towerofanimus | ♋ 004

Entry tags:

[ou] karkat vantas

♋ 004

Characters: Karkat ( OU ) + 10 years and whoever
Setting: Variety of floors
Format: Action
Summary: Going through daily ritual and pondering over if leaning how to swim should be a thing or not.
Warnings: Swearing. It's a given.

Floor 39

[ there are two things that Karkat has taken to doing over the last "years" he's spent in the Tower that involve this floor. one is running around that track and the other is beating the tar out of a punching bag. a troll has to keep in shape, especially considering what the Tower can throw at them. even though he can never become the Threshecutioner he had wanted to be as a wiggler, that doesn't mean Karkat Vantas is going to slouch around all day.

thus he can be found going through his training rituals. stretching before running. then tying up his knuckles real good before wailing away at that poor inanimate object. unlike the last time with Gamzee, Karkat isn't doing this to vent frustration and isn't going to keep going until his hands are swollen and knuckles beginning to bleed. nope. this is just par the course for this tiny, red eyed troll. ]

Floor 7

[ besides training and reading ridiculous amounts of books, dealing with psycho moirails, an ancestor that probably is starting to get dementia of sorts, and wanting to strangle an undead troll... Karkat has been giving thought to learning how to swim. Here he is 10 sweeps old ( though about 24 in human years if the math holds ), and he doesn't know how to. why should he? land trolls would be insane to try to d this in the oceans of Alternia. it's something that's just sort of stuck with him, but now? well why not? fish do it. humans do it. some of the other lifeforms in the Tower can do it. fuck, even wigglers can do it!

there is no reason Karkat Vantas cannot learn how to swim...

that's why he's sitting on the edge, pants curled up to his knees with his legs in the water. yeap. he's totally making this thing happen. ]

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[Have a lurker in the background. Doing the traditional art of creepy from the shadows staring that all Zahhaks have down to a science. Darkleer pauses from approaching when he realizes the troll by the edge of the pool is not, in fact, a certain melodramatic mutant that he might want to strangle a little, but rather his descendant. He doesn't leave, however, instead somewhat curious to see what the hell the wiggler is up to now.

Hence, creepy Zahhak staring from a corner.]

[ Karkat gets a sense that something is watching him. lol Zahhaks and creepy staring with the breathing kind of are iconic. still, Karkat isn't aware of that being an actual thing here in the Tower and thus chooses to ignore it. well, not ignore it outright. just not call out to whatever may be there. there's enough shit going around in the Tower and what business is it of his?

no, Karkat just keeps testing the water, kicking it. glaring at it and if he had lasers for eyes? well that water would probably be boiling right now.

after a while, Karkat growls. fed up with the watching and too stupid to hold his tongue. ]

If you are going to stand there like some old man with candy in his hands to hold out to little kids, at least tell me that's your intention so I can scream appropriately. If not, then fuck off.

[...W E L P.

Darkleer makes a sound in the back of his throat, almost like a choked snort because the idea of having the scion of the Signless talking to him like that was just that ridiculous.]

Hardly. But as far as suicide methods go in this place, this strikes me as the sort that requires an audience to reach the full effect.

[ Karkat now takes a moment to glance over. he is not impressed in the slightest. there is, however, a slight jab of fresh pain and guilt. this isn't the yellow blood's ancestor. it's definitely his Equius'. Karkat bites his lip for a moment before he reigns it in and looks back at the water with an irritated snort. ]

Oh please. Me? Suicidal? That would be the day. There's a lot of ridiculous flaws that I have, true. I may hate myself more than any other troll that has ever seen fit to crawl out of the green slime covered eggs of our home planet. Hell, I might be Alternia's most fucked up mutant of them all, but that doesn't mean I would stoop so low as to off myself.

... Not that I would even be brave enough to do that, mind you.

Even if I was, there are much better methods than drowning. Respiratory organs burning from lack of oxygen? Suffocation? Yeah, I'm not so ambitious to seek out pain.

[...well, both mutants certainly shared their tendency to ramble on and on and on. Darkleer decided not to dwell too much on that, in light of the circumstances, and instead tilted his head slightly to the side, hair rustling.]

And yet here you are, all but asking to drown.

Augh, no.

[ Karkat stands, putting his hands to his hips and fixing his best scowl. ]

I'm here trying to figure out where to learn how to swim. It's been ten human years and I'm like ten. There are no sea dwellers that lurk down there. Shit, there's not even crazy beasts that would love nothing more than to pick their teeth with my bones.

There is no reason for me to not learn.

[Your scowl is puny, Karkat. Darkleer is utterly unmoved by it.]

...that you know of, any way.

[This seems almost like a thought spoken out loud.]

So this is a case of wistful thinking, then, rather than actual suicidal tendencies.

[Someone get him a bag of popcorn.]

...What do you mean 'that I know of?'

Oh, by all means. Do not allow my inklings of common sense to stand in the way of your determination.

See, now that arrogance is kind of pissing me off. If you have something to say then say it. I'm not here for your personal amusement.

How unfortunate.

[That you're pissed or that you're not here for his amusement, though? Well. Yes. And Yes.]

But surely you've thought this through, so what would you care what others tell you.

Because I have a thing about being meticulously detailed and any bit of information that could prove to be useful should be provided. If you're just going to waste my precious time, then march your skeevy glutes on out of the floor.

[Darkleer arches an eyebrow.]

Perhaps I should march your mutant carcass down the stairs, instead?

And just what purpose would that serve? If you wanted to actually cull me, you would have done so by now.

Catharsis.

[He's not moving a muscle, expression still that apathetic, disinterested look he always wears these days. And yet, he's so laughing at you.]

So throwing trolls that are significantly younger than you into a body of water in which they could potentially drown is a method of emotional release for you...

[ shrug. ]

Better than staring at naked musclebeasts I guess.

...I will not even dignify that with an answer.

[Scoffing.]

I'd hope not. It'd be horrifying to know that the descendant doesn't fall far from the filial pail that he was spawned from.

...I'm not sure I should even ask, all things considered.

[Since you're a Vantas and apparently verbal incontinence is a thing.]

That would highly depend upon how much you are willing to know about your own bloodline in my era, huh? I can't say I blame you, given what I know. He's not really that bad of a guy.

But that creepy staring from a dark corner shit is definitely genetic and I would weep for any future blue bloods, but chances are that there will never be any.

That would imply there is anything of inherent value in my bloodline.

[You know. Between the exile and the ruin and the fucking stupid mistakes and incredible terribad ideas that Zahhaks are just so good at.]

[ see... now this puzzles Karkat. and he allows it to show. what's so wrong with a blood line that, you know, actually has some color to it? yeah, sure. Karkat and Equius hadn't been the closest of friends, but they still were. tentatively. Equius is capable of some mighty fine work. the dude had only been six sweeps and yet rebuilds bodies. he also is very protective of Nepeta, something that Karkat can appreciate now more than ever... ]

You seriously don't think there's anything admirable about your bloodline? Really?

Are your horns screwed in too tight or what?

There is something amusing in the troll determined to swim telling me that.

[The remark is almost to himself, rather than Karkat. Nonetheless he shrugs a little.]

As it is, that is none of your concern.

[Or your bloody business, really.]

None of my concern?

[ and there it goes. Karkat's hands are on his hips and he's shooting the older troll the nastiest snarl he can muster. ]

Who the dilly dallying fuck are you to tell me it's none of my concern when you talk down your own bloodline? That's also a friend of mine's bloodline and I'll have you know that no one gets to talk down about my shithive maggots friends except for me.

[ if he had been closer, he would have started to jab the guy with his finger. ]

Did he have some very disturbing and nausea inflicting issues? Oh yes, there is no doubt about that. But he was also brave and loyal. Equius was pretty damn amazing, now that I think about it and if he wasn't a smelly, sweating mess of a troll who could break every bone in my tiny body with a flick of his fingers, then I most certainly wouldn't object to giving him the highest of fives. He would have sacrificed anything for Nepeta and guess what? He was pretty vital for our survival. Without him and his expertise in robotics, Aradia would not have likely have achieved everything she was meant to and thus our entire timeline would have been doomed to failure.

Kanaya hacks off Tavros' legs? Zahhak builds him a brand spanking new sets and actually gives the stupid head the ability to walk again.

So yeah. Stand there and judge the bloodline you know almost absolutely nothing about and then tell me it's none of my business. I'll just wave my middle prongs high and in your face because that's my teammate you're also dissing and I'll have none of that.

And he's my descendant.

[Your argument is invalid.]

I don't expect you to understand, considering who you come from, but I would suggest you kept your opinions to yourself in that regard, lest I lose my patience.

Oh no, I understand pretty damn well. Just because my ancestor was all about spreading the love and equality around doesn't mean anything about me. But in the end, he was all right with standing out amongst a crowd and all I wanted was to just fit in. For fuck's sake, I wanted to be a right and proper Threshecutioner. Any equality I wanted was for my own selfish and personal gain.

Do I believe the hemocaste system is outdated and unnecessary? Sure do, but only because luck shouldn't determine the rest of your miserable future. I have friends all across the spectrum and give no ripe fucks about what they are, only who they are.

I don't expect you to understand.

[Why is it that whenever he finds himself talking with one of these damn mutants, he somehow ends up getting a long ass ramble about their personal life? It's annoying, dammit. This is the kind of thing that always ends up making him care about the nubbyhorned disasters.]

You wouldn't have made a very good Threshecutioner, all things considered. The uniform's too garish, from what I remember.

[Is he making a joke? He might possibly be making a joke. It's hard to tell. His tone doesn't change, and neither does his face.]

[ aaaaaand way to throw Karkat a curve. he loses steam. his tangent. ]

I always thought they were kind of cool? Granted I was a wiggler back then with ridiculous dreams and aspirations, but it's not like anyone planetside had even seen one up close.

I haven't seen one in longer than you've been alive. Several dozen times the time you've been alive, matter of fact, but it was always a running joke among archeradicators that the only thing more stuck up than a threshecutioner was their uniform. I'm pretty sure regulation lapels sparkled.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a little sparkle here and there.

[This look? This look is judging you.]

What?

[ no, seriously. there is NOTHING wrong with looking a little flashy, okay? ]

Should I expect you to leave a trail of glitter everywhere you go?

...Leave that shit to the Amporas. I'm not a Threshecutioner, after all.

I've seen stranger things, these days.

Unless I start leaking glitter from my waste chute, it's not going to happen.

[Darkleer grimaces a little.]

...what a delightfully crass mental image.

Would you rather I have said "shooting?" Because that's just a little repulsive, even to me.

I would rather we stopped talking about what comes out of your orifices all together.

Why? Does it make you want to sweat profusely or something?

[HOW DID YOU KNOW---oh right, descendant.]

Hardly. It just makes me question the sanity of your concupiscent quadrants.

[ Karkat starts to rub awkwardly at his neck... ]

Don't have any.

[Does he even need to say anything, really?]

Oh just shut up. I'm entirely too busy to quadrant hunt anyway. Being a moirail to that indigo is a full time position at the lousiest, most run down junk food distributor facility ever.

And for all you complain, you can only blame yourself for it.

[Sympathy, KK, you ain't getting any here.]

Not really? Don't get me wrong, I love him and all. It's also true that without a pale arrangement, we would've all been dead.

So don't complain about it.

[It's that easy! Really!]

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♋ 004

Floor 7

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