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[parodeity]

DAVE STRIDER

consider this your warning about stairs. itll just keep happening bro. im telling you man

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[parodeity]

[ excuse you it's dave's plan stop honing in on it asshole!!!!!!

dave...isn't sure what he's seeing. he does recognize his planet - he knows what the other three beta planets look like as well - but he's not sure when this happened. the planets, smashed, and the glitching in space. it reminds him of something - dirk. when he talked to dirk, and things were glitched the fuck out.

he remembers that house from another dream, and drifts closer, flying automatically, and he goes towards the tree house.

as tired as he is even in sleep, he can't tell if he's dreaming or not, logic blurred. ]

[windeity]

[There are a few planets that aren't destroyed but not very many. The glitching seems to try to cling to Dave as he flies but around the treehouse itself it's a clear little bubble.

The treehouse itself is dark. There's a sleeping bag in the corner and the walls have a few shelves lined with small toys and a few books. There's a flashlight in the corner and a stack of comics, basic little details that appear fuzzy around the edges like memory can't recall them right.

There's a window. It peers down into the yard below and there's the very edge of what must have been the road once upon a time. John's standing at said window and staring outward. Unlike in Dave's dream, this time he's in his godtier pajamas and the hood's down as it flutters gently in the breeze of silent space. Beyond his head, Dave can see a full view of a wrecked universe and a few meteors zip by, crashing into bits of planets.

On the other hand, he doesn't say anything acknowledging Dave's there. The longer Dave lingers, he'll notice John seems to flicker, too. It's not a glitch but it seems to shuffle a little between 13, 16, and 18. Dave would recognize all three ages at this rate, probably. Without moving at all though he seems to be waiting for something. Or watching.

And then he shifts to lean out the window, ready to climb right through it.]

[parodeity]

[ yep. he sure has seen john at every age.

it's when john's eighteen that dave snaps out a hand to grab john's, or try to, unspeakably unsettled by the age-flickering and the way john seems to be glitching and trying to leave.

he doesn't know what's going on, but he knows that one of his biggest fears is that:

someone leaving, again.

dave's seventeen and perhaps in answer to the godtier outfit john is wearing, he's in remembered red, the time gear emblazoned on his chest. ]

- Don't go.

[windeity]

[Like that, the silence breaks and there's a startled gasp of surprise as he nearly jumps out of his skin. He turns, confused why Dave's there and confused about the godtier outside and blue eyes blink very slowly while trying to figure out why Dave's in his treehouse.]

Jesus. [It's wheezed out as he calms down, staring at him again before his gaze goes back out the window. He's floating a little, ready to go out the window again but letting Dave anchor him down.] …hey. [A flicker of a grin.] So much for not sleeping, huh?

[parodeity]

...I think I'm on the roof.

[ but it hardly matters. he isn't there now, in this landscape. just outside of it, wherever he passed the fuck out. he does not release john's hand, but he doesn't hold it tight enough that john can't just ghost if he wants. ]

What is this?

[windeity]

Why are you on the roof? [It seems like he's ignoring the question because that's a little more concerning. He doesn't do anything to pull away from Dave's grip, but he doesn't land either. Another bit of debris floats past the window.]

[parodeity]

Training. [ with himself. but. ] I'm probably fine. Is this a memory?

[windeity]

…that "probably" is not very assuring, you know. [But there's a shrug.] I think it's two of them? Which makes very little sense, but I think that's how you know it's a dream.

[parodeity]

I never saw this. [ despite himself, he's trying to place the shattered planets on his mental timeline.

despite himself, he thinks he knows where it goes... ]

So, hey. Where were you goin'?

[windeity]

I know. [How he knows isn't quite said. He knows why Dave never saw the treehouse or anything, he can guess why he never saw the planets and the glitching and...well.]

...I'm not sure now. [He gestures out the window to the street.] Normally in this part of the dream I just start walking out of town. Space is new. Are we in space? [John it's your nightmare, why are you asking Dave.]

[parodeity]

This is what Dirk saw. [ he remembers that, now. a conversation about a memory - john and accepting a glitch. ]

Don't go? [ he repeats the first thing, uncertainly, thinking again of dirk. ] I don't know - maybe we're in space. But that's not a "where", is it?

[windeity]

Yes. [He remembers seeing Dirk, Dirk telling him to leave and he inferred the rest.]

Well. [Calmly. A little too calmly, actually. Outside, a tiny bit more of the eroded sidewalk crumbles again.] This is my house. From the new life. And this is the treehouse in my front yard. I could see everything from here.

[parodeity]

...What could you see?

[ "everything", yes, but some specific everything? ]

[windeity]

...my neighbor across the street had a really cute dog that used to like rolling around in the grass. The people next door, their kids would always bike or rollerblade on the sidewalk up and down the street. People watering their lawns. Flowers. People coming home.

...cracked planets. Broken buildings. Red strings? [Red miles. He doesn't know that term though and he's confusing the there and the then with what he knows this memory used to be.]

[parodeity]

[ something about what john says before the part about their past, cracked planets and broken buildings and red strings, causes dave to look at him, silent and trying to figure it out. ]

If I let go of your hand, are you goin' to leave?

[windeity]

Yes. [Wait, shit.] I mean probably not? It's space. There is nothing left to leave for, maybe. [...] I tried before. When the sidewalk existed.

[parodeity]

The first unthinkin' reaction is usually the more genuine one.

[ than the correction, he means. ]

[windeity]

[Just a flat look.]

I had planned on it before you showed up because I needed to find someone.

[parodeity]

Okay, well...you found me. [ he swallows, and carefully lets go of john's hand. ] ...So please don't go.

[windeity]

[Dave lets go of his hand and he doesn't immediately touch the ground again. He floats, unsure of where to go because there's another person here. Usually when this happens he searches forever.

"I needed to find someone." It could have been anyone and he would have been satisfied.

Very slowly he touches down to the ground and sort of keeps going until he sits with his back to the wall of the window.]

...so hey, why the fuck can I fly in my dreams but I can't fly in real life yet? [That's good, John, play it off.]

[parodeity]

[ dave breathes out, slow. there’s a sort of desperate relief john didn’t disappear. ] It’s a dream. So maybe it’s because you remember you can and forget you can’t.

[windeity]

Yeah. Maybe! That would make sense. [It's reaching optimism and he's doing his best to seem upbeat. He doesn't quite look Dave in the eye as he hears another collision in the distance.]

...not as exciting as yours, I know. [Thank fuck. Let's not fight more puppets, thank you. There's another flicker again though. 13. 16. 18.]

[parodeity]

[ ...he reaches out again at eighteen, trying to be some kind of anchor. ]

Can I ask?

[windeity]

[He doesn't stop him, but he's still not entirely listening and distracted.]

About? [So yes.]

[parodeity]

You said it was a place where you could watch everything. People coming home.

[ or people not? ]