hardlydead | open post ye wankers

you've taken worse.

workshop. don't need eavesdroppers.

[ not that being in his workshop guarantees anything, but it's a lot less likely that anyone can sneak up on him in there. ]

Gonna need better than maybe if you want me in the workshop.

[ mr "i'm gonna cut your limbs off and put you in the furnace" ]

okay, coward. ironworks. upstairs office.

[ that way he can throw david off the walkways if necessary. ]

[ did he write and delete a whole text arguing he's NOT a coward and actually the workshop is FINE? just ignore those typing dots, don't worry about it. ]

Couldn't even do us an upgrade to 'probably'? I thought we had something here, Chuck.

[ if he only knew, he'd laugh more than he has in years. ]

depends on what you say and how pissed off i get. you can come out here on a maybe or you can hide and not get your answers.

I'm already on my way, calm down.

[ he doesn't respond to that one, because either david's coming, or he isn't.

he heads for the ironworks himself, not setting any new traps but not shutting any of the ones already set, either. he won't show david that kind of courtesy - not after he got hacked to death. but david's proven almost as good as jake at maneuvering the damn things anyway.

the upstairs office is cold and silent. it used to be a furnace when the ironworks was running. one man watching everything from above, making sure everything went smoothly, dishing out the punishments if it wasn't. sometimes him. sometimes his father. sometimes somebody else who could, at least for a little while, be trusted.

he leans against the console and waits. there's no way to sneak in here while he's watching, but he keeps an eye on both doors and the busted window carefully anyway. ]

[ eventually, david shows up. he does his best to get around closing as few traps as possible — no idea what evan classes as messing with his shit — and that slows him down, and he tries not to think about the fact that he's been through here so much lately that he's starting to recognise some of the signs of a trap at just a glance. not the most hidden ones, and he doesn't catch them quickly enough to make him feel confident not really taking his time to move through the estate, but enough to add weight to the box of things involving trapper that he opts not to think about. ]

[ david jogs up the outside staircase, hands shoved in his jacket pockets as he walks the landing and comes through the door. ]

Thought about how to boost my odds.

[ since evan's leaning against the console, david opts to take the chair and throw himself down in it (with little care for the way it creaks in protest when he does,) bag rattling as he swings it off his shoulder into his lap. ]

[ he also considers putting his feet up on the console but decides that'd probably be pushing it. ]

[ he can sense the closed traps, and can sort of track david's progress by that. but there's not many, so he just waits, and listens. the metal of every stair and walkway around here means that nobody approaches silently.

and because there's no stealth in david, at least not normally, he doesn't bother hiding his approach. evan listens to the creaking under every footstep, knowing exactly where he is.

he did remove the one trap from a few inches off the doorway, because funny as it might be to see david step in that after everything, and much as he wants the bastard to suffer, this might be the one moment to at least try to be cordial. and there's plenty more around if he changes his mind.

that trap is leaning in the corner as david saunters in and lands in the chair without asking permission, closer than evan expected but maybe not so much for someone who just recently killed him. evan himself doesn't move, although his eyes do lock on the bag david brought with him. ]

Yeah? How's that?

[ there's a cleaver hanging off evan's belt. not the same one david used, but no less dangerous it. ]

[ is he acting a little too comfortable? maybe, but that's how david does most things. he leans forward in the chair as he unzips the backpack and starts pulling things out, sets down a battered but intact coffee mug and a glass jar. follows up by setting down a half-full bottle of what purports to be scotch, but is really just bottom shelf whiskey. ]

Ain't much and it's not great, but hey.

[ it's not enough to get either of them drunk — maybe get a light buzz going at best if either of them wants — but truth be told david brought it for himself more than anything, to put him somewhere close to in the mind of sharing a drink with friends, having a talk about anything and (almost) everything. a bit of social lubricant, just not the way people tend to think of. ]

[ evan was expecting something actually dangerous in that bag. some of those explosives they've developed. a weapon. a bunch of rocks so he can try to beat evan with it if things go bad.

glass isn't exactly something unusable as a weapon, but he sure as hell wasn't expecting alcohol. especially not enough to share. he stares at it as david sets it down, and then up at david, and wonders what in the fuck this is going to lead to.

but it's not a direct, immediate threat. which is a surprise. ]

Won't ask where you got it.

[ there's four places to get alcohol that he knows of, and it's always stolen. never a good idea to learn who got fucked over by losing their stash. but hell, if he was on their side, he'd do the same thing.

he waits until david's poured a measure for each of them to take whatever's offered, and lets the smell reach him through the mask. it's old and familiar and reminds him of things he'd rather not think of. ]

[ david lets out a quiet, amused breath at that. he can't decide if he'd want to know or not if he was in evan's position, but plausible deniability and having somebody bring it to you is probably the best option. ]

[ he pours them both a measure and nudges the mug toward evan, taking the jar for himself, no idea what goes through evan's head but at this point the smell of cheap liquor is, for david, the smell of some of the only good times he ever has anymore. some of the most miserable too, but somehow it's easier to let those go. already, just having a drink in his hand has improved his mood. ]

[ maybe he's also considered how easy it would be to smash this bottle to use it as a weapon, but one shouldn't sour the mood by letting that kind of thing linger at the front of their mind. ]

So.

[ david tilts his head up to look at evan, raises his eyebrows. ]

You invited me out here, so I think that means you go first.

[ he doesn't drink right away. he was never a heavy drinker - didn't need to be, not when the rage was always right there - but that doesn't mean he doesn't appreciate it. still, unlike david, it's not something that'll help him loosen up and talk more easily. he needs a clear mind for that. one unclouded by being drunk - or being furious.

evan watches david instead, seeing no rage, no demands, no uncertainty. not yet, anyway. one wrong word and it all goes to hell, he knows. but he doesn't want to talk about any of this. address even a single idea fermenting in the rot of his skull. ]

You keep gettin' in my way. Fucking around. Never learning. Keep gettin' better at it.

[ it's hard to put it into words, especially for him. but, for the moment, he'll try. ]

You, coupla the others. You do stupid shit and it sticks. Start wanting to see what else you do next.

[ he pushes the mask up partway - just enough to drink. the whiskey burns like fire, but that's fine. that's what it should do. ]

[ honestly after this long, david doesn't hate many of the killers in any real way, most of them are just playing their parts same as him. sure he'd jump on the chance to kick the shit out of most of them, but he saves his ire for the likes of the ones like ghost face, freddy. the ones who get off on tormenting people outside trials. ]

[ it makes shit like this easier, he's learning. makes it easy to just listen while evan talks, tries to sort out his thoughts-- well. david does open his mouth when evan says they never learn, but he stops himself with a sip of whiskey. sucks in a breath through his teeth at the familiar burn of it.
makes a quiet noise when evan drinks to indicate he's listening. thinking. ]

... That why you keep asking why I do what I do?

[ it isn't a good idea to talk with survivors like they're actual people, might even be equals, but the entity doesn't pay attention to much outside trials. as long as he performs in a trial, it won't care. the problem comes with starting to see them as people instead of prey.

if they're looking to fuck, it's different. just a release, a temporary truce to pretend they aren't in a nightmare. but this is getting dangerously close to finding truths about similarities. ]

You know how this ends, right?

[ the rumors fly, the old secrets never stay that way. survivors dig where they shouldn't. ]

Why bother knowin' you're worse'n dead?

[ he knows at least one answer: because it keeps them human. gives them hope. because it's all they can do. but maybe that's not the real answer. ]

Course I do.

[ it comes out a little snappier that david would've liked and he frowns, takes a breath and another sip. isn't that what he'd said last time, evan bringing it up being the thing that got him all wound up in the first place? well, the thing that tipped it over anyway. ]

[ he's never given it any deep thought though. people ask him why, give him grief about it, and david says that's what he's here for. it's his job. if him getting battered, broken. killed. if that gets the others out the gate, that's a win. ]

Fuck else am I gonna do? Hide out, hope for the best? That ain't me.

[ there's a lot to it maybe, if he really digs. ego, competitiveness, compassion for the others. david shrugs a shoulder, he doesn't know about all that. ]

Shit, maybe I'm just too stupid to change and that's all it is.

[ it's about as much of an answer as he can expect. it's a human thing, surviving like that. and maybe some part of david knows just how long this might take, how much suffering the entity wants, and wants it over as quick as possible. instead of desperately looking for a way out and letting the hope burn too brightly, he's just trying to get it all over with. and doesn't even realize it.

or maybe not. evan snorts at the final possible explanation. ]

Sure. Maybe.

[ he's rarely questioned survivors directly about this before. it isn't a great frame of mind of focus on. but it's part of what gets him interested despite himself. that, and the refusal to get off his fucking property. ]

That what makes you try to kill us?

[ and succeed. ]

Nah.

[ to be fair, he never intended to kill anyone until things took a turn last time, forced him into realising what he already knew really. these are killers, not some dickhead coming at him in an alley he can punch out and leave. and who fucking knows how fast one of them would get back up if he didn't finish the job. stupid, short-sighted. ]

[ he nudges at something on the ground with the toe of his boot and a frown on his face, eyes cast downward. ]

I was a fighter, right. Never lost neither. Then I get sucked up into this shithole, getting fuckin' slaughtered every day and you can't even fight back? Not for real.

[ it starts tired, a little dispassionate. just recounting facts he's told a million times before around the campfire. what did you do back home? oh, i used to fight. explains everything about the way he is in just a few words. by the end though, the exaustion isn't gone, but the rage is there, just under the surface, barely restrained like always. obvious in the way he starts to emphasise his words, the flare of his nostrils and the way he clenches his jaw. ]

[ he shakes his head, takes another sip of whiskey. ]

Pretty sure you can imagine how that winds a guy up.

[ funny enough, he can imagine. he'd be furious without being able to fight back - hell, he's furious even though he can. if he could turn around and gut everyone who ever hurt him, he'd do it. and he did, back before. does here, now, sometimes.

but understanding it doesn't mean he appreciates it, or has any intention of giving david a pass for it. it just means he gets where he's coming from. it's still unforgiveable. especially given the circumstances. ]

Sure.

[ he eyes the whiskey again, debating whether drinking now, even just to a buzz, is a good idea. but even if someone does creep up, it's not like he won't hear them. he tips the mask up again, downs half of what's left in one go. ]

So'd it feel like revenge? Leave you happy? Or did you really go throw up somewhere and cry in a corner?

[ there's less venom to the words than he'd like, or than david might expect. it's more like a real question. killing takes people differently. especially the first one, which is a turning point. evidently despite everything, david hadn't killed before getting here.

not really a surprise, given his status as survivor. ]

Shoulda felt good, right? Like getting one up on one of you fuckers finally.

[ obviously that's not the case, and it frustrates the hell out of david. it should feel great, should feel worth gloating about. as it is, he hasn't told anyone, not even to explain why he was all battered and bruised and halfway dead himself when he finally made it back to the campfire. ]

Lot to process-- dunno if you remember what that's like or if it were ever like that for you, seein' a dead body and knowing you done it, but...

[ but what. david tilts his head, eyes looking past evan at the wall behind him while he tries to find the words. there's a lot to it, the whole thing was messy, feels messy in his head. it's not easy to say it felt bad or good, because it's both and neither at the same time. because yeah, there's a part of him that feels a strong sense of satisfaction over hacking trapper with his own weapon, but it's overshadowed by so many other things. ]

Mostly just felt tired. Killed a guy and for what? He's just gonna be back after a while, pissed off as all hell about it.

[ because that's the thing about the fog, right? nothing's final. everything's just an endless cycle of shit until the entity gets all it can out of you. ]

[ he remembers. he knows it now. he sees a corpse, one he made, and most of the time what he feels is satisfaction. killing david is satisfying. the trespassers, survivor or killer. and back before it was the same, too, after a certain point. that was right, after all. it was the way of the world. he was on top. he was entitled to their deaths. so of course he enjoyed them, and still does.

but he also understands the frustration of killing someone who won't stay dead. that's this whole fucking place. it's why he's learned to take the satisfaction of the short term kill and let it ease the rage. otherwise, he'd probably be dead already. ]

So you didn't even like it. Gettin' back at me after all that.

[ his smile, just visible now, is thin and unamused. ]

You ain't such a piece of shit, or else you'd be gloating.

[ he down the rest of the whiskey in the mug and lets the burn mingle with the rest of the burn that runs through him every day. it's not nearly enough to get drunk on, or even really buzzed, but it's enough to keep the cleaver hanging off his belt instead of in his hand. ]

Dead's dead. Take what you can get around here. Cave in the ghost's skull, it's not like he's gonna get any less mad if you grovel about it.

I didn't say that.

[ that he didn't like it, he means. says it with a quirk of an eyebrow. because he did, and he worries about leaning into that part of himself. about getting carried away. ]

[ he thinks about the way ghetto masher screamed when he popped his eyeballs out with his thumbs, about the noises evan made the times he pulled that metal out of him. that was satisfying. that's what felt good. and it shouldn't be a surprise really, he's always struggled to hold back that viciousness. not always successfully. ]

Think I would've preferred doin' it with my hands.

[ is he joking? is he serious? he's tipping back the rest of what's in his glass either way. ]

[ evan looks at him in silence, and then actually laughs - nothing loud, or outright, but more than the dismissive snort he usually gives. okay, he misjudged. maybe there's worse in david than he thought.

though the part where he keeps ripping the shrapnel out and using it as a weapon while grinning probably should have been a tell. ]

Yeah? There's somethin' to that, you know. [ spoken as a man who primarily beat people to death before he opted for a massive weapon, who learned who to kill that way. ] You feel 'em going instead of just watchin' it.

[ he sets the mug down on the edge of the console, and reaches up to take his mask off fully so he can look at the carved, broken face of it. there's still that same distant little smirk on his face. ]

'Course I doubt you could get me that way.

Be a learnin' curve to it for sure.

[ david says it with an amused little uptick to his voice as he leans forward to put the empty jar down on the console, thinks about it for a second and then tops them both up. just a funny little thought experiment, right. not as if even if he backed off picking fights, he would still end up coming to blows with this guy sooner or later. ]

[ still, he can't help the part of himself that thinks, when evan says you feel them going, that that's how it should be. david's just... not going to focus on that. ]

Havin' a bunch of firsts with you apparently, why not that one too?

[ which is grimly amusing to him, one of those things that reminds him the fog is as ridiculous as it is hellish. ]

[ a learning curve is one way to put it, evan thinks, because very few people ever beat him in a fistfight. it's hard to beat someone who isn't just fighting to win but is desperate for it, dead certain they'll get it, and willing to kill to make sure that happens. here, he's almost unstoppable. almost.

he reaches for the drink, is about to make some idle if edged comment about david having to learn for the rest of his life, when the comment about firsts slides past his thoughts. it barely registers initially, and then he gives david a questioning look, the smirk fading a little. ]

You sayin' you never fucked anyone before? Or just not guys?

[ it barely occurred to him before, because he didn't care. and doesn't, really. but it's ... a little interesting to think about, if he dwells on it, and the alcohol lets him do that. he wouldn't have guessed, given the determination to walk right onto his property and just go for it that david had before. ]

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