bakerstreet | —subtle.

[ Did someone say tragedy. ]

[Syrlya gently taps the mug onto the table in front of Allen. It was cold and there was a light drift of snow, but somehow it hasn't stopped either of them from taking to the empty tables just outside the tavern.

He sits across from him and rests his hands on his own mug as the steam warms his hands through his gloves (likely, the only sense of warmth he will feel out here, but that's fine--the tavern was noisy, and Allen did not need the crowds right now).]

Hot chocolate. I thought it would be good given the time... and the weather.

Ah— [ A blink then, because Allen didn't mean to be startled by tap of the mug and Syrlya's reapparance. Or rather, he didn't realize how lost in thought he'd gotten, looking up at the snow coming gently down.

Hot chocolate? He didn't have to—and an expression of slightly awed gratitude spreads across the Exorcists's face as he accepts the mug and cups it in white-gloved hands. ]

Thank you... [ A sip, looking up at the snow again...

...the snow in a very, very strange sky. ]

It's warm. [ And despite not being a very large fan of chocolate, the heat permeating into his gloves is nice. Because feeling a bit of warmth spread in his left hand that wasn't from the Innocence was always a strange kind of comfort.

And right now, anything comfortable or familiar makes this world seem a little less.. huge. ]

I think it is supposed to be. [He smiles just as warmly, resting his hands around his own mug.] How are you adjusting? I know it must be getting stranger every day.

[It's been weeks, but Syrlya still asks that. He always worries just a bit about the effect this displacement has on Allen.]

Not really. [ The response is immediate and comes easily, Allen visibly brightening as he leans back a little to look over at the sylvari, shoulders easing. ]

I think the more time passes the more things seem similar.

[ Take the tavern for example. The noise? ... it's actually a little relieving. Familiar. Even if maybe Allen can associate more than a few bad memories with being stuck in noisy taverns—they're memories and this tavern here or those back home... they're no different.

Basically he means that: ] People here act the same as everyone does back home. The reasons may change, but they feel things in the same way.

[ Some of them just... er... look really different. ]

Edited 2016-04-21 01:20 (UTC)

I suppose people are people, no matter where they come from. [He chuckles.] And you are already well familiar with a world destroying threat, so I cannot even claim to surprise you with that!

I wish I could say I was making more progress in sending you back, but... everything else is so different it is not so simple as crossing the mists. Your world must be very distant. [He runs his finger around the edge of the mug.] I just wanted to be sure I could, at least, make your time here as bearable as possible.

( info in journal! f/m. )

[ AI implantation had a lot of side effects. The restless nights, the constant panic and worry, the influx of memories barraging against him are all just a few to name. There's more, oh, there's a whole list more, but those are what he had thought the main ones would have been. What turns out to be the worst is the emotions. ]

[ It's a night before the raid to get Alpha back. It's Wash, York, North, and Tex. Wash likes them all, yeah, but Epsilon? He feels a little more for one specific member of this alliance than the others and that bleeds over into Wash. Another sleepless night plagues him and Wash can only stare at the ceiling, Epsilon worrying in the back of his brain, trying to push away the memories for long enough that they'll both be functional tomorrow. ]

[ Wash, though, there's only one thing he can do. All he can do is remember. All he can do is feel. ]

Allison

Edited 2016-04-19 04:21 (UTC)

[ ai implantation had side effects for all of them. for north and york it was the insomnia, the paranoia. for texas it is the constant rage, holding omega back from taking a dive off the deep end. end her. kill them. they're weak and slowing you down.

wash gets epsilon. wash gets all the memories that tex herself had locked away until - after. until she'd peeled back the skin on her wrist and found wires and diodes. wash wakes up screaming her name - no, not her name, not texas, but the other's name.

wash is the one who told them what they were doing to alpha. what they had done to epsilon. and epsilon is almost as angry as omega, but mostly - he's upset. paranoid.

texas isn't sleeping. texas doesn't actually need to sleep, apparently, and the message catches her attention as it pops into her HUD.

that's not her name. ]

This is Texas. What is it?

I just wanted to talk. [ What the hell does he want, though? He wants to tell her to be safe. He wants to tell her goodbye. ]

[ For some reason, Wash hates goodbyes now. ]

Edited 2016-04-19 04:33 (UTC)

So talk.

[ texas does care about them. wash, north, york, carolina, south as much of a bitch as she is - they don't deserve this. they don't deserve to be caught in the middle of this. chained to ghosts and the memory of a woman she was created in the image of.

but that doesn't mean she's suddenly a sweetheart. ]

[ Epsilon shows up in front of him and Wash reaches a hand out from behind his head, trying to grab onto the figment he's barely paying attention to. They're both tied but Wash knows how close Epsilon is to breaking. It makes Wash close to breaking to. ]

[ Even her ire is better than nothing. Even that is familiar, makes Wash feel better. ]

How... how are you, Texas?

[ omega is a distant constant in the back of her mind. take epsilon. washington should rest. no, she doesn't need him in her mind, even if they're all variations of him.

one variation more upset than most, and that softens texas' ire just a fraction. ]

I'm tired, Washington. Tomorrow isn't going to be easy.

No, it won't. [ Wash doesn't know if it's Epsilon or himself who supplies the idea that he's going to be the one who doesn't make it through the raid. Either way, Wash lets the thought flows through his mind and realizes the fact that there's a very good chance that it's true. ]

[ He's probably going to die tomorrow. He's the worst Freelancer of the group, after all. ]

But you're the best. We all know that. If anyone can do it, it's you.

[ Which is more Epsilon speaking than it is Wash, the tone and cadence of the sentence wrong and off for Washington. ]

[ it's not going to be easy because maine is there. carolina is going to be there, and she's got a chip on her shoulder to prove. wyoming, who with gamma could be considered complacent in the torture. south, who's just a giant bitch.

any of them could die, really. texas just hopes that they won't.

the words, though, are off, unfamiliar. they don't sound like wash, and that - that fact finally has her drawing away from her terminal. she's still in armor, and her footfalls are loud through the hideout, but she draws herself to where wash (and epsilon) should be sleeping.

her knock is heavy on the door. they're lucky she doesn't bust it out. ]

[ Really, Wash just thinks Texas grew tired of him when she stops responding to him and he goes back to staring at the ceiling, his green eyes flicking from Epsilon and back as Epsilon murmurs, nothing intelligible really, but enough to pull attention. He's getting ready for tomorrow too, after all. If he needs Wash's help, he'll ask. He has before. Unfortunately, that usually means reliving the memory in full and not a lot of Epsilon's memories are good. In fact, the majority aren't. ]

[ Then there's a banging on his door and Wash jumps, Epsilon diving away and screaming at him to get his armour, Get your armour on and run! Wash's anxiety pulses with Epsilon's but he tries to manage the AI. "There's nothing to worry about," he lies to Epsilon, but Epsilon knows it's a lie because Wash knows it's a lie. ]

[ When Wash moves away from getting his armour to the door instead, Epsilon continues to fight him. Instead of giving in, though, Wash opens the door. Who stands on the other side makes both Wash and Epsilon go silent as the grave. ]

... Tex?

[ the room is silent from the outside when she knocks, and it takes longer than she knows it should take. she wonders if wash is fighting with epsilon. where delta and theta had taken coaxing to work but had wanted to try, and where she has blatantly ignored omega, episilon and washington seem to argue with each other.

she stares at him through the visor. her words are blunt, because they don't have time to sugar coat it. ]

You need to get your shit together. [ and then, to show she's not blaming wash for this, ] Both of you need to get it together.

[ Which is the last thing Wash wants to hear. Eyes widening, Wash's brows furrow deeply, a hurt crossing over his face that he schools away quickly. She doesn't know half the shit that Washington has been struggling to keep hidden, that he's manages to successfully keep from them all. She has no idea how hard it's been, so all Washington manages to say is only one word. ] What?

[ Epsilon, of course, is no help when faced with Texas. He's still quiet in the back of Wash's mind. ]

[ no, she doesn't have an idea. She has some of an idea, for sure, but not a lot. Tex crosses her arm, her face unreadable behind the visor. She could take her helmet off, be gentler - but she doesn't. ]

You need to get it together. You two aren't playing well with each other. You can't both keep fighting for space in that head of yours or it's gonna get you both killed - and maybe other people too.

[ did she say she wasn't gonna be gentle? ]

Look... I barely remember what he did to us. Omega does, though. And I remember everything else that happened to her.

[ Of course, just as Wash is about to respond, that's when Epsilon decides to pop up over Wash's shoulder. Wash knows nothing good is going to come of this and rolls his eyes while shutting his mouth, turning away from where Epsilon stands staring resolutely at Tex. ] What the hell is that supposed to mean? Do you know how much stress we've been under and you decide to pile that on top? This is one shitty pep talk, Tex!

[ Which really, they're luck. Epsilon had a lot to say about Omega, a lot to say about Sigma, a lot to say about Gamma. Wash wants to argue with Epsilon, but keeps his mouth shut. He knows that would only prove Texas' point. ]

[ epsilon is small but reminds her so much of what she remembers of the alpha, which makes sense if he is the memory. Still, she appears unaffected by his appearance. ]

This isn't a pep talk, Epsilon. And you aren't giving Wash a chance to say his piece, either. You two keep fighting over each other to be heard. That isn't how this should work.

If you two can't sort this shit out, I'll have to bench you.

—subtle.

shal gurdn | original character | ota

Steve Rogers | MCU

Rey | SW:TFA | OTA

Rey || Star Wars: The Force Awakens || F/M

Clark Kent | DCEU | OTA

Laslow | Fire Emblem Fates | ota

Natasha Romanoff | Marvel 616 | ota

Harold Finch | Person of Interest | OTA

Shitara Seiji | Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3 | OTA

iris xanthos | original character | f/m

Allen Walker | D.Gray-man | OTA but mostly M/F... mostly...

no subject

yesss THROWING RANDOM ALLEN INTO GW2VERSE )o)

no subject

no subject

no subject

Yukikaze | 07-ghost | ota

frank castle | daredevil (mcu) | ota

Ryou Bakura | Yu-Gi-Oh! | OTA

odalette ➽ GW2

nico di angelo • heroes of olympus • m/m

James T. Kirk | Star Trek AOS

Heine Rammsteiner | DOGs: Bullets & Carnage | OTA

kara zor-el | supergirl

agent texas | red vs. blue | ota

where epsilon remains

rip

no subject

we're as subtle as bricks to the face

yeah we're bad at this

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Albright | Self/less | ota