ok. there is only one way karkat can turn this around, and that's by fucking cheating. and luckily for him, he is dating the biggest cheater ever so he has picked up on some tips.
so now a giant crab plushie is popping out of his sylladex and falling down right on rin's head. ]
[the sudden assault distracts him long enough for his hold on Karkat to loosen, as one hand jerks up to shield himself from the unexpected crabby plush claws]
[the gauge on Rin's life has just gone from Fairly Normal to Way Too Many Crabs; he's rolling onto his back, trying to get some distance from Crab #1, when Crab #2 attaches himself to his head]
[through a mouthful of shirt;]
Wha'thafuh --
[what is the end game here? win a wrestle through sheer confusion? well, sonny jim, you're about to be a laudable champion, if that's the case. one more trial awaits -- Rin tries to grab onto some part of Karkat, but there's only back and pants. that'll do; attempts to give Karkat a wedgie]
[(hello, he's the antagonist, of course he'd stoop there)]
karkat lets go because... wedgies are painful... he flails though, so he might have just accidentally kicked rin somewhere? hopefully not his face. that might hurt. ]
[yeah no that was right in his chin, which causes him to violently gnash down on his own bottom lip (get it? gnasher?), which -- is typically a terrible happenstance in Rin's case, overall]
Shit -- !
[releases Karkat's pants after one last wedge of that wedgie, turning his head to the side and covering his mouth with his hands. he knows what's happened is officially embarrassing, though maybe finally in his opponent's case, relatable]
[just gonna cover that blood gush with his other hand, be real casual about it. his voice is muffled and little garbled with the leaking issue happening, but it's fine. this is fine. ignore how red his face is getting]
[let's just complain]
Your knees are so pointy, it's like you're made of knives, what the hell?
You're just freakishly fragile. I barely touched you.
[ karkat is very pointedly NOT looking at rin. actually he is going to quickly grab his plush and reinsert it into his sylladex since he... doesn't want blood getting on it... so it vanishes. ]
Exactly, I did it to myself. You couldn't manage this.
[this time around, Rin notices that Karkat is aggressively avoiding looking at him, which is strange considering most people would be fussing. Karkat isn't a fusser, per se, but he does tend to look out for Rin more often than not when they're training, so it's a little out of character]
[Rin recalls how Karkat had acted in the fight with the sharks, and the last time he'd been bleeding around him, and something clicks]
-- Hey, do you have, a thing? About blood?
[as value-neutral as possible, given the current situation]
he has explained the hemospectrum to people on base but he hasn't explained his specific relationship with it, so. like. this is awkward? karkat would prefer not having to explain that to anyone, he doesn't even really talk to dave or kanaya about it. ]
No. [ he does walk over and grabs a shirt to give to rin though. it's probably dave's but w/e, karkat does not care about sacrificing shit that does not belong to him. ]
And it's not okay, if I do. It's my aspect. How dumb would it be if I had an issue with something I'm supposed to master or whatever the fuck you're supposed to do with aspects.
[Rin grabs the t-shirt, pressing it against his face. he seems to be letting the conversation lull into silence, but after a few moments in which Dave's shirt is thoroughly ruined (rude??) Rin pulls the cloth away enough to say]
I almost quit swimming. Like, mostly twice, but also a bunch of times.
[it's not something he wants to confess to, particularly, but Karkat's a friend. a close one, if Rin is being honest with himself -- maybe the best friend he's made so far. he didn't think less of Rin for being unable to fight, or code, or whatever infinitely more useful skills he's lacking here; he won't think less of Rin for this, either]
I think the people who have to struggle to master something that's a part of them earn that mastery more. It just makes you better, that you had issues with it. It means you thought about it, decided you loved it, worked hard, and overcame things.
[red eyes lock on Karkat over a shirt that's becoming similarly flecked red]
Mastery isn't about perfect execution, every time. It's about effort and passion.
[ he can only hold rin's gaze for a few seconds before he glances away. this really is just an uncomfortable topic, one that he's only approached twice, maybe three times? with other people. even though the secret of his blood color isn't much of a secret anymore, he still feels like he should hide it. there's a reason he still uses gray font instead of red, after all. ]
I don't love it.
[ he remembers his planet, the one that the game gave him, and how he thought it was meant to mock him. the land of pulse and haze, a world literally covered in blood. he had stupidly thought that maybe he could figure out his aspect and that it meant something cool, but in the end the title is probably just another joke too.
he's not like dave or dirk or john, and everyone else, who can do amazing things with their powers. he doesn't even really have powers? like, in theory, he does. he should. he might as well doesn't. ]
It's really not something I'm ever going to figure out.
[Rin's red gaze doesn't waver, and that's something that's typically pretty uncomfortable for other people; eventually, though, he deems himself clotted enough to lower the shirt from his lip. he folds it so the blood is hidden, eyes finally glancing down to do this task]
That was just a personal example. Love it or hate it, it's still a part of you. Saying you won't figure it out is short-sighted.
[shrugs a little]
Don't you want to be stronger? If not for yourself, for the people around you?
[your team, your family, your friends; Rin understands what it's like to give up on yourself, and in those times, having people in your life who can inspire you to be better is all-important]
I'll help you, if I can. Dave would, obviously, too. And Kanaya.
[there's more people in Karkat's life, but he's made his point and he won't belabour it; he holds the shirt, with the blood tucked away in it, back out to Karkat]
[ it's hard to talk about this subject when rin isn't fully aware of why this is such a bad topic for karkat? he isn't sure how to explain that technically he should have been killed off as a baby because he's a mutant, and how everyone he knows is going to outlive him because he is both a mutant and he didn't reach godhood, and just. he has multiple hangups but this isn't something he likes talking about.
it'll probably be easier if someone else explained it to rin. ]
If you enjoy wasting your time.
[ karkat just... stares at the offered shirt before taking it. he doesn't look at it once it's in his hands again though. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
karkat is going to attempt to... kick up... the lower half of his body.... so that his legs wrap around some part of rin that is closest.....
and probably end up breaking his back or something in the process KARKAT YOU ARE NOT A GYMNAST....................... ]
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[but this is going to get boring if he's always able to down Karkat with a single chokehold]
You're supposed to drop your head and round your shoulders, oi, then go for my ribs. Doing this just makes it easier for me to do --
[continues stretching Karkat like the gymnast he is not]
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ok. there is only one way karkat can turn this around, and that's by fucking cheating. and luckily for him, he is dating the biggest cheater ever so he has picked up on some tips.
so now a giant crab plushie is popping out of his sylladex and falling down right on rin's head. ]
no subject
[CRAB'D]
[the sudden assault distracts him long enough for his hold on Karkat to loosen, as one hand jerks up to shield himself from the unexpected crabby plush claws]
no subject
karkat uses this opportunity to do the smart thing, which is quickly scramble around and escape.
lol just kidding, he does the first part and then just fucking koala clings to rin's head like a facehugger from alien. ]
no subject
[through a mouthful of shirt;]
Wha'thafuh --
[what is the end game here? win a wrestle through sheer confusion? well, sonny jim, you're about to be a laudable champion, if that's the case. one more trial awaits -- Rin tries to grab onto some part of Karkat, but there's only back and pants. that'll do; attempts to give Karkat a wedgie]
[(hello, he's the antagonist, of course he'd stoop there)]
no subject
karkat lets go because... wedgies are painful... he flails though, so he might have just accidentally kicked rin somewhere? hopefully not his face. that might hurt. ]
You fucker!
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Shit -- !
[releases Karkat's pants after one last wedge of that wedgie, turning his head to the side and covering his mouth with his hands. he knows what's happened is officially embarrassing, though maybe finally in his opponent's case, relatable]
Hold up, time out --
[aaand there comes the blood through his fingers]
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he needs to readjust his wedgie, which is embarrassing on its own, so he doesn't notice rin is bleeding at first. ]
You stupid assh-- oh. [ yeah that is blood. karkat shifts uncomfortably. ]
Shit.
no subject
[just gonna cover that blood gush with his other hand, be real casual about it. his voice is muffled and little garbled with the leaking issue happening, but it's fine. this is fine. ignore how red his face is getting]
[let's just complain]
Your knees are so pointy, it's like you're made of knives, what the hell?
no subject
[ karkat is very pointedly NOT looking at rin. actually he is going to quickly grab his plush and reinsert it into his sylladex since he... doesn't want blood getting on it... so it vanishes. ]
no subject
[this time around, Rin notices that Karkat is aggressively avoiding looking at him, which is strange considering most people would be fussing. Karkat isn't a fusser, per se, but he does tend to look out for Rin more often than not when they're training, so it's a little out of character]
[Rin recalls how Karkat had acted in the fight with the sharks, and the last time he'd been bleeding around him, and something clicks]
-- Hey, do you have, a thing? About blood?
[as value-neutral as possible, given the current situation]
no subject
[ he says, while continuing to not look at rin.
he has explained the hemospectrum to people on base but he hasn't explained his specific relationship with it, so. like. this is awkward? karkat would prefer not having to explain that to anyone, he doesn't even really talk to dave or kanaya about it. ]
no subject
[he ran over in his tank top and shorts to beat Karkat up without proper supplies and everything]
I've got things. Everybody does.
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And it's not okay, if I do. It's my aspect. How dumb would it be if I had an issue with something I'm supposed to master or whatever the fuck you're supposed to do with aspects.
no subject
I almost quit swimming. Like, mostly twice, but also a bunch of times.
[it's not something he wants to confess to, particularly, but Karkat's a friend. a close one, if Rin is being honest with himself -- maybe the best friend he's made so far. he didn't think less of Rin for being unable to fight, or code, or whatever infinitely more useful skills he's lacking here; he won't think less of Rin for this, either]
I think the people who have to struggle to master something that's a part of them earn that mastery more. It just makes you better, that you had issues with it. It means you thought about it, decided you loved it, worked hard, and overcame things.
[red eyes lock on Karkat over a shirt that's becoming similarly flecked red]
Mastery isn't about perfect execution, every time. It's about effort and passion.
no subject
I don't love it.
[ he remembers his planet, the one that the game gave him, and how he thought it was meant to mock him. the land of pulse and haze, a world literally covered in blood. he had stupidly thought that maybe he could figure out his aspect and that it meant something cool, but in the end the title is probably just another joke too.
he's not like dave or dirk or john, and everyone else, who can do amazing things with their powers. he doesn't even really have powers? like, in theory, he does. he should. he might as well doesn't. ]
It's really not something I'm ever going to figure out.
no subject
That was just a personal example. Love it or hate it, it's still a part of you. Saying you won't figure it out is short-sighted.
[shrugs a little]
Don't you want to be stronger? If not for yourself, for the people around you?
[your team, your family, your friends; Rin understands what it's like to give up on yourself, and in those times, having people in your life who can inspire you to be better is all-important]
I'll help you, if I can. Dave would, obviously, too. And Kanaya.
[there's more people in Karkat's life, but he's made his point and he won't belabour it; he holds the shirt, with the blood tucked away in it, back out to Karkat]
no subject
it'll probably be easier if someone else explained it to rin. ]
If you enjoy wasting your time.
[ karkat just... stares at the offered shirt before taking it. he doesn't look at it once it's in his hands again though. ]