wilderlogs | I think the most important skill in life is being able to fake confidence. [OPEN]

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I think the most important skill in life is being able to fake confidence. [OPEN]

Who: Monika & You
What: Resting, Scrounging, Practicing
Where: Throughout Melai Temple
When: Early in their stay
Warnings/Notes: Nothing as of yet!

[Near the campfire at night.]

[It's a moment where she's finally able to catch herself for what feels like the first time in a while.

She's tired, so tired.

Both physically and emotionally.

And it shows in her demeanor as she continues to just blankly stare at the fire in front of her.

The fire feels warm and relaxing, its bright flame so full of color, like everything else in this world. It helps Monika fall asleep. Everything goes dark as as she eventually nods off.

Sleep only last for a few minutes, though, as she gasps and wakes up. She looks around, confused and disoriented. Expecting to see something different.]

Did I just...?

[But no, it was all the same from before.]

Oh, sorry.

[Checking out the bedrooms]

[What she really would've liked at this point was a change of clothes. There wasn't anything wrong with her school uniform, aside from it being a little dirty. But it really wasn't the kind of clothing she wanted to wear for a grand adventure!

Monika looked about what she assumed were living quarterss, but there really wasn't much left that she could use.

The clothes that were left behind were just no good.

Defeated, she leaves the room and sighs.]

Christ, why is it so hard to find a decently sized skirt?

[Looking for volunteers]

[Monika was up and walking throughout the temple, looking to be in better spirits than before. At least, that was the image she was presenting. Inwardly she was still tired and confused, but at least keeping herself busy would also keep her distracted. Right now, she wanted to get a better handle on what it was she could do now.

The voices in her head (again, not crazy!) had told her that she'd have special powers or weapons now, or nothing at all! Weapons wasn't it, and she strongly hoped that there was something now, especially to make up for tripping over herself when running away from the Wheelers. Fortunately for her, she could feel that something.

It was hard to put into words. But there was this... sensation.

Of something she needed to do.

But for that, she needed a volunteer.]

Um, hi! Are you busy right now?

If you're not, could you give me a hand with something? I'm trying to figure out how my new powers work.

[The hard part wasn't the approach, but rather what came after.]

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[ In the midst of nothing more than getting bored of exploring again when Monika approaches him, Imp beams at the prospect of something worthwhile to do. ]

Sure! What'cha need me to do?

Edited 2018-03-29 04:49 (UTC)

Not much, actually! I think I have an idea of what it is I can do. Can you start by closing your eyes and thinking of a specific memory? It can be anything you want!

And make sure it's something you feel comfortable with.

Oh, um...Okay.

[ Despite what sounded like hesitation in his response, Imp does as instructed, closing his eyes. But concentrating on a single memory was not something he was good at. His mind was constantly jumping from one chaotic thought to another, whether he wanted it to or not, but he does his best. ]

Is reading memories or minds something you can do?

[ He asks absently, even as he tried to concentrate and stick to a single thought.

Memories of Young Justice are what he tries to keep in his head, staying away from anything attached to his or others civilian identities.

Eventually, his mind settles on memories from a night of camping during the teams early days. Just hanging out like normal teenagers. Normal teenagers with superpowers and costumes.

The memory of a small group of teens, sitting around a fire at night laughing and eating junk food, is cast in the yellow hue of Imp's goggles. At least two of the kids look like they could be younger versions of two of the people in their current group. Superboy and Wondergirl are looking a little more 90's with their fashion but their faces aren't too different and they still carry some of the iconographies of the clothes they showed up here in.

The others in the group are a girl made of smoke, a blond girl in archers gear and a red and white costume, and a black haired boy in a green and red costume with a domino mask.

As they talk around the fire, everything about the others and their surroundings are slow. Almost agonizingly so. While Bart himself switches between moving at what seems like a more normal pace, as he grabs hot dogs to shove on a stick or zips over to someone's side, other times he's forcing himself to move at their pace, when he's talking with them or waiting for them to finish a sentence.

His mind cycles through a few different memories of that night, mostly involving chatter around the fire. A game of Truth or Dare, Imp and the smoke girl scaring off a set of poachers as she turns in to a monster deer and he catches their bullets out of the air, talk of whether or not they would "quit the game" to which Bart responds to the question "would you be normal if you could" with "I am normal. It's the rest of the world that's weird." ]

Edited 2018-04-05 18:47 (UTC)

I think it might be!

[Call it a strong feeling she'd gotten. A need or an urge to figure it out.]

I'm going to just put my hand on your shoulder, okay?

[Gentle touches, making sure the other person was as comfortable as they could be as she closed her eyes.

The setting slowly came into focus, as if Monika herself was right there. A small fire, with a group of people sitting nearby. Details of their individual faces were still a little hard for her to make out, but their general figures such as their clothing was clear. It was a colorful group, to be sure!

The world "normal" doesn't escape her eyes and neither do some of the other fantastical sights. After a few moments, Monika lets go. She smiles.]

I've never gone camping before. It looked like a lot of fun.

[Dixon's turned one of the storerooms upside down digging through it looking for alcohol or cigarettes. Ostensibly he's supposed to be scavenging for food for the group, but that's absolutely not his intent, and when he finally admits to himself he's coming up empty-handed, he chucks a ladle against the wall so hard it shatters.]

Fuckin-!

[He jumps at the sudden sound, almost tripping as he twists around to see Monika in the hallway.

He's certainly not busy, and the alternative is to keep throwing things at the wall, and at the moment he feels too beat even for that. So he shrugs, as if he didn't just throw something against the wall hard enough to break it.]

Huh? Sure. Alright. What do you need?

I-I can always come back later if now isn't a good time.

[She saw that, too.]

Are you alright?

[Tell her your secrets.]

No time like the present. [For...whatever it is she wants. Dixon's not sure but it's bound to be a better use of time than rummaging through more pantries in the stupid hope that some other smoker has stashed a pack somewhere. He's getting the sense that if the former occupants here smoked anything, it was probably a pipe or something.

At least she doesn't seem as peppy as last time.]

I'm fine. What do you want?

Nothing too complicated! I think I have an idea on how my abilities work!

What I'll need from you is to close your eyes and focus. Focus on a specific memory.

Then I'll try to see that same memory.

[Easy, right?]

That's creepy.

[What? It is.]

I just choose the memory, right? And you'll see it and repeat it back to me?

[He shrugs and holds out his wrist. Doesn't, at this moment, think there's anything interesting enough to need to keep secret.

He can't really think of anything positive standing out, which is what he wants to deliver up to her. Things recently haven't been going well, and he doesn't particularly want to invite someone up to the worst of the last few weeks. So he tries to dig up something better, anything better, tries to dig himself backwards into a time when he was happy.

The first place his mind goes is drinking, aided in no doubt by the withdrawal wracking his body and mind. Not the sloppy drunk he gets towards the end of the night, but the good 11 p.m. buzz, where everything is relaxed and sluggish and he feels at home within his own body.

But memories are hard to pin down, and things slip. Instead of The Town Pump Tavern he's in the back of an ambulance, sitting up because he's not hurt too bad, slurring his words as he talks to his Chief.

"The car's totaled?"

"The car's totaled, and you'll have to figure that one out. I'll send one of the boys out to pick up your momma. Don't need her having a fucking heart attack when she hears you're in the ER."

"You're not gonna suspend-"

"Just fucking clean up before you come back to work, Jason." Chief looks more frustrated than disgusted, but in the memory Dixon reads it as both. It's the only real consequence he'll ever face, and it almost feels like an inevitability, so it doesn't hurt as hard as it should. "Get that shoulder checked out."]

Hold on. [He reaches to move away from Monika.] If you didn't see that I want to pick another one.

[Monika laughed nervously. There wasn't a good way to really make the request any less weird than what it already sounded like. At least letting him pick the memory was a good move. It respected his privacy more while also letting him keep a measure of control.

People liked that, didn't they?

That, and having options!]

Don't worry, this won't hurt at all!

[She sounded as reassuring as she could as she gently placed her hands on his wrist.

The memories take a bit of time to become clear to her, a sign of her overall inexperience.

By the time she can make out much, Dixon breaks contact and she loses the image.]

Okay! Just pick whatever your comfortable with!

[He holds his arm back out to Monika, brow furrowed slightly as if that'll help him concentrate.

It's hard to pick, mind scrambling and sliding around the way it is. Whenever he lands on one it seems to morph into another one, to follow that bloodstream that circulates throughout every experience. He wonders if everyone's head is like this.

He finally manages to grab onto his first day on the job as a police officer, buzzing with excitement, too nervous to ask questions, faking that he knows what's going on in the ride-along in the police cruiser until the sergeant asks him to actually repeat back something about the codes he just learned.

"Dixon, a 10-96. I just told you."

"Dog case?"

"No, you dipshit. That means we've got a retard on the loose."

"Oh. I knew that."

"You didn't."

Dixon isn't wearing his badge. It's tight in his hand on his thigh; he can feel the edges pressing into his clammy palm. "I'll know it next time."]

[The images become clear once again. It's not as clear as she thinks it could be, but this is still her first time.

And she wants to keep her grip gentle right now.

She's quite literally looking into someone's memories.]

10-96.

[Monika repeats, though she doesn't much care for some of the vocabulary that was being used.]

Did you?

[She lets go, and smiles at Dixon.]

Oh, sorry. I meant to say... Did you get it right next time?

No.

[Which was a bit of a common theme with his entire time in the police force, and everywhere else - learning things a bit slower than everyone else, retaining a little less, sheltering under the good will of anyone who would grant it. First it was his dad, then it was the chief of police, one won over by family and the other by Dixon's earnestness.]

Pretty sure I thought it was roadkill the next time I got asked. But I eventually got it, which was the point.

[He suddenly feels very self-conscious. He should have chosen a better memory, one that cast him in a positive light, his high school graduation or something. But it's too late for that now.]

What was it like, seeing a memory like that?

Well that's good! I'm glad that you were able to get it right.

[She smiled, seeming to be genuinely happy for him. And she was. Monika wasn't really there to judge anyone. What good would that do when they would all be travelling together?]

It felt like I was right there when it happened.

I think I have room for some improvement, but at least I got to see what it was like to be a police officer!

I got a lot better at it. [He didn't.] Just took some trying. [Which he stopped doing after about a year.]

Was it totally clear or like...fuzzy? [Having no real way to contextualize what it's like to walk in someone else's memory, he can't really tell what she means by room for improvement.]

That's great. I'm glad to hear it!

[Monika smiles and doesn't seem none the wiser.]

The individual faces were a little blurry for me, but almost everything else was pretty visible. Still I'm pretty pleased, and it's all thanks to you.

[The effusive thanks makes him a bit uncomfortable, especially since his contribution seemed to have mostly been holding his wrist out and closing his eyes. He's put more effort into getting his blood pressure taken, Jesus.]

You going to try it on anyone else?

Most likely! Practice makes perfect, you know.

I hope there's more that I can do. Just seeing someone's memories doesn't seem all that helpful.

I don't know. Maybe if they need...therapy or something... [Dixon shrugs. He guesses people in big cities do that therapy thing but the idea always struck him as really unhelpful and bougie.]

Or if you need to get information out of someone.

Ahaha, I don't know if I'd be qualified enough for that. But I'd be happy to help with their problems either way!

[She's got such a stellar track record already.]

That other option sounds like it could contribute more, though.

I usually just break their fingers. [He sounds like he's joking. Is he joking? Who knows! He's probably joking.] Your way probably don't leave much evidence.

[She laughs anyways. Though this time it's actual nervous laughter.]

Maybe, but you sound like you have more experience in this. Plus, I'm not very intimidating to begin with.

Not...really.

[Seriously, the gap between being a smalltown beat cop and saving the world is becoming more apparent by the hour. He feels like he's watching a train he's supposed to be on recede into the distance.]

But you're right you ain't intimidating.

That's actually a relief!

[You can only go upwards after you've hit rock bottom, Dixon.]

I wouldn't have felt like a very good club president if my members thought I was intimidating.

[GOOD BECAUSE HE'S RIGHT THERE.]

President of a club? What kind of club?

A Literature Club!

It sounds pretty boring to most people, but it was... A special place to me.

I loved it very much.

[ Arturia has mostly been focused on resting up now that they're at the temple. It's been strange, needing to do things like sleep. But on the other hand, it's a little enjoyable, even if feeling sore and exhausted from battle instead of magically healing your strained muscles is a lot tougher. When Monika appraoches her, she blinks, then gives a small smile. ]

Of course. What can I do to help?

I'd like to get a better of understanding of what it is I can do.

For that... I, um, would like you to let me see one of your memories.

[This just always sounded awkward no matter what.]

It can be anything you want! All you have to do is think about it and I'll do the rest.

I see.

[ An interesting power, viewing memories. Arturia feels a little unsure of this, but... ]

I chose the memory, then? And you can see only that which I allow?

[Monika nods.]

I don't want to see anything I shouldn't.

I know how this all sounds, that's why I really want to make sure you pick something you're comfortable showing me.

[ Arturia gives a small nod. It sounds strange, but she's willing to give this a shot. ]

Let me know when you wish to proceed.

I'll need to hold one of your wrists for this.

[It might be a better idea to put a hand on their head, but she's taking it easy for right now.]

But aside from that I'm ready to go!

Could make one outta some of the blankets and cloaks.

[Daryl didn't really know what sort of clothes the people that used to live here however long ago had worn. But a hooded cape was a 'cloak' and the rest looked like blankets so...]

You'll want a longer one you can tuck up 'tween yer legs and turn inta pants for runnin' or walkin' through heavy brush.

[Says the obvious American with a light drawl dressed like he lives part-time in the forest. Hope he didn't surprise her too bad with his sudden appearance.]

Edited 2018-04-06 00:12 (UTC)

[Monika's not unsettled, really. He's being helpful and their group was already made up of a pretty varied cast!

In fact, she appreciates that he looks so... average. At least so far.]

That sounds like pretty good advice.

[She picks up one of the blankets that was left behind. It wasn't much to look at, and not cute at all! But she wasn't in a position to be picky.]

I'm mostly just tired of being in my high school uniform. It wasn't really meant for this kind of use, you know?

Better to be in something that fits than something that don't.

[A lot of people got caught out in whatever they were wearing when the world first went to shit. He didn't really see the point in trying to preserve what they had if it fit better than what they could find. Better to wear it out than not.

He reached out for the blanket hand open in silent offer to try and fix it up for her to wear it properly.]

That's true.

[But what about looking cute. Where does that fit into this.

She hands the blanket over to him. If it'll keep her warm at night then she's not complain.]

Thanks! I really appreciate it.

[Daryl grunted, a sound akin to a 'no problem' as he took the blanket and folded it in half long-ways. Then he pulled a knife and cut it along the loose crease. It would be long enough to hit just above her ankles once it was tied on that way. The rest she could use as a shoulder stole or something.

Then he sliced off a decent chunk at one end save for a sizable strip of cloth that would act as a belt. On the other side, he cut a pair of slits.

He put his knife away and held it up.]

Wrap it around ya, tie side first but keep the tie out and loose. Then thread it through the holes like ya would a belt buckle, pull it tight, fold it backwards and tie it to itself so it stays. It'll be a little tight up to the knees cause it'll lay pretty straight, but it'll keep yer legs mostly protected and it won't fall down.

[Monika looks on as he begins work on the blanket. She's pretty amazed at how he goes through it. Skills like that would definitely come in handy here! It's not until he finishes up that she takes it back.]

Got it!

[She did, too. All those instructions.]

You do this sort of work often? It definitely feels like it!

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I think the most important skill in life is being able to fake confidence. [OPEN]

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