♋ 001

[papshooshing]

Characters: Karkat ( OU ) and whoever
Setting: Variety of floors
Format: Action
Summary: The hermit has to get out *some* time, right? Karkat is just doing his thing. Looking around at new floors.
Warnings: Swearing. It's a given.



Floor 19

[ if there is something that Karkat has done in the past, it is observe. he had watched the human kids and made extensive notes about all of them. flaws. actions taken. anything of interest. quirks. stuff like that. Karkat even had written out his opinions of them. he doesn't have that sort of luxury here and his fiction selection has dwindled since the whale incident.

his original intention had been to just find a library. usually he doesn't visit floors outside of the media room and the bare essentials. a research library isn't what he had in mind, but it will suffice. who knows? maybe some of the remaining philosophy and psychology books will give him some answers about questions he's circulating in his think pan lately.

this is how he spends his first few waking hours, huddled with a stack of books at his left and he's mostly thumbing through them. topic surfing. ]



Floor 10

[ don't go out near the ocean. this is common Alternian knowledge. sea dwelling trolls are vicious, as are many beasts that can be found in the depths. Karkat has seen the ocean, sure. but the aquarium is a completely different experience. he's never really seen sea creatures before, so he just kind of stares in wonder, mouth slightly open.

it's a clown fish swimming close that gets his attention. like any kid seeing something for the first time, he's reaching out to poke at it through the water. ]

Comments

Floor 10

[wweh]

[Eridan watches Karkat through the whole thing, waiting for the proper moment to speak up, but when he decides to put his hand in, that's where he draws the line. Not because hey, something could come by and think his hand is food? Nope. Leave the sea-dwelling to the seadwellers.]

I wouldn't be doin' that Kar.

[papshooshing]

[ which means Karkat is jumping and yanking his hand away. not because Eridan is someone worth listening to. but because Karkat is legitimately surprised and now acting like he hadn't been about to touch the thing at all. ]

I wasn't doing anything.

[wweh]

I saw you tryin' to stick your hand in there an' touch things.

You shouldn't be touchin' things in the ocean. Seriously not a good idea ever.

floor 10

[fuhgeddaboudit]

I think they're called 'fish'.

[Without the slightest trace of sarcasm or 'duh, stupid' in her voice, the girl made of metal watched Karkat and the clownfish in quiet fascination.]

Least, I'm pretty sure that's whatcha call 'em.

[papshooshing]

I know they're fish. I've never seen them before.

[ except maybe in movies and the occasional dinner. even then his choice of movies aren't focused on wildlife. romcoms, man. still. he hasn't ever been this close to a LIVE one. ]

[fuhgeddaboudit]

I haven't either.

[She leaned over to examine the aquarium more closely, red eyes wide with interest.]

I only ever saw the ocean once; I ain't never woulda guessed there were things like this livin' in it.

floor 10

[blackwitch]

Kyahaha!

[ Suddenly there's some near-omnious giggling (honestly, it's more like a cackle) from behind him, and then there's a girl standing there - in a more or less normal school outfit than her usual witch outfit, which at least makes her seem more normal, but she's grinning more than any teenage girl her age should be. ]

It's like you're almost waiting to get eaten by a shark!

[papshooshing]

[ like Karkat knows what is really normal for a human and what isn't. can't really tell a non human that looks human from a human either, really. but his eyes narrow at the intrusion. ashamed to be caught? maybe, but that attitude is making him bristle. ]

Like I'd be so easily fucking caught.

[blackwitch]

[ Hey, at least she isn't surprised by his very not human like looks at all either. Or his attitude, really, nothing about her demeanour seems to change at his response. ]

Oh..? You're that sure of it? [ It's almost a sing-song tone at this point. ] Did you never saw that movie with the sharks? They strike when you last expect it, and then.. crunch!

[myblueskies]

Sometimes they bite! [Romeo appears at his side suddenly, he had just been passing through but he had saw Karkat put his hand in the water and Karkat was Gamzee's moirail and Gamzee would be really sad if he got his hand bitten off by a fish!] You got to be careful!

[papshooshing]

[ if you had been hoping for a shocked reaction, you got it. Karkat makes a bit of a sound as he jumps back. DON'T SNEAK UP ON HIM LIKE THAT. ]

Who the fuck are you!?

[myblueskies]

You shouldn't use bad words like that. I'm Romeo! [He grins, he already knows the other Karkat, and the moodiness doesn't really phase him.]

Floor 19

[priceofmagic]

[ There could be nothing better for Satou than a research library. The moment she found this floor she found herself trapped. Not because of a supernatural or horrific trapping mechanism of some sort, but because she once she started picking out books she couldn't stop.

Unfortunately, her primary topics of concern are interlaced with history. Satou was disappointed at first, but does settle on some books about human psychology and what few alchemic philosophy books may be there. She walks with ease, even with such a tall stack of books in her arms, but pauses when she sees Karkat thumbing through books. ]

Looking for something specific? [ She offers carefully, a bit nervous about the start of any social interaction. ] Maybe I can help?

[papshooshing]

[ Karkat looks up, still scowling. does it really look like he needs help?

...yeah he probably does, what with this mix and match set up he's got going on here. that doesn't mean he's going to TAKE help. nope. wrong troll. ]

Does it look like I need help?

[priceofmagic]

Mmm...

[ She takes some time to consider her answer...

... then nods. ]

Well, more than you look like you need help... you don't look like you're doing anything but mindlessly thumbing through pages. [ Blunt. ]

Floor 19

[hystericull]

[Early evening was not a time at which Gamzee was accustomed to being awake. Well, time sort of twisted itself up in the Tower. He tried to sleep while the sun was out and wake up sometime after dark, but being in the Veil had already fucked his internal clock up, so he usually just ended up sleeping whenever the fuck he wanted. It was good to realize he was back to a semi-normal sleep schedule, although he can't remember a time where he'd ever woken up this early. Sleep eluded him, and it wasn't something a few mouthfuls of slime could seem to fix. So, out he rolled, walking down the staircase aimlessly to try and tire himself back out.]

[It was when he passed the library (a floor he normally had zero interest in stopping on) that he spotted a pair of familiar nubs poking out from a - quite hefty - stack of books. Intrigued, but most of all excited, Gamzee gracelessly thumped his way through the throng of early-risers, scraping bits of slime that he'd missed off of his arms and legs and popping them between his lips. He was a little too sleepy to greet his palebro with the bravado that the situation normally called for, so he settled for crouching across the table from Karkat, wrapping his fingers around the wooden edge and resting his nose between his hands. Karkat was fun to watch when he didn't know he was being watched. Gamzee grinned to himself, though the bottom half of his face was hidden beneath the desk.]

idk. how do you do it

[papshooshing]

[ Karkat's not going to realize that Gamzee is there. not yet. he's too busy having a brow twitching experience in attempting to understand what this Freud guy is going on about. seems like some pretty sick stuff to him. 8T ]

[hystericull]

[Gamzee's fine with not being noticed. He studies the cover of the book to try and see what has Karkat so mesmerized. He gets about as far as the cover picture (which was hardly anything to write home about - even if home was destroyed) before he gives up on that plan, deciding instead to see how still he could stay. He was much like a grub, for being six and a half sweeps, and he studied the wisps of hair that fell in front of Karkat's eyes as they skimmed page after page. He never really took time out to actually see his bro. All this sitting and staring just made him want to smoosh their faces together - which is probably why he had never gotten very far with the whole "observe Karkat" thing.]

[And, like the grub he was, he would get impatient after a while, wanting the attention that was currently being given to the next book in the stack. He bit at his lips with his fangs, not wanting to break the silence, but wanting his bro to look at him even more.]

Psst.

Floor 10

[wolfbat_captain]

[ He stands a few feet away, quietly denting the water with his bending, mesmerized by the way it snaps back to its original shape when he lets go. Maybe it's the lack of people or the abundance of water, but he's feeling like less of a douche than usual. ]

What's the matter, kid? Never seen a fish before?

[ He easily bends an orb of water out of the large tank, the clown fish inside, letting it hover in front of the Troll's face. He'd rather not have one of the more dangerous sea creatures biting off any curious hands today. ]

[papshooshing]

[ okay. first thought is: only Jack gets to call him "kid." anyone else can take a long walk off of a short pier and straight into a black hole. yeap. this idiot probably doesn't even know what a *real* battle is like. where the fuck does he get off calling him, a fierce and relentless troll a "kid?"

but that's not the part that's pissing him off the most. it's the blatant use of some kind of psionic ability. stupid humans. even THEY can get powers. but not Karkat. noooope. his bad luck... ]

So what if I haven't? What's it to you, asshat?

[wolfbat_captain]

[ He's surprised that someone would be rude to him. Especially when he had been much more polite than usual. Still, he makes sure not to look insulted in the slightest. ]

Nothing, really. It's just embarrassing to watch you gape at it. I thought I'd save us both the trouble and make sure you don't get your hand bitten off, too.

Floor 19

[ceasetoexist]

[Someone else is doing some research in the library as well. For Pokey's part it's less understanding of people in the Tower and a hope to find something, anything, that could give more meaning as to why they are in the Tower. A history behind it. Maybe a hidden message possibly left by earlier "subjects" in between the pages of the books.

He doesn't really pay attention to the person he ends up sitting a little ways away from. In fact he's only barely aware there's someone else in the room. Pokey doesn't even bother to look at Karkat when he asks.]

You mind if I look through those books when you're done?

[papshooshing]

[ it's not a voice Karkat recognizes anyway. he waves at the pile dismissively, finding a chapter that he'll read through. not very interesting, but he's finding that a lot of human topics are kind of selfish. oh well. ]

Look through it now. I don't give a damn.

floor 10

[septette]

[ OH LOOK IT'S KARKAT time to be an ass. ]

I wouldn't do that, you know. Sharks are in that "tank" too. Don't want one to bite your hand off.

[papshooshing]

[ CRINGE. he knows that voice. OH GOD DOES HE KNOW THAT VOICE. ]

I don't think THIS can take my hand off.