[OPEN]

[xanthous]

Who| The Psiioniic, the other trolls, and YOU! It might lean heavily towards trolls, but anyone is welcome to join them!
What| Watching the final week of the Games.
Where| The Training Center common area.
When| Final week!
Warnings/Notes| Trolls everywhere. And also mentions of violence, death, and etc in passing.

It's probably not unusual for people to group together and watch the violence unfolding. The Psiioniic certainly doesn't see why it would be strange, and he looks remarkably unimpressed as a recap plays some especially gory scenes. He seems to be prepared for a crowd, with plates of food nicked from the District 2 suites scattered around him. He even prepared a sign for his little shindig:


Of course, most people won't be able to read the sign, and do you even know how long it took him to find a marker even close to the proper shade of yellow? Too long, that's what. But now he's prepared for the final cullwatch, and ready to spend time with members of his species. And people who might be curious as to what the hell he's scrawled on the sign.

(You would think something like "fiinal cullwatch" is pretty self-explanatory, but you could never be sure with aliens.)

Comments

[xanthous]

The Psiioniic isn't sure what to think about the two mutants. He's not surprised by their appearance, the sign was in Alternian after all, but he...He doesn't really know how to approach them. After his encounter with the Sufferer - with the Signless, he doesn't really know what to think about that mutant, much less his obnoxious miniature version.

Especially since the Signless seemed to have uncomfortably pale feelings for him, and the emotions he stirred within him made that all the more awkward and unwanted. He knew that once upon a time there was a reason for these pale feelings, but after so many sweeps he wasn't sure what was a memory and what was fabricated. He knew who the Sufferer was, but he didn't know the full story of what he meant to him. Everything was so fractured and wrong that he didn't even know how he could pick up the pieces.

And as for Karkat? Karkat was a nuisance, a loud-mouthed, disrespectful troll that needed a good shaking. He wasn't sure why seeing him with Signless made a pang of jealousy shoot through him, and he was afraid to question it. Even still, he would make his way over to them carrying a plate of oranges. "Thethe are frether then the oneth from the arena," he mumbles, looking to the side awkwardly.

[sleeplessinalternia]

It's hard not to tell the Helmsman to keep his wormy rotten oranges--Karkat doesn't like Lithpy Douchewagon one bit--but he manages to hold his tongue somehow. "Yeah, thanks." He pokes Signless. "You thank him too," he says under his breath.

[69problems]

If the Signless were a lesser troll, he would have groaned and said 'do I haaaave to?' Karkat damn well knows how very much he doesn't want to be here, doesn't want to talk to the Psiioniic of all people, and yet here he is, talking to the Psiioniic.

"Thank you," he says quietly, not looking over at the yellowblood and certainly not making any move to take an orange. After the Arena he never wanted to see another orange for as long as he lived, especially since they kept replaying that stupid speech he'd made.

[xanthous]

"You're welcome." He shuffles awkwardly, picking at the hem of his shirt. It's far too long on him, and the collar droops. It's very close to falling off his shoulder, and the sleeves cover his hands almost completely.

He stands there for a while, blinks, and he's at a horrible loss over what to do. Someone needs to help him.

[sleeplessinalternia]

"Signless says you guys used to know each other," Karkat says after a moment. Maybe if he can jog the Helmsman's memory, he'll recognize the Signless for who he was to him and realize that oh, it's his morail he was (metaphorically) shitting on and calling a traitor and he'll take the Signless' frond in his and beg to be taken back, even though he doesn't really deserve it because he's thutch a thhithead.

(Karkat hopes the Helmsman has to beg a lot, but suspects the Signless would take him back instantly.)

[69problems]

He would take him back instantly. From his perspective, this is just his Mituna, who's having problems he can't really understand but wants so desperately to fix.

"We did," he affirms, still not looking up. He's also avoiding looking at the screens, so he's doing a lot of avoiding looking at things and has wound up staring at his hands.

[xanthous]

He's about to tear a hole into his shirt from how he's fidgeting with it. He doesn't like this. He hates these feelings he can't explain, he hates Karkat's interference, he hates the Sufferer.

"A very, very long time ago, maybe."

[sleeplessinalternia]

"Yeah," says Karkat. "He said you were close or something like that. You really don't remember any of it?" He hesitates and then adds, "Not even the whispersound of his shooshes?"

(Fuck yes he was going to quote Troll Jude Deveraux. Lines like that didn't come along every day.)

[69problems]

The Signless blushes bright red down at his hands and flinches a little because he knows very well that the Helmsman doesn't remember. If he remembered he wouldn't be like this.

"Karkat, please don't," he says quietly, but he doesn't really think Karkat will listen. He's a Vantas on a mission, they're hard to reason with.

[xanthous]

The Psiioniic stiffens, hands clenching into fists and - yeah, there goes a hole in his shirt.

"I don't thee why I would remember being thhoothhed by thomeone like the Thufferer, no." He's as testy as he sounds, and he narrows his eyes at Karkat. "Why would you even care if I had a diamond with thomeone eckthecuted a thouthand thweepth ago, wiggler?"

[sleeplessinalternia]

"Don't call him that," Karkat snarls, and his hand shoots out to grab the collar of the Helmsman's shirt and pull the older troll's face forward. "That's not his name, you lithpy athbucket, take that fucking back."

[69problems]

"Karkat!" Signless shouts. He grabs the younger troll by the back of his tux to try and pull him away from the Helmsman. He's torn between a sudden upwelling of paleness for this tiny mutant who's so dedicated to seeing him happy and being mortified that he's choosing to do it in this manner.

[xanthous]

He goes still, staring down at Karkat blankly. He wants too get offended, to lash out and react and teach this tiny, tiny troll a lesson but he knows that there's noway he could actually hurt anyone without his powers.

"Well that'th who he ith, the troll thtrapped up by iron chainth and tormented until he raged towardth every troll in eckthithtenthe!" He sneers, and it just makes the scars crossing his face look even more grotesque.

[sleeplessinalternia]

Karkat's eyes narrow. "Liar," he growls, shoving the Helmsman back with all the force he can muster. "You fishlicking pailshitting grubfucking LUSUS-EATING CHUMBUCKET."

[69problems]

The Signless pulls Karkat back down onto the couch the moment he's no longer holding onto the Helmsman's shirt. He forcibly yanks him around so that they're facing each other, a hand on either side of his face.

"Shooooooosh!"

[xanthous]

He stumbles backwards and he...

He doesn't.

He doesn't know why it hurts, to see this traitor to the Empire, to see this troll who he's heard such terrible things about, who he's been told time and time again was at fault for bringing him to the Empress' attention pap another troll. It shouldn't hurt, but it does.

"It-it theemth more like you're more in need of the whithperthoundth of hith thhootheth."

[sleeplessinalternia]

Karkat hisses and tries to turn his head to snap at the Helmsman, but the Signless' hands on his face hold him steady, the shooshing grounds him.

He breathes out slowly.

"We're not leaving," he tells the Signless, quietly, but firmly. "We aren't giving him the satisfaction of chasing us away."

[69problems]

His face visibly falls. He'd hoped he would be able to leave, after this. He didn't want to come at all, and staying out of spite isn't really his sort of thing.

"He's not trying to chase us away," he says, papping Karkat's cheek gently. "He's just... he's unhappy and confused and he doesn't need me around. It would be better if we left."

He glances nervously over at the Helmsman.

[xanthous]

He splutters, offended. Can they not realize his hearing ducts work perfectly fine?

"I'm not confuthed! How can I be tho confuthed over a public eckthecution?" Really, it probably would be better for just this short moment for them to leave. He's angry and upset and he doesn't know why the Sufferer keeps insisting on trying to be pale at him, or why Karkat is getting so angry on the mutant's behalf.

[sleeplessinalternia]

"Shut up," Karkat says, not turning his head (mostly because Signless is still busy papping.) "We aren't talking to you anymore."

That having been addressed, he shakes his head as little as he can manage. "No. I'm staying at least until I see the asshole who killed us go down and you should too--at least if you want to keep me out of trouble."