💦 David Burns, "Davey"

Backstory

PAST;;

David Burns was born in a hospital near Rochester, New York to his mother Helen Burns in 1958. She was a single mother and worked in upstate New York as a secretary to a rich man. Because of her standing, she didn’t have much time to spend with her dear son, only caring for him 24/7 while he was nursing, then turning him over to daycare. He grew up mainly alone, but adored his mother - after all, she worked so hard for the two to have a good life. They were, by no means rich, but his mother’s job was stable enough, especially with the two getting financial support after his late father’s death.
He went to a private all-boys school, something they barely had the money for, but dear Helen only wanted the best for her little boy. He met many people there, a notable one being a young boy named Josef who had a disorder that was slowly taking away his hearing. David was originally wary of the boy, but eventually took up sign language after hearing from his mother that his father had started to grow deaf shortly before his death. The two grew relatively close before an internship opportunity was provided to David at the age of 17

David had always been attracted to the prospect of diving, thinking the idea of exploring how areas of water sustained themselves very interesting. He was brought to New Jersey at 17, and his mother couldn’t be happier; though she loved her son, she could barely afford the both of them, and now with them both working for themselves, she could finally set herself back onto her feet financially. David worked with a company until his early 30s when the news of a potential serial killer hit the news.
Jason Voorhees, a man assumed to be dead at the age of 11 now roaming the forests of camp crystal lake and murdering all those stupid enough to wander there. David Burns was obsessed, not with death and murder, but with that almost mythical masked man. It was an obsession, and everyone noticed. He spent all his free time researching and writing down everything, even going so far as purchasing a phony merchandised mask of the killer; needless to say, he jumped for joy when the prospect of draining the camp’s lake came around late 1993.

Late one night, after the area had been cleaned for the company, David snuck in with nothing but a snorkel and mask. He was going to free dive into that horrible lake, and discover the mysteries that lie in it. The lake was rancid, filled with dead and decaying bodies, rusty weapons, and other biohazardous debris. It choked David, it filled his body with disgusting water and drowned him. He sank to the bottom of the lake, shards of metal and bone tearing at his vocal cords, melting his skin, and bleaching his hair a dull brown. His eyes burned, so he clamped them shut, faintly hearing the whir of boats above him.
He sat at the bottom of that pool of water for days, constantly struck with various tools his company was using to clear the lake, hooks getting stuck in his skin and tearing at the bone, metal fragments falling right above him and lodging into his body, partially dismembered by the very company he worked for. He was undead like the very creature he admired, still feeling pain as any mortal would, yet not getting the release of death. He was brought up weeks later, and the company’s project was put on hold. A coroner had taken him into a lab to dissect him, the undead man sneaking off in the dead of night back to the place his life ended, that fateful lake that he just couldn’t hate.

PRESENT;;

he never left the camp, no, just lurked in the shadows of that place. It’s a wonder Jason didn’t kill him, or maybe he already tried. Life, or rather, the lack of life, passed in a blur, and David was still here. He still studied those killings, making himself a mold of the creature he so worshiped. He wasn’t a serial killer, he was simply just a person who killed all those he deemed a threat to Jason. If he had to live on, it was for Jason, to watch him, worship him, and make sure that he would be forever able to study the undead like a bug under a microscope.

Trivia;;

•  Although there are many differences, I see this character as an alternate version of Davey Luskey, I would call it the less forestry version of him, and more of an aquatic version with a few more ambiguous twists. I always loved having many different rewrites, timelines, and versions of Davey, and this one is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
- If Davey and David were to meet, they would not like each other in the slightest at first, but they would eventually get along as a kind of yin-yang.

• This version of Davey is much less friendly, he's quite the opposite, he's quiet, calculated, and very intrigued by the world around him. He wants desperately to get close to Jason, to study him, to figure out why drowning in this cursed lake had given them this "Death curse" But... Jason is not very approachable, to say the least.

• He hopes one day he can have a conversation with Jason about these things, but something this in-depth is unlikely, as Jason is inconsolably traumatized by the violent death of his mother and can see nothing but pure, blind rage. David, on the other hand, is more solemn about his fate, but bittersweet.

• Although David has murdered a few humans, he sees it as a "greater good" to keep Jason "Safe" so he can "Study him", though David doesn't seem to be getting much studying in, could there be alternative motives?
- However, he hasn't been known to slaughter "Party-goers," As he doesn't see them as a threat to Jason. He may try to warn these types of people from trespassing any further while keeping his distance, but he's not going to lose sleep over those who don't take his warning.
- The types of people he eliminates are people he deems a "Threat" to Jason, such as ghost hunters, exorcists, agents, and those who bring weapons. 

• In an ideal scenario, David would love to have a sit-down conversation with Jason at a picnic table near the campsite and just let loose, asking him all kinds of questions about who he is, why he's doing this, and reassuring Jason that one day, maybe, there will be a lift to this death curse that binds them both to the lake, if that's what he desires. But this ideal scenario is unlikely to happen.

• This is David's goal in his new, undead existence. He wants to discover the reason for this curse that plagues the lake that's keeping them both chained down to earth despite their mortal deaths. He will sometimes make attempts to talk to those who may have some knowledge of the Lake's background.

• However, Jason is inconsolable, violent, and vengeful. Because of this, David stays at arm's length, viewing him from afar.

• David's intentions are not pure. Even in life, he had a morbid fascination with Jason Voorhees, and this bias carried over to his watery grave. In his own way, he even looks up to Jason or possibly sympathizes with him. He does keep his distance, but he absolutely is part of the "Ecosystem" of the lake, so to speak. Just like in life, David will remove bodies from the water and place them in harder-to-find locations.
- His reasoning is, because he was called to remove the bodies from the lake in the first place, he is well aware that the police are collecting evidence against Jason, and he's doing everything he can to play clean-up crew in Jason's rampages.

• Despite all of this, David still enjoys diving and spends most of his time deep underwater, exploring the ecosystem just as he did when he was alive, only, being undead it's now much less expensive as he can now breathe underwater.

• If Jason is afraid of water in this timeline, he will regularly chase David until he reaches the Lake, jumping in before Jason can catch him. Jason will then pause at the lake's shore and stare blankly with empty, dark holes. He will either turn around and lumber back into the forest or walk a few laps around the water like an animal who can't reach its prey.
- During these times, David never puts up a fight, and wouldn't dare say anything snarky or make any insulting gestures to Jason. He just quietly treads the water and waits for Jason to go back into the forest.

• These moments do not hurt David's feelings or make him feel threatened in the slightest. He is more intrigued by Jason's behavior than anything.