Work Text:
your name is dave strider
his name is dave strider
your names are dave strider
you are the real one, main one
the alpha dave
because of your lifespan, because
the time loops decree you will make it to the end
youve been every dave
since the second the first one appeared
before you even had a chance to time travel because he
had already done it
had already come first
theyre supposed to be the copies
they all precede you
i am barely distinct from the herd
the dead daves pile up and its
me, its me, its me, im all of them
my name is dave strider
and i know exactly how expendable i am
and its exactly as much as
every dead dave on the pile
you stop time traveling because
it doesnt make any difference
except to remind you you are a thousand selves fragmented
whose edges roll in on ourselves like paper burning
its too late by then. hes taken the flame to yourself
and it curls, curls, disintegrates at the touch of your being
you are as alive as you are arbitrary