Agent Washington (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
unrecovered) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
acatalepsy_rpg2018-07-11 12:24 am
unrecovered) wrote in acatalepsy_rpg2018-07-11 12:24 am
Entry tags:
Voice | After the festival, before the world hop
[On one hand, Wash absolutely hates his power, and he is beyond angry with Astoria for saddling him with it. That's not going to change anytime soon.]
[On the other hand, odds are the group at large will need the use of his power at some point, and if they don't have it when they need it because he's been too busy bitching about it to learn how to use it effectively, that'll be his fault. The list of Things That Are Agent Washington's Fault is too long already; he doesn't need to add to it.]
[So here he is.]
If anyone's available, I could use some help getting a handle on my power.
Full disclosure: it's...invasive.
[And the sun is slightly warm.]
[OOC: Time to break in that permissions post!]
[On the other hand, odds are the group at large will need the use of his power at some point, and if they don't have it when they need it because he's been too busy bitching about it to learn how to use it effectively, that'll be his fault. The list of Things That Are Agent Washington's Fault is too long already; he doesn't need to add to it.]
[So here he is.]
If anyone's available, I could use some help getting a handle on my power.
Full disclosure: it's...invasive.
[And the sun is slightly warm.]
[OOC: Time to break in that permissions post!]
no subject
[That's...cavalier, in a way that Wash was not expecting. What the hell kind of place is Keith from?]
[Questions for another time, probably.]
...do me a favor and remember something happy?
no subject
[Well. Maybe it's sad that the request is probably harder than it should be. But okay...]
Do I have to close my eyes or anything?
[How does this work? It's an awkward question. But whatever the answer, Keith has a memory queued up -- a frantic chase through an asteroid field in the Red Lion, a memory that starts with Shiro's voice telling him he's the only one who can fly through and to flush their target out, and then a breakneck high speed chase. Maybe that's weird for a happy memory considering it involves him getting shot at a lot, but it was kind of exhilarating anyway. And it ended well. Hell, the thieves they were pursuing eventually even joined the coalition for real. All's well that ends.]
no subject
[With that reassuring bit of instruction, Wash puts a hand on the guy's shoulder.]
[For Keith, the memory sharpens and clarifies: colors become brighter, sounds become clearer, and details he may have overlooked become obvious but not blatant. As much as zoom and enhance is a cliche, that's about what happens - the months-old memory now feels fresh, as though it happened only yesterday.]
[For Wash-]
["You're the only one who can do this" and he's off, racing through an asteroid field inside a giant mechanical lion, in hot pursuit of a group of cons who never should've gotten the better of them in the first place, but Lance doesn't think with his head sometimes-]
[He's dodging gunfire and huge rocks and balancing the urgency of the mission with the pure joy of fast, unfettered flight-]
[He yanks his hand away, and coming back to reality leaves him feeling shaky. Happy as the memory was, it's only a matter of time before the wrongness of seeing a memory not his own through its owners eyes creeps up on him like panic in his throat.]
[This is going to be half learning what he's capable of and half unlearning the reactions Epsilon installed in him, isn't it. Great.]
What did you see?
no subject
Clear and present -- and the faint sensation of not being alone in his head, like he said, it isn't entirely new to him. There's a bit of that every time he entered either Red or Black, their consciousness in his own, and every time they formed Voltron, the vague sense of his fellow Paladins, separate, but together.
So his heart is racing, but otherwise, when Wash draws back, Keith is mostly just left staring.]
Wow. It... it was less like remembering and more like reliving. And you could see all of it too?
no subject
[It still staggers him every time it happens, but it's not nearly as bad when he knows to expect it.]
I've never been much of a pilot, so that was...
[He trails off, nodding his head, still processing.]
Damn.
[Pretty damn impressive, even if he hasn't figured out how to tamp down his panic reflex yet.]
So I made the memory more vivid?
[He may have the beginnings of a train of thought here, but he's not sure he wants to voice it yet.]
no subject
[Though all the lions are fast, and Black is a very close second. But that aside, Keith nods in agreement.]
Yeah. Before you touched me, I was remembering it just fine, but as soon as you did, it really seemed to amplify it.
[More vivid, more present.]
no subject
[There's questions there, about how well he and Shiro know each other - because that had been Shiro calling the shots in that memory, and mechanical lions couldn't be that common - but they can wait for later. The train of thought he'd latched onto was forming, starting to go places, and he...]
[Well, he's still trying to decide if he wants to be along for the ride.]
[He stares at the ground as if it has all the answers. And then, without looking up:]
Is there anything you want to forget?
no subject
[That is a loaded question. And Keith's thoughts race. Heaven knows there are enough terrible memories that he can call to mind -- the news about the Kerberos Mission and the excuse of pilot error, the long and impossible year alone chasing signals and mystery in the desert, the pain of knowing how badly he let Shiro down as leader, the hopelessness and sadness of losing his father and being so small and alone in the world.
But.
Those are all really important memories, painful or not, all part of what honed the sharper edges of his personality, made him who he is -- flaws and all.]
That's something you can do?
no subject
[The answer is quick, though he still doesn't look up. He needs to know, and he doesn't see any other way of getting the answer, but making someone forget something is...]
[He hates this fucking power.]
I have no idea if my power works both ways. The only way to find out is to try it, and...
[He trails off, shaking his head.]
no subject
And you need someone to try it on.
[All right. Keith is... not the most trusting person in the world. He's a cynic really, but this sort of power could definitely come in handy depending on where they get dropped. It makes sense to help the guy figure it out.]
So let's find out. ...if it's all the same to you, I'll pick a dumb memory.
no subject
[He hates that he has to involve someone else in this; that said, it's too dangerous a power for him not to have it under his control, and the only way to do that is to practice.]
Probably a good idea. If all I can do is enhance it, I want it to be something you can live with.
no subject
[Something innocuous. Something minor in case he does forget it. Keith worries less about making a painful memory more vivid (he can live with pain; it's a familiar friend) than he does about losing any piece of that pain in case he forgets the lesson that came with it.
So. He considers. You know what would be okay to forget? That time Coran got a whole bunch of Olkari cubes and the moustached Altean's voice echoed around and around and around the bridge. Keith could do with forgetting that moment. ...sorry, Coran.]
Whenever you're ready.
no subject
[Wash puts his hand back on Keith's shoulder and focuses, trying to chase away the niggling thought that he has no idea what he's doing. He tries instead to shift that focus, concentrating on pushing away, and...he has no idea if any of this is working. He can't see the memory he's working with this time around anyway - hopefully it's nothing too bad.]
[For Keith, the memory fades: colors dull, sounds deaden and become muffled, and the memory gets harder and harder to hold onto. It's not gone; it's more like he's watching it through a grimy window, one that he'll have a hard time finding again the second he looks away.]
[After a few more seconds, Wash pulls his hand away.]
Anything?
no subject
And then it starts to fade. It's almost startling really, how quickly it gets difficult to grasp at it, like it keeps slipping just out of his reach.]
...yeah. It's... oh that's weird.
[He looks over at Wash.] It's not gone. If I focus on it I can remember it. Sort of. But it's like I'm on the verge of forgetting it entirely. Like it's faded out.
no subject
[...kind of, at least. It's possible this is the extent of Wash's power; it's also possible that he can erase memories and just hasn't figured out how yet. Honestly, the former is more comforting; if the memory is still there, he can reverse the process if need be.]
[Maybe. He isn't sure.]
Huh. It's probably a good thing I can't get rid of it entirely.
...do you want it back?
[Not that he knows if he can even do that, but it's worth asking.]
no subject
It's... a pretty dumb memory. I think I'll be okay if it's a little muted.
[He genuinely made a point in his choice after all, given that he wasn't sure if it would've been scrubbed from his mind entirely. Too many of his memories are the only thing he has left of people or places, and those are too precious to risk.]
Did you see that one too?
no subject
You're welcome?
And no, I didn't. It doesn't sound like I missed much.
no subject
[That said.]
Whether you're intensifying or dimming a memory, being able to take a peek at what someone is thinking or remembering could be really useful if there's ever a need for interrogation.
no subject
[He's definitely thought about it - it's a notion that hasn't left him alone since he first saw Shiro's memory of Sam. If he can get a handle on it, his power will be damned useful for intelligence gathering.]
[If he can ever get past the idea of breaking into someone's head without their permission.]
[He's not sure he can. He's not sure he wants to.]
I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.
no subject
Yeah. That's fair.
[Honestly Keith would be a bit freaked out if the guy actually enjoyed being able to root around in people's heads.
But sometimes things were necessary.]
no subject
[...oh wait]
I'm Wash, by the way.
no subject
[Though if the guy was in his head a bit he might already know that. Oh well. He holds out a hand towards him.]
Good to meet you, Wash. Sorry you got dragged into this nonsense too.
no subject
Good to meet you too. And...thanks for the help.