CG: SO THIS IS THE FIRST VIDEO POST OF THE BUNCH.

[fuckity]

So, ummmmmm.

[ Cue a teenage boy addressing the network! Well, he's sort of like a teenage boy, if teenage boys were grey and had sharp nails and tiny candy corn horns. There are bags under his eyes like he hasn't slept in about, uh, a decade, and he rubs at one of them in irritation, his lips peeling back into a bit of a snarl. ]

What gives? Exactly? I sign up for one thing and get a-fucking-nother? What the everloving turd is up with that? Oh, hey, guys, Karkat's showed up, let's all change the rules and move everything around and really confuse everyone and shit! Haha! Thank you and fuck you very kindly!

[ He pauses a beat, face still screwed up into something irritated - 'tch', he punctuates everything with a glance off to the side and seems to be thinking hard about something. ]

I'm going to look for apple juice. Because I know some asshole and he never shuts the actual bleeding fuck up about apple juice. If I can find anything on this thing!!

Comments

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[espanola]

Orange? Grape?

[His eyes widen in surprise, hurt - and then, look at this, a smile. Not a super nice one.] Oh, I see. But - you're bragging, too. Does that mean you're a 'bad guy'?

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[fuckity]

No. Cherry.

[ Karkat looks a little surprised; not by the smile, that's a familiar one - Jack and Slick, they both carried it well - but the assumption that he might be a bad guy, for whatever reason. ] Fuck no. I'm just an asshole.

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[espanola]

King of cherry juice. [This may or may not be your name now Karkat.]

But you're not a good guy, or you wouldn't be bragging, according to your rules.

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[fuckity]

[ It's kind of thrilling in a secret way that he's so not getting into. ] Still sounds like turd.

I never said I was a good guy. [ He stretches his arms up over his head, cracking his knuckles before he lets them slip back down, gives a vacant wave. ] I'm just a Warden. There's probably a difference.

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[espanola]

[No, talk about blood, you have a rapt audience here.]

You've escaped a popular delusion. See, you are lucky.

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[fuckity]

[ Lucky, that gets a laugh - a hack of a thing, unpracticed. There's a word that's never been used in description of him. ]

How so? Enlighten me.

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[espanola]

Heroes are the first to be broken. Also the least likely to be believed. People who see themselves as inherently good are vulnerable and easily destroyed. Neutrality survives.

[All said conversationally and with a smile. After all, it's just common sense.]

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[fuckity]

[ Blink. ] Well, yeah, the more you think you're the shit, the harder you're gonna fall when someone yanks the goddamn carpet out from underneath you.

[ But that still doesn't erase the fact; ] You're a little fucker, aren't you?

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[espanola]

[The most innocent of confused faces.]

I'm sorry?

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[fuckity]

[ nope, we're entrenched in THE SHIT ]

Nuh uh. You don't get to play that card. Not with me. Come on, you were just Mr. Braggy Von Braggenstein before, don't go all soft on me now.

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[espanola]

[There's the flicker of something sly - a deliberate flicker, but hey, it's there - and then back to innocent face.]

You're going to have to be a little more specific with your questions.

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[fuckity]

[ CAUGHT IT, and deliberate or not, Karkat's mouth starts to peel into a knowing grin. ]

Okay, let's play a game then. It's the specificity game. I ask a question and you get to answer it and that's the game. Okay?

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[espanola]

[He pretends to consider this, but really, it's a foregone conclusion. Of course he'll play.]

Okay.

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[fuckity]

[ Karkat plants his chin on a fist. ]

Is there any point in asking what you did to end up here or would that be wasting my time?

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[espanola]

[ Toto also plants his chin on his fist. Mirroring. It's a thing.]

You can ask.

I ran a prison, like this one.

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[fuckity]

[ Karkat's fingers flex automatically like he might move because of it, but he stays stubbornly still regardless. ]

Okayyyy, but that sounds like a largely good thing in the scheme of things.

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[espanola]

That's what I thought.

[He raises his eyebrows. Not a question, Karkat. Ask a question. Play the game.]

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[fuckity]

Oh -

[ For the love of fuck, he makes a grumble in his throat and then asks: ]

Why wasn't it a good thing?

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[espanola]

[This question has a fairly complex answer; Toto pauses and hums, weaving his fingers together as he considers phrasing.]

Fighting was encouraged. And televised. [Although fighting really isn't a strong enough word.]

It was also a birdcage. And the birds fought, too.

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[fuckity]

[ There's a kind of tone to his voice, like everything hints at something more - Karkat picks up on it, but he really doesn't look that fazed. After all, that shit was like late night reality TV back home. ]

You're a human, right?

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[espanola]

[This gets a pause too. Is he?]

Mostly.

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[fuckity]

[ Because from what he understands, Karkat's pretty sure that humans are largely supposed to be all rah, rah, violence doesn't solve anything. ]

And the parts that aren't?

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[espanola]

[Sadly he has never been that type of human.]

The parts that aren't are better.

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[fuckity]

So what else does that make you and why is it superior?

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[espanola]

[This question also has a whole lot of answers. Mastermind, scientist, anarchist. But he goes for the one that conveys the most power.]

A Deadman. Superior because Deadmen can manipulate their blood.

[He hates just explaining this, though. It's unsatisfying and inelegant. So he bites down hard on his thumb (in imitation of Ganta, as has become his style, mocking) until a drop of blood blossoms. It curves into a blade, short, thin, and sharp, with which he cuts the palm of his other hand. Here another blade forms, wider. He displays both to the camera.]

Like so.