Dan Sagittarius

[hallelujahjunction]

●Dan Sagittarius
STATUS
[video | audio | text]

Comments

text

[turntex]

[A short while after Dan and Beckett leave him in the infirmary, Dave is shooting Dan in his typical eye-searing style.]

catra didnt get attacked til after wash and i so were still missing a body somewhere
good news is that means we know what direction our killer went right after that if yall wanna try to get a scent down there
bad news is adoras the least helpful witness ever
its like pulling teeth trying to get specifics outta her
these roots run deep and i do not have the time or patience right now for novocaine so this is gonna hurt
this is mostly a metaphor but im also kinda being serious here im real close to snapping at her even though i know shes just shocky because her gf almost died

Re: text

[hallelujahjunction]

[Dan, possibly fortunately, doesn't see the blinding red font because homeboy can't read and just makes Alexa tell him everything. Alexa doesn't bother with trying to interpret Dave's lack of punctuation, though, and Dan's subject to the equivalent of a GPS trying to spell out a British address in terms of words train-carring after each other with no real sense of sentence structure.

He dictates back:]

All rite. Wood you think weird better support following the track of wear the killer went after the tax or getting Adora to open up? I'm good with talking to people in chalk.

[turntex]

jesus fuck
that was some of the hardest to decipher shit ive ever read and you dont even know but that is really saying something
understatement of the century right there and no one but me can even appreciate it
damn wheres karkat hell understand
anyway i think im getting through to adora so yall should keep on the trail
baddie was apparently heading for the infirmary
which is a fun thought btw
catra led her off and adora last saw her like four floors down from here
see if lassie can pick up her scent again

[hallelujahjunction]

[Dan like :(]

Sorry, I'm dictating. Not grate at actually no scratch that can't reed worth shot.

I'll take Bucket and go for floors down from wear we are. Sounds like she's picking often ones she things are week hey Bucket shot Alexa stop how do I get Alexa to stop I'm done talking Alexa.

[turntex]

[ oh my god ]

yo what the fuck are you even saying
clearly dictating is not working for you
whos alexa
did dracula shoot someone
is alexa the murderlady
hello???

action

[myagents]

[The New Year's Eve party is over and Price stays awake in his room, thinking about what happened with Dan. He would think that Dan is too nice for his own good - as is anyone not attacking him, for that matter - but realistically speaking he must have something to gain from it. Namely earning his trust to hurt him or make him pay, probably organizing something with all his friends, because from the height of their morals they believe in punishing.
It's also true that killing teammates is not convenient, while 'educating' the unpopular person to cooperate and be able to contribute would probably get him a reward. Especially since Price, from what he could observe, has noticed that this system is corrupt in a different fashion than Project Freelancer was, privileges aren't earned through competitive means, or at least they don't divide people with the intent of having them kill each other. Also, unpopular people who don't work with others are not useful and according to the rules they will be 'gently let go', so Price absolutely needs to do something about his status.

Long story short, he needs to make friends whether he likes it or not, and Dan is the best person to attempt this with, he just needs to remember not to let Dan touch him since that is how he uses his powers, apparently.
He opens his locker: just to regain a little bit of credit with Jorgmund, he offered to do chores and clean up after the party - cleaning after parties is particularly messy on New Year's Day, so the staff was happy to have him save them that trouble - and took advantage of it to grab a couple of leftover chocolate muffins.

He can regulate the intensity of his own powers, so when morning comes he warms up the muffins. They still look pretty tasty, hopefully Dan will appreciate it. He walks to Dan's room, sees him inside but knocks on the door frame out of politeness.]

Daniel, how are you feeling? I brought you something for breakfast.

[hallelujahjunction]

[Dan was hungover enough that he skipped breakfast, which he's regretting, as a headache and queasiness on an empty stomach is punishing, but it's not his first rodeo with getting way too trashed and having to deal with the morning consequences. As such, when Price finds him alone in the dorm, Dan's still in bed, although sitting up and doodling a rather nice perspective drawing of the room and in a clean uniform instead of groaning with the pillow over his head like he was an hour ago. He's taking ginger sips from a water bottle.

He vaguely remembers the conversation with the Counselor last night, although more the emotions involved than the actual details. He remembers the spilled coffee and the Counselor losing composure, and he remembers feeling profoundly sad about something about the Counselor. He does not remember telling the Counselor about his powers.

He also remembers the Counselor getting him home when he was too drunk to do that himself, and as Dan's often slept in street alleys or on the ground in parking lots because he's been too intoxicated on alcohol or whatever else he could get that night to find the car he's lived in, it's a much appreciated effort. He greets the Counselor with a genuine smile, and the muffins with an even larger one.]

God, Counselor, I could kiss you over this muffin. Thank you. Is this fresh out of the oven? [He knows the Counselor can make cold, but not heat. He takes a big bite.]

[myagents]

Yes.

[He lies instinctively, then bites his lip.]

...No. I-- I cleaned up after the party, and no one had touched these yet. I thought they still looked good and didn't want to throw them away. So I took them and warmed them up for you.

[He hopes Dan is not offended. Wait, no, he can use this as a way to make himself look even better.]

I don't like to throw perfectly good food when there is someone who hasn't eaten yet.

[hallelujahjunction]

Well, [Dan talks through food around friends, but he and the Counselor aren't that close yet, so he politely takes the time to chew.] I appreciate it a lot. And you getting me home last night. I don't reckon the group as a whole would have let me sleep on the floor, but you never know. I've slept in some strange places.

[He tucks his legs in so there's room on the cot and pats it, an invitation for Price to take a seat if he likes. It's not that he trusts Price - that little stumble over a lie is one thing, but he hasn't forgotten that mission where Price seemed baffled by the idea of wanting to save a civilian and even more baffled that Dan was upset when it failed, that Dan cared more about the lost life than the little alien creature they could bring back for biopsy.]

You want we could share them? Or have you already eaten?

[myagents]

I have already eaten, thank you.

[He lies again. It makes him uncomfortable to eat near others, and has always gone unnoticed when in the mess hall. During the PFL days, he would eat with the Director during 'break' (meaning they brought paperwork with them) if he had to, but...It was kind of a nuisance, and it earned him bad looks, like it was weird that he had physical needs like everyone else, mostly because of the way he behaved he guessed - also the Director liked to skip meals and complain that there were more important things to do. He had to be perfect at basically al times, he succeeded and look where it got him: third prison in a row and close enough to his first mental breakdown in twenty years.]

Oh, by the way...

[He hesitantly sits next to Dan.]

I'm sorry I spilled coffee on you.

action; during the babadont plot

[bothbarrels]

[ North was asked by Kerrigan to talk to everyone on the list who's still in the dorms, so he makes the rounds while Theta keeps track of who he needs to talk to and what they had to say. North's not entirely What the Xs mean, and he's ready for various outcomes.

North finds his target soon enough, and gestures for him to come with him to the side of the hallway. ]

Hey, just checking in with you, since you were on that list. As far as we know it means you couldn't possibly be the shapeshifter, so I'd like to ask your help in working out who it could actually be.

[hallelujahjunction]

[Dan's stopped speaking up, mostly, since it's become possible that he's been wrong on details. Part of his withdrawal is embarrassment, but the majority is that he's genuinely concerned that if people put faith in his sketchy information, they might end up trusting the monster and getting hurt.

He follows North to the side of the hallway.]

Yeah, of course. How can I help?

[bothbarrels]

Just keeping an eye out and reporting anything strange to those of us on the list would be good. We all need to be on the same page. Basically, we're going to be watching those who were neither circled nor crossed out.

[hallelujahjunction]

Yeah, that's what I figured. [Dan's always watching everyone and taking mental notes, but he does a good job of hiding that from people.] Worth considering that if it can mimic memories, it might could know things about us even we don't know, if it impersonated a high-up enough brass.

[bothbarrels]

True. That's an important factor to consider.

[ North has Theta make a note of it. ]

Let me know if you notice anything.

text

[myagents]

Hello. I heard you partook to the fight against the shapeshifter. Are you alright? I hope you didn't get hurt.

[hallelujahjunction]

[Dan leaves a voice message in response, as he can't write and his attempts to get Alexa to effectively do voice-to-text for him have, he's been told, been laughable at best and incomprehensible at worst.]

Hey, good to hear from you. I'm fine, just my ego that took a bruising. Couldn't have done it without all y'all doing recon out there.

[myagents]

What matters is that the situation was taken care of and that Adora is safe. Do you have any theories on how this incident started?

[hallelujahjunction]

Sam had a theory that it was some hybrid the Stuff made of multiple people’s ideas of shapeshifters. At least some of the elements were like that kind of monster from my world, but not all of them, and I’m glad no one totally relied on me.

There was a thank you card to Gretchen, I heard, who’s a tech in that department that pulls people from their worlds. She said she didn’t know nothing when I talked to her this morning. [i.e. when he hooked up with her in a broom closet.]

Either way, I reckon a lot of us will be real careful what we share with others for a bit. You never know who’s a shapeshifter.

[myagents]

I see. That would make sense.

[He starts formulating excuses in his head about discussing it further, but he doesn't care much and he is kind of having a moment where he needs company. He doesn't like being alone too much, and the crisis about the fact that he has no power here is still ongoing...]

Mind if I come over?

[action: Belated X-mas Gift]

[loomingterror]

[It's late in the day on Christmas that Dan can find a present left for him in his room. It's not wrapped and doesn't look too much like a present, though there is an attempt to dress it up with a bit of red string tied around it in a messy bow. It's a simple glass bottle with a screw top, just small enough to slip in a pocket, dirty and filled with a collection of shiny rocks, paper clips and a random set of small keys likely meant for a file cabinet.

It sits on a note written in messy scrawl. "To Dan, thank you for the smoke maker! I tried to find something that cool for you but just found stuff humans seem to like. I hope they can be useful."

At the bottom of the note, instead of signing it, Ickis made a crude doodle of himself with the active smoke machine and another "Thank you".]

privately; before Daemon plot

[credit_not_blame]

[Dan is a squirrely bastard when he's mad at someone and trying to avoid them. Stacia has decided to respect that, given that getting annoyed with someone you're trying to apologize to is counterproductive. However, she is going to apologize to him, whether he likes it or not. She isn't going to do a full Rite of Contrition obviously, he's not Garou, but there are parts of it that are perfectly adaptable to human interaction.

So, when she corners him (and she does have to corner him, he could teach a goddamned Nuwisha a thing or two about vanishing into a crowd), she's armed with a red bracer and a apologetic expression. She extends the former out to Dan.]

I know you'd prefer to avoid me right now and I'll let you get right back to it in just a moment. But I fucked up, and I wanted to acknowledge that. I got too caught up in my own head and plans and forgot to take into account your clearly stated boundaries. I'll remember to check myself better in the future. I'm sorry.

[hallelujahjunction]

[The Rig makes it so that Dan can't just fuck off forever, as if his impulse whenever he's upset at anyone and as has been his habit since he was old enough to just decide to hit the bricks when he's unhappy. That means that even though Dan's been hiding from the sources of his distress, he's still around them, just enough to feel his sore nerves agitated again seeing everyone in the mess hall or at training before he vanishes again into the garden or the firing range or the arms of the Jorg staffers who enjoy his company. And as such he's been aware that Stacia's been trying to corner him, and has been dutifully avoiding letting that happen. That's how this has gone on so many weeks.

She finally does get him outside the firing range, where he's been finding his zen doing trick shots, which requires him to be completely calm and focused and is serving him much better than the one incident of 'grief counseling' he had to do with Dr. Fust. He almost pretends she isn't there, ignores her as if he can't hear her, but for better or worse, the silent treatment is as exhausting to administer as it is to suffer.

He takes the bracer, looking Stacia right in the eyes, neither accepting nor declining her apology.]

So, it wasn't just an unfortunate accident.

[credit_not_blame]

[Stacia smiles, but it's a humorless twist of her lips rather than any display of happiness or amusement.]

I prefer not to lie. I work best in implication and letting other people draw their own conclusions.

["Don't get caught". It was one of the earliest lessons she'd learned on her own from the Garou around her rather than having it spoon-fed to her. Rules are there for a reason, so if you choose to break them, don't get caught. And she'd always found that lies could tangle and catch you if you weren't careful, so she used them as sparingly as she could.]

[hallelujahjunction]

[Dan doesn't smile back. He looks at the bracer, wondering if it's got some sort of magic force that's supposed to compel forgiveness and feeling guilty at that uncharitable thought.]

Someone died who didn't have to, and my actions got the ball rolling. You get why I'm upset with you- with all of you involved, right? It ain't just boundaries.