whosthemonsternow: (Default)
South. ([personal profile] whosthemonsternow) wrote in [community profile] riverviewlogs2017-10-15 02:39 pm

(no subject)

who:South & you??
what: Memory sharing
when: During the memory event
where: Dream land?
warnings: Violence, death, gun use, salty language (I'll add more as needed)


1. The Piano

She's home. It's a "classic" house she was told as a child. American Bungalow or whatever. It was just a building. Maybe a home once, a house, but today? It's just some walls and a roof.

And a piano.

There's people around, bumbling through the house, all dressed in bleak black clothing and clearly mourning. South is in normal clothes. Just a tank top and jeans, nothing to fit the setting. Scars are evident on her shoulders and back, battle wounds from the UNSC and ODST, she's only 20 but she's seen her time on a battle field.

She's not entirely sober, either, if she's honest. But she's sitting at the piano and running her fingertips gently over the keys, not enough to draw out sounds.

When she does press to the keys, it's light, low, a soft melody from her childhood. Her mother always said it was a Russian lullaby, she doesn't know the name, just the tune. Her fingers play across the keys with ease, second nature knowledge.

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2. Karaoke Dreams

Sober, South is somewhat alright at singing. Specific songs, softer ones, lower ones, she sounds alright. Decent. Tipsy though, and with a loud, fast song? She's terrible, mumbling over words and squinting at the screen now and then before simply letting out a loud wail of the next line. It's. Not pretty. But she's grinning, happy, singing with her teammates, her friends- family. Shore leave and no cares in the world.

She's at the bar sitting after the song ends, shots and drinks passing through her and her friends. Eventually, she wanders away a bit, not quite drunk, but enough so that a wayward look from a stranger and a sneer sends her into a fight. It's not the worst she's gotten into, black eye, bloodied lip, banned from another bar and wondering down the street instead.

But she's in another bar soon enough, a few of her team likewise kicked out from the last and in the new bar, too. She's going to sing again, she decides, and fights the urge to start shit as she waits in line for her turn. And she does good, does great even! Until the asshole behind her bumps into her for easily the sixth time, and she just loses it. It's not her fault when she elbows the guy in the gut, or when he takes a swing in retaliation and she lands him on his back. And it's certainly not her fault when his buddies decide to jump in and get their asses kicked. She'll accept it's her fault she's kicked out of another bar- but only because that's bragging rights, okay. Fuck you.

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3. Mistakes Made

It's a split second decision, but that's all it takes to change things forever, isn't it? Honestly, she figured the Meta would rough her brother up, take the AI, but leave. She thought they'd make it out, and without Theta, without that thing, they could just leave. Run away from the Project. go without having any strings holding them back. Without giving the Director reason to keep following them, without the Meta having reason to want and get them.

He calls to her, tells her to spring into action. She's supposed to be in a specific place, in position, ready to strike on his mark. But she waits. She lingers, silent, crouching away from her assigned spot and holding her helmeted head in her hands. She can hear him scream, assumes it's just...painful to have an AI ripped out. He's just desperate to keep the thing, making a fit. It's gotta end soon and they can just. Fucking leave.

But once it's quiet and she goes to him, he's not just roughed up. He's bleeding. A lot. Mortal wounds from the bladed gun are too much. They're more than she thought they would be, more than he can survive. Her helmet is thrown off and she sits, pulls him into her lap, holding him to her chest, his back armor scraping against her chest plate. He bleeds all over her, more than she could imagine possible. He's gasping, whispering about Theta with his last breaths, she hates him for it. But she still holds him, still presses her forehead to his, stains her hair red with his spilled blood. She still breathes apologizes against his forehead, between broken hums and muffled sobs.

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4. Real Nightmares

She wakes up screaming, pain throbbing through her skull, through her eye, hot white pain ripping her head in two. Hands are holding her down, straps keeping her in place, she screams and snarls and threatens as best she can with the way her skull is exploding.

The last she remembers, she's on the ground in front of Wash, leg shot and staring down the barrel of his pistol. She was almost away, just had to dump off Delta and she could've left the Project, the Meta, and the last tattered bits of the entire mess behind. The next, she's taunting Wash about if he'd shoot her or not. She's not sure if she doesn't believe he will, or if she hopes he will and it's the last push he needs to do it. She's tired. Of running, of fucking up, of existing. She's just so. fucking. tired.

She fights,even when they reassure her they're helping her. She doesn't want help. Let her die, let her stay dead. She just keeps fighting them off until they knock her ass back out. They must be with the Project, it's gotta be the Director's people. They must be hoping to get something from her, punish her for her fuck ups. She doesn't want to deal with it anymore. She just wants to rest.

When she wakes up again, it's much more calm. She's drugged, no doubt, something to keep her from going ape-shit again. And her wrists are bound, keeping her in place stopping her from escape or pulling out the IVs. She wants to get up, get out, either go on the run again or let her wounds kill her.

Belatedly, she realizes she's only seeing out of her left eye. Her right eye is numb, a dull ache digging through her skull, hand desperately trying to pull free so she can touch her face, inspect her eye.
ragnarsson: ([12.11] Go to hell)

[personal profile] ragnarsson 2017-11-26 05:51 pm (UTC)(link)
He watches South's fingers move over the keys, just lightly touching each one to produce the notes. Ivar wonders how hard it is to learn how to do something like this.

"Hah!" He chuckles. She reminds him of himself. "I think you and I might just get along." Provided that Ivar can stop acting like a little pain in the ass a majority of the time.
ragnarsson: (Playing chess)

[personal profile] ragnarsson 2017-12-02 06:24 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'm not known for my stupidity. Just being annoying." Ivar is a sixteen year old troll some of the time, especially when he's in the mood to mess with people.

"Let's see what happens." Ivar hesitantly taps a few keys himself. He doesn't really have an ear for music, but he goes up, playing the scales, and back down again.
ragnarsson: ([16.17] Father is dead)

[personal profile] ragnarsson 2017-12-10 08:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"Tell that to my brothers." Ivar loves them, as much as someone like him is capable of loving anyone, but he doesn't hold back when it comes to getting under their skin.

Ivar seems a bit fascinated at how the keys can produce the notes. He's fairly itching to take the piano apart to see how it works. "Do they have these in the city?"
ragnarsson: (Smart mouth)

[personal profile] ragnarsson 2017-12-14 06:45 am (UTC)(link)
"I just throw axes at mine," Ivar says in an almost cheerful manner. Don't worry, South, he always deliberately misses.

Ivar follows the first diagram, getting his hands into the usual positions. Then he switches to the second and presses down on the keys. Most people usually never see the Viking like this, happy and interested in learning something new. Then again, it's a lot easier in the dream world, instead of being in the waking one where he's in a constant state of pain.
ragnarsson: ([10.10] Happy)

[personal profile] ragnarsson 2017-12-15 06:38 am (UTC)(link)
Ivar follows the patterns shown on the pages, going from one to the next. For someone whose never been much for music, he finds there's something enjoyable in it. It appeals to the part of him that thirsts for knowledge, always looking for something new, especially things that required practice.

"Not a kid," he replies again automatically. "This is a lot easier than learning how to shoot a bow." Definitely the hardest weapon Ivar had learned during his childhood.
ragnarsson: ([10.5] Debating)

Gonna start wrapping this up...

[personal profile] ragnarsson 2017-12-16 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, but I bet you never shot the bow while sitting down." That was difficult for any archer to do, so to not only learn but become proficient in the weapon had been a steep learning curve for the young Viking.

The memory seems to be fading out now, becoming a little muzzy around the edges. "Shall I see you again in the real world?"
ragnarsson: (Smile)

[personal profile] ragnarsson 2017-12-18 06:42 am (UTC)(link)
Ivar has only one thing to say as the dream fades away entirely, a little bit of a smile on his face. "Still not a kid."