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<title>The Homestuck Epilogues: Meat - Chapter 30</title>
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<h1>Chapter 30</h1>
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<div class="o-story_text o_epilogue type-rg type-sm line-caption line-copy pad-x-0 pad-x-lg pad-b-lg">
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<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Ah chaps dont you love to take a rigorous
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jaunt about the wilds first thing in the morning, middle thing in
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the day, and last thing in the evening?</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: NO</p>
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</div>
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<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">karkat both looks and feels
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uncomfortable in his red and gray suit. he is tired from an
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afternoon of campaigning in the consort kingdom. jake is jaunting
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rigorously, as he put it, up the ridge of the mountain behind his
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mansion. every now and then, he pauses to accommodate the pace of
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his less limber friends.</p>
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<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
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<p class="jake">JAKE: By jove karkat that you are so winded by such
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||
little activity is truly alarming!</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: WE’VE BEEN HIKING FOR A FUCKING HOUR,
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DIPSHIT.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I CAN ALREADY FEEL MY LEGS STARTING TO
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LOCK UP. I THINK THEY’RE GETTING A HEAD START ON THE RIGOR
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MORTIS!</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: BECAUSE YOU’RE FUCKING KILLING ME, IS
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WHAT I’M SAYING. BY MAKING ME HIKE THROUGH NATURE IN A FUCKING
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SUIT.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: GREAT WORK EVERYONE. YOU’LL BE OFFERING
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UP A PRE-ASSASSINATED PRESIDENT TO A FRENZIED ELECTORATE. AWESOME
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STRATEGY!</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Perhaps you need a better calisthenics
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routine. I can suggest several alterations to your morning workout
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and even give you a lesson or two myself!</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: MY MORNING WORKOUT??</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I COULDN’T THINK OF A MORE OFFENSIVELY
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PRESUMPTUOUS PHRASE IF I TRIED.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: ALSO, WHAT THE FUCK IS A CALISTHENIC?</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: IS THAT THE NAME OF YOUR FAN CHERUB??</p>
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</div>
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<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">karkat’s tirade is interrupted
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as he trips over a protruding tree root. dave, who has been
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cheating on their hike by hovering very slightly off the ground
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rather than walking, catches karkat before his face hits the dirt.
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he sets his companion upright and continues to guide him with his
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hand on his back as he walks, the way an older human does with a
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small child who is learning to ride a bicycle.</p>
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<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
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<p class="dave">DAVE: hey jake were cool on the whole cardio
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program or whatever</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: karkats not really what id call a kinesthetic
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learner</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: HEY!</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I CAN HOLD MY OWN IN A THRESHING MATCH
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BETTER THAN 99% OF THE SQUISHY, PLACID HUMAN POPULATION ON THIS
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PLANET.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I WAS LITERALLY TRAINING TO BE A COMBAT
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SPECIALIST ON ALTERNIA.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: MAYBE WE SHOULD SOMETIMES TRY TO REMEMBER
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AND *FUCKING RESPECT* THAT FACT ABOUT ME???</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: hm</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: gonna make another mental note about which
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material to avoid when writing your campaign speeches</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: like</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: dude is nuts with a sickle</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: can carve a bloody arc through a surrounding
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circle of gathered squishy humans</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: watch their guts spill on the floor while he
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roars at the sky in honor of his genocidal ancestors</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: were kinda trying to downplay the idea that
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trolls are naturally good at violence and shit here?</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: hey speaking of which</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: jake you wanna back karkat in this election
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or what</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Uhhh...</p>
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</div>
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<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">jake spins around in his worn
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boots. he bites his lip and looks at the ground.</p>
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<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Ah i see. That was your purpose in coming out
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here.</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: yeah</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: that IS basically the only reason either of
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us would waste time climbing a mountain instead of like</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: almost perfectly replicating the experience
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by checking out sweet stock photos of a mountain on the crockernet
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image search while spraying our hive with air freshener or
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something</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: oh hey wait that reminds me</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: isnt it fucked up how jane literally owns the
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internet??</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Id never really thought about it i admit.</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: its pretty fucked up trust me</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: like she already owns the major method of
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information dissemination and now she wants to be the one
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ultimately in control of what information gets disseminated</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: do you really think one person should have
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all that power</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Hmmmmmmmmm.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: THE ANSWER IS NO, IDIOT.</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: yeah</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: which is why you should back us and our
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campaign</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: our campaign slogan for the purpose of this
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conversation only is “hey isnt it cool how were not jane and also
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we dont want to own everything”</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: and also... man</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: on a more personal note</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: i mean have you even SEEN the shit janes been
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saying about you in the media</p>
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</div>
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<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">a look of sadness sweeps across
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jake’s face, but he quickly turns it into a glare of
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indignation.</p>
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<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Ive seen the shit YOUVE been saying about
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HER!</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Your poorly optimized billboards about “huge
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dunks” on the economy and “neoliberal austerity measures” tumbling
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down geometrically improbable staircases have made quite a stir in
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the neighborhood.</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: These advertisements play at all hours of the
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night my good man. One can hardly get a wink of sleep!</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: yeah but at least we paid for it out of
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campaign dollars instead of spinelessly setting up super pacs to
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spew out propaganda for us</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Super pacs??</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: oh yeah</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: listen to this bullshit</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: so theyre technically expenditure independent
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committees meaning they can allocate unlimited funding for...</p>
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</div>
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<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">karkat covers dave’s mouth,
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having had the concept of the “super pac” laboriously explained in
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his presence more than once. in his estimation, there are few
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individuals on this world who would benefit less from an in-depth
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||
discussion of political financing procedure than jake english.</p>
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<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: LOOK, DAVE. JAKE REALLY DOESN’T CARE WHAT
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A SUPER PAC IS.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I DON’T THINK ANYONE CARES ABOUT FUCKING
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SUPER PACS??</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I KNOW YOU PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO YOUR
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SPIEL ABOUT IT, ESPECIALLY THE RAPPED SEQUENCE.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: BUT YOU’RE NEVER GOING TO GET ANYBODY TO
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GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THIS STUFF MAN, I’M SORRY.</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: mmff noomph</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: JAKE, THE POINT IS THIS.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: JANE IS HAVING YOU SMEARED
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INDIRECTLY.</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Well that would be the way to do it i suppose
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if you wished to keep clean hands in an inherently dirty
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business.</p>
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</div>
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<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">dave peels karkat’s hand off his
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mouth, and bumps him away with his hip, so that he may continue
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saying things he regards as terribly important for others to
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hear.</p>
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<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
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<p class="dave">DAVE: ok but thats partially my point</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: were doing all our propaganda in house
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instead of outsourcing to unscrupulous shadow networks with deep
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money pockets</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE.</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: what does that mean</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: AS MUCH AS I APPRECIATE YOUR “ARTISTIC
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VISION” DAVE, I THINK THAT YOUR POLITICAL ADS ARE LARGELY GOING
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OVER PEOPLE’S HEADS.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: THEY’RE KIND OF...</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: bold?</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: NO</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: oh you mean avant garde</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: well yeah</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: everyone knows that</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: NOT REALLY HOW I WOULD PUT IT EITHER.</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: nuanced</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: oh wait</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: visionary</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: you think theyre visionary as fuck</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: ok yeah you got me</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: im a forward thinker karkat</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: this is just what life is like in the dave
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lane</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: buckle the fuck up</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: JESUS FUCKING CHRIST</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I’M GOING TO SAY THIS FOR THE LAST
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||
TIME.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: SWEET BRO AND HELLA JEFF IS ABSOLUTELY
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HORRENDOUS SUBJECT MATTER FOR PRODUCING CAMPAIGN ADS!</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: NOBODY KNOWS WHAT THE FUCK YOU’RE TALKING
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ABOUT, OR WHAT POINTS YOU’RE TRYING TO MAKE!</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: yeah its awesome</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: YOU’RE WASTING CAMPAIGN MONEY!!!</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: were fucking trillionaires dude</p>
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</div>
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<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">as the vantas campaign bickers
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internally, jake becomes pensive, thoughtful. he kicks a rock over
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the edge of the trail and watches it bounce down the mountain with
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a baleful expression.</p>
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<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Willickers dave has anyone ever told you that
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you have an uncanny talent for cutting straight and incisively to
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the point without sweating any of the bullshit.</p>
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<p class="jake">JAKE: Youre rather like dirk in that way
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actually.</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: i... what</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: HAHAHA. *DAVE* IS GOOD AT CUTTING THROUGH
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*BULLSHIT*??</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: STRIDER IS A FOG MACHINE OF *PURE*
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BULLSHIT.</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: THERE IS NOTHING THAT COMES OUT OF HIS
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MOUTH THAT IS *NOT BULLSHIT*.</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: thats basically true</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: AND I’M PRETTY SURE DIRK MIGHT BE EVEN
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||
WORSE?!</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: yeah pretty much</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: SORRY JAKE. I KNOW WE’RE SOLICITING YOU
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FOR THE SWAY YOUR HOT POPULAR ASS HAS OVER THE PEOPLE, AND NOT
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EXACTLY YOUR BRAINPOWER, SO MAYBE THIS IS SOMEWHAT UNFAIR,
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BUT...</p>
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<p class="karkat">KARKAT: THAT MAY HAVE BEEN THE WORST TAKE I’VE
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EVER FUCKING HEARD IN MY LIFE?</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: whoa chill out man</p>
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||
<p class="dave">DAVE: remember were trying to woo this guy onto our
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side</p>
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<p class="dave">DAVE: can you maybe go at least a solid minute
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||
without forgetting youre a fuckin politician now?</p>
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||
<p class="dave">DAVE: that means you should try not to insult
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||
everybody you meet multiple times per sentence</p>
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||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: FUCK!!</p>
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||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: YEAH, I KNOW.</p>
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||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I’M FUCKING SORRY JAKE. FOR IMPLYING THAT
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YOU HAVE SLIGHTLY LESS CEREBRAL PROCESSING POWER THAN THE SWEATY
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WEDGIE THIS FUCKING SUIT IS GIVING MY THROBBING, HIKE-SORE ASS.</p>
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||
<p class="dave">DAVE: hmm</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: nope that still sucks</p>
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||
<p class="dave">DAVE: you suck dude</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: YEAH, WELL CHEW ON THIS, “MASTER
|
||
STRATEGIST.” MAYBE YOU TELLING ME I SUCK IS ACTUALLY THE SMARTEST
|
||
THING YOU’VE EVER FUCKING SAID!</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Gentlemen!!!</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Jeepers fucking christmas.</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: I was just trying to pay mr strider a
|
||
gracious compliment not every little pleasantry need be taken with
|
||
such blasted literalism!</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: And i appreciate that youre trying to sway my
|
||
political favor into your bungalow with a bit of the old elbow
|
||
grease and cajolery even if your methods are wont to veer into full
|
||
throated invective in virtually every single exchange no matter how
|
||
harmless the topic.</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: And i truly mean it when i say i DO
|
||
appreciate the effort. Both at the brownnosing as well as the
|
||
dubious restraint when it comes to impugning my noodle.</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: But all this is adding up to make me
|
||
wonder...</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">jake slices a hand through the
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||
air, determined to display his newfound autonomy. it’s growing by
|
||
the minute now that his thought process has been severed from the
|
||
prince’s grip. an old confidence fills him as he continues to
|
||
speak, a feeling of inner freedom he hasn’t enjoyed in some
|
||
time.</p>
|
||
<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Why should i side with either of you?</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Flattery is all well and good but i hardly
|
||
think i would bother casting my knickers in with anyones lot based
|
||
on the quality of praise or for that matter withholding them due to
|
||
having my ego bruised from a verbal drubbing.</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Im not entirely ignorant of the rules of this
|
||
jamboree. I understand that whoever i endorse will have a good
|
||
chance of winning on nothing but my good word.</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: So why should i trust ANYONE trying to win my
|
||
favor right now? Do you have ANY case to make which does not
|
||
involve glowing accounts of my muscular bottom???</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p>I know it seems like an objectively good thing from some pithy
|
||
moral standpoint to let everyone in this little drama Jane’s cooked
|
||
up make their “own decisions,” but trust me: Jake isn’t thinking
|
||
for himself any more than he was while being indirectly controlled.
|
||
Everything he’s thinking and feeling right now is merely reactive.
|
||
He’s like a mostly dead bug twitching around on the last of its
|
||
hemolymph after getting its head cut off. Under my guidance, he was
|
||
like an ant being influenced by the cordyceps fungus. You can’t
|
||
really call one of these “better” than the other, but at least the
|
||
latter is being directed toward some greater purpose.</p>
|
||
<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">for a moment, jake thinks he
|
||
hears something. a miniscule voice, prattling along vaingloriously.
|
||
but he realizes it’s only a tiny insect buzzing about his ear. a
|
||
gnat-like presence of absolutely no consequence. he simply waves it
|
||
away.</p>
|
||
<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: ok yeah we can do that</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: you mean like</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: an actual pitch?</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: on policy or shit</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: or vision for the world</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: we can set you up bro</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: or i mean this guy can</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: thats what he was made for</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: born fuckin leader right here</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: WHAT?</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: take it away man</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: our boy jake here wants to be goddamn
|
||
dazzled</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">dave grins and affectionately
|
||
taps karkat on the head with his knuckles.</p>
|
||
<p class="calliope-dead">karkat unwinds from dave’s loose embrace,
|
||
takes a deep breath, and clambers up the ridge to speak with jake
|
||
in a more personable proximity. he has learned new methods for
|
||
connecting with others on the campaign trail. how to speak broadly,
|
||
with sweeping conviction, and yet create a sense of intimacy when
|
||
addressing an individual. he has learned to come across as one who
|
||
was once a leader, and could be again.</p>
|
||
<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: LOOK, JAKE.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I’M NOT GOING TO TRY TO SELL YOU SOME
|
||
LUDICROUS STORY ABOUT HOW I’M THE BEST CANDIDATE EARTH C HAS EVER
|
||
SEEN OR ANYTHING.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I’M NOT GOING TO BE THAT ARROGANT,
|
||
ESPECIALLY SINCE MY ARM HAD TO BE TWISTED RIGHT OUT OF ITS SOCKET
|
||
TO GET ME TO EVEN RUN.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: BUT AT LEAST WE’RE NOT HIDING OUR
|
||
INTENTIONS.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: AT THIS POINT, IT’S NOT A POLICY BEEF
|
||
THAT I HAVE WITH JANE CROCKER.</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: yeah im the one with the policy beef</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: corporate welfare destroys public
|
||
infrastructure</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: SHUT UP, I’M TALKING.</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: word</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: WE’RE STILL LIVING ON AN INCREDIBLY YOUNG
|
||
PLANET. LET’S BE REAL. EVERY PRESIDENT UP UNTIL NOW HAS JUST BEEN
|
||
SOME BOZO BASICALLY PLAYACTING AT BEING IN CHARGE.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: BECAUSE THIS WHOLE TIME EVERYONE’S BEEN
|
||
HOLDING THEIR BREATH WAITING FOR ONE OF *US* TO RUN.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: WHOEVER WINS, ME OR JANE, WILL SET THE
|
||
TONE FOR SUBSEQUENT ADMINISTRATIONS FOR WHO KNOWS HOW FUCKING
|
||
LONG.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: IT’S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE THAT JANE WILL
|
||
PROVE TO BE A COMPETENT PRESIDENT. I HAVE NO DOUBTS ON HER
|
||
ADMINISTRATIVE ACUMEN, CONSIDERING THAT’S PROBABLY THE ONLY FUCKING
|
||
THING SHE HAS GOING FOR HER, BESIDES A SERIES OF PHYSICAL
|
||
ATTRIBUTES WHICH I KEEP BEING TOLD AREN’T TOO HARD ON THE EYES, BUT
|
||
FRANKLY, I STILL DON’T KNOW IF I’M SEEING IT?</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I MEAN, SHE’S LIKE... *ALRIGHT*? I
|
||
FUCKING *GUESS*??</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Now lets not be too unfair old chap...</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I THINK I’M ALLOWED TO BE *UNFAIR* WHEN
|
||
SHE’S HOLDING THE REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS OF MY ENTIRE SPECIES
|
||
HOSTAGE.</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Ah. Point well met.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: JAKE, SHE WILL SET A HORRIBLE
|
||
PRECEDENT.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: SHE’S INDIRECT. SHE’S PRIVILEGED. SHE’S
|
||
CONCERNED WITH HOW THINGS *LOOK* RATHER THAN HOW THINGS *ARE*.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: NO MATTER HOW NICE SHE WAS WHEN YOU WERE
|
||
KIDS, HER DEDICATION TO THE APPEARANCE OF THAT “NICENESS” HAS
|
||
ALREADY LED HER DOWN A PATH OF CORRUPTION AND DUPLICITY.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: BECAUSE WHEN YOU LIVE INSIDE A SKIN
|
||
THAT’S A LIE, YOU’LL EITHER GROW TO FIT IT, OR COLLAPSE UNDER THE
|
||
UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF YOUR OWN SHIT-SPEWING COGNITIVE
|
||
DISSONANCE.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: TRUST ME, I FUCKING KNOW, BECAUSE I USED
|
||
TO SPEW AN UNTOLD AMOUNT OF SHIT.</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: (yeah... “used to”)</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: DUDE!</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT!</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: GET OFF MY BULGE.</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: YOU WANTED ME TO SPIN SOME FUCKING GOLD?
|
||
TO BUST OUT THE *GOOD SHIT*??</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: THERE! I SAID IT! THAT WAS THE ***GOOD
|
||
SHIT***!</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: I’M DONE! I DID MY THING! THIS MINCING
|
||
HALFWIT IN THE TINY SHORTS CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK HE WANTS
|
||
NOW!</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: (no no that was good man)</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: (i was just messin with you)</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: (great job dude i love it)</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p class="no-indent calliope-dead">jake chews on these remarks for
|
||
a minute. he loves jane and dirk dearly. he has loved both of them
|
||
for years, on and off, in multiple fashions and configurations, in
|
||
accordance with the human understanding of this feeling. he thinks
|
||
it could break jane’s heart were he to oppose her. and yet, hasn’t
|
||
she fired the first shot by broadcasting such scandalous things
|
||
about him in the media? and it was so soon after they’d nearly had
|
||
an intimate reconciliation. the more he thinks on it, the more jake
|
||
struggles to believe in the sincerity behind jane’s friendship with
|
||
him.</p>
|
||
<p class="calliope-dead">and the prince?</p>
|
||
<p class="calliope-dead">dirk, as he knows him, hasn’t been given
|
||
much thought by jake recently. jake has been savoring the fruits of
|
||
a mental liberation he is barely aware of, let alone capable of
|
||
comprehending. when he considers crossing dirk, he’s not afraid of
|
||
making him angry or hurting his feelings. he’s simply always wanted
|
||
to avoid disappointing him. and yet, with the cognitive cloud of
|
||
dirk’s influence dispelled, jake now cannot shake the feeling that
|
||
the best course of action would be the one that asserts the most
|
||
independence from dirk, disappointment be damned.</p>
|
||
<p class="calliope-dead">and to whatever extent the prince intends
|
||
to put jake’s life in jeopardy, for now, his agency remains safely
|
||
obscured from his sniper sight.</p>
|
||
<div class="chat type-rg type-hs-small">
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Well dash my wig!</p>
|
||
<p class="jake">JAKE: Ill do it!</p>
|
||
<p class="karkat">KARKAT: DASH YOUR WHAT?</p>
|
||
<p class="dave">DAVE: fuck yeah</p>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</body>
|
||
</html> |