parodeity | subnautica ic inbox 1.0;

If we need more we can add it after.

[ though he. thinks an hour should be fine? all he has to do is explain bro without explaining bro and the best way to do that is to just. let karkat see and hope rose's crash course helps enough to explain why bro sucked.

or...maybe bro can explain that. by just. doing whatever the fuck. ]

Just...stick close to me.

I'm not going to wander off, jegus.

[ he squeezes dave's hand though, and a couple of minutes later they are entering the pod room. karkat glances around it before heading straight for the two he and chara had used since he knows they work. ]

Um. You can back out, if you want. I haven't changed my mind about this but you look like you are about to shit yourself.

Not what I'm worried about.

[ he's. mildly concerned about bro attacking someone not him and that's part of why he's like haha better never sleep again. the guy's too accurate thanks to dave knowing him too well. ]

...No. This is the easiest way. I can't...give you all the context, so maybe if you see it it'll make it so I don't have to. If not I can just. Make Rose tell you.

[ he can't do it again the whole explaining it thing that was terrible enough with rose? shit maybe he can just make rose his like, deputy, and whenever he wants to tell someone (which is never, basically) she can do the thing and he can just, go off somewhere and not be involved and also have a picnic. ]

[ dave. buddy. pal. bro. there is evidence of why never sleeping again is a Bad Idea. the evidence is currently holding your hand and you are also dating him? don't do that.

but he just nods, accepting this since like... what else can he say to that? karkat finally lets go of dave's hand though so he can set up the machines. it doesn't take too long, thankfully. or maybe not thankfully in dave's case? whatever. ]

Well, hopefully I won't have to go to her again because like. Full offense, but she is shit at explaining things.

[ mostly since she is bad at resisting the urge to troll. ]

Yeah no I got that from your summary.

[ the problem is DAVE ALSO. CANNOT RESIST THAT FUCKING URGE. ]

I would've sent you to John, but he never needs to have any reason to think any of this is a thing.

[ whatever...the fuck that means... ]

Just. Stay really close, okay?

Oh my fuck, fine, I will be so close to your nook that you won't even be able to sit down without me being in your way. Happy?

[ that is a rhetorical question, karkat knows dave is not happy about any of this.

once the pods are set up, he gestures at them. ]

Whenever you're ready, asshole.

Yeah. Let's, uh, make it transpire.

[ he flubs his own quote but at least does hop into one of the pods. ugh. ]

[ it takes karkat a few extra seconds to hop into his because as much as he pretends not to, he does in fact recognize sbahj references and he Knows dave fucked that one up..... #tragic

but also worrying. he goes into his and i guess pod stuff happens now. TO THE DREAMSCAPE and not screamscape, like i just accidentally typed but but that is still accurate in dave's case. ]

[ look...look.

there's only going to be the water for a few seconds until dave locates karkat (right there, right) and debates saying anything or describing where they're going in his head or what he's trying to make the dreamscape do here but he's not sure how to put it at first. so he just sort of grabs karkat's hand again, ignoring their bodies, and tugs him along.

he needs to drag him close enough to the void he hears some of that song. that'd helped his nightmares earlier.

...rose is right. this is probably a terrible idea, but she'd also said it wasn't his worst idea ever. ]

Don't try to cut in, okay? [ it's muttered as dave stares into the water, and he finally just. lets his mind wander. to the apartment, high up, the texas heat. the place before the person who'll manifest whether or not dave wants him to, with the void song.

hell, dave can sing him into existence himself, probably. ]

Don't cut in to what?

[ it's said somewhat distractedly as he just watches dave, not really expecting him to answer. but like... if things get bad, karkat has zero plans to not cut in? he knows that getting hurt in here won't actually injure them in real life but also. nah.

well, whatever bad might be here. ]

...Whenever he shows up.

[ not dirk. dirk - well, he told dirk to stay away from him when they're sleeping for now. but yeah. right. picture it.

he knows the apartment layout down to the last detail three years after the fact. the puppets everywhere, the weaponry, everything. bro's stupid skateboarding game on the television. ]

Anyway. Home sweet home.

[ his tone is dry and he doesn't move but immediately starts scanning the area, making sure karkat's a little behind him. hope...fully he doesn't overdo the empathy thing because he doesn't know that's a thing. and his nerves are frayed. ]

This is where you lived?

[ another rhetorical question: only a place this stupid looking could be where one of the beta kids lived.

it's a very good thing that dave is holding onto him though, because karkat wants to... wander off and look around... even though he already said he wouldn't. but he never paid much attention to dave before the meteor though, so seeing all of this is. something.

he stays quiet for another two seconds before he finally has to ask, ]Is it Bro?

My room's through there.

[ that doesn't answer the question of "is it bro", but dave gestures.

there's no sight of little cal. but he already knows what the memory is here. ]

...But we're gonna have to go up to the roof. In a bit. Can't touch most of the shit down here anyway, it'll just make something else happen. The kitchen's useless, btw, unless you want cold hard steel or something.

Uh. No. [ what the fuck??

also he does, in fact, want to see dave's room? since nothing about the rest of this apartment feels very... dave. it's weird. maybe at first glance, but there are too many puppets and karkat knows he hates those. ]

I'm kind of surprised you didn't actually stab yourself in the face here.

Oh, I have. I mean, I stabbed myself with shit sometimes? Or exploded it on accident. It's always been like this, but I eventually learned to just, uh, not look for food in the kitchen and to try to be careful?

[ dave shrugs. ]

Though sometimes I'd forget and open the fridge anyway. Don't do that, by the way. You'll get a face full of shitty anime swords.

[ well. karkat has already noticed a few contradictions to what rose had told him? somehow he doubts a loving and caring home will include something exploding on you? ]

All of that sounds really dumb. [ he also just... doesn't like the idea of dave getting hurt at all he is too #protective... ] What's on the roof?

[ thanks rose for #trying your best? dave's really not sure he can even explain it like this, now that he's standing here. do trolls even have shit like bro? he's not sure. he's pretty sure even if they did they'd have to deal with it alone and that's what dave usually tries to do.

he's quiet for a second, just kind of staring at the blender on the kitchen counter. ]

Training. Usually. But I think -

[ aaaand then his sword is in his hand as he yanks on karkat's arm to drag the troll fully behind him because bro's fast - like dave, like dirk - and he doesn't announce his attacks.

it's a memory. bro's three years behind dave and he doesn't have time travel even if he can flash step. but dave's still a little too pale at the attack, even if he didn't quite flinch. just blocked.

he thinks he failed to block when it actually happened. but whatever. it's just a warning shot, really, cutting dave. bro sometimes demands rooftop sessions with notes, but he just as often is willing to ask for it by just setting up traps or simply attacking dave and then going up. dave always followed, anyway. ]

[ karkat has no idea what the fuck just happened.

he's used to dave moving quickly. or, as used to something like that as anyone can be. you can't really expect when someone who moves that fast will, you know, move that fast. but normally karkat will at least not be that surprised afterwards, just settling for an "oh, guess he did that thing again."

he kind of stares blankly, wondering what... to do here. dave told him not to interfere. ]

Training. [ he just repeats it lamely, looking from dave to... wow he really does look like dirk? older. ]

[ older hat dirk does not stick around. he books it to the roof, presumably, and dave grimaces but pulls his expression under control more quickly than usual. which is...pretty fast. if the empathy thing is happening, however, he's not remotely as calm as he looks. there's a quiet, resigned dread in this memory, because it's not like he'd ever felt much else during these sessions.

he'd lost every single one of them. ]

Yeah. May as well go up top, that's how the story goes. He's probably going to throw puppets and shit at us while we're on the stairs. I'm just gonna keep blockin' shit, so don't sweat it.

[ ok that's just weird? chill with the puppets.

the thing is, karkat is normally pretty decent at reading dave? he's better than most people, at least, considering they spent three years on that meteor so attached to the hip that they eventually started dating. he knows what cues to look for, even if dave won't admit to anything even after getting called out for it.

but there's a difference between guessing that something is wrong because of dave acting slightly differently and... this. whatever this is. karkat knows this weird feeling isn't coming from him, since he's mostly just confused right now. he glances at dave, frowning. well.

there's a short moment of consideration before he steps out from behind dave so he can kiss him. it's very light, mostly just a soft brush against his lips, before he pulls away. ]

Let's get it over with, Strider.

Yeah. I'm gonna let go of your hand when we're up there, and you're not gonna get in the way. Right?

[ he has to play out the memory. unless he can imagine up thirteen-year-old dave to take his place.

he'd managed to block the strike earlier. but bro's too big a shadow in dave's mind, and he's not confident he can beat the imagined version of the real person. ]

Right...

[ karkat doesn't trust himself not to though? he's always been a very emotional person and he has no idea how he'd react to something like this, especially considering how big of a deal dave is making this out to be. karkat had been surprised at bro's sudden attack, but that still wasn't really... big enough to really make him Understand.

his friends literally disabled and killed each other, after all, and that was before they even started playing the game. sure, they all thought those things were pretty fucked up, mostly, but it's not like they stopped hanging around vriska afterwards? they just moved on. ]

After you, douchebag. [ the insult sounds pretty weak, but. it's a weird night. ]

[ again, this is why dave has had trouble trying to figure out how to explain shit to karkat. he's not sure he wants to stick around and try to explain it if karkat can't get it (he'll just. ask rose. to explain it again this time without need for being careful of spoilers) because it was hard enough explaining it to rose. at least she understood the truth without dave having to say it and explain why it was a thing that sucked.

it's hard to put into words that bro was a constant force. always there, never letting dave relax, never letting up. the tests and traps and training never stopped. dave can't remember them not having started. his earliest memories involve being thrown off the roof?

he should have asked rose to come along. she's a crutch of a sort but he thinks maybe she'd stop this from becoming the fucked up option she hypothesized could happen.

dave doesn't move for a second before nodding and dropping karkat's hand, a little earlier than he said he would. ]

...Yeah. This memory isn't so bad.

[ he only like, gets beat up as per usual. there's almost no trickery or mind games involved! aside from. the mind games of being forced to go up to what he knows is a pitched fight he can't (couldn't?) win for hours of dumbass training. "training".

dave sighs, and starts up the stairs. it feels a little like willingly going to his death, except this time rose isn't there to hold his hand. ]

[ he glances at his now free hand, his frown deepening, before following dave up the stairs. he kind of wants to reach up and grab his hand again, but he's scared of dave shaking him off? which is dumb. but also a possibility, so instead he just focuses on climbing the steps.

this memory isn't so bad. that whole sentence is... off. implies that dave has bad memories, which he has kind of hinted at before? karkat has the general impression that dave's relationship with bro isn't as stellar as he claimed but. hm. ]

Compared to what?

Other training sessions?

[ he's carefully keeping in front of karkat mostly so he can. deflect anything that gets thrown down the stairs. he's doing it quickly enough it might not be immediately obvious until sliced up puppet parts go past harmlessly, but.

dave's tense and tired and only glances back once before he steps off the last step onto the roof. ]

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