[OPEN] How much of it's genetics? How much of it is fate?

[chronomancer]

Characters: jade!Eridan & YOU! 
Setting: Workshop
Format: Starting with action, but I'll match you.
Summary: Eridan emerges from his self-imposed exile for a while to clean his rifles.
Warnings: Eridan's deadpan. Potential violence if he gets pissed; lots and lots of rifles. Gamzee. Gory, ironic death via Gamzee. Goddammit, Gamzee.

[He started off with one. And then he doomed himself a few times. And well. It wasn't like he could just let them go to waste, when they started piling up.

Laser rifles need a different type of maintenance than the usual kind, but it's still maintenance in the end.

So there's a sullen troll, half hidden behind a pile of guns, carefully cleaning one by one. It's a methodical and repetitive process, but it's not like Eridan seems to mind too terribly. He's just minding his business, but hey. Maybe if you ask very nicely, he'll give you one.

Maybe.]

Comments

[chronomancer]

[To be fair, it's just as far as where the table is, with all the rifles there. Eridan is just going back to work. He figures Karkat will just go back to sleep.

Right?

It's not like he's acting weird or anything...]

[papshooshing]

[ yeah, not so much. because now Karkat is just thinking. so many thoughts. mostly wondering what the hell just happened.

Eridan's not even trying to quip back? where'd he get all those guns anyway?

so yeap. staring. ]

[chronomancer]

[He goes back to work, fingers working diligently. He cleans a rifle or two before the weight of that stare becomes really unbearable, so he turns to give Karkat a look over his shoulder, putting down the rag and the rifle he's working on.]

...do you need anything else?

[papshooshing]

What are you so fucking wound up about?

[ there. he said it. because he can't keep it in his little body any longer. ]

[chronomancer]

...'m fine.

[A bit testy, but he goes back to work.]

Didn't know it was a crime to not be fuckin' cheery all the time.

[Not that. You know. He does cheery all that often. Or at all.]

[papshooshing]

Yeah, because that fucking clipped answer is totally an indicator of "fine." YOu know as well as I do that "fine" and "cheery" aren't synonymous anyway, Ampora.

So what the hell is going on?

[chronomancer]

Nothing's going on, just felt like fuckin' cleaning up my shit.

[Which involves clearing out a lot of jade blood off his own damn guns and wow, that turned morbid real fast. He's just not in a good mood.]

Just go back to sleep, Kar, you could probably use a few hours more.

[papshooshing]

You might as well tell me because sleep is no longer a thing that's going to happen. All of these questions and hypothetical concerns about your well being are kind of buzzing in my skull like flies swarming over freshly dropped shit.

[ nope. not going anywhere. not sleeping either. ]

[chronomancer]

[...yeah, okay, you managed to make him snort loudly at that. Then, a little more quietly.]

There really isn't any reason for you to concern yourself with my wellbeing, though.

[A small pause.]

It's not like I'm goin' to hurt anyone or anything.

[Because the only reason you'd worry about him is because he could hurt someone else. Right?]

[papshooshing]

That's not why I'm fucking asking. If I was asking out of fear you potentially seeking to hurt someone, then I'd be cheating on Gamzee. We both know I couldn't do that.

[ so stop beating around the bush and just talk. ]

[chronomancer]

...you know, I forget you're the smart one sometimes.

[Take that as you will. He sighs again.]

'm fine though. Just. ...restless.

[He shrugs again.]

It's not a good thing for me to indulge in, that's all. So I'm keeping busy instead.

[papshooshing]

[ and he'll take that as a complement and bite his tongue. this time. he actually has Eridan talking to him. best just not aggravate too much. ]

Restless why?

[chronomancer]

[He's quiet for a moment, as if trying to figure out the best way to put it into words.]

...haven't died in a while.

[papshooshing]

Wait. Let me get this fucking straight.

You're restless because you haven't died in a while. How is this a bad thing?

[chronomancer]

[Another shrug.]

Just got used to it, I guess.

[papshooshing]

Does living mean absolute shit to you or what?

[ kind of hypocritical, as Karkat doesn't really know if there's a point in living or not. halfway feels like he's a failure that really doesn't deserve it anyway, but details, right? ]

Do you really think you're not of fucking value as a goddamned person and not a tool to actually be thankful that you're having a great streak of luck?

[chronomancer]

[He risks a look at Karkat, then very carefully shrugs and goes back to work.

Does he really have to answer that?]

[papshooshing]

Oh my fucking god. I can't believe this ridiculous shit being implied.

[ up he goes, hands and knees. crawling over to Eridan. grabbing onto that stupid scarf and yanking. ]

Don't you fucking dare think that. You're so full of shit at the moment that I don't know if you just need a hug or a good slap across the face!

[chronomancer]

[There goes a monumental squawk and then he's flopping back, falling off his seat.]

Ow.

[Horns clattering on the floor hurt like a bitch, okay. Not that you'd know that, Kar.]

[papshooshing]

[ heavy sigh. not what he had meant to do, but...

just gonna help Eridan sit up properly. and shut up his horns are perfection ]

Fucking idiots...

[chronomancer]

[...hey, man. Fuck off. He's been steadily starving himself the past few months, he's a lot less solid than he used to be, okay. He wasn't expecting the yank. He'll just rub the hornbases and sulk a little.]

...I probably deserved it.

[papshooshing]

[ and that's something Karkat won't notice, mostly because his physical contact with the other has been minimal. ]

Eridan, you honestly don't. Seriously. I don't care what the fuck you did in your timeline. What matters to me is the here bits. And from the shit here? You don't deserve it.

[chronomancer]

[So long as you don't hug him, you won't have to notice the fact you can probably count his ribs. 8)]

...the here bits don't really outweight the there bits.

[He shrugs yet again. He's kind of a chronic shrugger.]

And I'm kind of an asshole most of the time, too.

[papshooshing]

I'm an asshole all of the time. Don't try to make asinine points, bulgesucker.

[ he'll yank on your ear next. ]

Truth is, I'm not judging and you should step the fuck off and stop being so harsh on yourself at the same time. And if you have a fuck up like me telling you this, then you know that you should believe it.

[chronomancer]

[If you break it, you buy it, Karkat. Eridan sighs a little, hunching forward.]

...if you say so, Kar.

[Yeah, so not convinced. Mostly because you're the furthest thing from a fuck up he can think of. So yeah.]