falling out of my head [open]

[shenunigans]

WHO| Dave Strider and many copies of Dave.
WHAT| Dave has his time powers make, which means he can create copies of himself and send them on missions.
WHEN| After the beginning of the Arena and any point after.
WHERE| Literally anywhere you are, it is possible for him to be anywhere.
WARNINGS| Nah.

For a long time it's felt as if there was a disconnect in Dave in a way that was hard to put his finger on. The beginning of the Arena brings about a feeling like a switch has been flicked, the WiFi password has been entered and he's back online. His sense of time is back, his powers are back. He can fly, he has his flash-forward speed, he doesn't need to eat or sleep and oxygen ain't no thing. Most importantly of all, he has powers. Time powers. He didn't dare fuck with them the last time he'd had them back, because as if he wouldn't make things worse. He's still tentative on it now as far as skipping ahead goes, because if everything crumbles because of shoddy time leaping goes he won't forgive himself. There are some things, at least, that he's willing to play with.

In an Arena, it's impossible to be everywhere at once. Or at least, it was. Dave has a lot of people to look out for and a lot of things to check up on. There's ground he needs to cover, so it doesn't take him long before he decides to bring a few copies into the fray. He decides that anything over ten is excessive, so he starts with five.

It's possible to see Dave, standing in front of five copies of himself with his arms folded over his chest. "We look like fucking bananas." He tells them, and they nod in agreement, all dressed in their snug, yellow spacesuits. He's bringing new meaning to the idea of talking to himself, but eventually he'll send them on their way. Sometimes they'll travel in pairs and anyone could see two of them walking alongside one another while they look for familiar faces and explore the depths of the Arena. The number of Daves wandering around increases as Dave becomes more desperate to find people, less inclined to go this alone and a little afraid of losing people before he's even found them.

Occasionally they'll say fuck walking and float and they won't miss a chance to call out to someone from one end of a passageway only to pop out at the other end.

At least someone is having fun, right?

Comments

[ex_knowledge575]

Annabeth is hiding, empty-handed and weaponless. Although she's caught on to what this is - killing other people as some kind of ridiculous, disgustingly screwed up piece of reality television - she's not entirely sure she wants to meet anyone just yet. Sure she's trained more than half her life for these situations, but who knows what they could do to her? Who knows what weapons they have? Who knows if they want to make some kind of Survivor-like alliance wherein they just want to use her to get ahead?

But all she was doing was thinking round in circles. You can't stay hidden forever, Annabeth. If nothing else, she needs to scavenge for food and she's not even sure where to start doing that. But there was no way to find out if all she was doing was sitting on her ass observing. Which was important, sure, but the time had come to act.

After one last group of people walk by - all wearing packs and carrying bags of some sort, the assholes - she ducks out from behind an old, abandoned piece of space junk by the science labs and into the tunnel round the corner. Wherein she physically bumps right into a blonde guy in bright yellow and... a pair of sunglasses?

"Styx," she mutters, and pulls back into a defensive stance, back against the wall. Sure, she had no weapons on her - nothing at all except for her token necklace of leather, beads and coral, and her blue spacesuit - but at least the other guy didn't know that. "You always go creeping up on people like that?"

[shenunigans]

Dave vividly remembers his first Arena. He'd been weaponless too, because he'd gotten the fuck out of dodge and away from the Cornucopia. To this day, he's made a run for the Cornucopia once and it resulted in some.. explosive results. Five Arenas later and here he is, with his powers intact he isn't too worried about getting his mitts on something stabby. He just wants to find his friends and make sure they didn't die right out the gate like Tony.

He figures by now, he's bumped into all of the newbies. So he isn't expecting to be literally bumped into by one of them when he starts snooping around the corners. His reflexes are even faster now, so he zips away from her at a speed that certainly isn't human with his hands raised until he realises she's both new and weaponless. Nothing to worry about, so he drops his hands.

"I don't think it's physically possible to creep around in yellow." He points out dryly, gesturing down at himself. "If you can't see a giant noodle rounding the corner, you're going to have problems. Take it from a pro."

[ex_knowledge575]

Fortunately, running for the Cornucopia hadn't even been on Annabeth's list of options. She'd just... arrived. Inside, at the very least, and relatively safe and unbothered. But that was about as good as things got in this place, apparently.

And then there was this guy. What kind of powers did he have, to be zipping round like that? Annabeth's curly blonde hair blows in the backwash of air produced by Dave's movements and she crosses her arms defensively in front of her chest.

"Yeah well, I was watching the other group of people. I'm..." and it's a struggle to admit this, even though the guy has already acknowledged it in roundabout fashion. She sighs, and with a resigned tilt of her head continues speaking. "It's pretty obvious I'm new, huh?"

[fintastic]

Getting separated from Karkat was probably the worst thing that could have happened to Feferi so early in the Arena. Not only does it leave her worrying about him, but it leaves her alone, and this isn't the cushy indoor setting of her first arena. There are no stores to regularly take shelter in, and though she can feel the surge of life forces through her with the return of her powers, the warm comfort and reassurance they provide, she knows very much that she needs to find somewhere safe. She has a key, so she's determined to use it... if only she can find the right door.

With her Cornucopia spoils kept close on her person, Feferi stalks through the Arena, trying to be as quiet and discreet as possible. Maybe if she'd reached godtier, she would have had even cooler Life powers, like sensing life forces or something crazy like that. It's a though to keep her mind occupied as she sneaks about, trying to find doors to test her key on, simultaneously keeping an eye out for Karkat or any of her friends. Besides just Sollux, she's lost a few allies as of late, setting her back a few steps, but it's not enough to deter her.

Sollux is gone but she still has to win, if not to work towards making a new life for them in this forsaken universe, then to find a way home.

While she's been trying to slip through the crossroads of various hallways, when she spots a flash of blond hair down a hall as she passes through, she has to stop and peer back from around the corner. She studies the figure from behind before deciding it is definitely a friend, and very nearly calls out to him, but thinks better of it at the very last second. Her only option is to slink briskly down the hall towards him, trying not to surprise him until she gets withing a more conversational distance.

"Psst! Dave!" It's a loudly, hissed attempt at a whisper-- not subtle, but at least she's not yelling and giving herself away entirely.

[shenunigans]

Being alone from the get-go was a terrible choice on Dave's part. Not that he'd designed it that way, of course. It wasn't his fault the person he dragged in happened to be fatally wounded and proceeded to die. At least with time clones, you're never really alone, which is why there's a duplicate of Dave edging behind Feferi as she edges behind him.

The Dave in front of her, who we will call Dave one, freezes when he's hissed at. He recognises the voice quickly and he turns, only for Dave two to edge a little closer and whisper "Psst, Feferi" from where he's standing. Dave one gives both of them a thumbs up and both of them approach her with perfect, Dave-like mannerisms intact.

"Sup Princess? You win something?" Dave one cocks his head to the side while Dave two cranes his curiously. They haven't thought to explain why there's two of them.

[fintastic]

The only thing that keeps Feferi from screaming is a hand over her mouth, and even then she lets off a small yelp as Dave 2.0 sneaks up behind her.

"Dave! Why is there two of you?" You would think she was used to Time players doing this, but whenever Aradia did it, it was when she was a robot, and there was something very different about having multiple robots floating around. Two actual, real Daves is a little too much; her fins pin back and she pins herself against the wall reflexively. "Is this some kind of trick? How do I know either of you is a real Dave?"

She wouldn't put it past the Gamemakers to make Dave clones to throw her off. She wouldn't put anything past them at all.

[tookthewheel]

A Dave -- the Dave? -- happens on Bucky when he's engaged in the behaviour that first acted as a bonding activity for the two of them. Breaking stuff.

This time it's something a little more substantial than a yoghurt container or a can of corn. Bucky has found a collection of metal crates and is ripping the lids off them, one at a time, to see if they contain anything useful within. So far he's found potato's, a lot of potato's.

He is not impressed with the potato's.

Wrinkling his nose at the latest batch of vegetables he stops when he thinks he hears someone approaching before deftly flipping over to the other side of the crate to the door and crouching down to hide. He leans carefully around the edge when the other intrudes into the room, body tense and ready for a fight until he recognises who it is.

"Dave?"

[shenunigans]

If Dave didn't know Bucky, he might be worried to hear a man arbitrarily smashing things in an Arena. He almost feels like he took a misstep walking in, especially when he takes a glance around and doesn't instantly see anyone. He's relieved when Bucky speaks up, because he's pretty confident that Bucky wouldn't murder him. Pretty being the keyword.

"Sup." He inclines his head as if asking a question, but it's pretty obvious what he's been up to. "Find anything good?" His air is casual, but their last conversation is running through his head. He's pretty sure he vaguely implied to the guy that he had powers and would probably show him, but he's not sure if he remembers. Or cares. Caring is important.

[tookthewheel]

Confident the teenager who's just entered the room doesn't count as a threat Bucky turns back to the last crate and rips the lid off with enough force that the lid has dents in it from metal fingers. His brows creases in displeasure as the last box is revealed to have exactly the same contents as the others.

"Potato's. They're all full of potato's." he turns now to face Dave. "Have you discovered any other food source?"

He's straight to business, this one.

[gobananas]

"Multiple Man?"

Marco says that out loud when he turns a corner and sees identical sextuplets, but only barely. It's more a whisper than anything else, a few words riding on a little 'no way' gasp.

Then again, he thought Multiple Man had brown hair, but whatever. He doesn't stay long. He's trying to get away, run into as few people as possible and wait them out. Marco tries to slip down a hallway and away from these copy-people but finds himself stopped by a flood of dark water covering the floor of the hallway.

This is the Arena. Odds aren't bad that this pool of liquid is actually acid or something. He glances over his shoulder and hopes that the sextuplets aren't going to take a turn his way.

His hopes are dashed.

[shenunigans]

At least three Daves turn to raise a brow at Marco when he mistakes his identity, the others are just staring forward like they don't give a damn. Inwardly, they're all considering the fact that they hadn't even considered the fact that they're kind of like multiple man.

All of them are confused when he suddenly backs away, coming to the agreement that two of them should probably tail him and make sure he isn't being shady. All of them are greeted with the suspicious flood of waters and both Daves fold their arms over their chest in unison.

"I dunno about you, but I would not skinny dip in that." Dave one points toward the water. "We wouldn't skinny dip ever, asshole." Dave two gives Dave one a pointed look before both glance toward Marco. "If you're luring us into a trap I'm going to be more chafed than this suit is already making me." Dave one delivers his thoughts eloquently. If Marco looks past them, he'll see the other Dave's glancing around the corner.

[gobananas]

Trapped, Marco tries to play it off as cool, like he totally isn't trying to peer into the dark and see how far he'd have to jump to get away. It's too far, for the record.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this water has five hundred different kinds of diseases in it. And piranhas. No skinny dipping for me, man." He shrugs, all exaggerated, almost overly cartoonish in his attempt to play this all off. "And you're telling me about these suits. I've got rashes in places I haven't had since I was in diapers."

[sizeofyourbaggage]

The Dave that Sam runs into is one of the floating ones, and it makes him stop in his tracks.

Man, years of never meeting anyone who knows what flying's like unless it's in an airplane, and suddenly it's like there's a whole host of them. He'd say apparently he should have gotten kidnapped by a crazy reality obsessed government before, but he'd be a hell of a lot happier if he was meeting them outside of a death match.

"Hey," he says cautiously. He's pretty sure recognizes the kid - there'd been a birthday party just a little bit ago that Steve'd been semi-involved in, which meant so had Sam, vicariously. "It's Dave, right?"

[shenunigans]

Their vicarious friendship is a strange one, it's like they always miss each other. Mini Arenas and obsessive governments often get in the way of fostering friendships, but what better time than a murder match to make proper introductions.

When Sam approaches, he's floating around almost aimlessly, trying to see if the height gives him a better scope of anything. It doesn't really, just corridors for miles and. Uh. Someone talking to him. He turns in the air with a raised brow, but he seems to relax a little when he sees who it is. If he knows anything about the guy, it's that he doesn't have to worry about being stabbed.

"That's what they say." He gives his shoulders a light shrug. "Fff.." Don't say Falcon. Don't scare him off. "Fam- Sam. Sam? Sup." Nailed it.

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Sam relaxes a little, too, at Dave's response - even if his trouble with the name makes him raise an eyebrow. "Fam, huh, that's a new one." He sounds a little amused, though. He wasn't sure the kid would recognize him at all, since they hadn't officially met.

"Nice to finally meet the guy behind getting Steve to say he was Captain Fucking America. Gotta give you props for that one." Even if teasing Steve about it did ultimately wind up with Sam getting a pillow chucked in his face from a mystery assailant.

It was worth it.

[onedirectiony]

Loki is equipped - no thanks to some injuries sustained from his attempt (and success) at the cornucopia. Luckily, he's not one to let himself be slowed down by pain. With his powers turned on, everything that hurts has become a null pain, and the rest of him feels stronger, faster, better than it has since he arrived.

Oh how he missed this part of himself. He can feel the magic, and he's a little too proud of what he has right now.

He has been keeping his pace fast through the arena. He doesn't stop for anyone as he gets a feel for what this place is, and what challenges it could pose for him in the future.

He comes upon the scene of seeing several of Dave at once and immediately stops moving.

"So, I feel like there's a fanfic like this," he says. "Wait, wait..." He quickly shifts into a woman. The red suit is immediately ill-fitting. "This was probably more like it, though."

He knows he probably shouldn't joke too much, but the opportunity was there.

[shenunigans]

Dave isn't sure if he should feel guilty that he hasn't personally and immediately sought Loki out. It's clear by now that the guy has his schedule and his scheme and he's sticking to it. It isn't that Dave's interest in him is waning, nor had he intended to avoid him, but there's something bigger he needs to face and he feels like it's coming to a deal breaker between them.

Even if there's a voice in his head that tells him he gives up whenever things get serious. Fuck you, voice. You don't know him.

Every Dave turns his head when Loki speaks, but only one of them steps forward. Clearly he's the original, since he's taking the initiative here. He raises a brow at the transformation, cursing himself for the fact that his head is a chorus of daaaaammmnnnn.

"Harems and genderbends, huh? Fun for the whole family. I'm sure they're going nuts over it." He doesn't sound bitter, you sound bitter. "I guess a suit swap is out of the question this time around?" Who would pick yellow over red?

[plushaeusrumpified]

This isn't the start that Bro imagined he would have this arena. It's a far cry different than the previous one- that one had been pretty damn chill, people getting blown up aside. This one's been pretty damn intense right from the start. He's annoyed by the situation and he's frustrated that he hasn't been able to touch base with either Dave so far. He's pretty sure that they're fine, considering the arena is one that allows for powers, but that doesn't stop the nagging fear in the back of his mind that something is gonna happen and he won't be there.

At the moment, he's out looking for supplies. His attempt at saving Anna from her injury is good for the moment, but he'll need stuff to clean it with and probably to actually stitch it up. It's not the only reason he's left, though. He very much wants to find Dave. He's just not expecting to find two of them at once. Sure there's Dave and Davesprite, seeing them together wouldn't be strange. But seeing two literal copies of the same Dave?

Yeah. Odd.

He stops mid flash-step when he nearly barrels into a pair of them, stumbling forward as he loses his momentum. "Da fuck?" is all he can say, squinting at the two of them.

[shenunigans]

Dave, on the other hand, hasn't spared much of a thought for Bro. He doesn't really need to worry about him, he doesn't really want to think about what he's doing. Dave has been here longer and Bro still endures longer than Dave could hope to. Okay, maybe he'd spared a few thoughts. Mostly that the return of his powers means he's liable to kick some ass this time around. He doesn't care if Bro sees it, really, he just wants it to happen.

Whatever. He's probably with Anna. Anna who he is worried about for a variety of reasons. Mostly because it's an Arena, but partly because time spent with Bro is time wandering down that road she should be avoiding. He's not sure if he should be relieved to see Bro approaching, but whatever he feels is being replaced with annoyance almost instantly. Both Daves pause, acting as nonchalant as possible before a third Dave comes speeding up from behind and aims a kick at Bro's back while he's not entirely steady.

"Sup, asshole?" One of the Daves from the front greets, the one beside him nodding like he thinks he's super gangster.

[crabmunicator]

It's a couple days in when Karkat spots two Daves from down some corridor. Not one, but two, and he has to question it at first. Is he hallucinating? He knows he got hurt bad before, but Feferi had healed the worst - enough for him to live - so there's not much reason for him to be seeing things.

Then again, if Feferi's powers were working...

"Dave! Get over here!"

It's a risk to call out, but if Dave has his time powers, he feels safer relying on him. It's better than trying to run; he's tried not to when he has the option, as bruised and battered as he still was after the Cornucopia. Instead he fishes out his flashlight to better light himself, staying where he is.

Like that, he illuminates what a mess he is. There's dried blood still clinging in places on his pink suit - the white one since lost - gathered namely near his his head at the front and by his right leg, where he still sports a bandage. He'll have to abandon it eventually before they get too gross, but he doesn't trust the environment here to be safe. There's some bruising on his face, too.

At least he got something from the Cornucopia. Aside from his flashlight, he's got a case still with him.

[shenunigans]

Both Daves perk up when they hear the familiar voice, following the source back to Karkat and striding toward him. He'd been worried about Karkat, particularly given what happened at the last big Arena. He felt a bit like an asshole not being able to find him quicker, but a father figure dying in your arms occasionally takes precedence.

His eyes narrow behind his shades when he notes the blood, bandages and bruises. He's been in a fight, clearly. Dave needs the deets, but he needs to focus on what's important here first. "Nice suit, fairy floss." He says, his clone not offering more than a nod in greeting. "Guessing you took a run for the 'copia, then? What'd you get? I mean, other than injuries, by the looks."

[a_minute_younger]

Gary can't say that he's really been having fun so far in this Arena, but at least he's finding things to do, more than the stark hallways of the station would suggest. There's all sorts of nooks and crannies to dig around in, packets of unpalatable dry food to crinkle his nose at--quite a lot of cake, actually. By the first day he's found two, just. Sitting around. And considering that he can't carry all of them at once, he's found that they make perfect gifts.

Such is the idea when Gary spots Dave. Whether he's a clone or the original is up for debate--not that Gary would know either way. This is a guy who thought Davesprite was Dave in feathers until he noticed the different name outside his suite. He should be pretty easy to fool here. "Dave!" Gary calls, ignoring all pretense to stay quiet and hidden in this game where everyone is trying to kill them. He would wave Dave over to the gap in the wall by the vents where he's been resting, but one of his arms is occupied with cake and the other doesn't appear to be working. "Hey! I've got you some food!"

[shenunigans]

So far Dave's mission to find people has had relative success, so he isn't too pressed to keep looking for people. He all but whirls around in surprise, eyes seeking out the source of the sound. His hackles raise just slightly when he hears Gary's voice, but his hateboner is easing as time distances him from his frustration at their conversation.

Whatever, he'll bite. Maybe he could take this as a chance to one up the wily asshole for once. His 4chanesque attempts at trolling always manage to get a rise out of Dave, but now the tables can table. Or something.

He strides over, coming to a stop in front of Gary and raises a brow. "Where the hell did you get that?" God damn it, thrown again. "You really offering me Arena-Cake, Gary? This is pretty damn insidious, even for you."

[pythianjudgment]

Dave isn't the only one enjoying his newly returned powers. While he might be zipping around and creating new timelines and extending old ones, Terezi is navigating them in an entirely different manner.

She hears Dave call her name and for a split second, she turns towards the voice. Only for her to notice in the Future that he won't actually be there. She turns around completely, just in time for the prankster to pop into existence in front of her.

"Sup, coolkid," she greets him with a casual grin. "Having fun?"

[shenunigans]

If there's anyone he expects to have an edge on him, it's Terezi. Most of the time it feels like she understands his powers better than he does, even if he's been practicing. Sort of. It doesn't surprise him that she's decidedly unruffled by him, it just makes him a little nostalgic.

"Funner than a day at the Arcade, funner than a trip to to mall, that's for sure." He gestures upward vaguely. "I love space." Then he drops his hands back to his side. "Also having powers. Y'know, I might be in with a chance of not being stabbed to death this time around. I find that fun." A smirk tugs at his lips, then he quirks a brow at her. "What are you doing wandering around alone anyway?" Says the hypocrite.