into his tape recorder. If you get close enough, you might hear snatches of what he was saying:

"--correct about my impending death--"

"--new tactic--"

"--willingly cooperate--"

This part of the Tribute center was open to the public: anyone might pass by and see him.

PROMPT C: THE SPEAKEASY

Carlos wasn't one to drink out of sadness. Not usually. He had been in and out of the Speakeasy these past few weeks, having important discussions about the rebellion.

This time, though, he was after some self-administered emotional numbing.

"I don't even know what's in this," he muttered to himself, staring at the half-empty glass in front of him, which was a mass of swirling colors.

PROMPT D: ELEVATORS

Being two floors from the top meant that Carlos stood a solid chance of sharing an elevator on the way two and from the D10 rooms. He was used to it, and usually, didn't mind it. Today, however, it was all but a guarantee that whoever he ended up in the elevator with would be awkward as hell, and Carlos was really tired of dealing with it. He shifted from foot to foot in his lab coat, trying not to sigh when the elevator stopped and the doors opened.

Comments

[shenunigans]

"It's crap on crap on crap." He agrees, up until the last part, anyway. He's practiced at keeping his expressions on the down-low. Mostly. Unless he's particularly aghast. For this? He's just confused and a little concerned. He can't really pretend to know either of them, but he holds them both in a high regard because of everything they've done thus far. He might be a little protective of the relationship he felt he had a part in forming.

"So that's what it is, huh?" He just raises a brow, no lip movement whatsoever with his eyes concealed behind his shades.

[youbarium]

"That's what it always was," replies Carlos. He really hopes he won't have to elaborate. "What I said in the Arena -- it was a strategy, Dave. It wasn't personal."

His jaw is tight. Telling these lies isn't easy yet. The fake relationship had been easier than this -- these lies were worse lies.

[shenunigans]

There's a very brief glimmer of annoyance in his expression that even he can't hide, just the slightest of brow furrows and nose crinkles. If he hadn't started to appreciate Cecil as a person, maybe he wouldn't have cared. As it is, he's more of a hero than Dave will ever be, a really invasive and awkward hero. But Carlos is a hero too, he saved Eponine from dying and plenty of others too. If he hadn't stepped in, who knows how many more districts would have crumbled.

This is grossly complicated and Dave doesn't want to take sides, but the Jiminy Cricket in his heart is telling him Carlos is being a dick while his head is telling him he's being rational. At times like this, Teen Apathy is the best and only crutch to fall back on.

"Neato. You sure fooled me." He gives his shoulders a heavy shrug and pulls the most 'meh' face the world has ever seen, sipping more of his drink with his straw. "Pulled the wool right over my frigging eyes, that's for sure." Okay, that's less apathetic than he meant it to be, better sip his drink again to drill the point in.

[youbarium]

It's been a couple of weeks since Carlos has been able to interact with anyone without lingering guilt. It's like a parasite, at this point, that has made a permanent home in his stomach and has a penchant for climbing around and doing barrel rolls. The guilt monster is certainly making itself known today.

"I'm sorry I lied to you," says Carlos, and means I'm sorry I'm lying to you now, too. He tries to go on, to explain further, but Dave's expression makes the words stick in his throat.

No, he can't. Give him a second.

[shenunigans]

Dave has no idea how Carlos feels, he has know preconceptions of it either. He doesn't know him very well, he just knows that he confuses him. Of course, he knows you can do good things on a grand scheme and be an asshole on a smaller one, but it's a difficult truth to swallow all the same.

"Don't be, I wouldn't be." He shrugs, and it's a lie, but he wants to look like he can play this game too. "It's not like I know you, or him." And he doesn't say that with any bitterness or guilt undertones, it just is what it is. That said, he feels like Carlos has more to say, so he looks a little expectantly at him.

[youbarium]

"Still, using you like that wasn't right." Carlos isn't proud of what he did in the Arena -- he isn't proud of what the Capitol is turning him into. He's become a liar, and for a scientist, that is the most unethical thing to be of all. "Is there some way I can make it up to you?"

[shenunigans]

"Hey, I'm not complaining on my behalf. You really gave me that extra shot in the arm as far as relevancy goes, now I'm the adorable kid who facilitated some delicious drama." The face he pulls indicates that he has no idea whether he should be happy with that. He sits back a little before realising he has no chair back to lean against and wobbles a little before straightening himself up.

"A whole bunch of people are reaping the benefits of this crop." Except for that one person, so Dave feels guilty even trying to pretend it's alright, but this is how things are done. He points out, thinking on it for a moment as if very genuinely considering what Carlos is proposing. "Nah." He shakes his head. "Not unless you can figure out how to communicate with Beyoncé from out here."

[youbarium]

"No, I don't think I can," replies Carlos, assuming it's a joke but sounding sheepish anyway. "Sorry."

He totally saw that wobble, Dave. For a moment he considers telling you to be careful, then decides not to comment.

But the 'kid' comment catches his attention. "How old are you?" Carlos asks.

[shenunigans]

"Damn." He might actually sound a little disappointed. Here he thought he might have a chance to snatch her away from Jay-Z at long last, life is cruel.

"I dunno, I don't need anything. The Capitol is footing all my bills anyway." And he's really easily pleased. Food? Apple juice? Cute people paying attention to him? Sold. But at the question, he's visibly pausing to consider that, his brows furrowing as he does.

"Fifteen- No. Three years. definitely sixteen." He points a finger at Carlos like he's an Ace Detective for knowing his own age. "Why? Do I look older?" Please say yes.

[youbarium]

"No, I just wanted to know how accurately the classification kid applied to you," replies Carlos. "But most sixteen year olds are much more certain about their age." Implied is a question: what temporal anomaly led to the hesitation?

[shenunigans]

"Personally, I prefer young adult, but with all these people adopting me I think people are angling for Tiny Tim." He grimaces, setting his drink down so he can turn a little in his seat and look at Carlos like what he's about to say is a hushed and dramatic thing.

"I don't want to alarm you, bro. But there's a very high chance I'm not like most sixteen year olds, primarily because I'm kind of a big deal back home. The word god has been thrown around a few times, actually." Why is it so hard to talk big game when you're having an intimate conversation with someone gorgeous? He doesn't know if he should be humble or smug. "Mostly it's hard to keep track of the days when you're hurtling through space on a meteor. You know trolls, right?"

[youbarium]

Carlos has to fight to keep his lip from twitching into a smile as Dave tells him I'm kind of a big deal. He doesn't know how seriously to take that assertion, considering it's coming from a teenager, but Carlos is completely willing to hear Dave out.

The mention of the meteor, however, turns the amusement in Carlos's eyes to genuine interest.

"I'm familiar with the trolls, yes."

[shenunigans]

It's a difficult concept to explain, not one that most people believe either. It's funny how talking crap to most everyone you meet makes them skeptical when you try to explain something legitimate and ridiculous.

"Okay, well we're from the same universe. Most of us. I don't know the older ones." He layers his hands over one another. "So we played a game, right? The trolls started before us and then their session got suspended because they're a bunch of assholes. Then my friends and I started and they intervened because we were doomed. We destroyed our session and that got us through to the one the trolls are mingling in." He presses his hands together to illustrate his point. "So me and my sister met a couple of them on a meteor traveling into the new session we created. But now we have to kill a guy or something." And I think I have to do it is the part that goes unsaid.

"Uh. Anyway. In doing so we had to blow some things up so technically. Technically. I died." He'll pause on that for a minute. "But then I was restructured and now I'm the highest and mightiest of tiers and immortal in the dumbest fucking sense." He draws in a breath and lets it out, staring at Carlos for a long moment before adding. "Also I can time travel and I'm a knight. I have a cape, it's legit." With all of that said and done, he feels like he's tooted his horn enough, so he'll fall silent for applause.

[youbarium]

Carlos lets Dave tell him about Homestuck, listening carefully. All of that sounds completely within the realm of the believable -- except for one part.

"Are you sure it was a meteor?" asks Carlos. "That sounds more like an asteroid to me. Meteors occur when space rock falls through a planet's atmosphere. Before that, they're called meteoroids, but those are much too small to live on."

[shenunigans]

Dave opens his mouth to answer and closes it immediately, squinting through his shades at Carlos as if trying to work out what his deal is through a single, meaningful look.

"Do I look like a meteorologist to you? I'm just calling it what everyone else said it was called." He shrugs in an almost exaggerated manner. "It was big enough for two humans and about a half a dozen trolls- actually no. It wasn't big enough. It was more stifling than sticking your head in Magic Johnson's gym sock." He crinkles his nose. "Where are you from anyway, Nerdsville USA?"

[youbarium]

"Actually, meteorology is--" Carlos began, but cuts himself off. "Never mind." He shakes his head. He can ask later if the asteroid had an atmosphere or if they lived in protective suits, but for now, Dave has asked him a question. "And it's Night Vale, not Nerdsville. Though I wouldn't say I'm actually from Night Vale. I just worked there for a while. I'm...not actually sure how long," he admitted. "It felt like a year to me, but time works differently in Night Vale. I don't know how much time passed in the rest of the world."

[shenunigans]

Well now, that's how to get Dave's attention. He tries not to look too eager about it, but his curiosity is piqued and he leans in just a little closer.

"Whaddaya know, Nerdsville is sounding pretty cool right now." He just barely smirks. "So when you say time works differently, like, how? Do they go by a different calendar or is it a gut feeling?"

[youbarium]

"No, it's entirely literal," Carlos says intently. Time to have an Intense Science Discussion. "Time was slowing down in Night Vale -- and passing faster in the rest of the world. Last February -- I mean, the last February I was in Night Vale -- I compared the rate of time in Night Vale to the rate of time in the outside world, and for each week that passed in Night Vale, over eight days had gone by everywhere else."

[shenunigans]

"That's crazy as hell. I've never heard of that before, and I've heard of some weird shit." But as a god of time shenanigans, he so badly wants to visit. "Does that mean it's in a rift or it's own dimension or something? And you can just walk right in?"

[youbarium]

"Well, not exactly," replies Carlos, slowly. "Night Vale is a place that's hard to get to. And it's even harder to leave. ...you know," he adds, "I'm not even sure where in the U.S. it is, besides somewhere in the Southwest. I also wasn't able to identify where the barrier was between normal time and Night Vale time, only that it was somewhere beyond the city limits, out in the desert."