(no subject)

[bethehugejerk]

Who: Karkat Vantas and whoever!
Where: All across Vatheon.
When: Anytime during the week.
Style: Action please!
Status: Open.

[A curse that makes you say the truth no matter what you want is not exactly Karkat's idea of a fun time. He's not much a liar, no, and his worst secret isn't so secret around Vatheon anymore, but that's not the point. What's the point of being open if it's forced from you? And as outwardly prickly a guy as he is, he doesn't want his squishy inside exposed at will.]

[Unfortunately, as is true for every curse, life doesn't stop just because you're inconvenienced. There are groceries to get, his job at a video store to do, the coral to visit, and his usual sickle practice in the park. He tries to avoid people if he can, oh yes, but there's only so much he can do. Even if he evades them outside the hive, he can't exactly send mental waves to stop them from coming to visit him at home, if that's their prerogative. Ultimately, he's bound to run into more annoyance than he'd like. But what else is new?]

(OOC: This is pretty standard! Pick a place to meet him, and feel free to note a specific day if you have one in mind, though the second probably isn't too necessary. If there's any problem I'll let you know.)

Comments

[fundemetal]

[Another afternoon spent in the park. Leo was on his way back to the house he shares with Annabeth and Percy when he spots Karkat in the plaza.]

[He actually liked the guy and didn't think he was nearly as bad as Percy had made him out to be. But then again, Leo hadn't gotten an eye-glazing lecture on troll romance from him.]

Sup, dude? [He waves and walks over to him.]

[bethehugejerk]

[Just you wait, Leo. You'll get a lecture on something sooner or later.]

[Karkat's over by the Lamufao when he spots him, and the words interrupt him from his task. He glances over, eyebrow lifting--oh. That dude from the network.]

I'm touching the coral. [He paps a hand against the glowing structure.]

What are you doing?

[fundemetal]

[Haha oh dear.]

Heading home from the park. How often do you touch that thing, anyway?

[bethehugejerk]

[His arms fold. This isn't really a conversation he expected, but it's not a bother the way other topics could be.]

Every couple days or so. It keeps me from getting exhausted from not sleeping, even though I've stayed up like a month unaided before I came here. This makes it easier.

[spacecase]

[Funny thing about trying to avoid Jade--

It's impossible.

She's not interested in prying truth out of him, because she knows very well once that got started it would happen to her too, but when she sees him with a load of groceries she does wave.]

Hey! Want some help with carrying those?

[He's still her friend, figured it'd be nice to ask.]

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat has just come out of the grocery store, in fact, when Jade happens to spot him. Between her wave and her call he spots her too. He might wave if his hands weren't full, but then again, it's him and he might not. He looks down at his groceries, then back.]

I have a sylladex, Jade.

[He just hadn't captchalogued them yet. He holds out one hand's load.]

But if you insist on doing the manual labor, I wouldn't mind having the excuse to walk with you.

[Cue a cringe a half-second later. He'd meant to finish it with, "then you're free to join me on this errand for idiots," but it has been a while since he's talked with her.]

[spacecase]

Heh, I missed talking to you too, Karkat. [And she'll take that load happily!]

As if I even need to make that clear! You are my patron troll after all. But I suppose with all of the excitement of John and Dave getting back and moving back into our house properly, I have not been able to keep up with my second favorite troll.

[And with that dump out of the way--]

How have you been doing?

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat pointedly looks away from her. It's nice that she's missed talking to him too, but he'd sooner keep his mouth shut on any stupid words that might want to come out.]

[But that is a question there.]

Aggravated about this dumb curse, since as you might have guessed it's not my idea of a wicked funtimes party hullabaloo to be forced into saying things I don't plan on letting out. It's even been messing with my metaphors, because scientists forbid I make exaggerated and non-literal claims about things that annoy me!

[He shoots a glare up domewards, though he frankly has no clue where they are.]

Have you had it better than me at least?

[stayb100ponyboy]

[While cursed himself, Equius hasn't altered his daily routine all that much. He likes to think that he says what he means most of the time anyway, so a truth-speaking curse won't affect him that deeply. Perhaps he will soon find out how very wrong that assumption is.]

[Regardless, he's walking past the Plaza after having visited the Nostalgia Quarter (his chocobo greens garden got ruined by the flood, and it's alarming how many greens two fully grown birds will eat) when he notices Karkat. Being a mature and rational individual, he stops, fights the urge to duck behind a building and avoid him, and watches from across the Plaza.]

[bethehugejerk]

[The thing about being stared at by Equius is that it's a very familiar thing for Karkat. They shared the same team and the time on the meteor, and surely there had to be plenty of creeper stares during their time as kismesises here in Vatheon. It is, in short, a sort of gross sensation he can't really miss by this point, and it's only so long before he finds the crack-shaded cause. He scowls.]

[Abandoning whatever task he was at - he was actually headed to the park as he cut through - he storms his way over to his e%.]

Do you have a pathological condition that forces you to ogle people like a shameless freak, or is it just your favorite funtime hobby?

[stayb100ponyboy]

I stare because social interaction is difficult for me and I don't know what else to do sometimes.

[Whelp. That was painfully honest, and Equius looks flabberghasted for a moment before his expression changes to extreme irritation.]

What about you? Why do you always assume everything others are doing has anything to do with you?

[bethehugejerk]

[Woah. Karkat makes a snort of a laugh at that, caught off guard but still amused. Equius's question doesn't even unsettle him.]

Because you were staring at me, dipshit. Who else was it supposed to be about?

greedily hogs all the CR

[onlyasign]

[Sufferer has been spending a lot of time in the park lately, having left his hive in a huff and moved into a hotel after he found out about Dualscar's new quadrant partner. When he sees Karkat practicing with his sickles, he approaches, glad for the distraction and pulling his staff out of his sylladex.]

Mind if I join you?

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat turns at the sound on reflex, sickles in a basic stance, but doesn't attack. Generally there isn't reason to here, but surely there's no harm in training himself to face possible targets. He blinks when he sees who it is.]

Signless? I didn't know you use staffkind.

[That he has a weapon isn't too odd, given the life he lived. Surely he had to defend himself somehow.]

Go ahead. I don't mind you as much as others this week.

[Though that's still a little more than he planned to say.]

[onlyasign]

Thank you.

[Sufferer politely ignores that little confession, and falls in beside Karkat, running through a few forms with his staff before he speaks again.]

Staffkind works well for me because it makes my reach so much longer. I prefer to push my enemies away and temporarily incapacitate them, so I have time to get away.

[Thrust thrust thwap the staff on the ground.]

Would you like to spar?

/bullshits everything about sickle fighting

[bethehugejerk]

And hearing that, it all makes sense. Obviously I wanted to be a threshecutioner, but you already know why that couldn't work out.

[He watches his ancestor's movements, trying to get a feel for the style. Terezi may have used canekind, but it wasn't really the same as this.]

If it's that instead of getting asked stupid questions I probably don't want to answer, yes.

[... Not what he wanted to say either. His jaw tightens a bit as he moves to take a better spot in the little clearing he's relegated for his practice. He takes a starting stance, knees a little bent, one sickle a little closer to his body than the other.]

Ready when you are.

[goodnightsweetprince]

[ Gumball was not really a fan of living up on the island but upon reaching this bubble, he realizes that he is probably less a fan of the incredibly moist conditions he is now subjected to. Water water everywhere!

There's also the matter of this pesky truth curse that he appears to be under! Well, this is his first Rodeo of Truth and he has not yet determined a ~hero~ worthy enough to fix the problem so he bravely decides to ride out his fate of ultimate truthiness.

Anyway, long story short...there is Karkat! Were they friends now? Their start was not the best and they did not have an official friendship ceremony, much to Gumball's dismay, but perhaps he could present the troll with something else. Something to show that the past was all behind them and that they could be friends without worries or cares, hakuna matataing it up until their hearts exploded! A smile? A nod? Perhaps just a simple wave.

Hopefully this wouldn't be cause for any untimely deaths...

Gumball hesitantly reaches his hand up to greet Karkat, fighting the mental waves that appear to be trying to push him away. ]

Good evening, Karkat the--! { oh my. He said he didn't like that. ] --Karkat!

[bethehugejerk]

[Not friends yet, no, but that hardly makes it impossible. Karkat's made friends with worse people than Gumball. Granted, none of them were animate bubblegum beings. Wherever they are in the city - some random street, perhaps, with Karkat out on a walk - it doesn't change his reaction.]

[Gumball, you have the worst luck.]

Oh no. No. Not this week we don't, no, I refuse. I will metaphorically shriek until the heavens fall from the sheer force of my ebullient rage, because I'm physically incapable of bringing such a thing to pass.

[Pause.]

God damnit, and now it's ruining my metaphors!

[goodnightsweetprince]

[ Considering Gumball has no job or home or direction, the street seems just about the right place for a special rendezvous. Karkat's reaction does not shock the licks from his Tootsie Roll but it does startle him ever-so-slightly.

However. Man Face. ]

Whatever you are referring to, we do indeed! And no shrieking necessary lest we want to crack the bubble again, so I'm glad what you spoke of was a mere metaphor.

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

[ex_knowledge575]

[ Annabeth is walking along the plaza with her arms full of architectural drawings when she spots someone she thinks is Karkat walking in the opposite direction. Normally she'd just walk on and let him go, but they've made eye contact now and it'd be rude not to say something. ]

Oh, you're Karkat aren't you. Hey.

[ Plus, this is the first time she's met one of the trolls in person and she can't deny that she's extremely interested to talk to him one on one. ]

it's totally okay!

[bethehugejerk]

[It's pretty hard to miss him. There are only two trolls in Vatheon with his nubby horns at the moment, and the other two is pretty easy to rule out by reasons of age, ridiculous pants, and a penchant for actually smiling. Karkat here likes his waistband at his waist, and his frown leaves only sparingly.]

[By contrast, it takes him a second to recognize Annabeth. He only spoke to her the once so far, and there's a lot more blonde humans in this place.]

Yes. You're that chick from the other day, right? The one from Leo and Percy's world?

[He peers at the bundle in her arms.]

What are those for?

[ex_knowledge575]

[ It's the frown and short horns Annabeth remembers the most. She's about to prompt him - she figures it makes sense when he doesn't recognise her straight away - when he finally remembers who she is. ] That's right. I'm Annabeth.

Oh, these? [ The drawings rustle as she attempts to rearrange them in her arms. ]

Floorplans for houses around the bubble.

[unconchonable]

[Eridan hardly has to visit Karkat at home, when he's home already. Avoiding him isn't exactly easy either, not with as much of an attention-seeking dramatic tool Eridan is, after all. It's a few days into the curse, and Eridan's definitely picked up on something not being quite right. Especially when he realizes that his usual bluffing and gloating has really taken a crippling blow due to him not being able to lie.]

[It'd be a lie to say he wasn't a bit nervous to be around Karkat with this truth-forcing curse being into play. Not for anything he might be forced to say, but who knows what Karkat might have to say. Of course, he's got his faith in that Karkat is truthful with him, and that his general worries are irrational anyway, but it's there. Definitely there.]

[This particular night, though, Eridan has himself curled up on the couch, nose deep in a book. He's avoiding the network at all costs, really. He hardly wants to slip out truths he's got no intention of sharing with strangers or worse...]

[COME BOTHER YOUR BOYFRIEND, KARKAT.]

[bethehugejerk]

[Karkat's week has been much the same. He learned about the curse courtesy of none other than Eridan's own ancestor on the day it started. Since then he's kept away from the network as he can, using it only for Gamzee's slime reminders. Still, being out of the hive for one thing or another has meant he's had to deal with this week's difficulties with others just the same.]

[Eridan, though, is a different case. Karkat's not too worried about him, and with as horrible a liar as he is any other day of the year, this curse is no big opportunity to exploit. That's why, after a day at work and some miscellaneous cleaning, he's decided to come relax with him.]

[This means flopping down on the couch, pushing Eridan's book up and away, and settling his head in his lap, if he'll let him.]

Hey, do that thing with your fingers in my hair.

[unconchonable]

[Of course he lets him, holding the book to the side as he looks down at his matesprit. He can't even feign annoyance at Karkat pushing his way into making his lap into his own personal pillow, instead he just looks down at him with an expression that speaks of his adoration of his nubby-horned matesprit. Placing the book down on the end table, though not before folding the corner of the page to serve as his bookmark, he obliges to Karkat's request. Running his ringed fingers through his hair, rubbing and massaging his scalp.]

How's that, your majesty?