crusthatecean | ♋ PCG 13

[Action, 1338 Benny Road; Thursday afternoon]

[Well, Karkat intended to go to the Post Office as soon as the zombie threat was finished. But early the next morning, he was forced to go to school instead, so it's not until afterward that he's able to make it.

Finally, he manages to make it back to his hive with an unwieldy recuperacoon, only to be greeted by Jade's drone, even though she was fine just earlier that day. Between being stuck as a human again and finding out about that, he's in a bad mood, so he'll just be sitting on the couch channel flipping next to the recuperacoon and judging everything on TV.]

[Phone]

Guess what? I'm human again. Karkat, really? You're human? Wow, I didn't recognize you at all! How'd that happen? When are you going back to normal? What do you look like now? Wait, we've never met, but you're were a species other than human in the first place?

There, that's all out of the way. We can now returned to your regularly scheduled not giving a shit about this. Anyone who does decide to bother me about this subject will be ignored in the iciest fashion possible.

In much more important but equally beyond our ability to do anything about news, Harley is apparently panscrubbed. No, I don't know why or how long she'll be gone for.

((OOC: Karkat is human again, and will be until I say otherwise even if I use his troll icons. He looks pretty much the same only not grey with horns and with browner hair and brown eyes. Not red like in the icons, yeah.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Now you're getting it, bro.

[Obediently goes to check on the oven, then plops down beside Karkat on the couch and drapes an arm over his shoulders.]

What's up?

Nothing in particular.

[Well, yes, there is. He wants to know if Gamzee is still worrying about what happened to him when Jade and Terezi attacked; if he's going to be okay with that and if he's going to be okay with Jade gone now.

But if Gamzee is just pushing it out of his mind, he doesn't want to bring it up.]

How are you feeling?

[This...is not a question Karkat asks him often, although he's been doing it a lot more in Mayfield for some unknown reason, so Gamzee actually takes the time to ponder it thoroughly instead of just automatically saying fine.]

...fine, honk! [Wow, that took a lot of effort.] Ain't any more of those dead motherfuckers walking around outside anymore, so that's good. And you and Terezi are all what motherfuckin' tight again, so that's good too. Not much around now that can be bringing a brother down.

[As for the whole going shithive thing, that has been firmly shoved into the Not Thinking About It Because It Ruins His Chill pile, which is getting pretty large by now.]

Okay.

The shit about Terezi is not your business. What about Jade?

[He lifts a shoulder in a shrug, eyes a little sadder now but still smiling.]

She'll be back before we even know it, I got all my faith in her and a miracle. And hivesis would get all down knowing we were all down about her being panscrubbed.

She would, but Jade doesn't own us, we don't have to do what she wants. It's actually okay to have feelings besides everything is swell about things.

But...I don't like those motherfuckin' nasty feelings. [WHY YOU GOTTA BRING HIM DOWN, BRO]

And yet they exist whether you want them to or not and ignoring them isn't healthy for anyone.

Really? Always worked for me, bro. [and everyone knows Gamzee is the shining example of well-adjusted...]

Fine, do what you want. I just...

[sigh]

Never mind.

...something wrong? You can tell me.

Nothing is wrong.

I just don't know whether to believe you when you say shit like that.

Aww, I wouldn't lie to you, best friend. I guess...it's just easier for me to be up than down, you know? [His gaze goes distant for a second.] Ain't like crying about shit's gonna change nothing, so I might as well focus my sponge on the mirthful side of things.

[He's not really talking about Jade anymore.]

If it was possible to just be happy, no questions asked, no drawbacks whatsoever, everyone would do that.

[Well, not him. He knows he would always sabotage himself. Some time ago, he probably would have believed that Gamzee had found a way to really accomplish what he said he's doing, but Karkat doesn't believe that anymore. Not when he knows how much rage is buried below the surface.]

[a shrug] Might not be easy, but it ain't impossible. That's just how faith is. Even in the darkest of carnivals, you gotta be believing a light will shine soon.

[And as far as Gamzee's concerned, it works perfectly fine for him.]

So you always say.

So I know. I just wish you could be believing it too instead of always getting yourself down about shit that ain't your fault.

I don't get down on myself about things that aren't my fault.

Uhhh...sure you do, best friend. All the motherfuckin' time. [Even Gamzee is not oblivious enough to have missed this.]

No. I don't.

There are just more things that are my fault than you think. So shut the fuck up.

[Gamzee mumbles something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like 'I don't think so', but obediently shuts the fuck up.

He does not, however, wipe the highly dubious look off his face that can be made out even through the clown paint.]

[That look that implies he is being judged by a clown just irritates him too much. He tries to ignore it, but he can't bring himself to.]

Can you fucking stop looking at me like that? Go ahead, name something you think isn't my fault, I'll be happy to correct you.