cuteandquarky | IC INBOX

[Jade waits for a moment to see if he's going to say it on his own, but isn't too surprised when he clams up instead. Honestly, he and Dave are so alike in this respect.]

What kind of something else?

[Jade does her best to sound as encouraging and supportive as possible, so that he'll hopefully feel comfortable enough to tell her.]

Yeah okay soooo. You're right about the communication thing, obviously, you're always right. But we kind of just reached a point where it just feels like be no longer trusts me enough to tell me anything.

[ what makes it hard to say the next part is that karkat is pretty sure it makes him an asshole? and okay, he is in fact an asshole, everyone knows that. but it's still difficult to approach. ]

I miss being the person he goes to when he wants to talk about shit? But he always chooses other people for basically everything now? And I'm happy that he's surrounded by so many people that care about him but it kind of just makes me feel really irrelevant.

[ he hesitates before adding the next bit ] You might not be aware but I used to like Terezi a lot? And I completely fucked up any potential of dating her, and then she completely ditched me for Vriska and it was Dave who helped me get over that. But this whole current situation with Dave is starting to feel really similar to how Terezi started pulling away from me and I have no idea how to stop it happening again.

[Jade takes a moment, sitting back for a long think about this. There's a part of her that wants to just find Dave, wherever he is, and teleport him in so that they can talk about this face to face, but she also knows that probably wouldn't accomplish much of anything. She can deal with Dave later.]

Well, for one, Dave is not Terezi! So be extra careful that you don't compare him to somebody that you used to like, because he's the person you like now, and that is the important thing. They are different people.

For two... Dave can be very bad at talking about things, and I know he was really stressed about the bomb thing from a few weeks ago. And because that involved you, maybe he needs to talk to somebody else who was less involved? It might be too weird for him to talk to you about how worried he was about you, just like you are talking to me right now about him!

[Jade isn't sure about that, because she has no idea what Dave is turning to other people to talk about. But maybe it's a factor.]

And a final and third thing! Are you going to him to talk about "shit?" Are you giving him opportunities to open up to you? [A pause.] Those are actual questions, by the way, not accusations! I just want to get a fuller picture.

I try?

[ he shifts slightly, considering everything else that she said before moving onto answer the questions she threw at him. ]

But I think that he needs to come to me about it at this point. Because whenever I attempt to have some sort of feelings jam with him, he definitely does not want to do it, so it's kind of like I'm forcing him to discuss something he either isn't ready to talk about or just flat out does not wish to talk about. Which... kind of hurts the relationship even more, since he just ends up feeling like he has no say in anything, even though these are things that we should be talking about.

[ at least, that's what karkat assumes is going on. ] But he's never going to bring up this conversation on his own! So if I just leave it to him, we're going to be stuck in this lull forever or until he finally realizes he actually wants to dump me and goes ahead with it.

If you are opening the floor for reciprocal feelings jams, and he is not taking that opportunity to talk, then that is Dave's fault and not yours. It's true that you can't really force him to talk about his feelings, but...

[But Jade believes Karkat when he says Dave won't come forth with this on his own. She doesn't know how to balance Dave's needs with Karkat's, not really, but she also knows that it won't do either of their feelings any good to let it fester.]

You need to have a talk about this, somehow. Relationships are about communication! And if Dave is not communicating, then there is a problem. I guess there are a couple of things you could do before you have to try and force him to talk. I could try and gently encourage Dave to talk to you when he feels ready - only if you want me to of course! It might work better than you telling him, since he would not feel immediately trapped in that conversation.

Or you could ask somebody he is talking to for advice. Like Rose? Dirk? I know you said they are biased toward Dave, but if you approach it the right way, then I am sure they would be happy to help you figure out a way to have the conversation you need. Not talking about this isn't good for him either!

Could you do that?!

[ wow ok that sounded a little too eager. dial it down there, pal. karkat clears his throat and then tries that again. ]

I mean. If you want to, I guess it's fine? Just try to bring it up as gently as you can so you don't spook him.

[ karkat he's your boyfriend not a horse ]

[Jade is a little surprised that Karkat is fine with the option of her talking to Dave first, but she certainly doesn't retract the offer. She wants to help however she can!]

I will do my best to be very gentle and encouraging, don't worry!

Does that cover everything that you wanted to get advice about?

[ honestly at this point karkat is just desperate to get some sort of semblance of normalcy back. the fact that he even went to jade and admitted all of this instead of just pretending like he has everything in control is big enough on its own.

he thinks on the question. there are a few other issues, but he brought up the most pressing shit and that's probably enough for now. ]

Yeah I think so. [ pause, he's forgetting to do something..... oh right ] Thanks.

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