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WHO: dirk, dave & john.
WHERE: dave and john's house in ruga.
WHEN: july 17th
WHAT: this, basically.
WARNINGS: mentions of death.

[ one moment he's standing in what functions as his living room (and bedroom) and the next he's stumbling for no apparent reason. there's not even a shift in awareness or anything, it's just sudden. dirk has no idea what happened to make him lose his balance until he has an armful of overexcited robot blabbering on about stone statues. it takes a moment to make sense of the tinny tumble of words and another to really process the information and... oh. okay. being turned into a stone statue is unsettling, but not the worst thing that has happened to him.

no, what's a lot more horrifying is the time that has passed according to squarewave and that finally has him panicking.

panicking and promptly moving with purpose, sparing squarewave a quick word of reassurance before he's tearing out of his house in near-blind hurry. he'd been keeping watch over dave and john's bodies after bringing them home where guren had left them, waiting and fretting over the time it was taking them to revive, going back and forth between his and their house every hour or so. who knows what the fuck happened now that it's supposedly been weeks. he hopes for the best, fears the worst. but he has to know either way.

which is why he unceremoniously comes rushing into their home without even knocking like a particularly pointy hurricane. hi boys. ]

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[ dave would pretty much never fucking admit to anyone he's gone to loiter at dirk's house a few times (only since jake went stone too, honest) but he like..has. that's a thing. he's still not used to the alternate version of his brother but dave has sort of settled on liking dirk enough to be worried and being nervously serious about the whole trying to get to know one another thing. but the statue thing hasn't been permanent so far, as far as dave knows.

that doesn't mean he's expecting someone to fling open their door and rush in and dave's automatic reaction is to leap to his feet from where he'd been sprawled on the couch, idly listening to john play the piano.

...he drops the sword back into his sylladex as soon as he registers who broke in, though. ]

Bro. [ this is a terrible time for a joke and dave racks his brain for one anyway ] I thought English was the one we hadn't quite housebroken yet?

[ to knocking. ]

[Likewise, John's not expecting someone to burst into their house at top-speed without any sort of warning which means that to accompany Dave suddenly getting to his feet and drawing his sword there's a loud, abrupt bang on the keys as he turns on the piano bench.

But. It's Dirk. Hello Dirk! He blinks almost owlishly as he lifts a hand to wave.]

...housebroken. [He's laughing under his breath considering that Dirk just broke into their house. (Yeah it's not funny but John's sense of humor is a little off sometimes, leave him alone.)] Hi Dirk.

[Granted he's known about Dirk being a statue. Jake had mentioned it and it's not like he wouldn't have known from Dave anyway. It's overall a weird situation suddenly but...here they are.]

[ he'd been ready to continue on his single-minded path to dave and john's respective rooms where he'd put them and last seen them, mind still stuck in that moment and the passage of time hard to grasp when it feels like it's been less than an hour for him, but fortunately he doesn't have to go much farther than just past the door.

the slight commotion his arrival sparks says enough, eyes immediately drawn to two familiar figures. ]

Oh, thank god.

[ the sheer relief is enough to make the words slip past his lips unbidden and his knees almost buckle; the rush of adrenaline fading nearly instantly and leaving only exhaustion behind that serves as a reminder that he hasn't slept in... probably too long. there just hadn't been time between taking care of jake's furry problem and then dealing with corpses. apparently being turned into a stone statue isn't restful at all. he'd be pissed about all that time lost and wasted if his attention wasn't solely on the now very much alive dave and john.

he simply steadies himself with a hand against the wall without looking away while he continues his rude streak of busting in and not apologizing for doing so or even greeting them properly. dave's joke isn't even registered, much less acknowledged. instead: ]

Are you two alright?

[ tough question. dave flicks an inscrutable look john's way before getting out of the way of the couch and gesturing to dirk. ]

Sit down, will you? I'll get you some water and some of whatever we got around.

[ it's not exactly an answer but it's easier to register dirk's physical reactions as "running on air" and immediately trying to mitigate it. dave's tone isn't as forceful as it would be if it were john exhausted on his feet because he's more familiar with ordering his best friend around on occasion than he is anyone who looks like bro, but...

well. dirk always seems so human. he figures john can field the death specifics as he flashsteps away to the kitchen. ]

[Farewell, Dave. John blinks a little at the almost-visible dotted outline where his best friend used to be before he's up from the piano bench and also gesturing for Dirk to sit on the couch.]

We're fine. We've been back for a little while but...given what Jake said it probably feels different for you, huh?

[ it's a stupid question and he realizes it 0.5 seconds after the words have left his mouth. dirk thinks to apologize and then to protest and argue he's fine when dave tells him to sit down, already pushing away from the wall and regaining composure, but then dave is gone before he can so much as get a word out.

he's just left frowning in his wake, considering going after him — it's kind of worrisome, isn't it? — until john is also motioning for him to sit down. although "we're fine" is met with a slightly dubious look, he ultimately complies and moves to sit down on the couch.

... and oh god, jake. another worry to add to the pile. ]

Uh, yeah. It's more like I blinked and suddenly weeks have gone by. [ a pause in which he struggles to decide whether or not he should ask about what went down with the boogeyman. obviously it ended badly, does more need to be said? unable to make up his mind, he stalls by asking something else. ] Is Jake okay?

[ sure, jake can function just fine without him, but that's not going to stop dirk from worrying. ]

[ dave's back in time for that, at least. what he presses into dirk's hands - or holds out for dirk to take, at least - is a glass of water and a bowl of some freshly diced fruit. he figures the guy probably should eat something and he'll perch on the arm of the couch instead of sitting on it like a reasonable person if dirk does take the offered stuff. ]

He's, uh, like you were? But over at Okuyasu's last I knew. [ which means jake presumably was there that morning or yesterday, since dave at least keeps tabs on the other three boys from home, unobtrusively as possible in dirk and jake's case and way too fucking clingily in john's. ] Yelled at us when we got back, though. I can show you how to get to Okuyasu's house later.

Jake was pretty mad. But like in a Jake way? [He's not even sitting, he's just going to float and also hover in the air like the useless balloon he is. On the other hand he's a little pleased that Dave's taking charge in that regard. He chooses not to say anything.]

Okuyasu's pretty trustworthy though so I think he should be okay until he becomes a person again.

[ dirk dutifully takes everything dave hands him with a murmur of gratitude, albeit all the while looking mildly perplexed about it. still, he sets the bowl down in his lap and takes a sip from the glass since his throat does feel like... well, what he imagines it would feel like after being a stone statue for weeks as he listens.

the news that jake is now a statue makes him frown, but the other thing... ]

That sounds like him.

[ there's a fondness that's crept into his usually monotone voice that he's not even aware of before he nods. ]

I know Okuyasu. [ the dude who took him seriously and tried to help out when he was worrying about lil cal's potential possession. it's at least a little reassuring that jake is not alone and with decent company. ] Don't know where he lives though, so yes, please.

[ just knowing where he is will help put him at ease just a bit more too.

but he's going back on topic now. ]

When did you two come back? I don't know how long the whole revival deal is supposed to take because I had help the times I died, but it felt like too long.

The first is when we got our like...full bodies back. We spent a few days as weird sketchy...things.

[ his gaze had sharpened slightly at the fondness - does he sound like that when he talks about his friends? probably - but dave doesn't mention it. he's relaxing more and more as time passes since dirk barged in, at least. ]

Pretty sure it wasn't god tier. For one thing, I'm out of the running for those revivals anyway. For another, Dex had the same deal as us.

[John doesn't even notice that the fondness might be out of place, but he's focused on the conversation more than that. And anyway, Jake and Dirk are weird from what he's gathered so it's fine.]

It took a few days to get our bodies back, too. It wasn't near-instant like a godtier revival, plus I am also pretty sure there was nothing just or heroic about my own death. [Dryly.] I think Dave said the whole thing was four days.

[ dirk's oblivious to his own slip-up as he absentmindedly shoves a piece of fruit into his mouth while he listens, a slight frown starting to form as dave and john explain the weird circumstances around their revival.

it's... worrisome, to say the least. ]

So what you're saying is that the mechanics behind the conditional immortality we have as god tiers has been overridden by whatever death rules are in place here.

[ a beat. ]

Well, fuck. That can't be good.

[ dave lifts a hand. ] Kinda worked out for me, though, I already lost the god tier revival lottery. But it does give all y'all less of a defensive line and I'm kinda not chill with that.

[ because it would be a relief if john - and dirk and jake - had that extra layer of security. ]

And my aspect powers are still messed up inside town limits and sometimes out of them. So that's fun.

We'll be fine. We just have to be more careful. [He's not as fine as he wants to believe, but that's neither here nor there.]

Dave's aspect is weird, and I think maybe some of Vriska's powers were doing weird shit. Mine seem okay so far though. What about yours and Jake's? Have you tried yet?

[ the raised hand makes him tilt his head in dave's direction, attention caught momentarily. ]

I'm glad it worked out for you. [ said entirely sincerely, no fucks given. ] But yeah, if it messes with our powers in general like that, it could be trouble.

[ one more thing to add to the worry pile. ]

I haven't had cause to use my powers yet and Jake can't control his so I don't know. I'm not sure how to go about testing that. Mine can't exactly be used frivolously either.

Can we cover what all the fuck Heart and Hope do power wise anyway? It ain't really like. As descriptive as Time and Breath and Space.

[ he knows what light does but it isn't self explanatory. ]

Like, if your shit were working and he could control his.

And why can't Jake control his anyway? Like yes, okay, we had years to figure out our powers but you guys had time too right? Is Hope really that bad?

[ god, having to explain their dumbass powers sounds exhausting when he's already exhausted, but dirk straightens without complaint all the same. ]

Okay first off, we only reached god tier status a few hours before we came here so that plays a role in our inexperience. You'll have to ask Jake himself about Hope because I don't know a lot about it, but it's not bad. It's supposed to be really powerful from what I understand. He's told me before he can imagine things into existence. Sort of. I think his lack of control more has to do with him being a Page?

[ a very helpful slight shrug goes here. ]

I've been told by a knowledgeable friend that the aspect of Heart is all about the essence of being, of oneself or of others. It essentially means soul. My title as a Prince then parses as Destroyer of Souls and it does what it says on the tin. [ he sighs, a quiet exhale that's barely perceptible. ] Theoretically I can destroy souls and I know how, but so far I haven't succeeded in actually doing so. It takes time to rip out a soul and that's not something you have a lot of in the midst of a battle.

Other than that, my powers make it so I have a tendency to splinter, but that's not anything useful.

[ dave frowns immediately. it's probably not for whatever dirk might assume, and the way his brow furrows a little is more worried than anything else. ]

Splinter? Do we like - are you like...okay? [ that sounds bad???????????????

the rest can wait until he clarifies that. ]

[...from what he's gathering, the Harleybert side of the family has a lot of really insane, high-end powers and the Strilondes are prone to powers that change and manipulate things. It's why he's staring at Dirk curiously before he decides maybe he'll just have to ask Jake himself. As it is, the ability to wish stuff into existence is a terrifying power to have.

What if you wished for like a pizza? Would it just appear and then your powers were done for the day? Or what if you wished wrong?

...on the other hand, soul-ripping sounds pretty dangerous, too.]

Splinter like...split up? [He's not going to ask "are you okay" since Dave already did but ???]

[ the sudden alarm just throws him off completely, making him blink in confusion behind his shades although he's quick to say: ]

I'm fine.

[ said with conviction at least. ]

It's more like... pieces of my soul manifesting outside of myself. Like a fragmentation. [ he's not explaining this in a way that's reassuring, is he? alright, trying a different tangent and echoing words he's spoken before. ] I mean, we've all got other versions of ourselves running around, right? I just happen to be more connected to mine and they tend to be more up in my face than most others. [ a beat. ] Quite literally in one instance. Like my auto-responder was a splinter and apparently the combination of Jake's powers and mine have caused a splinter to manifest in his head like some weirdass imaginary friend that he can believe into reality.

[ welcome to the insanity that is his splinter-ridden life. ]

So uh, if you've ever caught him talking to seemingly no one in particular, that's probably why.

Oh, huh. I figured he was just like me and talked to himself.

[ which. dave does. all the time. john at least is probably used to catching him at it, rambling under his breath as he goes about doing whatever in their household. looks like he's still alone in that regard!!!! ]

I feel like our genetic line has this issue more than anyone else. I mean, the too many versions of ourselves thing. Not like the time travel helps that not be a thing, I mean - yeah. [ an eyeroll, not quite visible behind his shades. ] Can you like feel souls and stuff, then?

[ the worry shifts more to interest once dirk confirms his powers don't like Break Him or something. ]

[He just kind of eyeballs Dave because yes, he's caught Dave mumbling to himself way too often.]

That sounds like it would be confusing if you can feel everything. If you're splintered, do the splinters know they're splinters?

[ sorry dave, you're still the lone weirdo who talks to himself. unless dirk talking to hal counts, but that's somewhat different and it's not like hal is here.

knowing what he knows about the time aspect and also davesprite, he's nodding in agreement to it possibly being a genetic problem. it sure seems like it. ]

Yeah, my splinters always know they're splinters so I'm at least spared the whole "will the real Dirk Strider please stand up" bullshit. [ which is a small mercy. ] And I don't know about sensing souls, I've never tried it. I'm not sure how I would go about doing that, to be honest.

[ he's really only ever honed in on the destruction part because that's what he's been told about. ]

Dunno. Just like, reach out with your aspect, padawan. [ that's helpful, dave. but he really is just shrugging and looking over at john for an assist. ] I'm not sure I remember how I went about it, really. The thing about time travel is that you kind of have to be aware of your aspect to like, do it at all, so I just...know. When I am. Or how long it's been since anything, usually. I am a glorified wall clock, only much more attractive and also probably a million times more accurate. So glorified as in amazing, not as in decorative. Although I am of course decorative.

[ does he have a reason for just complimenting himself? no not really. he's just used to talking himself up even if he doesn't believe it. ]

Eggs, what about you? You can like sense the wind and shit, right.

[There's a nod, but he frowns as he thinks of how to explain it in the best way possible.]

In all honesty I didn't really tap into my aspect until I was in the middle of an oil fire on LOWAS. But uh. A lot of it was kind of just visualizing and figuring it out from there. Does that make sense?

[ as someone who talked himself up all the time through chat, dirk recognizes it for what it is and doesn't even bat an eye at it. he just patiently listens to them both. ]

Sure, it makes sense. I guess I could try it sometime.

[ he's kind of wary of his own powers, but trying to sense something seems harmless enough. ]

But either way, it's going to be hard for both myself and Jake to gauge how this place might have affected our powers given that we're not that experienced with them. Has anyone else spoken up about their powers being messed up?

[ dave makes a face and runs his left hand through his hair. ] Elizabeth did, got some death shit like I did, she was trying to open a portal to another universe? As near as I can understand. So I guess Chroma really doesn't like when people mess with time and space. Rudely.

[ he doesn't even like looping? ]

Anyway, keep the soul sensing experiments for when you're not exhausted. And have one of us around to spot you just in case. We aren't really experts except I guess we kinda are? Which, you know. Definitely worrying.

I wonder how screwed Jade would be in this place. [It's mostly a comment to himself before he tunes back into the conversation.] Dave's right though. It might be better if it's both of us, actually, just in case something goes really poorly. I did not sign up to be an expert but I can try.

Death shit?

[ echoed quietly like someone who's not quite sure they want to know but feels compelled to ask anyway.

at "exhausted" he pops another piece of fruit into his mouth (as if that suddenly makes a difference...) and he refrains from pointing out that his issues with sleep leave him some variation of Tired at all times. but he'll nod in concession. ]

I'll let you guys know when I want to get my experiment on. But maybe if we're lucky my friend who is an actual expert on this stuff will arrive here.

[ because if dave is dead and can be here then calliope could too. ]

When I time travel in town, or try to, I don't. And instead get loving visions of all y'all in town dying and stuff. Things like that. [ dave makes a face. ] I forgot you weren't around when we figured that out.

[ a pause. ]

You want to bunk with us for the night? [ it's asked as he glances at john for an opinion or permission. but if dirk and jake had died and john had been stone -

he wouldn't want to be alone. ]

[There's his own expression that says he's not too happy with how Dave's powers have manifested but he doesn't comment on that. He instead catches Dave's glance and there's a subtle nod.]

Yeah! You can sleep on the couch, or you can take one of our beds if you want something more comfortable? We don't mind.

[ his brows furrow slightly in concern at that, but before he can think of a comment to respond with, dave throws out an offer that catches him off guard entirely.

frankly not being alone sounds very appealing after everything since he knows full well he'll only ruminate uselessly when left to his own devices, but... ]

Are you sure? Sleep and I don't exactly get along even on the best of days.

[ it's mostly directed at dave, knowing they have similar issues with hypervigilance and insomnia, but he doesn't want to be a potential nuisance and keep others awake with his insomnious bullshit in general. ]

It's chill. [ john offered up one of their beds and dave automatically assumes that means he'll just bunk with john, so he shrugs. ] I'm kinda up at weird hours, too, but when I have to share a room I usually end up clocking out at a more reasonable time.

[ sort of. ]

Besides, it can be kinda, I dunno, helpful to hear other people up and about when you want to know they're around? So it might help you to get to sleep here.

["Sort of." He wisely keeps his mouth shut up but also he finds that he's glad to hear that Dave's comfortable enough to sleep better when they're sharing a room. Nevertheless he nods along.]

And we have food and stuff here, too. So we are well-prepared for guests and Dave's right. It's nice to know people are around.

[ there's a slight moment of hesitation before dirk eventually nods. ]

Alright, thanks. I'm fine with the couch since I sleep on a couch at my place anyway, but you can put me wherever. Just— sorry in advance if I end up ghosting around.

[ like dave said, it can help, but being in a different environment with people around might also make it harder. he really has no idea how it's going to play out. still, staying over sounds nice. ]

[ ...well, bro slept on the futon couch deal pre...sumably? dave never saw him sleep (he is abruptly curious what dirk looks like asleep, and it feels like the twilight zone to try to picture. dirk doing ordinary things often feels this way at first) but presumably bro had to sleep sometimes. right??

maybe???

but he just shakes his head. ]

You can take my room. Bed's more comfortable. There ain't anything anywhere that's really off limits, I don't think? If you wander. [ since john's room will have john and probably dave, that leaves the rest of the place and dave can't really come up with any secrets he wants to hide that can be found by wandering around. ] Geese are up on the roof next door, though, so if you hit our roof they might make a lot of noise.

[ ..............

apparently john and dave keep geese on the neighbor's roof. for some reason. ]

They might also still breathe fire so be careful. [Thanks John, that's supremely helpful. But seriously he doesn't have any objections to anything Dave has to say or to Dirk staying with them for a day or however long he wants. John doesn't really care either way and figures it's better for both Striders and he'll go with it.]

But don't worry about it. [The ghosting, he means.]

[ for a small moment he looks like he might ask about the fire-breathing geese being kept on the neighbor's roof, but then he seems to think better of it and just nods. ]

Okay, got it.

[ that's for both staying in dave's room and not going to the roof.

and because he feels like he should offer something in return for the hospitality and also because he doesn't understand the concept of just relaxing: ]

If you have stuff that needs mending, I can do that for you while I'm here?

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