dualislogs | Midnight, not a sound from the pavement

Midnight, not a sound from the pavement

WHO: All residents of Dualis + special guest stars
WHAT: Strap in, kiddos, it’s a ~memshare~
WHERE: In your head. Or, you know. Everywhere you go to escape that.
WHEN: August 15-24
WARNINGS: Don’t forget these if they’re applicable!

It’s been a few months, Dualis, how are you settling in? New arrivals, we know it’s sudden, but we hope you’re making new friends already and settling in well! You’re all gonna fit in juuuust fine around here.

Things have calmed down after the supposed terrorist attacks during the Dualis Days celebration, and there’s still no news about that strange network broadcast. But maybe that’s for the best, right? See, the Head really does have everything under control.

But speaking of heads…

Over the course of these next few days, yours might be feeling a little funny. Maybe you just aren’t quite feeling like yourself. Or there’s an ache that just won’t quite go away. Or maybe you’re perfectly fine! Which is completely optimal, honestly.

Except--that memory you suddenly have. Is that really yours? And what about those fainting spells that seem to come with premonitions...or are you perhaps remembering something you repressed long ago? You’d probably remember something like this, though, wouldn’t you?

It’s perfectly natural to be concerned. However, if you approach your friendly neighborhood MedBot or clinician, they’re going to be pretty stumped. It appears there's nothing really wrong with you, but hey, here's some mild painkillers if you want them. And if you try and consult the Head, all it’ll be able to do is give you it’s most sincere condolences. It seems that there may have been some complications with the transfer process, but these should definitely wear off soon! In the meantime, why not visit your local clinic for a sedative and some painkillers?

Good luck, denizens. Looks like you’re in for a bumpy week or two...

[[As a reminder, these memory shares can happen at any point in time during the span of the event, not just when your characters are sleeping! You're also welcome to have them experience no side effects at all, all the way up to fainting spells and headaches a la Cordelia circa season 2 of Angel. Feel free to reach out to your friendly neighborhood mods if you have any questions!]]

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Tim would love to pretend that he didn't just get a whole headful of Jason's memories, but he generally feels like he and Jason have done enough trying to avoid the spaces the other occupies (not that they're necessarily trying to avoid each other, but they're not really seeking each other out either).

So, once the headache and double vision clear, he goes to find him. It helps that they live in the same building. It helps even more that Jason literally lives in the room above them. He waits until he's reasonably sure he'll be in, and then goes up. Window to window.

It will be really awkward if it's Jason's roommate that meets him instead, but that's not who he sees. He knocks at the window. Politely.

Tim happens to be in luck - Jason's in at the moment and alone in the room, lounging on his bed and reading a tattered paperback checked out from the library where he works. The knock at the window is a little surprising, but he's known enough vigilantes and rooftop-runners to not find it too weird - especially since he's one of them. More surprising is the fact that it's Tim knocking at his window, but there must be a reason for it, right? With an expression of mild puzzlement, he pushes the window all the way up and waves Tim inside.

"You makin' house calls now?" he asks, equal parts amused and curious.

"I thought I'd stop by, and the stairs seemed too boring, so..." He climbs in through the window, and pushes it mostly closed behind him. He and Jason have been in a decent enough place lately that he's reasonably sure that he won't get thrown through it, even if they do end up discussing sensitive subjects.

Progress is a wonderful thing, and we are not air conditioning the neighborhood.

"It's been an interesting few days around here, hasn't it? With the memory thing." He takes a breath before continuing. "I think I saw a few of yours."

Damn, Tim, aren’t you supposed to be repressing all those feelings about seeing other people’s memories? Do you even Batboy? Anyway, that’s what Jason’s been doing, but he’s seen a lot, commented on little. He knows his own memories are making the rounds and it’s not terribly surprising that Tim’s seen some. Not surprising, but not exactly pleasant, either. His jaw goes tight, but he doesn’t move to attack Tim. Instead, Jason returns to the bed and sits at one end, legs folded up on the mattress.

“Yeah? Guess that’s fair - I think I saw a couple of yours, too.” He glances up at Tim with a thin, forced smile. “Lemme guess - you came for an apology?”

His tone’s teasing, because he’s trying to pass off everything about this weird experience as a joke. If it’s all a joke, then nothing can hurt him, right? Right. Jason looks away, rubs a hand over his mouth.

“You can sit down, if you want.” There’s plenty of spaces for it in the room, after all.

Tim's been keeping most of his commentary to himself, too. It's one thing, knowing people are seeing what you thought was private, but it's another having to talk to strangers about it. He doesn't like knowing that other people have seen his memories, and he can't imagine it's any more comfortable for anyone else. Apparently it's too much to ask to have privacy in your own mind.

He grimaces a little at Jason's mention of seeing his memories--he can only imagine what he'd seen. People haven't been very forthcoming with him over what of his memories are out there, and while there's a part of him that finds that absolutely maddening (he prefers to have complete control over all of the information he presents to the world), there's a part of him that's almost glad. If he doesn't know what it is, and no one approaches him, maybe it doesn't exist. Maybe it's just that one memory of Bruce that Nida had seen. Damning, as far as secret identities go, but not as private as some of the other things he could think of.

He takes a seat in a chair at Jason's suggestion. They're getting better, but Jason's not Kon, or even Dick. They're nowhere near close enough to want to share physical space when also having what might be an emotional conversation.

"An apology?" He frowns. "Maybe. I'm sorry to have been part of invading your privacy." He knows it's not his fault that memories were forced into his head, but he still doesn't like it. "I also just wanted to talk about some of it. I saw a few memories from that Wonderland place that you and Cissie were talking about. I believed you, but seeing it for myself was something else."

"No, I meant - you're here for an apology from me. Can't imagine anything you saw of mine was particularly pleasant." He shakes his head. "It was a joke, Tim. I know you don't have any control over any of this bullshit that's been going on. Neither do I."

Jason sighs quietly, picks up the book he'd been reading and tosses it farther down the bed. He'd rather not talk about his memories, of course, but he feels like maybe he owes Tim an explanation or two - especially if he has questions about anything he might've seen involving Jason and the Tim Drake from Wonderland. Jason nods.

"All right. What part did you wanna talk about first?"

He could go into the threat to beat the crap out of him, but that honestly feels a little tired to him at this point. He's been there and done that back home, and he'd rather not revisit it if he doesn't have to. Instead, he smirks a little at Jason. "Well, to start... I really did call you 'dad' when we first met over there, didn't I? What a brat."

Tim’s remark draws a genuine laugh from Jason, a smile that stretches across his face. “Yeah, you did. I was in a pretty bad mood, and that was one of the nicer responses I got.”

That smile slowly fades as Jason segues into his next point: “I didn’t know who you were when we talked. In the Gotham I’m from, nobody picked up as Robin after me.”

And Jason’s not entirely sure how he feels about that. He’s guessing that means Tim isn’t around, which could be for any number of reasons, many of them sad to consider. From what he’s seen, the world - Gotham especially - is better with Tim Drake in it. On the other hand, not being around means Jason didn’t have the chance to be a destructive asshole like other versions of him.

Tim's eyebrows go up. No one picked up after Jason died? There are all kind of reasons that could be, and his mind naturally goes to the tragic. It's not that he hadn't understood how dangerous stalking Batman and Robin was when he was doing it, but he has gained a much deeper appreciation of it in the years since. Or-- "Well, maybe I'm off stalking the Flash in Keystone City instead."

Jason smiles at the suggestion, a little more subdued this time, and nods. "Yeah ... maybe. Guess I can find out if I ever end up back in Gotham. See if ol' Flash has a new smart-ass sidekick."

The longer he spends hopping dimensions, the less likely it seems that Jason will be returned to Gotham, though. And he's honestly not sure how he feels about that. On the one hand, he wants to pick up with his work where he left off, now that he's had time and distance to put the pieces of himself back together. But on the other? For all the trials he's endured in the past couple of years, he's come out the other side better for it. He has friends now, adopted family, people who care about him in ways that no one else has before. If he's sent back to Gotham without them, Jason's not sure what he'd do, but he's fairly certain it wouldn't be a good ending.

"Mm... Wally doesn't really do sidekicks," he says absently. "You'd be better off looking for a cagey-looking kid with a high speed camera, claiming he's looking for hummingbirds."

But as amusing as the idea of him stalking the Flash around Keystone is, that's not what really captured his attention here. He gives Jason a curious look. "Do you think we'll get back to our respective Gothams?" Tim isn't entirely sure. He doesn't even know where he'd been headed before he'd been caught up in the draintrap of Dualis, but he doesn't really trust that the Head knows how to get him there. Or to Gotham, for that matter.

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Midnight, not a sound from the pavement

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