thecapitol | (no subject)

(no subject)

Who| Everyone
What| A chance for the teams to meet, mingle, and, lets be honest, for goodbyes to be said.
Where| The common area.
When| Evening before the attack, about a day after Creuntus' network announcement.
Warnings/Notes| Time is going to be a little ~~more~~ wonky then normal, if you haven't noticed. They will be going out to attack "tomorrow" but that thread will not, likely, be posted tomorrow, to give people time to play in this one, etc.

There is food and drink, plenty of it, but no decoration, and it is clear this "party" is no sort of celebration. There is the small spattering of Peacekeepers still in the Capitol, those not on duty at the edge of the boundary.

A long table at the front has a set up for each team. Everyone has a folder with who is in their team, who is watching their team, a list of the various weapons they will have. On the list is a flame thrower, a handful of small explosives, and an automatic weapon for each team member. There are no weapons laid out for the Tributes to handle, however - those were waiting for them elsewhere, for when the mission truly started. Nor does the folder mention that the weapons all switch off outside of the combat area, but it's also not a secret, or a surprise.

Each folder also includes the rather useless stats and images they have of the creatures-the photos are blurry, the stats mainly stack up to "they are very deadly" and a collection of the various bits of information put forth by other tributes who seem to know more then the Capitol. Last, a detailed map of both the neighborhood, and the tunnels for them to study.

Another table has folders for the intel, with much of the same information. Last, a third table is set up for those that are staying at home. Those folders contain some basic first aid information, and a list with what sort of basic medical supplies and food stuff is in the training center.

Each table set up has an Avox or two to hand out the folders. Creuntus is no where to be seen, and you would be lucky to catch any of her team. She knows where she doesn't want to be. The furniture has been dragged to facilitate the conversation of small to medium sized groups. Say, about the size of a team and their Intel.

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Karkat snorts. "Yeah. Yeah, I fucking know. You say jump and I let you stab people in the back, all for the greater fucking good."

He's thinking of Jack Noir, who he still felt pretty shitty about betraying, even though he knows intellectually it was probably the right thing, but also a little about Signless too. In the time since their fight at the date auction, he's figured out that Terezi probably thought she was serving the greater good somehow by killing Karkat's moirail--she doesn't cull indiscriminately, that was one of the things he liked about her--but he's fucked if he knows how. And she still lied and betrayed him, that hasn't changed.

"So," he says, not entirely sure why he's still sticking around, "who else did you get? Your boyfriend?" The word is bitter in his mouth.

At least Karkat's off-hand response does manage to get Terezi to lift her head. However, the look she gives him speaks volumes about how he should probably shut up. She presses her lips in a thin line, and she's fully prepared to explain to him exactly why she doesn't need his shit right now, when--

"...What?" Her heart jumps for a moment until she remembers that Dave isn't here, and Karkat doesn't know shit about him anyway. "What are you talking about?"

Karkat rolls his eyes. "Oh come on. Mr Living Fleet Propaganda Poster, who else?" He jabs a thumb in the direction of the Initiate.

It's fucking obvious that Terezi's with him, at least to Karkat's eyes. The Initiate's huge, bloodthirsty, and highblooded--everything a troll would ideally want in a lover. Clean him up and he could be on the cover of one of Karkat's quandrant novels.

Terezi's attention shifts to the Initiate when Karkat jerks his thumb that way. It takes more than a few seconds of blind-staring to realize that yes, he really does mean that guy. Then her attention snaps back to Karkat with a mixture of disbelief, confusion, and irritation.

"What is your problem? Jegus, Karkat, are you serious right now?!"

He stares at her, dumbfounded. "Wait? Are you saying you're not dating him? But-- but you've been spending so much time with him-- and he's-- he's him-- and-- and--"

"I'm his friend, Karkat! Of course I'm spending time with him!" She's caught between exasperated and irritated and above all embarrassed. She hadn't even given a thought to Fraysong as anything more than a friend, but she can't exactly deny the fact that he's...intense. Not now that it's been pointed out to her.

There's a slight flush to the tips of her ears--mostly hidden by her hair, and she hopes that her anger passes for whatever tinge of teal might peek out.

"Can you just stop with these stupid quadrant games for even two seconds? He's not my matesprit. You're not my matesprit. And this isn't the time or the place to be having one of your dramatic meltdowns! So if you don't have anything important to say, go back to your table and read your dumb alien monster packet."

"Fine," he snarls, stomping off. He doesn't get very far, though, before spinning around and hissing, "Maybe I do have something to say. Maybe I think you should try to remember that the Initiate and the Helmsman aren't actually Gamzee and Sollux--they're just the shitty knock-offs."

In for a beetle, in for a fucking caegar.

She has half a mind to tell Karkat that Sollux is dead. Just shout it across the room, let him hear it, let it sink in that shit isn't okay where she's from. But emotionally compromising her soldiers before a mission probably isn't the best strategy.

"I'm aware that they aren't the same, you dipshit. For one: Fuck you if you think a friendship with the Helmsman means I want to replace Sollux. He's a fucking hero, so shut your damn mouth. For two: Gamzee isn't fit to lick the Initiate's boots, so I don't care what you think about that one!"

"You shut your fucking mouth," Karkat snarls. "I have no fucking clue what happened with you in the last half-sweep, but you are so fucking full of shit I'm surprised it hasn't turned your blood brown. Gamzee is my best friend, you psychotic loon, and unlike some shitty clowns he's practically harmless. Gamzee may be a sopor-guzzling moron but he's not a psychotic cullstained fuckshit high on murdermirth--and if you think the Initiate is the superior Makara here you are out of your fucking mind, because maybe the Initiate is the better fucking troll but Gamzee is the better fucking person--and I wish like hell he were here instead."

He's practically quivering with indignation and there is part of him that wants very badly to start crying, even though he knows what a terrible idea that would be in front of anyone ~~except for Signless and Cuthbert~~.

"And I wish you would just fucking get over yourself and stop acting personally affronted that I'm not fucking grateful about what you did in the arena. And I wish you would fucking go back to normal, I hate Future You, she's a giant bitch who feels fucking free to judge everyone by things Future Us might fucking do, but doesn't even bother to let us know what the fuck we did wrong."

He swallows, hard. "Get out of my face."

Jegus, why does every conversation with Karkat make her want to shove him again? She doesn't know why he does this to himself. Part of her wonders if he's trying to butter her up for more caliginous bullshit. If so, he's more likely to get slapped than anything else.

"You came over to me. Just like every other time! I'm done with trying to convince you of anything. I've been done. I would be more than happy to not speak to you at all, but you just keep pushing it! So maybe I'm not the one who needs to get over themself!"

She shouldn't be yelling, but she's so frustrated with all of this. More than anything, she doesn't want to be in the same room as him anymore because this is what it eventually leads to. She could probably leave it there, but there's one more part that nags at her, and she's just tired enough of this to not care what she lets slip.

"And for the record, Gamzee--your best fucking friend--is a piece of shit. He's not harmless. He's not sweet and innocent. He's been playing us all this time. He's the same sort of murderous mirthful asshole that every other Indigo is, and if he was here instead of Fraysong?" She emphasizes the name, shooting Karkat a harsher look. The last thing she needs is the Initiate to catch that name and flip his shit. "I would put a sword through him faster than you could blink--preferably outside the arena! So go back to your table, read your alien monster pamphlets, and leave. me. alone."

"Fine," Karkat all but shrieks. "Fine. Go and suck up to your future Grand Highblood, you always cared more about your fucking law than people anyway. I hope you're fucking quick about it when he sends you to cull me."

And then this time he really does spin around and stomp off in what he's hoping is Signless' direction because he really does need some shooshpaps right now, because Terezi's so full of shit, she is, he's known Gamzee Makara for sweeps and Karkat is fairly sure he's incapable of the kind of subtlety you'd need to "play" everybody, isn't he?

Except he misjudged Terezi so terribly, thought she was so much better than she was, so maybe he could be misjudging Gamzee now, fuck.

Even if he was, it didn't stop Karkat from missing him.

How can one person misunderstand everything so completely? Terezi doesn't know, but she really wants to throw something at him. Did it really take that little to convince him that she was some heartless monster? ...How much trust did he have in her to begin with, then? If it was broken so easily?

She lets him leave without a word. She doesn't really have anything else to say to him. She's just... so tired of this. For a moment, she bows her head into her hands, rubbing at her face. Her eyes string a little, but she's not about to allow that. There's work to be done. With a deep breath, she lifts her head against and resumes sniffing through her folders.

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