#barkentinedaedalist

Yes, I do have the amulet, and only the clasp is broken, which I intend to fix and return promptly.

geminidoomed IIt 2hould be fiine, the cla2p ii2 de2iigned two come apart iif iit catche2 on 2omethiing or iif 2ay 2omeone triie2 two yank hiim or 2trangle hiim wiith iit.

palteringcecutiency That would explain why it came off so easily.

geminidoomed II do try two thiink ahead and he2 a very actiive troll iin many way2, II would hate two be the cau2e of a collap2ed wiindpiipe.

palteringcecutiency It's an excellent idea, with how used to scuffles he is.

geminidoomed Now II have two wonder how exactly the amulet offended you enough two break iit off of hiim.

palteringcecutiency There are a great number of possible reasons that have nothing to do with offence, nor the amulet itself, you realize.

geminidoomed oh? II wa2n't aware. 2iince a fiight wa2 diirectly referenced, and iit happen2 that he ended up beiing thrown off the roof faiirly recently, and whiile he diid not diirectly correlate the2e event2 II'm not completely iincompetant or 2tupiid.

palteringcecutiency ...I did not mean to imply you were either.

geminidoomed he mu2t have done 2omethiing really teriible for you two break hii2 thiing2 and throw hiim off the roof amoung other non dii2clo2ed actiion2.

palteringcecutiency ...the former was an accidental result of a more connected action, and the latter was more of a dropping and has no defense.

geminidoomed 'more of a droppiing'

palteringcecutiency ...yes. ...there was no force flinging him off the castle, but more being carried over the edge and let go.

geminidoomed 2o the iintent ii2 two let me know he diidnt hiit the water a2 hard a2 he could have. You diidnt 2ay what iit ii2 he diid

palteringcecutiency ...the intent was to be accurate, but yes, I was careful so his fall would not cause injuries. ...and no, I haven't, because it hardly matters. This was my fault.

geminidoomed 2o do you ju2t a22ault random ex 2laver2 becau2e II can get behiind that

palteringcecutiency Your sense of humor is appreciated.

geminidoomed diid he do the engiine noii2e2 joke agaiin becau2e II would have punched hiim off the roof two

palteringcecutiency ...no, that was not then.

geminidoomed hiit on you?

palteringcecutiency There was a miscommunication, and I interpreted his attempts to help as an insult, and lost my temper. It should not have happened, but it did, and the responsibility lies solely on my shoulders.

geminidoomed okay let2 be hone2t cronu2 ampora ii2 really good at uniiniitiionally iin2ultiing people what diid you do?

palteringcecutiency I terrified him, snapped his ankle, shorted his sylladex which broke the vast majority of all of his belongings, gave him a concussion with the butt of one of his guns, and dumped him into the bay.

geminidoomed were you maniic, p2ii.

palteringcecutiency No. Just angry. And an asshole.

geminidoomed you have a lot iin common wiith Der2e

palteringcecutiency I am unsurprised.

geminidoomed he ii2nt pre22iing charge2, he doe2nt even want anyone two know what you diid

palteringcecutiency ...I know, he's told me as much. ...he's told me why but I can't say I understand.

geminidoomed II'm up2et about what2 happened, but II'm more worriied about the future, iif your temper ii2 2o bad you can hurt 2omeone thii2 much before cra2hiing

palteringcecutiency ...understandable.

geminidoomed p2ii iif II can get you 2ome mood 2tabalii2er2 and antiidepre22ant2 would you be wiilliing two go on them?

palteringcecutiency ...I do not see why losing my temper with someone I have a torrid history with means I need to be medicated.

geminidoomed You cant 2ee why a potentiially lethal amount of anger followed by 2udden deep regret ii2nt a problem and 2houldnt be treated? II could re2pect your wii2h two go unmediicated when iit wa2 ju2t you dealiing wiith your own demon2 a2 much a2 II would have liiked two help wiith that, but thii2 ii2 an actual danger two people other than you

palteringcecutiency If it is others you are worried about, my leaving is an option as well.

geminidoomed II dont want you two leave, p2ii

palteringcecutiency And I do not want medicated, but we cannot both get what we want.

geminidoomed II would appreciiate iit iif you would giive me a chance, wiith thii2.

palteringcecutiency I would rather live alone or not live at all than pretend.

geminidoomed pretend?

palteringcecutiency What would you call being drugged into harmlessness?

geminidoomed ???? they're mood 2tabaliizer2 not narcotiic2 all iit doe2 ii2 make iit 2o your braiin ii2 better at proce22iing emotiional re2pon2e2 II would never put 2omeone on the kiind of antii p2ychotiic2 alterniia u2ed II'm thiinkiing about beforu2, p2ii

palteringcecutiency ...where I was told I was too broken to be left unsupervised. Can someone /please/ point to the part of my existence that makes me look like a fucking defective troll so I can hide it better???? Because I am /fine/.

geminidoomed II diidnt mean iit liike that, and iif II ever gave you the iimpre22iion that II thiink you're broken or need a culler II'm 2orry. ..II thiink the mediicatiion wiill help you help your2elf, iit2 not goiing two change you, iit2 not goiing two make you 2omeone your not or zone you out, iit ju2t make2 iit 2o the 2piike2 dont go 2o hiigh and the low2 dont go 2o low and the anger and tear2 are managable thiing2 iin2tead of wiild bea2t2 you have two endure

palteringcecutiency You don't have to backtrack and cover your ass, I'm well aware that everyone and their fucking lusus thinks I'm damaged goods that need to be /fixed/, they've straight fucking told me. Congratulations on joining the /club/.

geminidoomed Mituna I'm bipolar too. We aren't fucking broken.

palteringcecutiency One cannot demand something be fixed if it's not, now can they??

geminidoomed Do you consider yourself broken when you put on a coat because its cold, as well? ..I dont like taking medication either, I have a sever panic reaction to it

palteringcecutiency But you have /no/ problem telling /me/ I'm a threat to everyone unless I'm /pacified/, and rejecting other solutions in favor of drugging me into a stupor. If you're that fucking eager for it, put me back in the fucking rig, at least then I'll be /useful/.

geminidoomed /I'm not suggesting you should be drugged into a stupor and have never once even considered that amoung possible options/ What I'm talking about doesn't fucking /pacify/ you

palteringcecutiency Oh but I'm /dangerous/, aren't I? What will stop me from doing this again? I'm a very angry troll, Captor, and that is hardly going to change without something /drastic/.

geminidoomed I feel sick, and I keep trying to respond to this and back spacing and trying again. the medication I was suggesting gives you a greater amount of control over your own emotions. More control. Not less. because you're a fucking /good/ person, and given the tools to help yourself you'll be fucking fine

palteringcecutiency And once your assumptions are proven incorrect and I smear someone across something on my fucking own, then what Captor? Will you try to put a bandage on the problem again? Will you claim deafness when told yet again that I'm an angry, /shitty/ person with far too many weapons and history while you try to stem the bleeding? Wouldn't it be easier to just stop fucking toying with me and trying to trick me and let me solve the fucking problem for you?? What do you fucking gain from this fight????

geminidoomed trick you? toying with you? Mituna what are you talking about? I want you to have the chance to be happy and whole and not have to fight your pan over everything If you don’t think the Signless will crucify me for doing anything to hurt you I want you consider that Meulin and Porrim are also very viable options for maiming me, if you need some assurance other than my love and regard for you

palteringcecutiency Oh, I am beyond sure they will have words with you, about how delighted they are that their precious loved ones are safe from my reign of terror.

geminidoomed ..what? look if I go on the same medication will you take it?

palteringcecutiency What was the phrase you used earlier? Ah yes, /I'm not completely incompetent or stupid/.

geminidoomed Psii I don’t understand

palteringcecutiency Goodness, that's a shame, because I'm not fucking holding your hand through the words 'fuck no.' They're rather self explanatory, I'd think, unless you suddenly cannot read things you don't agree with.

geminidoomed I understand 'no' but I don't understand /why/, Something has gone severely wrong here and I don't know what it is, especially with references about trickery and toying and you not being stupid

palteringcecutiency

Must I keep repeating myself?? /I'm not letting you turn me into a flesh lump for your convenience/, no matter how much you fucking want it.You get me leaving or jack fucking shit, make your decision.

geminidoomed ???? II'm not goiing two force you two take mediicatiion but II dont know where you're gettiing thii2 'fle2h lump' thiing from

palteringcecutiency From you of course! And your necessary little /problem solving/ mission. It's not hard to connect the dots, Captor, especially when they're handed to you.

geminidoomed Mituna I literally have no idea what you're talking about

palteringcecutiency Playing dumb is not a good look on you, I must say. Especially when you gave away your game so early.

geminidoomed I feel like we may have been having two different conversations and I wasn't even aware of it, what /Game/

palteringcecutiency Your sense of humor continues to /amuse/, but I can let you into the 'secret' if you're so eager to hear me say it. The one getting me to go into this willingly, it was quite clever. Which of you thought of it? And how far back did this plan go? I would guess the fight was chance, Ampora would never risk the state of his face for anything, but who knows, perhaps he was sufficiently motivated and reassured and took a gamble. How sad he's going to be that it didn't work. :c

geminidoomed Psii are you okay? No one consulted me about anything all I wanted was to help. I didn't realize you would have such a strong reaction to the idea of antidepressants

palteringcecutiency Oh I am /perfectly/ fine, thank you for your /concern/.

geminidoomed why do you think I want to hurt you?

palteringcecutiency Come now, such emotional language. Is it really /hurting/ if it's solving your problems once and for all? Getting rid of such an /inconvenience/? Think of how much /better/ things will be in your action's wake, I can see the appeal clear as night. Too bad you were clumsy and dropped it, who knows when another opportunity will arise?

geminidoomed Psionic, I've spent the better part of two sweeps fighting in a revolution, freeing helmsman and seeing them back to their feet, I've known many of your alternates, I look up to them, they mean the world to me, and I am mated to one of them. Explain to me why I would ever in all creation want to do the sort of things you're suggesting, to you.

palteringcecutiency Yes yes, you're a pinnacle of rebellion and righteousness in the multiverse, I'm truly proud of you. None of those helmsmen are me, and only I am causing you problems. It's a meaningless comparison.

geminidoomed ..i thought you were proud of me

> The slightest pause in posting, noticeably longer than usual.

palteringcecutiency Having pride in someone does not stop them from thinking you a problem. Obviously.

geminidoomed how can you have pride in someone you think would do something this repulsive

palteringcecutiency You certainly don't have a problem doing it.

geminidoomed what?

palteringcecutiency Your pride in dangerous, unstable me, unless that was a lie.

geminidoomed you would drug 2omeone iintwo complaiiance??

palteringcecutiency Hardly, but I'm such a big threat to the populous, remember? :c I could kill any one of them in a messy burst of psionics if I so much as got angry, wouldn't you say that was /repulsive/.

geminidoomed Psii I don't think you're going to go around killing people because you're angry, I think its more likely you're going to lose your temper and go a little harder than you meant to because you're caught up in the moment and emotions are bullshit, I dont find you fucking /repulsive/ I know what that kind of temper feels like, Derse and I were one person once, I know how it feels to go at someone in a burst of anger and immediately feel regret like an avalanche I'm not even immune to it now

palteringcecutiency Ah, but I'm the one that's the problem. The Makaras are untouched, Ampora you all insist /changed/, you and Derse roam free, but here I am, a threat all of a sudden, one you have to solve, like Serket. I have no idea why /drugging/ is your weapon of choice when there are so many other options, but I'm sure there's a reason for it.

geminidoomed /YOU ARE NOTHING LIKE VRISKA/

palteringcecutiency ...perhaps not exactly, but the fact remains, of that list I'm the priority currently, and it's not hard to suss out the reason.

geminidoomed I do not want to fucking /drug/ you up or get /rid/ of you Mituna Captor, and the other people you mentioned know I will fucking /kill/ them if they step too far out of line, and my kismesis is the /only/ reason Gamzee isn't dead now, Cae was nearly killed /more than once/ when we first began interacting and had to fucking /betray his fucking empress/ for me to fully trust him, and he pleads on the elder Makara's behalf, although if /he/ fucking hurts /any/ of my people I'm killing him.

palteringcecutiency Are you trying to convince me I'm not on that list, because I can see my hive from here, and it's quite cozy I must say.

geminidoomed You are my fucking descendant and my ancestor, and I adore and love you what the actual /fuck/ are you going on about

palteringcecutiency Why am /I/ the one that has to explain this to /you/. I /know/ your precious /reformed highblood/ told you. I /know/. How are you supposed to solve his fucking problem if he doesn't, unless he's caught your ear so hard all it takes is pointing you in the right direction and a few words of encouragement before you leap into action.

geminidoomed ?? What the fuck is it you think Cae told me I could barely drag anything out of him about what happened Psii! jesus fucking /shit/ something obviously crawled up your nook and /died/ because you're having some kind of goddamned fever hallucination here

palteringcecutiency You say that like it disproves what I said. And it doesn't matter how much you insist, I am /fine/. /More/ than fine, in fact.

geminidoomed >You are so fucking done right now >You know where he is since you fucking set up his entire living block yourself and gave it to him as a gift after taking him to earth to fucking pick out fluffy purrbeasts together >You aren’t going to try to hack his door open, never try to hack another Captors electronic things that never ends well. >You are going to Either leave Twoblade or take him with you, grab a large bucket and fill it with ice and water, and fly up to Psii's window to see if its latched.

palteringcecutiency > Twoblade is most assuredly coming, he's beyond worried and confused for his alternate, and also for his mate. He understands the need to do this but if it goes badly.... > You, however, are not worried, nor expecting such a thing to happen, hilariously ironically seeing how alert you are to everything right now. You've narrowly avoided disaster tonight and you're not letting your guard down again, at least with conversations. > The window is latched, but right by you, giving a clear view of you, your tablet, and your massive amounts of stress winding up every muscle you possess into a tense mess. It's a miracle that you haven't busted teeth yet.

geminidoomed >He could carefully thread his psionics in there and unlatch it that way. >Or he could delete the window. > A blast of cold air proceeds the entire contents of the bucket of ice water.

palteringcecutiency > That gives you exactly enough warning to make you look up into the face of freezing cold twofold hitting your fucking face. > The sparking is gorgeous from an outside perspective, jumping in unusual directions as it runs along the water quickly soaking you. None of it goes Fex's way, but a great deal of it goes to your very soaked and unprepared tablet, shorting it out immediately and adding more sparks to the light show. > Your offended damp snarl is interrupted as your instinctual scramble backwards drops you off of your chair and onto the floor with an undignified thump and clatter as the ruined tablet escapes. > You're beauty, you're grace, you got a bucket of ice to the face.

geminidoomed >Sparks scowled through the hole in the wall. "You're an idiot." He told his descendant, floating there and holding his bucket.

palteringcecutiency > An aggressive shake of your head gets most of the slick curls out of your eyes, enough to see who the fuck it was and bare fangs at him, ears pinned, angry and scared. > "What the fuck was that????" You know exactly the fuck was that, but your pan is having to catch up with its stutterstall in shock, and it's not having the best night being routed in reality before this.

geminidoomed >"A bucket full of ice water which you were clearly and desperately in need of." He told him, making no move to run away from his snarling.

palteringcecutiency > His staying is not all that reassuring; despite your eagerness for all of this to be done, there's still a part of you that fears how that done might come. You have a very active imagination, and a lot of time on your hands to think of options. > "I told you I am fine." You're not moving either, not yet tempting fate.

geminidoomed >"You are clearly not fine Mituna!" .no shh shh quieter voice. It started loud and got quieter as he had an oh shit moment about yelling at him. >Sparks started climbing in through the window hole.

palteringcecutiency > For that one loud moment, you lock up, ears dipping and pumprate racing even more, but it doesn't last long between him quieting and getting fucking closer. > Your blunt claws try to dig into the floor before you force them to relax, nerves visible but not taking over, not yet. No guard, no scrabbling away, just. Letting Captor get closer. > "According to who? You? Ampora? Of course, you two are the most objective people involved here, aren't you? What would you do about it anyway??" > Whatever it is, you hope he does it quickly.

geminidoomed >Sparks moved the chair out of the way and knelt down by his dancestor and looked at him very seriously. There was more than a little time where Mituna could attack him, could hit scratch or zap him, but if he doesn’t take his shot >Sparks is going to hug him.

palteringcecutiency > Your nerves skyrocket exponentially the closer he gets, but you are determined to stay still, keeping your mask up and your mouth shut, swallowing thickly when he kneels. A beat and your decision is made, and you take your eyes off of his and point them to the ceiling. Come on, do what he came here to- > do. > > > That is a hug. > That is a hug that continues being a hug, despite your startled jump when he grabs you and the time that goes by. No knives in your back, no shower of sparks, no actions from your alternate who follows him through the window and sits on what should be a sill, nothing. Just. A hug. > Your dancestor is aggressively hugging you instead of murdering you. > This obviously calls for bursting into tears for some ungodly reason. You hate being organic.

geminidoomed >"I'm sorry that I-" he had to clear his throat and he blinked a little rapidly. "That I've failed enough somewhere with you that you think I'd do that" Nope Psii is crying and apparently blinking a bunch is not going to keep him from crying too. He holds him.

palteringcecutiency > This does not help you contain your unwanted tears, only letting you strangle a sob while you wrap around him tightly and bury your face in his neck. "You're not, he'th, I," alright words are not working while you're crying, just pull him closer instead.

geminidoomed >Sparks had him, he hugged him tightly and close against him- and rocked a little with him, and tried not to let his horns gore him.

palteringcecutiency > You're soaked and mildly freezing, a part of your pan is quietly screaming about being touched, and you are doing absolutely nothing to stop this hug that you had no desire for seconds ago. > Twoblade watches quietly for a moment before asking over his shared connection with Sparks if he'd like him to stay or go. He does not mind either way, but he does not want to intrude on something you may consider a private moment.

geminidoomed >Sparks wants him to stay, he has absolutely no idea where this will go when Psii gets tired of clinging to him, and for all he knows having Twoblade there will help. >"Hey it’s going to be okay, shh, it’s okay, things are fine."

palteringcecutiency > Then he'll stay <2 > It's difficult to shake your head in disagreement when you've tucked yourself so close, but you give it as best a shot as you have space for. How can he say this will be okay? There is no conceivable way for this to end well for you, at least by your definition, which you doubt he's using. You're doomed (ha.) to suffer for your entire existence, apparently, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. > This in no way affects your side of the hug.

geminidoomed >He rubbed the crying trolls back quietly, he was becoming soaked by extension but he didn’t really mind. Time to wait out the crying and get his own stupid cry ducts under control.

palteringcecutiency > It is not a small amount of time before your crying tapers, your emotions too plentiful and too intense for a short sobbing to purge. As the tears let up, your hands tangle more in the back of his shirt, trying to keep him close despite the emotional flood coming closer to an end.

geminidoomed >"I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here" He told his descendant and ancestor. This is his he will protect him from everything including his own shitty emotions. .. does Twoblade want to look and see if the tablet can be salvaged with tech or magic while they're hugging?

palteringcecutiency > A soft, muffled whine and your hands tighten; he shouldn't even be here, none of this makes sense, why wouldn't he just leave? > Twoblade's ears perk, eyes scanning the floor until he spots the sad thing sitting in a puddle a few feet away, bringing it over to himself with quiet psionics. A soft wince as he examines it via code, there is quite a bit of damage, but he might be able to fix at least some of it with his powers, he'll have to play and see. He'll keep half an eye on the two of you and the other half on the internal chat, but his attention will mostly be on the tablet for now.

geminidoomed >Sparks nuzzled reassuringly at the sad clingy Psionic and found a reassuring purr somewhere around his being and jump started it just for him, to try to help  ..  .. a moments thought and he uncaptchaed a warm blanket and got it around them with his psionics.

palteringcecutiency > ...the hug you could deal with, you wanted that (apparently) and it was nice to just dump all the turmoil out of your system. The purring... that might have been instinct or just pity for your sobbing. The blanket though, that just makes no fucking sense, too much no fucking sense for you to stay quiet about it. > "What're you doing." It's quiet, and still muffled because you aren't pulling away just yet, though you are shifting to give the edge of the (beautifully warm, fuck are you cold) blanket a wary look.

geminidoomed >"II 2oaked you and iit2 freeziing and you dont 2eem two want two move. It al2o tend2 two help when 2omeone2 cryiing." The lisp was back. "II promii2e the blanket ii2nt goiing two eat u2 both aliive, II'm not iintwo vore."

palteringcecutiency > The multiverse's softest snort of laughter ever occurs over by the 'window.' > "...not jutht that. All thith." Conversely, yours is sticking around for a bit, voice thick after crying that hard. "Why."

geminidoomed >He squeezed him, but loosened up immediately after, enough that he could get away if he wanted to but not enough he didn’t feel supported. "You're my dance2tor and II love you."

palteringcecutiency > It was your turn to snort, though out of disbelief. Not that you doubted him caring about you, but that that was why he was here, doing all this. Someone loving you did not make them immune to Ampora's claws, your family could attest to that.

geminidoomed >Horns clicked and clacked as he nuzzled at the troll in his arms. "..iit 2eemed liike you needed iit"

palteringcecutiency > "Needed what? Pathified? Thrown off the trail?" Your tone isn't angry or confrontational, just... apathetic. In the post-sobbing emotional void, you can't drag yourself back into the fire you felt before. It's hard to even get to resigned, and a part of you is content here. It's nice to have a break.

geminidoomed >Another quiet squeeze "There ii2n't a traiil, but II dont know how two prove that two you."

palteringcecutiency > "Becauthe I'm not an idiot." A soft exhale and you pull back enough to unbury your face and lightly flop it on his shoulder instead, resting it heavily like he was a pillow and you were just done. "Inthitht or believe what you want, it doethn't change anything."

geminidoomed >"..no, becau2e iit2 iimpo22iible two prove a negatiive" he told him gently. "II'm 2orry that II.. for whatever II've done that make2 you thiink thii2 ii2 true."

palteringcecutiency > "No, you're not." It's as calm a statement as the rest of them have been. "It doethn't matter. You're not the only one, and it'th not gonna thtop."

geminidoomed >He made a soft little distressed noise. He doesn’t know how to fix this. Well. Medication probably but. "ye2 becau2e II u2ually break iintwo people2 hiive block2 and cry all over them becau2e II'm not 2orry."

palteringcecutiency > "Fine, you're a little thorry. You're not gonna thtop listening to him though, or truthting him, or being betht friendth, and you'd get offended if I told you you should." He's probably going to get offended now, but you don't care. You're tired, and everyone keeps making you tell them what they're thinking, might as well give in and do it.

geminidoomed >Quiet fingers stroked at him and he asked him softly. "What do you thiink he2 telliing me?"

palteringcecutiency > "Whatever you need to hear to do what he wanthh." You say it like it's obvious, because it is.

geminidoomed > "..The only thiing he2 even a2ked me for lately wa2 2omethiing two 2top hii2 power2 from workiing."

palteringcecutiency > "Right." You don't believe him and it shows. "Tho you jutht wandered into Methhenger and accidentally interrogated me and thtumbled into drugging me all by yourthelf, huh."

geminidoomed > "..would you liike a full dump of all of my chat log2? II'll even giive you my log iin for tumblr."

palteringcecutiency > "Can't prove a negative, remember. Logth can be deleted or altered, 'thpecially by a Captor. All you're gonna prove ith either you've been tricked or I can't trutht you even more than I already don't, and it doethn't really matter to me which you are, the rethult ith the thame."

geminidoomed >Frustration and anger swelled and tightened his muscles for a moment, then broke through and he was just.. he was crying again quietly, although quietly was getting steadily worse.

palteringcecutiency > ...that is not an expected reaction, enough to make you lift your head and look at him crying, bafflement growing. Why is he crying, what does he think that's going to do? > Chirp a little sound at him, what happened?

geminidoomed > He shook his head and mumbled apologies trying to wipe his eyes with his arm.

palteringcecutiency > Another soft noise and you tuck against him again, lightly nuzzling this time instead of crying.

geminidoomed >He held him and tried to hide his face in his hair but his horns kept trying to tangle with his ancestor's ..despite all the horns involved having only straight lines.

palteringcecutiency > Straight lines were unfortunately tricky, especially with four of them each and the trolls involved being almost the exact same size. You try to help, but who knows how that will go with him moving too. If it fucks up more, you'll stop and just let him do whatever. > "...thorry." For making him cry, that's not what you want to do.

geminidoomed: >clack. clack clack, tck, clacktck. tcktcktck. >He made a soft annoyed sound at his horns and squeezed his Dancestor quietly. >"..2hould probably get you two your moiiraiil after me makiing a me22 of everythiing."

palteringcecutiency > "...probably." Atlais would worry immensely about you being like this but at least his hugs are fantastic and his warmth is reassuring. Plus this has been exhausting, sleeping would be great. > "...thorry I broke your gift. Gonna fix it next, I promithe."

geminidoomed >"II appreciiate iit" He murmured back. "II dont really think II 2hould be gettiing your apologiie2 but thank you."

palteringcecutiency > "You were upthet, that wathn't my intention with that. Tried to be careful with it, knew it could hurt you."

geminidoomed >He bumped him softly with his head clcktck "II appreciiate that."

palteringcecutiency > A little nuzzle back, clckck. "...it wath eathier to punch the fathe I knew than one with my brother'th colorth." An answer to an ages ago question that you still hadn't acknowledged.

geminidoomed >A soft nuzzle, soft words. "..II know why you dont tru2t hiim. II almo2t kiilled hiim once becau2e II caught hiim makiing 2uppre22or collar2, 2weep2 ago, before he kiilled the Conde2ce, before he wa2 iincarnated here. He wa2 terriifiied of what we can do, what he cant fiight back agaiin2t, and that 2omeone el2e miight take control of u2 and u2e u2 agaiin2t hiim and he 2tiill may be afraiid of that power, II know he2 triied two maniipulate me before, and II can under2tand why you would thiink he 2tiill could be."

palteringcecutiency > "...wish you had." Hardly the most important part, but that's the first thing out of your mouth. "...wish you could thee he thtill ith, you trutht him far too much for thomeone you've theen be who he really ith. Not thurprithed though, I would've tried winning you over too, if he hadn't gotten to you firtht. You're valuable."

geminidoomed >He cupped the side of his face and pressed his forehead against him for a moment. "Perhaps we can leave the conversation about how valuable I am as a commodity for a different time and place" whoops where did his lisp go.

palteringcecutiency > Your ears droop, and your eyes drop to the floor. Or more like your laps, since you're both still tangled together. "...thorry. Didn't mean... thorry."

geminidoomed >"Shh, its been a long night, lets get you to Atlais and I'll fix your window, okay?"

palteringcecutiency > A little nod, clcktlckack. You probably should stop trusting your mouth, you're tired as hell and saying stupid shit that upsets people. This is probably not enough to make you stop, though. A part of you's already thinking about saying something to Ampora, like a genius.

geminidoomed >He squeezed him and was fairly quiet as he contacted Atlais, time to hand off a dancestor and go get a hot bath, preferably with Twoblade.

It’s that determination that gets you to his door in the castle, not wanting to message him first and risk getting trapped between his excitement and praise and making him worry by closing the window abruptly. Of course he might not be here, and you’re resigned to having to do this multiple times if that’s true, but what you failed to consider is if he had other people there.

“This is a surprise.” The smile aimed down at you is not from your ancestor answering the door. No, that’s the fucking Signless, looking eerily like your Karkat in a way that makes you wonder how you and Twoblade look to other people. “Good evening, would you like to come in?”

“Uh, yeah, actually. I wath looking for Twoblade, ‘th he here?”

“You have excellent timing, he’s just returned.” He steps aside and gestures invitingly into your ancestor’s blocksuite, leading your hesitant following into the socialblock where Twoblade has just sat down, relaxing and smiling at... Madam Suntouch, who is sitting across from him, with a matching smile and a cup of tea. Oh god, you’re interrupting a visit. Why didn’t you message ahead. You’re gonna die.

The other two look up as you both approach, ears perking from Newsight down to you, and yours dip down. Madam Suntouch offers a soft, “Good evening,” as well, right before Twoblade’s bright grin and “Pal! Goodnethh, thuch a nithe thurprithe! Would you like ta join uth for tea? Or perhapth dinner, we were jutht dithcuthhin it.”

“Uh, n. No, I wath, actually here on buthinethh?” That sounded awful, like a two sweep old talking to an adult for the first time. Troll up Captor, you’re here as a medic. “I finithhed rethearch and practithe on kidneyth, and I’m ready ta fikth yourth.” You press on past the various surprised and delighted reactions. “When do you wanna do thith?” Tomorrow or the next night, you think, in the medical wing, just you and him in a professional atmosphere so you’re better at fixing your actual ancestor...

“I don’t thee why not now,” Twoblade’s voice and smile is pleased, proud even, and Madam Suntouch agrees. “I would enjoy seeing you work, Twoblade has told us much about you.”

Fantastic. No pressure at all.

A thick swallow of nerves and you agree, because you’re an idiot and there’s no clear way to back out of this without offending your ancestor, his lusus, and the fucking Signless. Newsight finds a chair in a good spot to watch and settles in while Twoblade asks what he needs to do. There’s nothing really, you can clip through clothes just like you can skin and bone, so all you tell him is to stay still and breathe evenly, and the usual warnings about how weird it’s gonna feel. A deep breath for yourself, wings slipping out to fan behind you, and you stick your hands into his gut, focusing on the task at hand.

It’s not a complete focus, you can tell they’re talking to each other over your head, and you could probably spare enough attention to dig out actual words, but you’re creating an organ out of nothing in pieces, you’d rather not risk fucking this completely up. Twoblade chuckles at one point, and without even thinking about it, you pull out a hand and smack his chest with the back of it before returning to work. It’s probably best you didn’t hear the pleased pride in his words, nor in Madam Suntouch’s either, as you need to finish this and dying would not help.

You have no idea how long it takes, but finally the inside of this fucking complicated cellular bullshit is crafted to your satisfaction, and after one last double check, you sigh and pull out your hands. “Think that thhould do it. You feel any pain or anything wrong with anything, you thay thomething, yeah? No noble bullthit-” and you balk, finally looking up at the three adults watching you and startling at how they’re looking at you. You were expecting awe, excitement, maybe some pride from Twoblade, but not this, not pride from all of them at the focus, not satisfaction like you lived up to their expectations, certainly not approval. You can feel yourself hunching under all the tall positivity, suddenly acutely aware that you are a wiggler.

“I will, do not worry on that,” oh, right, you’d said something to Twoblade, him replying makes sense, “though I sincerely doubt I will have ta, your thkill ith remarkable.”

Madam Suntouch inclines her head in agreement. “It is quite impressive to see a god at work, and I am glad I was here for it.”

“I as well, though it’s hardly a surprise,” Newsight’s smile edges up into a grin and again, you’re reminded of Karkat, “not from Twoblade’s descendant and ‘the Paladin.’ ” 

Your ears perk in surprise at that last bit, adding ‘baffled’ to the mess that is you kneeling in the middle of this circle of praise while your face hurdles towards becoming solid gold. “...the what?”

“The Paladin,” he repeats. “I’m rather sure it’s you they were talking about. Twoblade’s descendant who sparred with him and protected his students so well. Of course, there are certainly enough Captors running around here that I could be mistaken, or the wigglers could have left something out during their chain lettering of the story, but..”

“Oh no, that wath motht certainly him,” Twoblade’s expression is even brighter now, and your blush and urge to hide deepen. “I remember that fight very well, he ith ath thkilled ath they are thaying.” That expression turns to you, and somehow you survive the additional fondness and pride. “It theemth you’ve gotten yourthelf a title.”

Again you find yourself under the pleased gaze of all of them, and your ears dip to your shoulders. “But I. I’m. I’m thtill a wiggler?” You can’t have a title, you haven’t proven yourself worthy enough for even consideration, let alone done anything impressive enough to gain one.

“Perhapth, but thith ith hardly our timeline, the ruleth are different here. And obviouthly tho, thince you’ve been given one. Age no longer matterth, Paladin.” Oh god you’re going to die. What do you even say?

Madam Suntouch saves you from that problem by introducing you to a different hell. “Would you like to stay for dinner, now that your official duties have finished?” Her smile broadens when you stupidly nod in agreement, and the three of them welcome you into the fold.

The rest of the evening is an affectionate bundle of treating you like one of their own, letting you be quiet but engaging you as well, chattering pleasantly when they weren’t teasing, along with the occasional bit of advice. At some point, Twoblade mentions you could bring your title up to eight letters by doubling the I, and Newsight starts giving him shit immediately about how mangled his own title had gotten in an effort to do the same.