hadriel_logs | Event Log: Memories Past

Event Log: Memories Past

Who: Everyone
What: Memory Share Event!
Where: All around the city
When: November 14th-20th
Warnings: Please remember to tag all warnings for memory shares!

Have you ever looked through someone else's eyes? Heard through their ears, spoken with their tongue? The gods have tried to teach some of you empathy, but it's time you learned the hard way, exactly what the others here have been through. For a week, every time you brush skin to skin with someone, you'll experience a memory of theirs: happy, sad, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that it feels real to you.

The first touch may come as a surprise- it lasts only for a split second but may feel like an eternity, where you're trapped in someone else's memory. After that, it could be more expected, and some may even figure out how to control it and share specific scenes from their past with others. Or, you might wear gloves and long sleeve shirts for awhile, nobody's judging.

Maybe curtail the handholding for awhile- or go right ahead, if that's your thing. After all, you never really know somebody unless you've walked a mile in their shoes, right?

► This log covers November 14th-20th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you die in a memory, you don't die in real life, but if you do die in real life please let us know here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Kyna has "bullied" Wash into snuggling up with her, because the rain has been chilly lately and she's freezing. That certainly has nothing to do with her refusal to wear anything but shorts, of course.

She's burritoed them both up in whatever blankets she can find in the house, and she's tucked herself up against his chest, with her arms wrapped around him. This memory stuff has been a trip, but Kyna trusts Wash maybe more than anyone else in the world, and so she doesn't really mind the little snatches he gets from her. There's nothing she's afraid of him seeing. Mostly, she's trying to keep their skin from touching out of convenience, because it's pretty impossible to have a conversation otherwise.

She's teasing him about something stupid, like how he totally spoils Olympia, when she shifts her weight and her hand accidentally touches his. Oops.]

[ It's worth the risk for the sense of normalcy, honestly. And the burritos will just be practice for whenever they wind up on ice planet, although at that point he's going to have to force Kyna into pants. So Wash lets himself be bullied, trusting both her and himself to be careful. Kyna doesn't seem to mind the peeks he gets, and she's already seen the impact of the worst events of his life, if not the actual memories.

He huffs at the teasing, because Olympia is a perfect princess of a cat and deserves to be spoiled (she's not and he knows it, but don't tell a parent their baby isn't perfect), but Kyna doesn't respond. Oh. Wash didn't even notice their hands brushed, since he's not getting anything this time, but Kyna sure is gone. Hopefully it's nothing too terrible...

--

In this memory, Wash is younger. He’s not even Wash yet, he’s still David, and no one’s armor bears markings because that’s what their friend or foe indicators are meant for, but he’s an enlisted corporal in the UNSC marines and he’s standing in a metal room with strange harness-type contraptions along either wall. It’s a dropship, the door on the far end meant to lower for soldiers to deploy straight out the back.

Wash is arguing with an older-sounding man, his own voice youthful, his HUD identifying the other as staff sergeant. Superior by two ranks, for those familiar with the military. Superior enough to be giving orders, that’s for sure.

“There is no time for your insubordination, corporal. When I give an order, you are to follow it.”

“...no.”

“What did you just say?”

“I said no. It’s a suicide mission! We don’t have the soldiers to take what’s coming, if you send us to that planet we’re all dead and I won’t do it. No.”

“This is our duty, we are sworn to protect this post--”

“I saw the intelligence report, they’re not sending troops, they’re sending glassers. There’s no point in going down there to get nuked, we should be evacuating these, pack this ship till we have to worry about running out of air and then take a hundred more and call for relief.”

“You are a coward, son, if I ever saw one. We are marines! We--”

“You keep saying we like it’s going to be we! You’re going to drop us like you were ordered and take a slipspace transport and say you barely made it out alive, you’re not going down there to die with us. Because those weren’t your orders. Who’s the real coward here? What are you afraid of?”

“Why you little maggot. Take him into custody, now! I will handle this myself.”

Two more armored soldiers marked as privates approach Wash, albeit very reluctantly, like they don’t like the direction this conversation has taken. He glances over his shoulder at them and moves fast as lightning, grabbing the staff sergeant’s wrist since his arm is outstretched to point a finger at where he wanted Wash taken. And then it’s a fight physically as well as verbally, but not one that lasts long. Wash takes the older soldier out, has him down on the floor of the deployment bay, probably with several broken bones and a concussion.

It was fast, it was mostly efficient, but it was not without anger. He looks up at the other two soldiers, who are just staring down in what can only be supposed to be shock that Wash just did that.

“...they’re going to court martial you, man,” one of them says softly, worriedly.

“Let them. At least I’ll be alive to get kicked out.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Don’t. Just… let’s get him contained and get the hell out of dodge. I’ll tell comms to call the post about what we picked up, we can get someone more superior than this jackass to agree with me about evac.”

“Right.” The other soldier speaks up, far less timid. “I don’t know what the fuck those orders were, but it would’ve killed the platoon and that whole planet. Come on. We don’t have much time before the Covenant gets here.”

The other two soldiers pick up the staff sergeant and Wash hustles out of the bay, the memory fading on the clang of his mag boots through the ship’s metal hallways. ]

Kyna? Hey, you okay?

[Every flash of memory is disorienting, no matter how much she's come to expect it. This is something she's heard about, at least, even though it wasn't in this much detail. She knows exactly why Wash was willing to take him out, and while she's perfectly aware insubordination isn't allowed in any military, she feels a fierce rush of pride for him, anyway. When the memory fades, she snuggles closer, squeezing him tightly.]

I'm okay.

[She grins up at him.]

I just saw you knock your staff sergeant out. It was amazing.

[ Wash looks relieved when he hears what she saw -- there are dramatically worse things, and he has no regrets about that incident. But that grin she's giving him... ]

Kyna, do you just think defying authority is hot?

[Kyna bursts out laughing, poking him in the side.]

Yeah. Especially when authority is being a huge dick. Too bad we can't do anything about it, though.

[ Called it. Wash smiles at the sound of her laughter, warm and bright. He isn't crazy about the fact that they have to touch through protective gear of one sort of another, either, but is trying to be glad it's only skin to skin that's a problem. Not being able to touch at all would be way worse. ]

I'll just have to be insubordinate at you on my own once this passes.

[She waggles her eyebrows, still smiling up at him.]

Oooh, Wash, is that a threat?

[ It wasn't a threat so much as a promise, really, but she seems to want it to be so. Wash will play along. ]

...yes? Let's go with yes.

[She laughs again, softer this time.]

You're so cute. I wish we could actually control what we show each other, you know?

[ Oh my god Kyna you are the only person to ever call him cute in his entire life. But he'll roll with it. ]

It's probably not worth the risk, but.... has anybody actually tried yet?

I don't know.

[She holds up a hand, wiggling her fingers menacingly.]

Should I try?

[ Wash doesn't look terribly threatened, though maybe he should be. He looks from the wiggling fingers back to Kyna, quirking an eyebrow. ]

It's my head you should be afraid of, I'll leave it up to you. If you're trying to show me something good... I think I'm okay with that.

[ He sounds a little stunned as he words come out. But as much as he hates people in his head, she's been there plenty already, and trusts her not to show him something awful. There's no threat of being puppetted, it's just whether or not she wants to take the risk of getting something he can't control in return. ]

[Kyna blinks at that, then smiles, soft and fond. She knows how touchy he is with people seeing his memories, and after that last blow up they had about him not trusting her... It's a simple thing, but it means a lot.]

I'm not afraid of anything in your head.

[ He's still nervous about doing it on purpose but they're bound to keep accidentally brushing up anyway and he deemed that worth the risk, so. It's Kyna. It's okay. ]

So... maybe if we focus really hard on something, it'll be what's shared? Someone told me once you can keep a telepath out like that, by just thinking one thing really loudly lover and over. It drowns out everything else.

Okay. I'll try first. What do you want to see?

No, it's a safety measure, I'm going to think of something too just in case because sometimes it winds up like... a swap.

[ He doesn't understand how this shit works, just knows what's happened so far. ]

Show me... something fun? From your world, I know it's not my earth but I still want to see it.

Edited 2018-11-20 01:02 (UTC)

Okay.

[Kyna considers that for a moment, focuses on something, and then reaches out to take Wash's hand.

What he gets isn't quite what she planned. Kyna is sitting behind what looks like a repurposed concession stand. The little window in the counter, usually a candy display, has been filled with plants, and there's a computer set up with papers and folders neatly piled beside it. It's a desk, apparently, except that an old fashioned popcorn machine is still up and running behind it.

Kyna has her legs propped up on the counter, and they've been hastily bandaged, with a few burns and cuts peeking out against her bare skin. Next to her is another woman with brown skin and dark, curly hair. She looks harried and vaguely concerned. Both of them have bags of popcorn in their laps, and between them is an array of condiments and toppings, some more questionable than others. At the moment, all that's on Kyna's popcorn is sriracha, which she squirts on liberally. She pops a kernel in her mouth, then studies the options in front of her, hesitating before grabbing a can of cheese whiz.

"Oh, Kyna, don't," the other woman says, utterly disapproving.

"I'm innovating," Kyna shoots back, voice petulant as she sprays the fake cheese on her popcorn. "Did I mention a beholder puked on me today? A beholder totally puked on me."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't know. It means you should get Harlan to give me a raise."

Kyna's friend scoffs. They both know exactly how likely that is, and technically Kyna is her boss anyway. Apparently that doesn't seem to matter to Kyna, though. She pops a handful of the concoction in her mouth, then pauses for a moment. Whatever face she's making must be terrible, because the other girl immediately starts laughing, covering her mouth to stifle it. Stubborn as always, though, Kyna forces herself to swallow it.

"Wow, okay, never tell anyone that I did that."]

[ That isn't quite the sort of thing he was thinking, but it's adorable? And gross. And it's a good thing it isn't actually Wash trying to eat this popcorn, he would have Regrets with that much sriracha. He doesn't recognize the other woman, can't give her a name, doesn't know where or when this would be. But it's cute.

He hopes Kyna's getting what he's thinking of, because his options are very limited. Spoilers: she doesn't get the incident he's thinking of, but it's still not a bad one.

--

Wash is standing beside a line of recruits trying to shoot cones off a concrete barrier set up downrange. The first three all hit their targets, the fourth misses several times.

"Lieutenant Palomo! Explain to me how, in light of your recent promotion, you've somehow managed to become worse at target practice!"

The soldier replies, speaking a little too quickly as if he's intimidated. "Uh, because the newly added pressure of my rank makes me second guess my actions more frequently in hopes I won't let down my fellow peers."

Wash starts out still yelling, trying to keep up the act, "Why don't--" but then mellows quickly. "Oh. Um. I mean that's... understandable, Lieutenant."

"Also, I've been trying to make a smiley face for like nine minutes." And when Wash glances back at the wall, this seems to be true. "Nailed it."

Wash sighs, and someone wails his name from behind him. "...now what?"

It's a man in orange armor, sounding urgent. "Where's Kimball?"

"Ohhhhh. Captain Grif. How nice of you to join us, we missed you at practice this morning."

"Yeah. That's probably because I wasn't there." And it doesn't sound like he cares.

"So you weren't. Which is why everyone is going to give me three laps around the training facility." The Lieutenants start complaining about how unfair it is, but Wash just orders them again. "Get moving."

"You're punishing them?" Grif doesn't understand either.

"Remedial training. Disciplining the group for the actions of a single soldier leads to social pressures that typically result in the hasty correction of undesirable behavior. Classic military strategy."

Palomo shouts from his run, "Thanks a lot, fuckface!"

"So," Wash continues, "Are you ready to begin today's training?"

"Uh... no?"

"Alright, then. Let's make it four laps!" Again, the troops groan.

"How're you feeling now?" Wash asks Grif.

"I feel like this military's fucking weird."

"Five laps!!" More groaning, but Grif seems delighted.

"Man! This is the best punishment ever!"

--

The memory fades out on their conversation, something something Kimball something, and Grif's back retreating while the recruits collapse into a pile. And then Kyna's back with Wash, who's crinkling his nose up in disgust. ]

You eat popcorn with spray cheese? Ugh, that's a Grif-level snack.

[Kyna is already laughing by the time he speaks up, but his question pulls her up short, and she crinkles her nose to match.]

No! Oh my God, that was one time! I had a rough week!

[ Wash feels like her laughter means she must've seen the correct memory, and so blushes faintly -- he was thinking of the grappling hook incident. ]

It looked like it, yeah, what happened to your legs? And it worked, then?

Um... I was fighting a bunch of hell hounds at once. And I don't know. [She smiles.] I saw you torturing a bunch of your recruits.

...ouch. [ He looks like he's going to say something else, but then-- ] I didn't torture them, I trained them! They survived the war, I bet you they wouldn't have before us.

[She's giggling again, clearly amused by his defensiveness.]

You're always sweet when you train me. Does that mean I'm the prettiest?

[ He's blushing redder now... ]

It means you're not a soldier... but also yes. And also also that's not what I was thinking of, it didn't exactly work.

[ADORABLE. She loves this.]

What were you thinking of?

5!

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