♋ PCG 20

[crusthatecean]

[Action, 1338 Benny Road]

[Karkat wakes up unable to shake the memory of his dream. He has nightmares regularly, a combination of sleeping without a recuperacoon and everything he's been through since he began playing Sgrub. But something about this one felt more real and vivid and awful, and he remembers it more clearly.

But he wakes ordinarily, only to watch the news and hear his own name, among others, listed. He remembers. She told him she would erase his existence, and he said yes. That memory combined with the news spooks him; Mayfield is clearly doing something, and he doesn't know what to think. So when the television shuts off, he'll go looking for his housemates to try to calm his nerves.]

[Phone, later]

All right, this is Karkat. No, guess what, this is actually Karkat. I'm here. You can choose to believe me or not.

Is anyone else who supposedly disappeared still here? Let's discuss this latest Mayfield fuckstorm like the rational conversationalists I know we all aren't.

[Filtered to Feferi, Tavros, Eridan, and Sollux]

And I especially need to talk to all of you. Now. Don't give me any shit about whether or not I'm the real Karkat. If you are here, answer me now.

I can't believe a single one of you complete drooling panrotted fucking assholes.

[Filtered to Signless.]

You.

((OOC: Karkat has been erased, so he will seem like a fakey fake doppleganger!))

Comments

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

Condescend all you want, I think you're pathetic.

You think you're the smartest asshole in the universe and you can solve everyone's problems, but you stumbled face first into a mountain of musclebeast shit that didn't fool Gamzee.

Great job, try to help anyone now.

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

[He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair, feeling a headache coming on.]

What are you on about? If you're going to try to insult me, at least make it sensible so I can be properly offended in return.

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

I'm being sensible.

You or your non-fake self was tricked by a dream into erasing yourself from existence. Well, guess what? It worked. Everyone is gradually starting to forget you ever existed, and all that's left of you is some piece of shit uncanny valley copy.

The only problem is, I can't tell if you're really you or not. Whatever you see, I'm actually really Karkat, which leads me to believe that maybe you're actually the Doctor even though you seem nothing like him.

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

No, you're being ridiculous. I know you're desperate to have me listen you but that could never work unless...

[Unless...]

Unless that dream we all had was a sort of psychic message bopped into our heads and that opened up our minds to a perception filter wrapped around everyone who said yes. Basically determining who the filter is going to be affecting. Because agreeing to the dream was agreeing to be filtered out. But even those who said yes are also receiving the same filter for everyone else.

Oh, yes.

You're good.

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

That, yes. It sounds more likely that you're really some kind of Mayfield murder drone, except I just talked to Gamzee, who is not certain about anything and is the most gullible troll I've ever known, but who was certain enough that I am not Karkat that nothing I said or did could have had a chance to convince him otherwise.

So either I'm the only one still here, I'm the only one with a perception filter, or this is happening to everyone.

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

Happening to everyone most like.

[He spins on his heel and begins to nervously pace the hallways.]

Your dream. What happened in it?

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

Does it matter, beyond that I said yes?

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

It might.

Did you hear that Mayfield was in danger, and that you, and only you could stop it from falling apart? That you could make it a better place?

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

I did. Also, additionally, everything that's ever gone wrong was my fault, although I was already aware of that, and I was never meant to exist in the first place.

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

Right. Yes. Heard that too.

[He pauses, staring blankly at the wall as those feelings of guilt and self-hatred rise in this throat like bile.]

So they were out to get a certain sort then.

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

What sort would that be. The cripplingly insecure? Easy prey? Assholes so delusionally self-important they believe their lone impact is really the difference between happiness and death for everyone they've ever known?

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

Yes. Exactly. The insecure and the self-important.

[Gives him a friendly poke in the side.]

As well as the immaculately kind and self-sacrificing.

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

Fuck you.

It's not like everyone who's left is more selfish than we are. They just aren't so easily duped into falling for this because they aren't such complete assholes.

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

No, you're right. The people who chose to agree are either self-sacrificing needlessly or have reason to believe the world would be better off without them. The dream wouldn't have worked otherwise.

But considering some of the other people in this town, it obviously wasn't going to work on everyone. Because they either don't care about the town or because they don't have the traits to be exploited enough for convincing.

I mean, it's all very It's A Wonderful Life but I can't imagine this is the end of it. Perhaps there's a reason they went with a dream that couldn't convince everyone.

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

Or maybe they only wanted us. They need someone left behind.

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

But if they wanted us, why are we still here? What's the point of not actually vanishing us, no doubt they're capable of it.

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

So we can suffer as we're slowly forgotten? I think you're overthinking this.

[coolbowtie.livejournal.com]

Perhaps.

But I'd rather overthink than underthink. Underthinking tends to involve a lot of headaches while trying to run away from something. And possible while also trying to stop an imminent explosion.

[crusthatecean.livejournal.com]

Maybe. I've just gotten used to the idea that everything is purely to fuck with us and little else.

All right, operating under your assumption that there's more to this, they either can't erase us or it's more convenient for them like this. Presumably they're trying to save power, but I don't know how well we can believe that. I'm not sure audio hook transmissions we've been allowed to hear and sarcastic televisual node communications are the reliable source of information everyone treats them as.

But if there is a power issue, it's possible that slowly and gradually removing us is a way of removing us while conserving energy, which leads me to believe this will only get worse for us.