NINE ♋

[selfhatred]

WELL THAT WAS A FUCKING USELESS EXERCISE.
NEXT TIME MAYBE THEY SHOULD LEAVE RAISING DRAGON EGGS TO ACTUAL FUCKING DRAGONS.
JUST A THOUGHT.

[Filtered to Maka]

I'M KEEPING THE EGG FOR A LITTLE WHILE LONGER.
MAYBE WE WERE JUST STUCK WITH AN OVERDUE.
DO YOU...STILL WANT TO BE PART OF IT?

[Filtered to Di and Sal]

...HOW
HOW DO YOU RAISE SOMETHING?

Comments

[clockspinner]

what time is evening
we talking curfew or after dinner
i need to know if ill have time to tell my baby his mommy might not come home

[animalmagnetism]

Make it before dinner.
More incentive for you two to get along.
And if you do die a grisly death I will make sure your plush is given the best of care in his anguish.

[clockspinner]

you gonna give a glass of water and a crust of bread before we go to meet our maker
not that i give a shit im used to skipping meals

[animalmagnetism]

If you die you will have only your own stupidity and refusal to work together to blame.

[clockspinner]

this is how intimidated i am
spoiler
its not a lot

[animalmagnetism]

Good.
You shouldn't be intimidated since I'm doing this to help and not harm.

[clockspinner]

really
cause youre coming across as pretty knowitall aggro rn
you can cut the sanctimonious bullcrap anytime

[animalmagnetism]

Unfortunate.

[And a minute later he switches to voice. There's nothing aggressive at all. In fact, he sounds kind of sad and compassionate.]

But if that's what I need to do I'll behave that way.

voice

[clockspinner]

[Dave's not buying it, but he'll switch too. ...He's less likely to remember to censor himself in voice tho oops.]

I'm not a fucking kid, I can handle my own problems. I definitely don't need babysat, no matter what Bro says.

voice

[animalmagnetism]

You haven't behaved impressively so far. Excepting the excellent work with the egg!

And you still will be handling your problems. You're just not allowed back in the castle until you've actually done so. I don't have the time to watch you or protect you. You two will be entirely on your own in there.

[And that is a big fat lie, but he says it very convincingly.]

voice

[clockspinner]

Yeah I call bullshit, I know for a fact that your ass would be canned faster than you can say 'lawsuit' if we didn't make it back alive. It wouldn't exactly look good for the school's rep if two students died during detention.

And Bro wouldn't let you get away with trying to pin it on us, either.

voice

[animalmagnetism]

[And he laughs a little]

I teach because it's fun! Not because I have any need for money. If I'm wrong about you two and you can't cut it then I will have a lot of apologies to make and I'm sure you're right about losing my job. But my job doesn't matter.

Of course I do believe you will conquer this. I wouldn't give you a task I didn't think you could complete. But your success or failure will be entirely in your own hands. I will not step in. At all. No rescues. If you make it out alive but haven't completed the task you will just be sent back in again.

back to text, filtered

[clockspinner]

cant you just send me home early or sth
im seriously about done with all this bullshit
the last thing i need is some kind of sadistic trial
i just
i wanna go home

back to text, filtered

[animalmagnetism]

Complete the detention.
I'll speak with Dumbledore while you do and see if going home early can be arranged for you.
You sound like you could use some time with your family.

back to text, filtered

[clockspinner]

you realize this isnt gonna work right
vantas would sooner kill me than look at me

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[animalmagnetism]

I'm positive he thinks the same way about you.
You're smart.
You'll figure it out.
Brawl if you need to.
But get the poison and the posturing and the hidden thoughts out in the open.

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[clockspinner]

you mean
youre not gonna punish us for kicking the shit out of each other

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[animalmagnetism]

Only if your relationship is worse coming out than going in.
If you two beating the shit out of each other makes things worse you will suffer for it.
If it helps you come to terms with each other go ahead.

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[clockspinner]

i dunno how it could possibly get worse


i used to tolerate him

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[animalmagnetism]

What changed?

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[clockspinner]

he insulted my fucking family is what
he insulted my family and picked on my little cousin

rule number one
striders look out for other striders

sure bro said and did some shit that wasnt okay
but he fucking apologized
vantas has no idea how fucking sorry bro is
bros never h
ive never seen bro like that
he doesnt know us at all and he thinks he can fucking judge like hes some goddamn high and mighty princess
he can go suck a bag of cocks
he doesnt know shit

[His handwriting has gotten shakier, like he's having a hard time holding it together. He just wants to be with Bro and Dirk right now and be away from Hogwarts and Karkat.]

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[animalmagnetism]

An apology is only the first step to making things right.
What your brother did was uncalled for.
What Karkat has been doing was also uncalled for.
Your brother had reasons for acting out like that didn't he?
Don't you think that Karkat does too?
The reasons don't make things RIGHT and there need to be apologies and changed behavior on ALL sides.
But maybe you should try to figure out what has happened to make him lash out the way he has been.
Something is hurting him. You and I don't know what. We don't know why or how.
And he doesn't know your reasons and feelings either.
Don't you want the fighting and misunderstanding to end?

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[clockspinner]

i couldnt care less about being misunderstood
i dont want to be his friend and he doesnt want to be mine
i couldnt give a microscopic fuck about him or his family

i just want him to leave us the fuck alone
[By the end, his ink is smudged a little with drops of moisture. He's completely forgotten that he's talking to a professor, let alone one who just gave him detention, he's just writing in his journal.]

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[animalmagnetism]

He won't.
Not until he understands.
Not until you understand him.
And I think a part of you knows that.
I don't care if you become friends or just learn the ability to not be at each other's throats all the time.
I don't care if the peace treaty you construct is freezing cold or warm and friendly.
But for your sakes and the sakes of your yearmates the fighting should stop.
It's not going to until you reach an understanding.
Care or not.
Want it or not.

and voice again; filtered

[clockspinner]

[And this time, his voice is small and helpless, barely a whisper. He's trying to keep from losing it, but the snotty-sounding sniffles every so often give him away.]

Can...can we do detention tomorrow, please?