shenunigans: (pic#5842765)
Dave Strider ([personal profile] shenunigans) wrote in [community profile] thecapitol2015-01-09 01:41 pm

City never sleeps so I guess I never slept on.

Who| Dave and Feferi, Gary, Clara and Steve.
What| Punchy is "dead", Dave needs to deal with it.
Where| D9, D11
When| Spanning over the week after the Panem Nightly post.
Warnings/Notes| Talkin' about murder.

It's hard to process real death after being surrounded by fake death for so long. It's like switching from lite milk to full cream, because it's doing something to his stomach. But then, processing infers some level of understanding or acceptance. Dave didn't talk to anyone when the cheery presenters woefully announced that his friend was dead. It's not the first time he's disappeared, it's not the first time anyone's disappeared, but it's different this time.

They're just lying. They're probably lying. There's no reason to believe them, but there's no reason not to, either. Punchy is gone, he isn't in his room and he isn't staggering back into the commons no matter how long Dave sits around on the couches and pretends the News got it wrong.

It shouldn't be this hard anymore, but it feels like there's a vice around his chest when he thinks about it. There's sad irony in the fact that the guy reminded him so vividly of his Bro, then they got close, then he died. It's hilarious, really, that all of his foundations are starting to crumble slowly or very rapidly and he doesn't know how to handle it anymore.

Maybe he owes it to Punchy to feel something, or show something, but it's easier to be mindless and numb about all of this. He doesn't drink or party, he just deals with it. He's either sleeping all day or awake all hours and when anyone sees him, he's fronting. Trying too hard to be over it too fast.
fintastic: (you'll take it and like it)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-01-12 05:15 am (UTC)(link)
"I wouldn't mind having someone to come with me." Feferi invites herself to a seat on the edge of the bed, now that he's sat up and noticed her. Thankfully he isn't as naked as she presumed he would be. "So why don't you tell me what's bothering you. I know something's up."

She just doesn't know what. Was it losing the arena? Losing his powers again? Something else? Feferi can't even begin to guess, but she can be here to listen. He's only her fake boyfriend, but he's still her very real friend.
fintastic: (calmly culling)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-01-16 08:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"All I need to do that is a mirror." Mutual Karkat heckling, good. That's a good sign, right? She guesses that if Dave still has it in him to joke around, then there's some hope for picking him up out of this funk. But if he thinks she's going to just back off with that kind of lame excuse, he hasn't been paying much attention at all.

"Now I know it not just that." She shifts closer, within arm's reach, to reach out and fuss with his hair, trying to put some stray strands back in place, as much as he'll let her. "So you can either tell me what's bothering you, or you can let me hassle you for a while longer until you give up and tell me."
fintastic: (that's all very nice)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-01-18 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
"I dunno he says! That is probably the best joke you have told me so far." Ribbing him is probably not helpful, but Feferi takes that as her cue to kick off her shoes and scoot further onto the bed, so that she can sit right next to him. She rests a comforting hand on his back, rubbing gently, as if that might coax the real issues out of him. "I know it's tough here, but I also know that you usually try a lot harder to pretend it doesn't bother you."

This would be so much better with a proper pile, but she has to make due. Sitting shoulder to shoulder will have to be enough. The more he pushes her though, the more worried it makes her.

"So who didn't come back this time?"
fintastic: (this could get ugly)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-01-18 05:37 am (UTC)(link)
Dave's reaction catches Feferi off-guard. She's used to that kind of thing from Sollux or Karkat, but from Dave she doesn't know what to make of it. She gapes at him for a second before folding her hands in her lap, and deciding that she suddenly finds the ceiling really interesting.

"You don't really want to do that, do you?" She's not going to stop calling it how she sees it, and in truth, she's just a little bit hurt. Not because he won't talk to her, but that he doesn't just tell her straight. "I think I'm going to go back to my room. When you feel like talking, call me and I will come back up. Or you can come see me."

She's already crawling her way off the other side of the bed before she finishes talking. He's too upset, and when he's upset, she worries, and when she worries, she can't even think about showing him all her favorite aquarium fish. Maybe he just needs a little bit of time to cool off.
fintastic: (lost in hair)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-01-19 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
The second Dave grabs her, Feferi stops. She's already halfway off the bed, but she turns to look at him, like a deer caught in headlights. She's not really sure what to make of all of this, but her heart aches for him, and for the fact that she can't figure out a way to get him to open up. She does so much better with people who tell her to just buzz off, but what this is that he's doing-- she's not very well equipped for it.

Finally her face softens. "Let's start with something small. Why don't we take a walk downstairs. Have you had anything to eat lately?"
fintastic: (glubshrug)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-01-21 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
"I meant real food." Like raw fish. She turns her wrist to take his hand, giving a little tug. "Come on then, up! Get that human heart pumping again and some blood flowing! Besides, our fans are probably getting low on fanfiction material, and I do not even want to think about what they'll just make up on their own when they run out."

Just like that, it's like nothing happened at all, already on the rebound with a smile and some excessively perky fins. Alright, maybe the fins are a little over the top, but she is trying. And if nothing else comes from a trip downstairs, it certainly won't hurt being seen together, not when she's coddling him and fawning over him and trying to get him to stop being such a lump of human.
fintastic: (just wait and see)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-01-26 03:32 am (UTC)(link)
"Who?" She doesn't get his references, but she laughs it off anyway, mostly to humor him. She doesn't know what Florence Nightingale is or what it has to do with a magical conch shell, but whatever mental image she conjures up amuses her anyway. "Mmm, no plans! I figured we could just go down there and see what catches our eye!"

Or, her eye anyway. She leads the way with all her usual earnest energy, but she's still highly aware that he's hiding something from her. Even if she doesn't show it, it bothers her-- a lot. Very few things get to her like secrets do.

"Is there anything you are hankering for that is at least a little bit healthy? Potato chips and ice cream do not count!"
fintastic: (you'll take it and like it)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-02-02 06:30 am (UTC)(link)
"What, you think the only thing I like is fish?" She bats at his shoulder playfully, but she hasn't given him much reason to think otherwise. She still doesn't really know what humans like to eat though, so she's going to have to wing this one. "How about a nice salad? Humans like that kind of thing, don't they?"

They like to graze, right? She was planning to take him to the aquarium, but now that she's decided to feed him, she still wants to get out of the training center, so she starts leading him in that direction. There's got to be something out in the Capitol at large that he will eat and that's somewhat healthy.
fintastic: (hmmm~)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-02-06 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
"None of those things sound healthy to me at all!" Not that Feferi is an expert on human cuisine. Her only frame of reference is that if he wants it, it's probably not good for him. "If I carry you, you are going to eat a salad. If you walk, we can go get these burgers of yours."

She'll settle though. She can be amicable and make a compromise. Exercise, or healthy food. Asking both is clearly just too much, but she's smiling anyway, so she's clearly not as frustrated as she's pretending to be. He makes it very hard for her to be firm with him, a problem that she's rarely had in the past.
fintastic: (swimming with the cuttles)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-02-11 05:56 am (UTC)(link)
"It is tough love!" But she's too busy being dragged along, and she's just glad to see him getting some energy back. For a fleeting second, she wonders if she's going to regret this decision and should have agreed to fish instead, but if this is what he really wants, she will cope with it. She is such a good friend.

She has to jog a little to keep up with him-- tall people with their tall legs!-- so she lags behind by a bit, catching up in bursts. "Wait up for me! If I had known burgers were going to get you going like this, I would have tried them from the start."

Maybe she should have sugared him up with greasy food to begin with... something to consider for next time.
fintastic: (u so funny 38))

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-02-15 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
"Really? They serve food? Oh, I don't know if we should go there after all, that is just too appalling for me!"

She's bad at keeping the joke going, because she laughs straight after, but he's not fooling anyone, especially not her. He was going to say something about fish, she just knows it. She's still following along though, thankful for the adjusted pace.

"I think next time we go out, I will just attach a cart to you and let you drive," she follows up, as her only acknowledgment of thanks. "That way I won't even have to worry about keeping up. What do you think about that, could that be like, our first real romantic date?"
Edited 2015-02-15 01:45 (UTC)
fintastic: (totally innocent)

[personal profile] fintastic 2015-02-20 05:28 am (UTC)(link)
Well, Feferi likes the idea, and she doesn't seem bothered by his choice of phrasing. Boyfriend doesn't mean as much to her. Any of her quadrants could be a boyfriend, really.

"A burger on a stick... I like that idea, thanks!" He thinks she's joking. She isn't joking. Well, maybe a little-- but not entirely.

As he pulls her through the door of the restaurant, she stops a moment to take a look around. She's never been here before, so she wants to get to know the place, but she doesn't want to lose him either. Following along, she slides into her seat, unawares of whatever breaches in human etiquette he might be making in the process. As soon as she's settled, she reaches her hands across the table, palms up, but doesn't say anything. She just... stares, expecting him to do something.

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