Chapter Text
KARKAT: YOU'LL NEVER GUESS, APPARENTLY KANAYA HAD IT?
KARKAT: I GUESS SHE MUST HAVE GRABBED IT BACK ON THE METEOR WHILE EXPLAINING QUADRANTS TO ROSE.
KARKAT: SHIT THIS IS SOME ANCIENT ALTERNIAN CINEMA, THE NAME IS ALMOST FUCKING MANAGABLE!
KARKAT: "TURNABOUT TERROR: A TALE OF TERRIFIC THIEVES AND TRYING TROLLCOPS THROUGH THICK, THIN, AND THE THIRTY MINUTE CAR CHASE"
KARKAT: IF MEMORY SERVES, IT IS A REALLY GOOD CAR CHASE. IT DESERVES TOP BILLING.
DAVE: ok dude just start the movie
KARKAT: GIVE ME A MINUTE I NEED TO FIND THE CABLES.
KARKAT: THIS NEEDS ONE OF THE OLD VIDEO HOOKUPS.
JADE: want any help?
KARKAT: THANKS BUT I CAN DO THIS.
KARKAT: (fuck which of these is component?)
You recline, inverted, head hanging off the couch, legs kicking idly in the air as you watch Karkat fuss behind the TV.
Dave probably thinks his shades hide where he's staring. As if you aren't both enjoying the Vantas experience.
DAVE: i cant believe humans figured out good cable management before trolls
KARKAT: SHUT UP, WE HAVE FOUR DIFFERENT RETRO VIDEO PLAYERS BECAUSE OF ENTIRELY FUCKING DIFFERENT EARTH CABLE OUTPUTS.
DAVE: okay yeah thats pretty inexcusable
DAVE: guess thats the big advantage of a global power hegemony run by a psychotic baked goods mogul
DAVE: no regional cable standards
KARKAT: THANK FUCK THE CARAPACEANS GOT ON THAT FOR EARTH C EARLY!
A glint of light alerts you that Dave is looking your way, and you flash him an upside-down smile. The tiny smirk it garners is just... perfect.
DAVE: so ive been meaning to ask, like...
DAVE: howd things go with vriska
DAVE: she didnt rip your head off or anything obviously
DAVE: are you going steady hate-ways?
DAVE: you arent gonna have to move in to her crazy hate dungeon or anything are you
DAVE: next to the cell where terezi treats june as an all-you-can-bite-buffet
DAVE: or will you at least get work release to watch old movies with your pals between the crazy rival railing
KARKAT: I SHOULD HAVE NEVER SHOWN YOU THAT FUCKING FILM.
JADE: heheheh
You hold your hand out to observe the little cerulean string on your ring finger. You don't need reminders anymore; you haven't for years.
But it's nice to be reminded, nonetheless.
JADE: were feeling it out!
JADE: but yeah, im glad i took your advice
JADE: she's cute when you get her flustered ;)
DAVE: oh
The famous Dave Strider poker face cracks immediately, and you can just note him biting his cheek.
he's cute when HE's flustered, too!!! :D
KARKAT: THERE WE GO!
KARKAT: FUCK ME, WE NEED TO RIP THIS MESS OUT AND START OVER.
DAVE: maybe later
KARKAT: SHUT *UP*.
theyre both soooo cute... :)
You float up and spin through the air, righting yourself and taking a seat on the middle of the sofa, as Dave snickers quietly to himself in his favorite loveseat. Karkat performatively grumbles his way to his beanbag chair, and drops into it with a FWUMPH.
You love that smile.
you love them both so much...
Karkat adjusts a moment more, till he's well and proper buried in the plush beanbag, and hits the remote.
FILMLOG:
KISMETIC MUTILATION PRESENTS
A ROXYLA LONDEY PRODUCTION
TURNA8OUT TERROR <3<
*wonk*
The Scorpio sign filling the screen is perhaps a bit on the nose.
Karkat loudly bashes the buttons, but the remote is unresponsive. Every input just yields the familiar sound of one wonk.
It flickers to Libra.
SHES GOT ALL THAT AFFECTION IN HER AND SHE SPENT SO LONG ALONE, SHE COULD REALLY USE SOMEONE IN HER LIFE TO SHARE IT WITH--
I REALLY THOUGHT SHE WOULD GO STEADY WITH SOMEONE FLUSH FIRST.
I'LL PULL DAVE TOO, HE SHOULD KNOW WHAT TO SAY. HE'S LIKE SOME SORT OF JADE WHISPERER.
THE WAY THEY LIGHT UP AROUND EACH OTHER, IT WOULD MAKE YOUR ACID TRACT TWIST.
WISH THEY'D JUST BE HONEST WITH EACHOTHER.
Your heart pounds in your throat.
DAVE: hey what the fuck
KARKAT: WHY WONT IT STOP.
KARKAT: PLEASE MAKE IT STOP.
The screen flickers to the symbol of the breath aspect.
"man i just hope spidertroll helps jade get her feelings in order about karkat, those two are so damn cute together, you can really see how much they mean to eachother but theyre too scared to say it, its fucked up"
Both Dave and Karkat are bright red in the face.
DAVE: hey thats not what i said
its what you meant, though! :p
DAVE: i mean yeah but shut up
DAVE: SHIT
The screen goes back to Scorpio, then what must be security camera footage of Vriska's hive.
Locked onto you as you gaze towards the moon.
i think i love them
i KNOW i love them!!!!
honestly i think i love a lot of my friends?
but karkat and dave... dave and karkat...
i want them to be happy TOGETHER, but i also want to be just as important to both of them!
but that seems too unrealistic
the sort of thing that is TOO good to be true, even in our paradise
You shrink into a ball on the couch, hiding behind your knees.
She did say that she would use it against you.
The screen goes black.
The silence is deafening.
It is broken by Karkat struggling to get up from the beanbag.
You can't look.
The couch shifts on each side.
Slowly you open your eyes.
Karkat and Dave. Dave and Karkat.
Your heart leaps. Your tail immediately betrays you again as it thumps against the cushions.
KARKAT: SO. THERE'S THIS SHITASS TAPESTRY WRITTEN BY A BUNCH OF FREAKS ON A MOUNTAIN, RIGHT?
DAVE: yeah
KARKAT: AND IN BETWEEN ALL THE EGREGIOUS SMUT AND INSANE ANATOMY MISTAKES.
KARKAT: THEY JUST BARELY MANAGE A GOOD POINT ON RARE OCCASION.
KARKAT: "YOU COULD TRY TALKING TO HER."
DAVE: its true they do say that
DAVE: ive seen the tapestry
Tears surprise you as you see Dave's little thumbs up.
You start to collect yourself, but the TV returns to life before you can get a word in.
Vriska Serket lounges on her sofa in full deific attire, sipping a fruity drink out of a shattered 8-ball with a little green umbrella floating on the rim.
Hey 8a8e!
Hope this wasn't too far, 8ut after you put so much effort into your first pranks, well.
I've never 8een one to do things half way. :::;)
I know I've caused more harm than good with my meddling, so I ran this by a few... interested parties.
Worth owing a few favors, I say.
There is a pause for an overdramatic sip.
Just wanted to stop by and say, in case I didn't make myself clear earlier.
You should neeeeeeeever feel alone, and if anyone tries to MAKE you feel alone?
They'll answer to me.
Sound like a plan?
Gooooooood girl. <3<
Looking forwards to your next move!!!!!!!!
She loudly sips her drink as the camera shuts off. Pink text takes her place.
theres a cake out front btw, janey sends her regards
now on to your feacher presentation!!
TURNABOUT TERROR: A TALE OF TERRIFIC THIEVES AND TRYING TROLLCOPS THROUGH THICK, THIN, AND THE THIRTY MINUTE CAR CHASE
Karkat's earlier inputs finally register, and the film pauses.
... hehe...
Soft, giggling laughter bubbles up from within you, and its contagious.
You lean back, and the two you love so, so much scoot in a bit closer, a tangle of arms in a sloppy embrace.
You'll watch the movie later. You have a lot to talk about first.
~~~~
Your eyes dart open as the dawn of a new, welcome day rouses you from cozy slumber. The curtains drawn back to fill your respiteblock with the gentle light of the distant sun, a universe away from the orb of blinding hate from your youth.
You've been sleeping better.
You've been FEELING better.
It's a slight thing, but you're even starting to believe you "deserve" to feel better.
You start to work your way out of the cocoon, but quickly find yourself held tight.
Breath, just a shade warmer, curls down your neck.
This isn't your cocoon.
This isn't your respite8lock.
As your eyes adjust to the morning light, you see the vibrant scales covering the walls. A stack of books on Carapacian legal codes with a familiar scalemate sitting atop them. Handcuffs with teal padding dangling above a plush mattress.
A clock reading 04:12.
A fenestrated plane leaning on the window sill.
Jade.
I DID sign off on sleep pranks...
Out of the corner of your eye, a scalemate you don't recognize coasts through the air. Bearing cobalt blue eyes, a troll-gray torso, a mane of black, and... your sign on its navel, it rides triumphant atop an incredibly shittily jpg'd skateboard.
A note hangs underneath.
NOTELOG:
good morning! :D
<3<
You reach to grab it, but its... its just so shitty. You can't get a hold of it at all, luck be damned.
The Unreal Air that scalemate is catching carries it on a collision course with a sickle perched precarious above the alarm clock.
You watch in snug comfort as the skateboard knocks the sickle ajar, causing it to clatter down onto the alarm clock.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
The scalemate (scalem8?) topples from its perch and into your outstretched arms. It is... clearly well loved. A note is taped just beneath its snoot.
NOTELOG 2:
good moooooooorning!
<3
The beeping finally rouses Terezi from her slumber. As you consider how exactly to explain the situation, you feel her grip around your body tighten. A scratchy voice greets the morning as if everything was as it should be.
TEREZI: GOOD MORN1NG... M4RQU1S3...
TEREZI: ... LOV3 YOU... SO MUCH...
Your pump biscuit seizes in your chest. Its beats echo through your skull.
Terezi sniffs in the tangle of your hair, and she... snuggles closer, for a blessed moment.
Warm digits splaying across your body.
Muscles going tense.
Then suddenly drawing away, as the alarm fades.
VRISKA: Terezi...?
TEREZI: H3H3H3... TH3Y GOT US GOOD, HUH?
TEREZI: W3 SHOULD'V3 KNOWN B3TT3R WH3N PUTT1NG SCOURG3 4G41NST DORK
VRISKA: Hah... yeah, I guess they did.
VRISKA: 8est 8elieve we'll get them 8ack, though!
The scalem8 stares up at you with its eight button eyes as you feel Terezi slowly wriggle away.
Freedom you've never wanted less.
VRISKA: W8!
VRISKA: Why do...
VRISKA: I mean.
VRISKA: Can I...
VRISKA: Gaaaaaaaah.
TEREZI: >:?
VRISKA: If it's not too weird...
VRISKA: Could we m8y8e...
VRISKA: St8y like this????????
TEREZI: ... VR1SK4...
You nearly choke on the pounding in your nook.
Turning slowly in the sopor, you look into the eyes you once blinded.
Eyes burned red, winged teal in tears.
That special smile she wore when she rescued you from Furthest Ring.
VRISKA: I want to try.
VRISKA: Try and let myself 8e happy.
VRISKA: To 8elieve that I don't have to 8e useful to exist.
VRISKA: 8elieve that I can actually 8e... at peace.
VRISKA: I should have told you this sweeps ago.
VRISKA: ... I've 8een a god awful moirail.
A digit is pressed against your lips.
In the gentle light, her smile seeps into your soul.
She opens her arms, and you fall.
TEREZI: TH1S 1S TH3 F1RST ST3P
The sunlight flickers out as you sink into her embrace. You just catch the tell-tale emerald glow lingering on the power switch.
TEREZI: 4ND FROM H3R3?
VRISKA: We talk a8out it?
TEREZI: 3X4CTLY >:]
VRISKA: Could we may8e... feeeeeeeel it out?
TEREZI: ONLY 1F YOU'R3 *4BSOLUT3LY* SUR3
VRISKA: I trust your judgment <33333333
Warmth trails along your body in the darkness as your moirail gently guides you to her lips.
You've never felt more sure of anything in your life.
It going to be a loooooooong night.
~~~~
Wrapped in a warm blanket on a plush mattress, you run your digits gently through Terezi's hair.
TEREZI: TH4NK GOD FOR 3GB3RT
TEREZI: M4N4G1NG TO BR1NG US TOG3TH3R Y3T 4G41N
VRISKA: She keeps finding ways to do that, doesn't she?
VRISKA: Where would we even 8e without June...
TEREZI: 1'V3 S33N WH4T H4PP3NS
TEREZI: 1 PR3F3R TH1S V3RS1ON >;]
VRISKA: I do too. ::::)
As the real morning sunlight peeks through the drawn curtains, you glance at the "M4RQU1S3" scalem8 propped against your moirail's recuperacoon, and the pair of notes sitting in its lap.
It's a lot of silly little things, but all together, this place is really starting to feel like... home.
VRISKA: I think... I know the next step.
TEREZI: OH?
VRISKA: How a8out we make sure June knows juuuuuuuust how much we appreci8 her :::;)
The sound of your love's cackling fills the hive.
Your favorite toothy grin beams down at you.
TEREZI: NOW *TH4T'S* 4 GOOD PL4N