( open )

[leaderboards]

WHO: Carolina + open
WHERE: Red Wings + dreamscapes + ???
WHEN: IC March 15-31 or so (eta: and later!)
WHAT: dream sharing + catchall for the month
NOTES OR WARNINGS: mentioned alcohol in two of the starters + death and some psychological horror in the other two (see comment headers for more on that)

( prompts below! feel free to reach out to arrange something new or talk about just how traumatic you do or don't want the dream sharing to go: eflat or streetsongs#5551 )

Comments

[braveoff]

Yeah, it's invasive. And you can't avoid it by wearing long sleeves.

I think this is a little more unique on the part of what the secret is. He doesn't know, then?

[leaderboards]

Right.

No, he doesn't. His memories of our home universe end a couple of months before he gets hurt. It was in the middle of a very bad time for both of us. For our whole team.

[braveoff]

Can I ask... you mean Epsilon?

[leaderboards]

This was after we lost Epsilon. Just about a year later, when our attempt at "retirement" was interrupted. Someone wanted revenge for something I'd done during Freelancer.

[ that's a recurring theme, apparently. ]

[braveoff]

Seems like there sure are a lot of those someones. I'm sorry.

How are you dealing with keeping the secret, though? That's a right now problem for you.

[leaderboards]

Usually it's fine. He knows I'm from after he is. I've told him enough that he has some idea of what happens, between the two points, enough he doesn't ask. Not how bad things get.

My subconscious just likes to make a big deal out of it.

[braveoff]

Playing subconscious' advocate here, I've gotta say this isn't a mountain out of a molehill, it's actually a mountain. You're allowed to have a hard time with it.

[leaderboards]

I shouldn't though. I should just be grateful that he's alright here.

[braveoff]

Carolina? Don't be harder on yourself than you would be on him.

[leaderboards]

We've both agreed that there's not much value in hanging onto things we could have done differently, things that could have gone wrong. That's what this is. Something that could go wrong for him, unless he stays here.

[braveoff]

I've been in that situation. But when everything's figured out here, maybe there'll be another option.

[leaderboards]

Maybe. You've got more experience with this sort of thing than I do.

[braveoff]

It was easier for me, I think -- I knew there was nothing to go back to but he'd have that time in between. Would things change if he didn't go back? Would you go back and leave him here? There's a lot to think about with it.

[leaderboards]

Worst case scenario, I get tortured alone. Acceptable, I was the primary target anyway. And he stays safe. We could both stay here and our friends would be fine on their own.

[braveoff]

Okay, that's not an acceptable worst case scenario to me, I doubt Wash would let it happen either. But trust me that these situations can have other options.

[leaderboards]

I do want to trust you on that. Just can't help thinking about different outcomes to my last year.

Wash can't object to what he doesn't know anyway.

[braveoff]

True. But with a secret that big you need to decide what happens if they find out not from you. I've lived through that choice, too.

[leaderboards]

[ that wasn't honestly something she'd considered before, but there's a delay as she considers it now. one of the guys telling wash he'd been shot would be something she could work with, carolina thinks. maybe not comfortably, but she doesn't want their team to know how bad off wash is any more than she's keen to tell him, so that should be the most they could share. more secret keeping, but so long as she's the only person outside of the hospital on chorus to know, she's sure she's capable of it. she has to be. ]

I can't imagine how uncomfortable that must have been.

I hadn't told our friends what state he was really in though. If I can keep them fromm knowing along whatever timeline I was supposed to be on, I think I can keep him safe from it here too.

[braveoff]

I understand that, but look at how I just found out. What if you dreamed something more specific?

I don't want to give you more to stress over, but that's why I wound up telling people the truth.

[leaderboards]

You do have a point there.

I'll think about it.

[braveoff]

Are you going to be able to get back to sleep tonight? We can talk about something else for awhile... fun or boring?

[leaderboards]

You really don't have to do that. Pretty sure I disturbed your sleep enough.

[braveoff]

It's cool, I don't work until pretty late. We could play two truths and a lie.

[leaderboards]

[ there's another delay in her response, because carolina doesn't want to put drake out like this, doesn't want to unload more than she already has on him. but wash is asleep and she doesn't plan to move, even if there's no hope of her getting back to sleep herself. ]

Okay. To thank you.

1. Broke both of my arms by age 10.
2. Took tap dancing lessons as a kid.
3. Never had a traffic violation.

[braveoff]

...is tap dancing still a thing in 25-whatever? It's barely a thing in 2015. I'm going with traffic violation, though.