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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. ]

[ karkat just continues to follow after him, his expression a mix between annoyed and confused. also they are very high up? he didn't really notice how many steps they had been climbing, too concerned about whatever the fuck is going on.

but bro should be... up here... right? karkat takes a step to the side, looking around and also immediately disobeying dave's order for him to stay behind him at all times lmao sorry dude but he's nosy. ]

Wow. Texas fucking sucks.

Don't talk bullshit about my state.

[ said with. serious annoyance as dave flashsteps forward because he's pretty sure bro will play out the memory and not attack karkat but pretty sure isn't sure enough. ]

And - Jesus shit. [ he can't talk and do this at the same time. well. he could. but bro attacks in a sudden clash of metal and movement out of nowhere and they're going to be fighting at strider speed. dave's a really good fighter? he's great with a sword even though he hates fighting.

he hates fighting because of hours upon hours like this, being beaten down by a guy he can't even hope to beat. the resigned weary sadness grows thicker, but he just lets the memory happen. there's no point changing shit when it's already occurred and this isn't even a timeloop, so he plays along and doesn't cheat to win.

he's not sure he'd win even if he cheated. ]

[ your fave is problematic: karkat, enjoys it too much when he seriously annoys dave.

he jumps slightly when bro makes his appearance. it's really fucking weird, honestly, seeing someone other than dave or dirk move in that way. especially when it's directed at dave. but karkat is good. he doesn't interfere, since he told dave he wouldn't. he is going to stay on the sidelines and just watch and hope to understand what dave is trying to tell him here.

he wants to, at least. but there's a lot wrong with this picture. karkat can tell that dave isn't going full out here, and at first he thinks it's because this is supposed to be training and not a real fight but. that doesn't seem right? a lot of this is going too fast for karkat to properly see and it's still giving him an... off feeling.

it's dave, really. his emotional state that's washing over karkat because of the dreamscape. if dave had any intention of winning this fight, he wouldn't be feeling like this, as if he had already been defeated and is just passing the time til the verdict. and it's such a startling thing to witness, because dave always cheats and does what he can to come out on top and this is the exact opposite of that. ]

[ it's how he felt back then. even when he'd cheated, it'd never actually worked. hell, bro is the reason dave learned to cheat as hard as he could. bro strider doesn't play fair, either.

dave's not going all out because he's playing the part of thirteen-year-old dave and bro's going all out because of fucking course he always did. there's a flicker and his sword is the shitty only one because dave remembers it that way, and he thinks his shades might've gone pointy again and his clothes are older, too.

he's not sure how long this fight lasted because back then he wasn't as good about time. but he should probably skip to the end where he loses horribly, right? they don't have hours to waste, unless dream time is weird. ]

[ at this point karkat is literally just. slowly edging closer because he lied and he is physically incapable of not interfering. at the very least, he isn't charging recklessly? but he is definitely a lot closer than what dave would probably like and also wtf happened to his shades?

that's weird.

but mostly, the feeling of hopelessness that's radiating off of dave is too much and karkat just needs that to stop. ]

Dave. What the fuck are you doing, kick his ass!

[ yeah that just. gets a choked laugh from dave even as he lets bro disarm him because honestly that happened a lot.

it doesn't stop the training. he just has to dodge the blade.

bro is too fast for thirteen-year-old dave. he fails to dodge the blade and his left arm gets sliced. dave doesn't bother to make a face, just tries to keep that arm away from bro and his shitty unbreakable sword. ]

Can't, dude, I never did it back then. What's the point of showing you shit if I change it?

[ it's alarming, how casual dave's words are in contrast to everything else. because karkat knows that this isn't something that's just casual to dave, he wouldn't be dreading it so much. honestly, if the empathy link wasn't going on, karkat probably wouldn't be reaching these conclusions as fast as he is.

according to rose, human families are supposed to create a safe and loving home for kids to grow up in. dave just got sliced. karkat has to remind himself that it's not like he got hit for real, but it still looks very real? all of this is just conjured for dave's memories but it still looks real and karkat really hates seeing dave get hurt. ]

You can change it a little! Like, fuck, one stab won't hurt or anything? Or five.

It's just a memory.

[ dave says, like that's...remotely true. sure, he's playing out the memory to try to explain without having to say "so hey. bro trained me every day of my life from like, as far back as i can remember. and by trained i mean basically beat me up on a daily basis, with swords and mind games. when he wasn't doing that he kind of flashstepped around the place and left me to figure out shit on my own, like, you know, food and laundry and whatever, and also i'm pretty sure he hated me."

or worse, agreeing to the whole "in other words, he abused you" thing rose had said because dave still doesn't want to say that or anything like it.

how'd it go again? right. he got knocked down with bro's sword to his throat after an hour or two of this. thinking about it lets bro (too solid, because dave knows bro) speed ahead to the end.

he's pretty sure he just kinda hung out lying on the roof after bro just flashstepped away, letting his arm and the other cuts bleed and pulling out his phone to text rose about something completely unrelated. shit, what had he bothered her about? probably just baited her into an argument about wizards or something to keep himself busy.

dave kind of just lets himself get knocked down like he remembers, but doesn't bother to text rose because that part of the memory doesn't really matter. he's trying to think what the hell to do next but honestly his plan was kind of vague and haphazard to start with. ]

[ well, whatever dave decides to do karkat does not really care because he is just rushing over to him now, dropping to his knees, and just. hovers obnoxiously because there was a lot of shit he did not like about that??

okay like, he can maybe understand dave not fighting back properly because he wanted karkat to witness what happened. but it was still hard to watch, and seeing a sword against his boyfriend's throat while dave did nothing was not something karkat had been too thrilled about seeing?

he doesn't get why dave keeps acting like nothing is wrong here though, because every time he brushes it off, the emotions that are radiating off him keep contradicting his words. unless he... doesn't realize this is a thing that's happening? karkat almost wants to point it out, but he doesn't want dave to shut down whatever this is before he's ready to. and he might if he realizes he's giving away more than what he means to. ]

You should have fought back you gigantic dumbass.

[ he 100% does not realize the emotions are a thing that are happening because he's caught up in them and can't focus on anything he's feeling that's not...his own stuff. it's hard to keep this shit off of his face and he's focused on that, so nothing he's saying or doing or expressing is matching what's honest. ]

I did. I mean, that's how it went, though it was a few hours longer irl.

[ he wants to ask if karkat gets it from one memory but he...doubts it. shit, maybe he should have rose show karkat things from like. a not fucked up sense. or john - no, then john would suspect something. ]

He was always stronger. [ of course, dave had been skinnier and younger and underfed and always on edge, so. yeah. ]

Okay, but you'd be stronger now.

[ that's not even his dave bias speaking? like, logically dave would be able to easily defeat bro now if they ever went up against each other again. like, even if dave didn't use his time powers, karkat is pretty certain he'd be able to win.

dave doesn't seem to be getting up though, so karkat just sort of lays down next to him on his side so he can still continue to look over at him. ]

So. The two of you did this kind of thing a lot.

[ karkat is trying to keep his tone casual, which is Hard and he's probably failing and this whole thing is weird. [

Yeah. We should flip to a different memory.

[ dave sits up, his arms loosely wrapped around his knees as he casts a glance sideways.

for those playing the emotions game, he's not thrilled about the idea of throwing them into a new memory even if this one wasn't even bad compared to some of the other shit he's...avoiding going into. good job, dave. ]

[ ugh he should... probably tell him but he doesn't want to scare dave off... he decides to tell him later. karkat sits up as well but doesn't stand up all the way, instead reaching over to grab dave's hand again.

fuck u for letting go early, you dick?? ]

Is the next one up here too?

Sure, why not.

[ he can just pick a new one and roll with it. but he does let go of karkat's hand an instant after saying that. ]

I'll need both hands for the whole. [ vague hand gestures. ] Thing.

[ well. bro's tried to throw him off the damn roof more than once, so dave decides he may as well go with one of those fights. there are too many fights to go through and he's not sure how to get his point across because dave's terrible at communicating the shit that matters, a lot of the time. ]

Also you don't wanna get dragged over the side.

[ karkat is just ??? at that comment before he glances over at the edge of the building. did he just imply that he's going to fall off the roof? because like, karkat knows that being able to fly is a fairly recent development for dave so.

nah he can't mean that. unless he falls accidentally during the training? that's gotta be it. right. ]

Uh. Okay?

[ he flexes his newly freed hand, kind of pouting at it because that did not last very long. ]

[ no, no he meant. actually falling off the roof. he has to stand up and think about it (how old was he - eight? nine? it was a while ago) but being thrown around was pretty normal because you had to learn how to deal with that shit. it probably kept him alive, maybe, even if it made him weaker instead of stronger. or something. dave doesn't bother to worry about it, just lets his mind drift again.

sometimes he'd manage to flashstep back before he feel. that day, he'd missed his footing and ended up having to scramble to get hold of the wall, and he'd had to pull himself back up because bro wasn't going to help him. unless he really fell further. maybe. probably?

so yeah no it's just. bro tossing him off the roof with the full expectation that dave would deal with it somehow, which really is the epitome of his training style. ]

[ ok so karkat may not entirely Get It but even he is aware that throwing people off of roofs is not a good thing. he is also pretty certain that falls outside of the category of caring for your family? some of the stuff rose said he still needs to figure out but like. he knows that much.

karkat doesn't stand up, mostly since he has no idea when the fuck bro is going to appear and he would prefer not to accidentally get dream stabbed by standing up the exact second he attacks? or something. ]

[ bro's appearing right now, for the whole. like for the whole throwing dave off a roof thing, which dave just allows to happen because yeah. why not.

just give him a bit to like climb back up since he's not going to fly. well. he could fly? shit should he just stop playacting and fly? it's easier to haul himself up the side of the wall than it was back then anyway, since he's older and stronger and better at climbing. so.

doesn't really need to fly.

although then bro will attack him when he makes it back up this is a shitty memory he should have picked a different one? ]

[ karkat had been expecting dave to like, maybe slip off the edge or something while fighting bUT NOPE HE LITERALLY JUST GOT FUCKING THROWN OFF THE ROOF?????

and like, okay. dave does not want him to interfere?? karkat gets that. he gets that dave is trying to show him something here and that all of this is shit that has already happened? so like, in theory karkat should not be getting upset here because this all happened in the past and what is currently going on right now is fake, just a dream. so he should just sit out and watch it til dave decides that's enough of this memory.

or. or!!! karkat can immediately stand up and run over to the two of them because HE JUST TOSSED DAVE OFF A FUCKIN ROOF? HOW LONG AGO WAS THIS MEMORY??? DAVE DID NOT KNOW HOW TO FLY AND THIS IS A HIGH BUILDING??????????//???? ]

[ like dave's fine he's just kind of hanging off the edge debating if he actually wants to get back up having scrambled high enough to reach the edge once again after a short climb. until he sees karkat and mutters something inaudible to himself.

he promptly hauls himself back up fully, and calls his sword back to his hand to block a strike. ]

You are literally the worst at staying put?

He threw you off the fucking roof! [ yes karkat, he knows, he was there too.

karkat did not have an actual plan in mind when he did this so he just kind of looks like he is ready to punch bro. in fact, he wants to as soon as he and dave stop moving around so much. ]

Dave, what the fuck.

Yeah, he does that. I missed my footing, was supposed to manage to hit the edge and flashstep back.

[ good luck with that because the memory requires him to keep

fighting

which is going too fast for anyone who isn't a strider. ]

[ "he does that" karkat is so annoyed at how casual dave says that?? getting tossed off a roof would at the very least start a shitty cycle of revenge or something between trolls. ]

And you're okay with it? [ he says it as flatly as he can which still sounds annoyed since he already knows Dave isn't. ]

[ he lets the memory fade away. or at least bro. he has to close his eyes and hum the song from underneath, but he lets it happen and lets his sword go back to his sylladex because clearly this isn't working.

or it is? ]

I didn't realize that was an option 'till the meteor.

[ is what he settles on saying, instead of "no". ]

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