towerofanimus | [open] i see a stairway so i follow it down

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[open] i see a stairway so i follow it down

Characters: David Lalonde and YOU.
Setting: All day. Room 3-06, Dorm Floor 3 Hallways, Floor 1, Floor 3, Floor 15, aaand stairways. Dorm, dorm hallways, and cafeteria sections backdated to May 11!
Format: Starting with action, but I'll follow you.
Summary: David returns to the Tower after months in a dead world. Kid's not doing so great. Over the next few days, he starts trying way too hard to keep himself busy. Music-making, building a blanket fort full of books, weaving chainmail...
Warnings: Cursing, insanity, typefaces, possession, snark, and asshole 14 year olds. Additionally, he's carrying a serious dark/eldritch presence, so if your character is sensitive to that sort of thing...

Room 3-06:

[When he awoke, he was in disbelief. Not relief, not anger, simply...disbelief. He had been certain he would die in the Medium. The grist had been running low, he wouldn't have been able to make food and drink for much longer. He thought to himself, for a moment, that he would have preferred to wait for the inevitable back in his world. Not even his world. Just a parasitic one.

Here we see the Knight begin his musing, once again, on the nature of the game as a blight on existence. The game is equal parts creation myth and fairy story, like all good fairy tales, the children enter the forest but do not exi]

How many times must I tell you to shut the fuck up.

[If anyone else is present? Kid just said that to no one in particular. With an echo. ...and his shadow is moving.

She only laughs, hollow and distant. She knows the boy is coming to pieces, and naturally begins speaking to him once again.

David does his best to ignore it until the sleep paralysis ends. What more can he do? He stands up, shaking his head occasionally and rubbing it as if fighting a headache. He's pleased to find his things in his trunk as he left them.]

... Small favors, I suppose.

Dorm Floor 3 Hallways:

[He doesn't have much interest in lingering, he's straight off to the stairway once he memorizes his room number. He almost considers looking for his friends and others, but thinks better of it. He isn't ready to see a familiar face, he needs isolation, to keep himself busy...

As ever, that damn shadow keeps tumbling and shifting in utterly impossible ways.]

Floor 1 (Cafeteria):

[Ugh. Best to get this out of the way. David's sitting at a pretty isolated corner of the cafeteria, music blasting on his headphones as he eats the requisite bowl of oatmeal for a new arrival. He's got a notebook open and he's writing...something. Curious enough to find out what? Fair warning, he...looks agitated. To put it mildly.]

Floor 15 (Workshop):

[After a bit of digging, David managed to find a supply of metal appropriate for his needs, and pliers that would more than do the trick. Retreating to a corner of the workshop, he begins bending the rings to his needs. Slowly, the weave begins to take shape and mail emerges. He'll start simple, just a cuff bracelet. He already has one on his right wrist, but...perhaps Jade would like it. a pause, before he shakes his head and mutters.]

... if Strider is even still here.

[It's been too long since he's done this, and the work...calms his mind and even gets his hands to stop shaking. He doesn't really look up at anything in particular, but his eyes flit around the room in a quick scan every so often. Paranoia's like that.]

Floor 3 (Library):

[Oh, this was his favored retreat before. Books, books, and more books. What isn't to love? With a bit of work and a lot of pilfered materials, David managed to construct a blanket fort off in one corner of the library, giving him a space to hole up and avoid others during the day. Nearby, taped to neighboring bookshelves and posted on the flaps of the fort, are signs scrawled on scraps of paper in purple marker and crayon. Much like this one.

Perfect, he is such a fucking genius. NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW

He sits inside, headphones again blaring electronica. Just gonna read a book and take some notes. The materials he nicked from the workshop are sitting in a pile next to him.]

Stairways:

[Finally, well. Everyone's gotta get around the Tower somehow. At some point, you could very well come across him. He's moving along with the light, appearing and disappearing at intervals along the staircase to speed things along--except for those brief moments of frustration when he passes a power-disabling floor. Cursing, he moves on just by running past the floor. Any passing remarks or impressions?]

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[This was supposedto be a normal day where he just grabs a damn book or two and returns to his room to read them when he's not wandering the tower.

That being said.

...

What the fuck is this bullshit. He would consider it Rose on the get go, but her handwriting wasn't atrocious and she wrote with her sissy full syntax shit so...]

Look. I enjoy forts like every other stupid shit, but why the fuck did you choose the damn librar-

[Oh.]

[...oh.]

... Strider.

[operating for now on the assumption it's the same Strider from before. this isn't good. gotta retreat.]

I will answer your question with another question. Why not the damn library?

[This got awkward really fast. Wow. He's all for seeing old pals again, but that was before he went and murdered a bunch of them so.

He honestly isn't sure if he's happy to see David. Then again, he can at least snag a photo of David incase he ever disappears again. Better not tell him he visits his grave. Man, that would be fucking awkward.]

Gonna answer that shit with another question. Suck it. If the damn library, why not the entire damn library? [This got stupid in .5 seconds.]

[ No trespassing? SOUNDS LIKE THE PERFECT EXCUSE. So then there's this guy... outside your fort... ]

Oh, my, the HG section has been entirely occupied by foreign enemy troops! Whatever shall we do, Emily?

Attack, attack!

[ And then... someone threw a book on your fort and sent it tumbling down, David. Oops. ]

Strike successful! This public territory has been happily reclaimed!

...Well. Now that is an interesting sight. [[Rose hums from behind him, having watched him pass, eying that shadow silently. But now she decided not to remain silent.]]

So, you are obviously not the tower Dave Strider. You are not my Pokemon Dave Strider. So who are you?

[David freezes, already knowing the voice. Whatever. Play it cool.]

Pokemon? Dare I even ask?

[he shakes his head, making a note to ask about the other Dave Strider later.]

Have neither of the other Striders mentioned me? I'm hurt, Rose.

[he doesn't even turn around, and he's trying to play cool even if he's rubbing his temples again.]

It's as if I had been riding an unstoppable gale, carrying me swiftly cross the waves, and the wind suddenly stopped with this new revelation as a leviathan swept up from the deeps and dragged me down below. Alas.

[ugh, no, why is he digging deeper. he's got to extract himself from this. with a quick humorless laugh, ice starts dripping into his words.]

Unfortunately, despite the fact you are simply awash in Daves that are familiar to you, once again it seems I've not been so fortunate with Roses.

[aaand he takes another step.]

Surely you know what Pokemon are! And if not, you had a very lackluster childhood. But perhaps they have, however that doesn't tell me who you are. A name the Striders may or may not have mentioned doesn't come with a visual, unfortunately.

[[She taps her lips, taking a step after him.]]

Unfortunately, Dave, that's nothing I can control. Though you have my sympathy. While you may not have been fortunate enough to meet with a familiar Rose, I am not exactly as fortunate with my Daves as it may seem.

I know what they are, but that doesn't erase my question. And come now, surely a Seer of your caliber can handle such a simple bit of mental arithmetic. Two and two equals...?

[he turns back, fixing her with a glare. that actually takes some effort. the shades aren't on, and those eyes definitely match yours, Rose.]

Really, now? And how would that be, exactly?

He is the Dave that lived in Johto before coming here, like myself, and therefor owns Pokemon. You must be Dave Lalonde, then. Just can't make this any fun for me, can you? [[She meets his glare with a warm smile.]]

Well I never seem to be able to keep a Dave around. I've been through five now. I suppose seven if we're counting the Dave that was already here and you.

It's David. Not that it matters, I hardly imagine that you'll bother to call me as such.

[if you're thinking you can crack the ice with that it's not happening, he already decided he was 10000% done with this conversation the moment you spoke up

not even going to try to figure out the Johto thing, he's exhausted and distracted besides]

A veritable cavalcade!

Well that depends. If I call you David, would that ease your irritability any?

[[Come on Johto's not that hard to figure out.]]

We'll just have to see, won't we?

[It's the details that are bugging him.]

That's not the answer I was looking for. [[Not that her amusement fades any.]] But alright. I'll humor you for now, David. So you've been here before?

That sounds like a personal issue, sister dear. [always time to get facetious. especially to deflect from bullshit like this.] Unfortunately, yes. I am not a first-time guest in this damnable place.

[[...she's...not sure how she feels about being called sister by David.]]

...well, brother mine, I suppose I will have to sort it out on my own. [[Doesn't mean she can't return the gesture!]]

I'm not sure what would be worse, honestly...arriving for the first time, or returning.

I was alone in a dead Medium for four months.

And yet, quite honestly after that, I'm not certain either.

Edited 2013-06-01 20:53 (UTC)

[[That sure is a fort. And those sure are signs that read 'no trespassing'. And she sure is peering into it anyway.]]

Um. If you're trying to make charms to keep out ghosts, I just thought you should know that the ones you've made aren't going to work!

[he sighs, placing his pen down with a practiced gesture of "what fresh hell is this".]

Less for ghosts and more a general deterrent, but yes, your presence alone could have told me as much. Why, I'll have to institute an all new security suite straight away!

[more than a little irritated, oops.]

[[She can definitely tell he's irritated by something, and so she's quiet for a moment. Maybe she shouldn't bother...]]

I...I can help you make some new ones if you want! I'm very good with wards!

[[He had entered the workshop mostly while trying to figure out where everything was. He'd gotten a tour and explanation earlier, but nothing like going back over it all! And that's when he saw the kid working with metal in the corner. Hey David, don't mind him if he comes over and watches.]]

Cool! What're you making?

[With David blasting music on his headphones, there is a good chance that he won't hear Karkat approaching until he finds the troll wedging a pansy from one of the salads behind the human's ear. After all, since when does Karkat need prompting to be an asshole?]

Our resident disappearing act. How long until you utterly lose your shit like every other windgaper in this loony block?

[David practically jumps in his seat when Karkat sneaks up on him. DAMN IT ALL, VANTAS.]

Fuck!

[he pauses the music and slips his headphones around his neck, glowering a little at Karkat. quietly a little amused by the pansy. that thing is fucking vital. he has his flower. (◡‿◡✿)]

I wouldn't have put it past you to institute betting pools for this kind of shit by now, Vantas.

You know I would, if there were any profit from it.

[He straightens and fixes his tie, leaning one hand on the table beside David. Don't mind Karkat, he's just getting comfortable.]

But in a sweat service block like this Tower with no cash to speak of, there ain't much to gain.

Edited 2013-05-27 22:12 (UTC)

[Well, you know what they say, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Or, she. It was hard not to come to attention when you hear someone say your name, even if said name could refer to plenty of other people.

She stopped on the stairway, sort of...wondering if she was hallucinating or something. Dave? Here? Back here?

Not only Dave, but the Dave she actually knew?

--No, wait, that was a dumb thing to think. There'd been a Rose here who was Rose Egbert, and looked a bit like the Rose she knew, but it definitely wasn't the Rose that she remembered. That was stupid. Besides, maybe he wasn't even there, and she was totally imagining the whole thing.

Augh. This was stupid.

Even if it was the real Dave anyway, she had... no idea what to say. She hardly knew what to say lately anyway, so that point was kind of moot.

Instead, she just sort of took a seat across from him, staring at him as he worked and timing how long it actually took him to notice. Because that was professional.]

[no, it's him, Jade. he hears the movement, but he doesn't really think anything of it. not for the moment. once he completes a couple more rings, however, he happens to glance up.

...oh.

his eyes definitely widen. that's recognition, Jade, with everything behind it you'd expect.

along with a little bit of panic. but that's quickly banished as he forces up his facade. there's an uncomfortable silence for a few more seconds. what the hell can he even say to her? there are things he wishes he could say, but this is hardly the time...]

... Jade.

[what a smooth ice breaker, Lalonde.]

[Recognition. She didn't panic like him, but-- it was comforting, to some degree. Even if people left, sometimes they came back and they still remembered. On the other hand, she wasn't sure it was so great for anyone to remember much anymore.]

'Sup, dark Knight. You're brooding as always I see.

[awkward what awkward why would this be awkward????]

[Some sensation deeply unnerved Labrys today. Sensors and circuits were triggered in a manner like some kind of false alarm; like they couldn't decide whether they should be active or not. Part of her programmed instinct screamed Shadow while the rest contested that this didn't feel quite the same. She detected a Something not necessarily unlike a Shadow, but not a Shadow itself--that was what led her to stick her head out of room 3-07 and look around cautiously.]

Hey--!

[Her axe was unfolded and in her hands in a moment, red eyes fixated on the twisting shadow beneath him.]

Wh-what is that thing?!

[David turns, sharply. When he sees she's armed, his own weapon--the Light Sabre, this time--is in his hand instantly. He doesn't activate it yet, but his thumb rests on the switch.]

My shadow. A bit unusual for one, granted, but I'll note they're hardly a rare sight?

[kid's reaaaally exasperated.]

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[open] i see a stairway so i follow it down

Floor 3

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LIBRARY.....

Dorm floor 3 hallways!

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Library!

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Floor 15

Floor 1

(ʘДʘ✿)

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Floor 15

oh god

this is not an intentional batman joke i swear

dorm hallways; GUESS WHO'S LATE

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