Head canon:
Since a very young age, Dave had always been the kind of kid who needed attention. Lots of it. He had said his first word before he could even walk and hadn’t stopped abusing the use of language since then. He talked all the time. He wasn’t exactly loud but at time he’d tend to get a little bit obnoxious, some would even say completely insufferable. He enjoyed mocking everything: people, things, the headlines of the newspaper. If people talked about it, he just needed to give the world his own personal interpretation of it. It wasn’t always clever or relevant, but most people with a sense of humour could enjoy his hour long ironic rants about… basically everything. Before he reached the age of 16 he had already enjoyed many of what he liked to call “ironic debates” with the two people closest to him, Dirk and Rose. They both had their own witty way to respond to him and he loved it. He found them both extremely clever and admired their capacity to express themselves. He thought the use they made of words was simply brilliant. He’d never ever admit it to their faces though. Ever. He tried several times in the past to have such conversations with his friend John but ended up pretty much talking to himself. The prince of Prospit had never had a taste for his pointless rambling.
However, Dave wasn’t the talking machine he was because he wanted to be close to everyone. It was in fact the opposite. He didn’t want to open up to anyone. All his Jokes and stupid rants were a product of his own insecurities. His biggest fear had always been to lose those he cared for. The less people he cared for, the less he had to worry about losing them. Being raised as a soldier had only made this insecurity bigger over the years. He had seen comrades die on the battlefield. He had seen the dangers that life had in store for everyone since a really young age. Every single time he saw someone die his fear consumed him a little more. He never let it show. He’d wash any serious topic off with a joke and get away with it every time. The only two people to ever get him to break his act were Dirk and Rose. They were incredibly good at it. They could tell whenever something was upsetting him in spite of the mask he was constantly hiding his feelings with.
No matter who he was talking to, Dave had never been very emotional, even when he actually opened up it didn’t mean he’d be all tears and sobs over things. The army had made him what he was: a cold blooded soldier. He needed that attitude in order to protect people. He couldn’t let grief take him over each time something went wrong. He needed to keep his head cool and get on with the plan. Dave had always been extremely good at that. When something unexpected came up on a mission, you could be sure he was ready to react and switch to plan B, whatever the heck plan B was. If there wasn’t any, he’d make one up on the spot. It often involved a lot of risky moves and he knew someday he’d probably lose his life on one of his famous “plan B”s, but he couldn’t care less. He didn’t fear his own death. He’d protect those he loved with his own life.
Through his life, he only had two close friends: Rose and Dirk. His friendship with Rose was rather peculiar. When he first met her, she really got on his nerves. He thought of her as pretentious and quite the party pooper. After a while he actually got to know her and understood that like him, she was wearing a mask. She had to be the way she was because of her duty as a seer. The time he spent with her allowed him to realise that she was in fact a smart and curious young woman. She liked to pick on him about different things. It was clear that she knew of his insecurities and tried to embarrass him as often as she possibly could. Dave would often go to her to talk about his personal life. In spite of everything, he trusted her.
One of the many things he had confided in Rose was his feelings for his cousin, Dirk, the prince of Derse. Dirk was the first friend Dave ever had. He trusted him even more than he trusted Rose. Dirk and he had spent all their time as kids playing together. They had different interests but both enjoyed the art of speech. Sometimes they would simply sit each in their corner and do their own thing; other times they’d have goofy debates on various topics. They also liked to practice that ancient troll art called Slam poetry. Dave liked to believe he was quite skilled at rhymes, even though Dirk would always have the upper hand in their Slam battles. He liked to believe it was only because he was younger that he couldn’t find the words to defeat Dirk, but the reality was that Dirk had a lot more education that he could ever dream of. His vocabulary would never be as diverse as his cousin’s.
Through years, Dave had started developing something a little bit stronger than friendship or family bonding for his cousin. However, he had no idea how to interpret it. Matters of the heart were a thing his soldier mind didn’t allow him to handle very skillfully. That’s was the reason why he confided in to Rose in the first place. He thought she could help him, tell him how to deal with those weird feelings. He knew it was probably wrong and that he probably shouldn’t feel that way towards the Prince, but he couldn’t help it. The day he had told Rose, she had given him a sad smile and they sat without saying anything for what seemed like hours before Rose finally had to leave. They haven’t brought up the topic since then.
Since the Condesce’s Coup d’état, Dave’s life has been hell. He’s been anxious, unable to sleep and even a little bit moody. At first being a spy had been a piece of cake but since the population started considering him like a traitor, his situation slowly started wearing him out. He had been at the people’s service for two years now and he wished it could have stayed that way. The Condesce still trusts him for now and he intends to fulfill his mission even if it costs him his sanity, for Dirk and the other’s sake. Being an infiltrator of the Her Condescension’s army allowed him to witness many horrible things and his capacity to remain calm and collected is wearing thin, but he’s holding up, patiently waiting for Dirk to return. Lately, Dave has been training like a madman to keep his mind off things. He’s readier than ever to face the Empress when he’ll be needed to jump back in action.
Physical head canon:
Dave’s height isn’t very impressive, around 5’8’’. He isn’t a very big guy but his muscles are well defined. He’s slightly tanned since he spends a lot of time training outdoors. Like the other Dersite humans, he’s got light blond hair. His eyes are burning red but he hides them behind his trademark pair of ironic shades. For now he’s got fine facial features, but puberty seems to slowly be sculpting his jaw and cheekbones into something more masculine, making him look a little bit like Dirk. He’s trying to grow some facial hair but so far, he’s only managed sideburns. Dave prefers a lighter armor to a full plate. He likes to wear something that allows him to move freely when he fights. His weapon of choice is a katana.
Roleplay sample:
The air was getting cold on Derse again. Mornings like these were Dave’s favorites to train. He had gotten up early, washed and then headed towards the training yard. He was shivering when he stepped outside, but he liked the cold air on his skin. He didn’t wear his armor when he trained in the morning; he knew he’d be sweating in less time than it takes to say it anyway. His sword had been freshly sharpened the night before.
He took a deep breath as he walked barefoot in the wet grass. He made his way to the dummies that the servants had prepared for him. He positioned himself, staring at his targets for a while. It took a single slash to take the first row down. He spun around and took out the rest with two quick strikes.
“Sir! What are you doing out here in nothing but trousers and a tunic so early in the morning?” he heard a feminine voice say, “Surely you must be out of your mind!”
The little carapace was hurrying towards him carrying boots and a woolen cloak. He turned around to face her and relieve her of her burden.
“Eh, you know I like it better that way… Like, try to keep things simple. Those clothes are super comfy, almost like his Highness’ royal pajamas, yknow? Best thing to train into.”
“You mean best thing to catch a cold, Sir!” the little carapace said, frowning.
He chuckled as he slipped the boots on and placed the cloak on his shoulders.
OOC
Uh hello. So I'm also Sollux. I got to be Dave because of special circumstances. Go check out my Sollux sheet for proper OOC.
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