week 5, saturday

[seaclipsed]

[ it's been hours since the trial ended. it's... weird to think about, since it also means the actual game is going to end. the chiefs had originally said two months, but they barely went over a single one.

she's not complaining about that.

after walking around the island, katara finds her way at the bonfire. she's not surprised to see someone there, but she does slow down when she sees who it is. ]

Vriska.

Comments

[seaclipsed]

I think that a lot of what happened in the game was just... beyond planning, I guess. [ ... ] I'm just sorry I didn't really get to help much, in the overall picture. Everyone else knew so much more than I did.

[ it's a terrible feeling, like you didn't contribute enough to keep everyone alive. ]

All of that shouldn't have been put on you. Especially... Vriska, you're just a kid.

[hypertoxic]

[ That just gets a long look. ]

To a human, maybe. Trolls are drafted into the Empress's armies when we're the 8 sweeps old. 16, in human years. We grow up in a brutal, violent culture that prizes strength above all else, and the weak are weeded out. I've been killing since I was a little kid. It was just the life I had to lead.

Don't blame how I acted on my age or the pressure I was under. I knew what I was doing.

[seaclipsed]

I'm not blaming how you acted on your age, Vriska. My friend is twelve and he's supposed to do the responsibilities that it took people two or three times his age to accomplish. I'm fighting in a war back home.

That just doesn't make it less sad.

[hypertoxic]

[ Vriska's brow settles low, and she frowns a little, faintly annoyed. Sad? ]

I don't need your pity, either.

[seaclipsed]

Vriska, I'm honestly just talking to you as one kid who has gone through some stuff to another kid who has gone through some stuff.