my heart's not fluttering or anything

[quadrangle]

Who: Hamsteaks,Team RWPY, & Dipper
Where: GOLDENROD INN, specifically Dave and Karkat's room but possibly others as well? It depends.
When: 3/5, afternoonish/evening/well into the wee hours of 3/6
Summary: A certain travel party largely consisting of traumatized teenagers initiates a team building exercise, AKA sleepover. This is clearly the best idea ever and will in no way backfire at all.
Rating: PG-13 for, uh. Homestuck vocabularies.
Log:

[Despite having been in their immediate vicinity for three weeks, Karkat had somehow managed to avoid talking to most of the people in their group for any significant length of time. A lot of it was personal preference because yes, he was still intermittently freaking out about being a human surrounded by humans, but the fact that he'd blown up at two of the other party members and probably guaranteed that Jade or Dave or both would be auspisticizing between them for the foreseeable future (oh god please no) didn't help matters. He'd rather stay in his damn room or hide in the local bookstore than deal with any of that bullshit.

Unfortunately, maintaining his busy schedule of staying the fuck away from other people as much as possible was untenable, especially when his best friends were also their friends and he literally had no excuse to keep putting it off—unless he could say he needed to take his Pokemon on a walk? Do people even take Pokemon on walks? Would Dave even buy that when neither Merope nor Sharru have shown the slightest amount of interest in going on walks? Well, okay, no, Dave might not even care, but Jade...

Either way, the moment his roommate decides on the impromptu movie night, sends out texts to inform the others, and begins putting together a Sweet Throh and Hella Sawk flyer for their door to mark the occasion (why is he friends with this moron again) is the moment Karkat's fate is sealed.

They're going to have a sleepover, and everyone is invited.]

Comments

[quadrangle]

[From the moment people had started filtering into the room, Karkat has been uncharacteristically quiet—still loud when he greets people, obviously, but subdued in the moments between and directly after everyone has arrived and gotten situated. With his team, he'd always had the convenient excuse that he, as the leader, needed status updates ASA-fucking-P, but in a group of near total strangers with little besides Dave, Jade, and shared travel arrangements connecting them...

Yeah, okay, so he might be spending more time than strictly necessary with issues like spilled refreshments or a dwindling snack supply. He's also doing plenty of people watching because yes, this is his first time observing more than two humans interacting for an extended period of time up close. He still has no idea how this species works at all. What the hell.

He may also, very intermittently, be found frowning at one or two of the guests, expression pensive. It's really weird, this human emotion called friendship. Fucking obnoxious, but mostly weird.]

[yanginthere]

[ Yang felt a bit more the chaperon than a participant at times, but that had mostly to do with being the eldest and having her little sister present. The biggest element out of people she didn't outright trust was the one person she chose to flop down next to while he was busy staring elsewhere. ]

For someone that types in an all-caps rage, you're being pretty chill. [ Which is a compliment, judging from the soothed tone and gentle smile on Yang's face. She cannot help but poke a little fun at him over it, given how he had acted when they first spoke (and probably some times since). But if he's noticed anything about her from the way she acted with others, especially her friends, that's just how Yang rolled. ]

[quadrangle]

—Jesus fuck.

[No, Karkat hadn't been paying attention, and no, Karkat did not appreciate mouthy blondes with attendant hairbeasts dropping in out of nowhere to deliver heaping nutrition plateaus of sass and blatant douchebaggery. What the hell had he done to deserve thioh wait no, don't answer that. Fuck.

He turns his best glare on her, just sort of because. She's in range and had basically invited him to gripe at her, why not.]

What the fuck is that supposed to mean, I'm plenty chill. [Haha. No.] Unless you'd prefer it if I dropped trou and started screeching and flinging shit everywhere like an incontinent monkey? No? How about a rousing reenactment of that one time I temporarily look leave of my senses and started propositioning random aliens using the traditional Alternian mating display known as kindly go fuck yourself. That one was always my favorite!

[yanginthere]

[ With her teasing, Yang had dropped a pebble into a perfectly still pond. What did she get for her trouble? A tsunami of profanity. Terrific. Her expression flickered fast from amiable, to angry, to disappointed, and then back to a strained sort of smile that didn't reach her eyes. ]

Mmmm, nah. [ Yang pushed herself up and crawled over to and behind Karkat. ] I've got a better idea.

[ A bit louder, Yang spoke in what could have been a chipper tone if it didn't carry the strain matching the way she flung her arm about the boy's shoulders from behind to pull him into a "friendly" headlock. Ruby knows that move, at the least; it's not easy to get out of. ]

I'm so glad you agreed to help me out, Karkat! Come on. In here. [ Humming tunelessly, Yang moved to pull the belligerent teen into the attached bathroom so they could. Talk. ]

[quadrangle]

[All of those facial expressions are ones Karkat has seen before, if not necessarily from her. That's probably why he thinks so little of them, and seriously, who the fuck cares if he's pissed of Yang in particular. What is this stunning development, who could have seen that coming!

He's already half dismissed her by the time she's creeping up behind him, so naturally, he's left completely open when she... well. That.

Really, there's only one way he could react.]

Hey, what the—get the fuck off of me, I MMPH.

[Hello, pillow to the face, how are you this evening? Fanfuckingtastic, he'd been looking forward to getting some quality time with your oh my god what is all of this grabbing, HELP.

Yelling, flailing, and kicking have no effect. Anything he tries to say is muffled, fortunately for everyone else in the room, and he's awful enough at the other two that he wouldn't have been able to make much headway anyway even if Yang weren't obnoxiously good at this. Where the fuck is Jade, he needs an auspistice.]

[yanginthere]

[ Jade can't help him now. Not unless she could pick locks anyway. See, Yang's not going to hurt Karkat. Not seriously. But she had given as much of a warning for it back at the beginning and it was clearly time to put her foot down about his shitty attitude before it became an infectious, shitty attitude. ]

Okay! [ Door locked and her "prey" released from the hold, Yang crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the door. She does not look happy but she is also trying to give him some benefit of the doubt. It dulls the fire of her tone. ] Do you want to tell me what's got you spouting off like that when everyone else is trying to have a good time?

[quadrangle]

[The moment Karkat's free, he's putting as much distance between himself and Yang as possible, eyeing her warily and trying very hard not to notice that she's locked the door. She's locked the fucking door. What the bulgechafing hell is wrong with her, if she were a troll—augh. No, stop thinking about that.]

Like what?

[If he sounds genuinely confused, it's probably because he is. Then again, considering their first conversation... oh my god, how can that actually be the problem?

He groans lets his arms drop from their defensive positions, rolling his damn eyes with as much force as he can muster.]

Are you still hung up on that shit? Have you met even half the people you're traveling with? Nobody gives a fuck! And I've left your sister alone, so I don't see what the goddamn problem is!

[yanginthere]

Yeah. As a matter of fact, I am.

[ She gestured behind her with her thumb. ] Look, I don't know what kind of world you all come from where it's okay to just talk like that all the time, but where we're from? People try to show some more respect for each other. I've spent some time around sailors in bars, and they don't even sound anything like you.

[ Yang frowned, brow creased in genuine concern. ] What's got you so ... so angry all the time?

[usedglaciate]

[Weiss will approach after a minute, with a can of lemonade, which she'll offer Karkat.]

You should take a break from watching everything. I'll take it for a while.

[quadrangle]

[She catches him during a moderately alert moment, but although Karkat accepts the can of lemonade, it's with the slightly concussed look of someone who isn't sure if they've just been handed a live incendiary device or... well, a can of lemonade.]

... Thank you?

[That's what. He's supposed to say. Right?]

[usedglaciate]

[Weiss will chalk that up to a bit of anxiety. It's something she's seen before, and to her credit, she won't press.]

Of course. With this crowd - and I mean that in the best possible way - everyone needs a breather now and then.

[quadrangle]

[He blinks at her several times, clearly processing none of that, then glances down at his lemonade again. Huh. That's...]

Your name is Weiss, right?

[Wow. Wow. What a stunning opener, what the fuck is wrong with him and why is he trying to make conversation anyway, he's free to go! ARGH. This is so stupid.]

[usedglaciate]

[She nods, and she's actually smiling.]

That's right, Karkat.

You have the same look that I get when I'm so worried about things being perfect that I forget what I'm actually at a party for. I thought I'd come by and check on you.

[quadrangle]

—About things being perfect?

[Oh how he scoffs at the idea. See him scoffing. What bullshit is this.]

No, I'm just making sure you assholes don't trash the block. Room. Shit's fucking expensive enough without staining the, the carpet. And sheets.

[Dumbest fucking words, who even came up with them? But he's learning.]

You go to a lot of parties?

[usedglaciate]

First of all, why are you cursing at me? I came over because I was trying to be friendly, not to get cursed at.

Second? I get that. But I really don't think you need to worry unless someone does something stupid, like starting a food fight.

[She's dancing around the fact that she, Ruby, and Yang were once part of a food fight that left a hole in the cafeteria's roof.]

Not as many as I did before I left home, but enough. I've been the person at the party freaking out over the flowers and the color of the tablecloths.

[eclectictype]

Take a picture--depending on whether or not timeline bullshit starts up again, it will last longer.

[Geez, Karkat, she was just minding her own business and you had to make it weird.]

So, how did you like The Prinplup Bride?

[quadrangle]

[—FUCK YOU JADE YOU AREN'T CUTE HE WASN'T STARING he may have been staring. A little.]

Shut the fuck up. You just crossed my line of sight, that's all. [This is convincing.] And yes, as a matter of fact, I did. It's better without the Pokémon, though.

[eclectictype]

Right, and Dave did my hair! You were clearly admiring his handiwork.

[Or really he didn't give a crap at all and, indeed, she just crossed his line of sight. Jade's not going to question or needle on that point because, frankly, it's not a topic she's interested in broaching.]

It's one of my favorite movies to watch with Dave. I didn't think it was too different from the original, even if there were Pokemon in there. Rattata of Unusual Size isn't that different from Rodents of Unusual Size, after all. It just makes me wonder who makes and purchases a Rattata plush of that size, that was huge.

[quadrangle]

[YES, CLEARLY fuck he's just not going to acknowledge that comment about her hair and oh, look, what's that on the horizon? A new subject!]

Yeah, it's a great movie. The Pokémon are just distracting, you know? But I guess if I'd seen this version first, it wouldn't matter so much even with the stupid props. All of Earth's animals are alien to me anyway.

[in4apounding]

Are you feeling all right? You seem quieter than usual.

[Which admittedly doesn't take much, but... quieter in a different way than the usual 'someone threatened him if he swore around Ruby' quiet.]

[But parties are supposed to be about interaction, right? Especially since there aren't any bodyguards or escorts keeping her in check.]

[quadrangle]

[—bodyguards or escorts, Penny, what is your life. Karkat's head jerks up at the question, but unlike Yang and Weiss, he actually sort of maybe tolerates Penny. That doesn't mean he'll smile, but he'll at least nod a little before answering.]

I'm, uh. I'm fine.

[... in a stilted, unnatural sort of way, great fucking work, Past Karkat, way to make him look like a goddamn social awareness guru or whatever the fuck humans called it, who even cares. He frowns again.]

It's just weird having everyone in one place. [A single, enclosed space with only one exist. Fuck.] What about you? Doing okay?

[in4apounding]

[Military secrets is what her life is. Or military SECRET, at least.]

Trolls don't gather in groups like this?

[Is that a culture thing, or did Karkat just have the same kind of friendless existence she had? Either way - sort of sad.]

I'm doing sensational!

[Yeah, she probably cried more than a little when it looked like Westley was dead, assurances from Poppop Narrator or not.]

I mean, it is still weird having so many people together like this! But I think it's a good kind of weird.

[quadrangle]

[... Shit.]

Not so much, at our age. We're used to having whole hives to ourselves.

[Hives with troll, lusus, and that's it, which he should have fucking put together sooner on the meteor. Probably? But the computer room had been big enough, and then everyone had had their own respiteblocks... fuck. That probably wasn't it, then.]

But yeah, it's... a good kind of weird, I guess.

[From like, a zoological standpoint. Haha. Ha. Goddammit. And he'd noticed the crying during the movie, but he's not enough of a stranger to that kind of thing to worry now... mostly. Well, if she says she's okay, he'll believe her, at least.]

So it's new for you, too?

[in4apounding]

[Westley got mostly better, therefore it obviously wasn't sad anymore.]

A little new, yes.

[A lot less so since arriving in Johto, but pretty new.]

My father didn't -he's a really nice man, I mean!- but he didn't like me talking to people much.

[Or at all, but details.]

He just wanted to keep me safe, but- ...yes, this is a good weird.

[quadrangle]

[... Uh, okay, so prefacing a statement like that with "he's a really nice man" may just be setting off an alarm in Karkat's head? He's sure he's imagining it, though. Humans are fucking weird after all.]

I guess we'll both have to get used to it, then. Not much else we can do.