(no subject)

[apocalypticduality]

Snarking back and forth with his dad aside, Sollux spent most of the car ride over to the Vantas house in silence, his nose stuck firmly in his gameboy with his headphones in, plugged into the mp3 player loaded with his...unique taste in music. He licked the snakebites going through his lower lip as they pulled into the neighborhood, grimacing at pretty much everything but knowing that none of them would be likely to talk the Signless into moving.

He would have been perfectly happy to wait in the car until Psiionic's visit with the Signless and subsequently the new human transfer student was done, but no, his father had to badger him into getting out and standing beside Mituna, waiting for the door to open then crossing his arms once it did, looking down at the Signless with a nod. "KK hiding out?" he asked immediately then stepped inside when the Signless pointed back toward the hall leading toward Karkat's room.

He knew the history that his father and the Signless had. It predated him by twenty years at least and was bound by modern legend but the two of them behaved as best friends always did and he...guessed that was a comfort? He didn't see the necessity for his being there, though. Maybe Psiionic wanted him to make friends with the new kid. He would be starting at the same school, after all and at the moment, from what he'd been told, the only people Dave had met so far were the Vantases, the Amporas and the Makaras. Not much of a basis for anything, in his opinion.

He poked his head into Karkat's room, his lip curling at the slightly cloying cherry scent that they were trying to air out of the room via the open window.

"Yo, anyone there?"

Comments

[tiltshotghostimage]

After having met what felt like the entirety of the Condesce's court, minus the Condesce and her daughters themselves, Dave had been burned out on meeting anybody else. When the Signless had told him that there was going to be company, he politely passed on being sociable, and holed himself away in Karkat's room, tucking himself into the corner of the bed that was settled against the wall, and pulled out his own DS, headphones over his ears as he listened to his own music.

He was pretty much completely tuned out of reality for the time being, and if it weren't for the motion of the door opening, he probably wouldn't have even known that anyone was there. He looked up from his gameboy, not moving his head, his shades on over his eyes.

He'd never met someone with two sets of horns before, and that was the first thing he'd noticed about the newcomer. "Yo," he muttered, shoving one large noise-cancelling headphone off an ear. That was the extent to which he was going to go to be sociable. Any more would have to be bribed out of him.

[apocalypticduality]

And that was just fine with him. Social wasn't his thing and hanging around with his brother or anywhere near his father while he caught up with his moirail wasn't something he really felt like doing just then. He plunked himself down in Karkat's computer chair with his legs sprawled out in front of him, his DS pulled back out of his hoodie pocket. He took the mp3 player out of his pocket and laid it on the desk with one of the earbuds hooked over the top of his ear in a pretense of being neighborly, but other than that, he barely acknowledged seeing a human outside of a photograph for the first time. Dude looked normal enough to him, all things considered.

[tiltshotghostimage]

Dave decided that was just fine with him. There was no call to be sociable with this guy, and he wasn't going to strike up a conversation, especially when one of his favorite songs came up on shuffle and he nodded minutely to the beat, mouthing to the rapid-fire words as he collected bells.

He finally moved after about five minutes to reach over the edge of the bed to grab some snacks he'd stashed in his luggage that he knew he wouldn't get in Alternia. He waved to the other guy in the room to get his attention, before tossing a small bag of salted caramel corn the guy's way. "Dinner's gonna be a while, he just started making it," Dave explained. He tore open another bag of the same kind of snack for himself, picking a few pieces out with his fingertips to pop them in his mouth.

[apocalypticduality]

Sollux grunted his thanks and pulled the bag open after snagging it out of the air with one hand, tossing a couple of pieces into his mouth then nodding some. "Yeah, I figured ath much. I'm thurprithed I didn't hear KK in the kitchen trying to help him." He shrugged a shoulder and went back to his game, tapping the buttons rapidfire with his thumbs. He barely looked away from it to continue snacking, moving minutely to the music blaring in his ears.

[tiltshotghostimage]

And with that, they went back to their own worlds. Dave got bored with New Leaf not too far into that and pulled another cart out of a bag and popped it in before sighing and leaning back. "You're Sollux, right?" He finally asked, realizing that he'd been told about the guy after thinking about it for a while. "Heard you go to the same school I'm going to. How is it there?"

He'd trust this guy he had only just met's opinion of the place over anything the highbloods had to say about it.

[apocalypticduality]

"Honethtly? The hierarchy'th complete hoofbeatht shit, the theadwellerth are athholeth and the clique-ithm ith worthe, but the clatheth are alright and the teacherth for the motht part don't give a fuck how you do a thing ath long ath you do it at all tho it giveth you a chanthe to adjutht. Got a fuckton of extracurricularth to choothe from too, and I know you're gonna be required to take thome on tho you get a 'well-rounded thchool experienthe'," he said that last part with a faux-enthusiasm that dripped with sarcasm. "Jutht keep your head down and don't deck anyone with gillth and you'll be fine." Shaking his head, Sollux looked back down at his game, pausing it then returning his attention to Dave.

"Tho what'th your thtory, guy? Everyone'th got thome reathon for doing thith kind of shit, in my experienthe."

[tiltshotghostimage]

With 'well rounded school experience', Dave made a tiny disgusted sound. "I'll be in art club, but that's only because they have no photo club." He raised an eyebrow to the question, however, and set down his game, having not even loaded up his save point yet.

"It's Dave, and I'm here with my sister. But I've been talking online with Karkat for almost a year and a half and things got pretty heavy with us, so his dad did this for us. I signed up to come with Rose, but it's Mr. Vantas' good timing that landed me here and not some BFE rural town or at the Amporas or some shit. It's pretty fuckin' sweet though, I mean. I'm pretty at home here. Kinda think the meat's weird and you can't find candy for shit around here, but those are the only complaints I've got."

[apocalypticduality]

"Pretty thure you're aware by now of why thweetth aren't really a regular thing around here," Sollux snorted, arching a brow at the bucket sitting just under the bed, obviously freshly washed. "Figureth a bleeding heart like the Thignleth would go through all that thignup bullshit. He doethn't really have the room to houthe anyone here bethideth himthelf and the rethident loudmouthth but I gueth if it'th all thituated I'm not gonna be the one to argue it."

A flushed thing with Karkat though? He never thought he'd see the day that someone would have enough patience to get to know him past 'that shouty asshole with a planet-sized chip on his shoulder'.

"Sollux," he finally added, sitting forward in the chair and scooting up just enough to be able to reach across the gap between them with his hand out. "Rethident AV club tech."

[tiltshotghostimage]

"Yeah, Kankri gave me the three year long version of why sweets are offensive," Dave said with a lopsided smile. "You'd be fuckin' surprised at how little I actually give a shit. When a guy wants sugar shit, a guy's gonna get sugar shit."

He reached over and shook Sollux's hand. "Good to meet you, dude. I'm pretty all right with that shit, but the lack of fucks I give are monumental. I might wind up harassing your video cameras on occasion but beyond that?" He smirked with half a shrug as he sat back once again, taking another handful of popcorn, listening to the beat of the music playing through the earbuds of Sollux's mp3 player.

He quirked a brow and then smirked, rapping along with Jimmy Urine, just as smoothly and more or less in the smuggest possible way.

[apocalypticduality]

Sollux' eyebrow arched up higher at that and he cracked a small smirk, unplugging his headphones and standing to disconnect Karkat's speakers from his computer to connect them to his mp3 player instead. Immediately Clarissa started to blare from them, then was turned down just enough to keep from being too offensive to anyone's ears. He sat back down in Karkat's chair with his ankle propped up on his knee, his hands laced together behind his neck. "About time I find thomeone with dethent tathte in muthic," he sneered.

[tiltshotghostimage]

"Dude, you gotta have respect for MSI, shit is hells of dope. Check it," he said as he handed over his own mp3 player to let Sollux take a look at his ridiculous selection of hip hop, industrial, hard house from every corner of the world, and some bossa nova and pure straight-up seventies funk music, with a few indie bands that rarely got play outside of the most pretentious douchebag's music collection.

"So other than an uncanny taste for music and some tech shit, what's your story? You gonna hit me if I ask about your heterochromia?"

[apocalypticduality]

Sollux turned over his mp3 player in kind to let Dave go through the massive collection of electronica, dubstep and some slightly out-there metal as well as a separate folder that was labelled in his quirk as 'other 2hiit'. A browse of that would reveal a lot of songs without an artist, mostly mixes and remixes, a few with the WIIP label attached.

"I might," he teased, crossing his arms as he slouched back in the chair. "All of uth have it. It'th what happenth when you're a Pthiionic. I'm pretty thure you have to have learned about all that when you were taking the clatheth to prepare for all thith, right?"

[tiltshotghostimage]

"They really don't go into powers of any sort, other than some trolls have them and skim over some shit. I had to do some personal research to figure out a lot of it, myself. But that makes sense." He raised an eyebrow to the stuff that Sollux created, getting extremely curious before putting that folder on. He sprawled the other direction to grab his laptop, nodding to the beat, smiling slyly. He wasn't certain that Sollux had seen his turntables having been set up in the living room, but he knew for a fact that the guy hadn't heard his music, and that's what was important.

"Good shit, dude, really good," he said, turning his laptop over to Sollux to show him his own mp3 collection of self-made songs, nodding up to Karkat's speakers. "After this is over, plug me in, get a taste for yourself."

[apocalypticduality]

Setting the laptop on the desktop in front of Karkat's computer, Sollux opened the collection and switched the plug over as soon as his own music was done, putting on one of Dave's mixes and setting his chin on his hand. There was an obvious difference between his music and Dave's, but there was undeniable talent in both of their methods. "Remind me one of thethe dayth and I'll bring over my thetup. Though now that thith plathe ithn't under the GHB'th protection anymore I wouldn't advithe leaving your shit out in the open."

[tiltshotghostimage]

"Someone tries ganking my stuff and I'll track them down and piss in their ears," Dave said with a slight scowl. "Man, you think I don't know that? That's why my tables are out of line of view from the windows, and have a blanket over them most of the time. Looks like some sort of altar or some shit when not in use. I'm from a neighborhood like this." He added with a murmur, "kinda worse, actually." Dave didn't say what he was thinking, if any fucker tries breaking into the Vantas' house, I'll kill them my own fuckin' self, though the look on his face turned slightly sharper, though the glasses obscured most of the emotion.

[apocalypticduality]

"Dude, no reathon to get defenthive, it wath jutht a thuggethtion," said Sollux, his hands up in front of him. His brow arched up again at the slight quirk in Dave's expression, having long since learned to watch out for small changes, usually ones that meant that his brother was about to explode for something only he really seemed to perceive. He shook his head and went back to scrolling through Dave's music, putting on another song and sitting back to listen. "How long have you been doing thith anyway? Thoundth a little amateur but you've dont hellth of talent behind it."

[tiltshotghostimage]

"It's just shit I dink with on my spare time, but I learned when I was like, four." Dave smiled faintly once more. "I'm better at sample pads, but my turntables are like, a huge part of me. I knew I'd go stircrazy if I didn't have 'em here. I can improvise a sample pad if I need one, they're not that hard to make and put together." They certainly weren't high tech by Strider standards. "My improv pad stuff is in the subfolder marked 'buttons', if you want to hear some of that."

[apocalypticduality]

"You've probably got a lot of the thame thtuff I do," Sollux shrugged at that. "I made my pad ath well, pulled apart a couple of different Ohm boardth to get the materials in order for it. Bigger layout, more thampleth, that kind of thing. It'th really not all that hard to do. Ethpethially after you get uthed to uthing the thtandard padth. Turntablithm'th never really been my thing but working with a couple of Midifighterth it pretty fun when it cometh to jutht dicking around."

[tiltshotghostimage]

"That's how I put mine together, too. Got a 64 button pad that I use on the regular as well as my twelve button fighter with four different sets, so that pretty much sets me up for whatever I want to do." He sprawled out on his stomach. "Hell dude, if you're as fast with all your fingers as you are with your thumbs, I can only imagine the ill shit you concoct," Dave said, having astutely caught glimpse of Sollux's game playing. "But the music's just half of it. My bros and I all rap, but like I said, it's still just all for fun."

[apocalypticduality]

"I've alwayth been pretty fatht at thingth. I'm kind of the family tech. Dad'th more practical and Tuna'th...well, he uthed to be fucking amathing with hith pthionicth. He'th a good guy, but you wanna be careful around him or elthe-" Sollux winced at the sudden cacophany, then shook his head some at the quick steps of the adults and muffled voices from the living room. "He'th kind of jumpy. It'th not hith fault or anyone elthe'th ath far ath we know, but you wanna tread kind of lightly. He liketh thitting and lithening to me mix though tho that'th thomething to keep him calm. Can't really thay anything about rapping though. Lyricth aren't really my area of expertithe. If you hand me a demo I could probably put thome thick fireth under it but that'th about it."

[tiltshotghostimage]

Dave went a little jumpy at the sudden sound, himself, brows raised high, though the vast amount of his movement was his head spinning quickly towards the door and his fingers balling into his hands to make fists. "Yeah, I get it. Don't worry," Dave nodded. He hadn't met someone like Mituna, he figured, but he knew jumpy pretty well. He turned back to Sollux and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, dude. If you're offering," he added, a lopsided, lazy smile slipping over his face once again. "Though I'm pretty sure I heard Kankri. Maybe Karkat went off to get groceries with him. I sort of tuned out before he said anything." He looked only faintly sheepish about that, even by his own standards.

[apocalypticduality]

"I really don't blame you, dude. I've long thinthe learned to tune out about ninety perthent of what Vantatheth thay. They are the king, printhe and royal fucking vithier of waffle." Sollux got up and peeked out of the room nonetheless to take a look at Mituna settled back on the couch again, then turned his attention back to Dave. "You're a little on-edge yourthelf there. You ok?"

[tiltshotghostimage]

"Yeah," Dave said with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head, "I'm just not used to loud sounds. Loud music is fine, loud sounds like that?" He shook his head again and took a sigh. "And I'll admit, the whole loud sounds, unfamiliar territory, no access to weapons thing isn't really my kind of party."

[apocalypticduality]

"I'm thure KK'd let you uthe hith thickleth if you athked nithely. You'd be better at them than he ith at leatht." Sollux shrugged then turned back to the music, switching it back to his player. He switched it to shuffle and laughed as the mix shifted from electronic to Psychostick. "Hope you don't mind Pluh."

[tiltshotghostimage]

"Oh right, he was telling me about the whole threshing thing. Hate to break it to you, but his sickles suck just as bad as my swords do back home." He wrinkled his nose at the metal, not into loud and cacaphonous, at least not as much as Bro was. "What an appropriate fuckin' title," he said, shaking his head.

"Know what though? It's not as bad as some of the shit Bro puts on, so I'm not going to punch you and throw your mp3 player out the window. You're welcome."

[apocalypticduality]

"I'm a guetht here, broham. You break my shit I have leave to throw you out of the window after it." Smirking faintly, Sollux sat down on the edge of the bed then sprawled out on his back with his hands behind his head. "I'm well aware of how shitty hith thickleth are, ath well ath how bad he ith at uthing them. It'th the only thing around here that actually qualifieth ath a weapon around here though tho if you really feel like kicking thomeone'th ath either go with that or do it bare-handed."

[tiltshotghostimage]

"You probably wouldn't want me to throw you anyway. Skinny as you are, you'd probably get some air and go a pretty decent distance," Dave teased, though he had absolutely no room to talk. They were par for height and build, with his broad shoulders being the only real difference. "Oh man, it smells like chicken cacciatore. Good chicken cacciatore," Dave said, his head lifting slightly from its resting place on his arms to look back at the door.

"Man, I don't know what happened, but I'm pretty sure I died and this is my weird, fucked up version of Heaven."

[apocalypticduality]

"Ith that what that ith? Never had it. But whatever it ith I can guarantee you that Thignleth ith kicking itth ath. He's probably heard it a thouthand fucking thimeth but he could make a living cooking inthtead of doing the clinic thing. I don't even know how he maketh any money off that unleth it'th from some kind of thtate thing. All I know ith that it'th non-profit." Yawning widely, Sollux put his tongue out between his teeth and glanced up at Dave with one eye. "And don't tempt me, I'm pretty thertain I could put you on the roof if I felt like getting up."

[tiltshotghostimage]

"Yeah, without telekinesis though? Highly doubt it." Dave smiled quietly to himself as he silently thanked the shuffle gods for bestowing up on him something far more to his liking. "What were you playing before we got our shit all hijacked with socialization?" He shoved his DS closer to his hand with his heel and showed Mario Kart in the slot, brow arched.

[apocalypticduality]

Sollux grabbed his own DS and held it up to show a Metroid game. "Brought a few other gameth with me too in cathe I got bored of Thamuth," he added, bringing out a small case with more games slotted into its sleeves, including New Leaf and a couple of RPGs, the same Mario Kart and an FPS. "Didn't expect anything interethting to happen athide from dinner."

[tiltshotghostimage]

"Got most of those," Dave nodded, "Got Ocarina, working through that like a fuckin' champ, 'cause Bro's got a 64, and it was one of the first games I played all the way through. Good ol' nostalgia factor," he said, before nudging Sollux. "Gimme your code, dude," he said as he settled back in to bring up the screen to add Sollux, "And after this, I'll completely destroy you at mario kart."

[apocalypticduality]

"Oh pleathe, you'll be begging me for merthy." Sollux grinned as he took the DS long enough to input his code, accepting it on his own then looking up as the door swung open to reveal Karkat standing and watching them with his arms crossed, brows arched up at them both.

"Your boyfriend ith the biggetht fucking dweeb on the planet," he said casually as he tucked the gameboy back into his sweater pocket, stopping by Karkat and propping his arm on the other's shoulder. "Way to pick 'em."

"You're both huge fucking nerds," Karkat snorted in reply the reached out, making grabbing motions in the air until Dave joined him.

[tiltshotghostimage]

"More like listening to you whimper while you're owned into oblivion," Dave shot back before looking up at Karkat with a friendly little smile. "And this guy has the makings of lord king geek."

He stood after tucking the DS carefully away in his bag, and then wrapped his arms around Karkat. "I was wondering when you'd be back, dude. Starting to get worried that you got eaten by some errant fuckin' carton of eggs or some shit." He buried his face in Karkat's hair with a grin. "And it's just more proof that you surround yourself with the best people. Kinda would, since everyone else sucks, right?"

[apocalypticduality]

"You guyth are thickeningly cute. Thtop it before I lothe my appetite," Sollux griped but grinned as he started to shove the both of them back toward the kitchen where he could still hear the Signless talking to his father. He met him in the hall and shooed him off as well, yelling that a couple of flushed fuckers were coming through then grinning and sitting back down with Dave beside him, somewhat reluctant to let him go just yet. But the food smelled delicious, as he knew it would be. He looked back at the only two adults at the table with a raised brow then dug in without another word. Sollux followed suit, and Mituna had already started working on his salad before they'd arrived, finally quiet and looking quite content. The conversation would resume sooner or later but for now, faces being fed reigned supreme.