dualislogs | children, wake up; hold your mistake up

Entry tags:

children, wake up; hold your mistake up

WHO: All new and remaining Dualizens
WHAT: A mysterious return! And the start of Act II.
WHERE: Begin at the dorms, move on to wherever else in the city you want.
WHEN: Right meow c:
WARNINGS: Please use these in thread headers if applicable!

Maybe it’s a stream of sunlight that invites you back to consciousness. Maybe it’s a sound - a slammed door, your roommate’s snores, panicked shouts in the hallway. Whatever it is that wakes you, you find yourself in a plain bed inside a plain room, groggy and disoriented.

Maybe this room is a familiar sight, or maybe it’s a place where you’ve never found yourself before. Whether you’re new to town or an old hand at navigating the neon-lit streets of the city outside the dorm room window, one thing is for certain - you are one of only a very few people still populating this city, and not much about Dualis is as you last remember it.

Time to wake up and start looking for answers.

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closed; text to duke.

[there's something important she needs to know, after waking up and finding the city deserted:]

r u still here?

open; rick's.

[maybe it's pointless to keep the lights on at rick's, given that almost the entire population of the city has mysteriously vanished. but nick tends to seek comfort in what's familiar; routine is what she has always held onto in the face of adversity. she figures she can't be the only one - anyone else who is still around might appreciate a small shred of normality, too.

so it's as much for herself as it is for anyone else who might wander by that she props the door to the bar open every night, an invitation to come inside for a drink and conversation with another living person. nick can typically be found perched on a stool in front of the bar, guitar in her hands and a glass of whiskey on the counter next to her. anyone who enters will be greeted with a nod, a muted smile, and a question:]

Hey. Got any requests?

[drinks or songs - maybe even both.]

[How about a familiar face, Nick? Seifer was out making his salvage rounds when he spotted the open door. Might as well see if anyone's in, and to his pleasant surprise not only is there but someone he considers at least a bit of a friend.

At least someone's still watching over the bar.]

What's the house recommending tonight?

[He asks as he saunters in, with his little crocodile dog in tow trotting along behind him. At least Eos made it and didn't starve or something. That would have been incredibly upsetting on top of everything else here.]

[a familiar, friendly face is a godsend right now, honestly. both seifer and his weird-looking pet get a warmer smile of greeting from nick.]

Tonight, the house recommends whiskey - always does, when I’m runnin’ it. Which I guess is gonna be all the time, now. [SHRUG.] So ... yeah, whiskey. [she nods to the crocdog.] Anything for your friend here?

[Eos, ever the ray of sunshine no matter how dire the circumstance, does a gleeful little dance once he's inside in greeting to Nick, wiggling right up to her to demand some pettings.]

Let's go with that, then. [He offers casually. Seifer doesn't drink enough to have a favorite. He should probably not start on whiskey but hell, wasn't anyone around to lecture him about it one way or another.] As for him, if you got a tray or somethin' layin' around for water I'm sure you'd be his best friend...

More than you already are.

[He added, glancing down at the dancing animal. Everyone is Eos' best friend.]

He's cute. [she smiles a little more warmly as she leans down, hand outstretched for the crocdog to sniff and give approval before gently going for an under-chin scratch.] What's his name?

[petting tribute complete, nick hops off the stool and slips back behind the bar, first placing her guitar in its stand between the bar and the small raised platform that serves as a stage. she washes her hands, then pours a whiskey neat to slide across the bar to seifer and returns to the front of the counter with a bowl full of water for his companion.]

So, how're you two holdin' up?

Eos. [The little leathery animal skipped past the sniffing part pretty quickly to wiggle right into smashing his face into her hand for pets. The under chin scratch earned some pleased weird croaking sounds.] As you can see, looks scarier than he is.

[What with the teeth and all. While she set up Seifer sauntered over to prop his gunblade against the counter as he hopped up onto a stool. No sense in hiding that he's armed anymore, the Head likely already knew anyway.]

Eh, lot easier salvagin' when there ain't anyone to ask questions. Problem is ain't enough people for the weapons to go around anymore. Yourself?

I think most of the scary-lookin' ones are like that.

[nick herself, for example. she spent a long time cultivating an intimidating persona as a way of shielding herself from being hurt. and up until a few years ago, when she dropped the act? it worked.

she rejoins seifer at the bar, taking a seat again at her stool, but her smile falters slightly when he asks about her. she's still not used to anyone giving a shit about how she's doing, and it catches her off guard every time.]

I'm ... [she picks up her drink and stares into the glass for a moment, then shrugs.] I ain't dead. So I guess I can't complain too much, right? [she smiles again, an attempt at masking the sadness knotting up her insides, and hastily downs the rest of her drink.]

You know, you've got a point.

[Himself included, and his posse. They weren't always the best behaved, but the being scary part was largely to keep people away. It was very effective.

Ah, yeah, he gets that look. Casually he reaches out to offer her a comforting pat on the shoulder. She doesn't need to say it, he gets it.]

Mmm. [He sipped at his whiskey, lacking the fortitude to down it the way she could. Seifer wasn't exactly an experienced drinker.] You can. Might as well, ain't like we've got any eavesdroppers.

[He gestured grandly at the empty building, frowning darkly. Everything about this was wrong. As much as he was avoiding admitting to himself how upset he was over everyone disappearing the least he could do is lend an ear to a fellow lonely soul.]

If you wanna get it off your chest, anyway.

Big Brother’s always listening. [she gestures out into the room full of empty tables with a sardonic smile, then shrugs.] Nah, it’s just - I been doin’ this a while now, y’know? Gettin’ tossed around these fucked-up places, fightin’ off monsters ...

[she frowns, and reaches for the bottle on the counter to pour herself another drink.] I used to work real hard to keep people outta my life. Thought that’d make it hurt less when they eventually left, ‘cause they always do. But it’s hard to live like that - sad and empty, and I decided I didn’t wanna do it anymore.

[she pauses, sips her drink, considering how much more detail she wants to offer.] In all this time I been gettin’ kicked around from one to dimension to another, I got to be friends with a couple guys who were at least a thousand years old each. Both of ‘em were ... [broken, but resilient in their own ways. stronger than nick ever imagined herself.] Well, they’d been through a lotta really fucked up shit, wars and death and pain, and they’d both been real lonely for a long time. And I thought - I mean, I ain’t a genius, I know people don’t stick around forever, ‘specially in places like this. I knew if I stopped pushin’ people away, if I got to know ‘em and care about ‘em, it’d hurt a lot whenever one of us’d leave. But I don’t wanna live to be a thousand years old if I spend most of that time keepin’ everyone else away just ‘cause I’m scared of gettin’ my heart broke. Better to’ve loved and lost than spend lifetimes in loneliness, y’know? That’s what I decided. [she nods sharply, firm in her decision, but her voice begins to waver:] So I knew it’d hurt to lose the people I - [love] - the people I care about, that’s just how it works. Just didn’t think it’d hurt this bad.

[drifter. hank. even vergil, though she’d already mourned him after he was murdered. nick looks down at the glass in her hands, her face reflected in the surface of the whiskey, mouth pressed tightly into a thin line. she takes a deep breath and forces a small, sad smile back onto her face as she looks up again at seifer.] It’s fine. I’ll live. ‘Cause fuck if I’m gonna let this place be the thing that kills me.

I'm still here.

Can we meet?

[she’s put so much effort into holding herself together since she woke up and found the city empty, and when she sees duke’s words on the screen of her phone, it feels like a wall inside of her that’s been holding back all the building panic and fear shatters. she wishes she weren’t alone, but she’s also grateful no one is around to see her cry.]

yeah i’m at my place u can come over if u want or i can come 2 u just lmk

Edited 2020-05-12 05:19 (UTC)

Under here. One hour. [He then texts her a cross-street just above a tunnel juncture. He's there waiting for her, hesitant as ever -- you can't live in a town like Haven without making contingency plans.]

[right, caution. it’s more than fair, and if nick weren’t so rattled, she would’ve likely suggested a similar meeting. but somehow, this is more upsetting than waking up in hadriel’s treacherous arena that first time, or the second or third time, or finding herself at the temple here a year and a half ago.

an hour is more than enough time for nick to pull herself together and make her way to the designated meeting place, though she doesn’t make any great effort to hide the fact that she’s been crying. duke’s already seen her a complete sobbing wreck, after all. she exhales a small sigh of relief as she approaches duke, a familiar figure in the landscape that seems even more foreign now that it’s empty.]

Hey. [she nods a greeting that surely looks more casual than she feels.] You really are still here, huh.

[The caution might be worth nothing, he's not sure, but Duke feels it's better than nothing. Even if he's wrong (and he realizes he easily might be), meeting in the tunnels is a sensible safety measure.

When she shows up he's relieved, letting out a deep sigh of breath as a weight he refused to contemplate is lifted from his shoulders. Duke spreads his arms, inviting Nick in for a hug.]

Hey. I was hoping you were all right.

[nick doesn’t hesitate, just glides right into duke’s arms and gently leans into his warmth, her own arms wrapping snugly around him. he’s the first thing she’s been able to trust is real since sho woke up.]

I dunno ‘bout all right, but I’m here. [she huffs out a breath, a ghost of a bitter laugh.] And feelin’ like a huge asshole for bein’ glad you’re still here, too.

[it’s selfish, and she knows it, recognizes the sharp twist of guilt in her gut. she hopes duke can forgive her for it, because she’s not letting go of him just yet.]

What about you? Wake up with any fun new implants I should know about?

[because asking if he’s ok seems pointless, given the givens.]

[Maybe they can't trust each other. Maybe she's secretly been replaced, or maybe he has and doesn't know it. Maybe the Head's capable of that. He doesn't know. What he does know is that they both needed that hug. She didn't immediately stick a knife in him or crush him, which is a good sign.]

What, you don't want me dead? How would that make you an asshole?

[He rubs at her back, brow furrowing.] Not that I know of. Did you?

Nah, not that I can tell. I don’t feel any different.

[she definitely needed the hug. she’d stay here all day if she could, but she needs to pull back a little now for what she needs to tell duke. he should be able to see that she’s sincere about this.]

Everyone else isn’t dead - they found a way out. Hank left me a note, and unless it’s a really good, really fucked-up fake, that’s what he said happened. [her expression pinches.] I just don’t get why some of us got left behind.

Yeah, you don't seem like it. Hey --

[He doesn't want to let go of the hug but he wants to have this conversation in the open even less. When Nick pulls back he's grateful, because he can reach out to catch her hand.]

Come on. [The tunnels are safer to talk in, at least last he heard. That might not be foolproof against the Head but it's something, and now he'll take what he can get.

Once they're inside them he turns back to her, sighing.]

So some people got out? [Jealousy hits him like a thunderbolt. I wasn't even supposed to be here dies somewhere before he even thinks of saying it, but the instinct is still there. Fuck.] ...Good for them.

[she follows him into the tunnels without protest, grateful for the link of his hand and hers. once inside, she takes his hand in both of hers, nods and drops her gaze to watch her thumb trace idly over his knuckles.]

Yeah, the note said - it said that Drifter, um - Drifter found a way out.

[her words are unsteady, not just from jealousy but from deep, intense hurt. heartbreak. her mouth presses tightly together as she tries to banish a memory from her mind, drifter's words: so if you wanna try to live that normal life, sister, or close to it? i'll do my level best to get you there.

she should know by now to expect to be left behind.]

I don't get why the fuck this is happening, I don't - Christ, nothing makes any sense anymore.

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children, wake up; hold your mistake up

nick rivenna | one ota, one closed.

Rick's

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