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[parodeity]

DAVE STRIDER

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

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

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[windeity]

[The nice thing is that the place looks furnished! The downside is that it looks furnished like this.... He pauses in the doorway, staring at the clown paintings and squinting a little.]

Oh fuck no.

[parodeity]

Suddenly I feel a surge of sympathy for all your childhood woes?

[ like the cake thing was just absurd THIS HOWEVER... ]

[windeity]

Yeah. This is...pretty much like what I remember. [He shuts the front door behind them and he's staring at the clown decor. At least that fucking harlequin doll isn't on the couch or anything. The layout's the same with a window directly to their right and the fireplace to the left. There's space where the TV goes and the couch, and Dave can see the doors to the kitchen, the study and then the stairs. And clowns.]

I am assuming I also bitched to you about the clown thing then.

[parodeity]

Not all that much. [ a shrug as he glances around. ] Is that seriously one of those old west saloon doors?

[ the. door to the kitchen. he's kind of taking a few steps over there, but he's still got john's hand so like. ]

[windeity]

[John's following! He doesn't really know where to start with most of this so he follows along with his hand in Dave's.]

I've never been able to figure out why that is, but yeah, looks that way. The house layout itself is a little weird now that I think about it. Through the swinging doors is the kitchen and off the kitchen should be a laundry room if I remember. Or what should be the hook-ups for a washer and dryer, at least.

[parodeity]

[ he kind of just. peers into the kitchen. ]

...Hm. I kinda wanna skip to your bedroom. [ he wants to see........if it's as dorky as he hopes.................. ] Kitchens ain't really my thing. You're the one who will have to pick out a place with a kitchen. I mean, the kitchen. You will have...you know.

[windeity]

[It's imp-free at least, even if there's the table, the cabinets and everything. He gives Dave a Look though.]

...I have no idea what you are trying to imply with the kitchen but okay. I also doubt my room is going to look like my childhood bedroom but my room's upstairs.

[parodeity]

Nothin', just, like, I do not think I need to be involved in picking a place for the kitchen purposes? Because let's be real, you are going to be doing like 80% of the cooking.

[ but he trails over towards the stairs, so. ]

[windeity]

True. I'm still going to teach you a few things so you can feed yourself if I'm not around for whatever reason like in class or something. [But fine, fine, over to the stairs. He's leading Dave up the stairs and directing him back toward his room, away from the hallway he knows contains the bathroom and his dad's room.]

I am pretty sure this one won't have clowns at least.

[parodeity]

I mean, I have very basic skills. And some family recipes. And the ability to live off of ramen if you abandon me. D'you want to do the honors? [ of opening the door into probably not clown hell, he means. ] You've been in my room but I've never been in yours; we're makin' history here, Egbert.

[windeity]

Ramen does not really count as food, Dave. [He rolls his eyes but yeah, okay. He steps forward and he turns the doorknob, opening the door and stepping into the room.

No clowns as promised. But there's furniture at least.]

[parodeity]

[ there is. dave drops john's hand and wanders inside, sitting down on the single bed and looking around. ]

Okay, so, like - give me the full effect, here.

[ what went where, john? do you remember? ]

[windeity]

[Give him a second to stare at the room. It's still a little spooky to think about the fact that this was from a past life and he's wary all the same, wondering if they stay too long what'll happen next. Will it be like their nightmares where imps crawl out of the woodwork suddenly? Or is it just...a house?

Dave sits on the bed and John hums softly before he begins to walk around, gesturing as he goes.]

The bed's in the same place, obviously. So's the dresser and the desk. [He points at said-desk.] That's where I had my computer set up. A desktop kind of like I have now? I don't know why I never had a laptop in my room but it was a PC. I had Ghostbusters wallpaper as my desktop. [He walks toward the desk.] I had a tower here that had a bunch of games and movies I think. I don't remember what they were, but they were there and there were a lot of them. I think maybe I spent a lot of time up here. The wall right behind my desk had this huge Armageddon poster. [A gesture to the wall to the left of the desk near the window.] This wall had a Face/Off poster. That John Travolta and Nic Cage movie? [A nod and he moves toward his closet.]

This is unfortunate but I had a Ghost Dad poster on the closet door. [Upon opening the closet he finds another small shelf for things and the empty closet itself.] This fit a lot of stuff.

[…closing the closet, he walks toward the window by his desk again. As he's moving through the room Dave can probably tell he's getting more comfortable with the layout again and relaxing as he goes.] I don't think I ever got to hang up the Little Monsters poster before we started the game. You remember that chest I got back a few months ago? The one with the stars. That used to sit right here. [A gesture to the space at the end of the bed.] And this wall by the window had a couple of other posters. Contact, Failure to Launch and--[Wait. Give him a second before he deploys the Time To Kill poster with a tear in the forehead. He'll hole it up against the wall in the space next to the window.] Yeah. That looks right.

[He lets the poster rest on the floor before turning to the last wall while he's near the foot of the bed and the window over there.] This wall had a Deep Impact poster and a calendar. It's stupid, I wrote in red pen on it. And the wall by the bed had a Con Air poster over my bed, and Ghostbusters and Mac and Me next to that one by the window. That ghost blanket I have in the dorm was on my bed, too, and a Sburb poster was on the back of the door so I could see it when my door was closed. There used to be a poster above my dresser, too, but I didn't recognize that one in my memories. So I guess maybe that is a thing I don't remember yet.

[…he'll stop, just kind of looking around.] The Bro and Jeff poster was probably from the other end. [The other universe. It's a little…weird. Overwhelming maybe? He's not sure how he feels but in the end he kind of sits in the middle of the floor and looks at the ceiling.]

So. That is that.

[parodeity]

[ he remembers how he felt when he was in his old room, in the other universe. like some sort of archaeologist looking at the debris of a life he'd never get back to. a life he maybe never wanted to get back to in the first place, maybe, although there had been highlights. at least three.

dave pulls his legs up onto the bed and shifts to sit cross-legged, watching john carefully and trying to figure out where he's at. ]

Sounds lame. [ he doesn't mean that, but he's trying to prod john into some kind of annoyed reaction. ] I knew you had to have a poster of Failure to Launch. I am so disappointed in you right now, Egbert.

[windeity]

[He's not quite there, mostly in his own head and slotting memories into place. Chats with Dave, Rose and Jade from that corner of his room. Texts and snaps to Dave and Jade from his bed. He suddenly understands why the hammer was a thing.

But Dave speaks up and jars him out of his thoughts, a startled kind of laugh even as he glares.]

Shut up! I cannot be held accountable for my taste in movies at thirteen.

[parodeity]

You so absolutely can. [ he holds out a hand, though. ] Come here?

[ a request more than a demand. ]

[windeity]

[...he'll get up off the floor and head for the bed, sitting down next to him. But also taking his hand since whatever. Hi Dave.]

[parodeity]

[ he leans into john's side, then asks: ] So what do you want to do about it?

[windeity]

[Shrug. He leans Dave lean and he's staring off into space a bit.]

...I don't know. On the one hand, this answers our question about where the fuck we're going to get a house. On the other hand...it's a little strange being here. Isn't it?

[parodeity]

I've like never really... [ he doesn't have many memories of john's house. a few, maybe. probably needs to put in for one in the living room for a birthday or something now or later but. ]

It doesn't have to be the answer if it's too strange for you, is what I mean. Like.

[windeity]

I don't know about too strange? I think I want to at least see the rest of the house first but at the same time it is at least a little familiar. Which is comforting? I don't know. Am I supposed to know how to feel yet?

[parodeity]

You don't have to know how to feel ever? But also just, like. ...I know we're lookin' for a house, but don't think you have to if it ends up not being entirely comforting. Where to next?

[windeity]

I know. [He squeezes his hand.] Thanks.

[There's a brief pause.] I want to show you something. But it's outside. That okay?

[parodeity]

I'm suddenly concerned, but yes. Lead the way, dude. Egbert's magical mystery tour?

[ how stupid will the destination be, dave just doesn't know. ]

[windeity]

Something like that. [He takes Dave's hand and pulls him along, heading out of his room and to the right up a few little steps and down a short hall to a door. Once he opens the door, he'll lead Dave to the balcony that overlooks the front yard.]

...there's this, too.