purrtylittlewires (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
purrtylittlewires) wrote2016-03-26 01:49 am
purrtylittlewires) wrote2016-03-26 01:49 am
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Significant Positive: Tucker? Wash? (12.8, 12.10)
From 4:18 to the end. Before Wash appears on screen, it's them returning from lunch. He's going over schedules for training Feds, mostly ignoring Sarge's ridiculous ideas for obstacle courses that involve far too many bombs, and maybe considering a few of Donut's more reasonable morale boosting ideas, and Lopez...well, he's speaking Spanish that probably involves insulting Sarge. They're also staying in the detention facility (because Wash isn't sleeping with people he doesn't really trust.)
Then alarms go on about the sewage breach and he stops. At first he feels pity for maintenance, but then comes the amendment about the baracks and he sees all the Fed soldiers heading for it through a window and every alarm bell goes off because this is suddenly seeming an awful lot like a distraction.
He calls the other three to him because he wants to check out what's going on and they head for the exit and there's voices through the doors. Something about hacking it? Wash tells them to be ready for fire, and then he opens the door and CUE THE VIDEO.
Then brief explanation of what happened to Wash and them, how Locus was supposed to capture them alive, basically he's a dick for how he did it, and Doyle asked for their help to end this war in exchange for helping them rescue their friends. Apparently they got the same deal from Kimball.
During this whole bit of exposition, Wash is very calm and collected, but inside he's just in this chant of 'they came for us, they came for me, they came for us, they came for me.' And is full of ALL THE DERE FOR THESE IDIOTS.
But there is a sense of unease growing.
Then from the beginning to 1:34.
Break Down
-Sure working with the Feds.
-Maybe they shouldn't ALL go to lunch at once...?
-Schedules, training, Sarge being Sarge, Donut being Donut, Lopez being Lopez.
-They room in the detention facility. Have meals their too.
-Sewage breach.
-All the Feds going.
-Sounds like a distraction, might be paranoia, MIGHT BE LEGIT.
-Off to INVESTIGATE.
-Someone wants to hack the door?
-Well, that's suspicious, be ready to shoot.
-Is that...
-Tucker?
-They came to save them?
-But....but they were supposed to save THEM.
-Caboose says something about cliffhanger, but....that's Caboose being Caboose.
-Exposition exposition exposition.
-The Feds weren't doing too well either.
-Pretty hopeless as soldiers.
-They were supposed to help in exchange for the Feds help in rescuing his friends.
-TUCKER, CABOOSE, SIMMONS, AND GRIF CAME FOR THEM.
-CAME FOR HIM.
-ALL THE FUCKING DERE THAT HE HIDES, BUT GOOD GOD IT'S THERE.
-Still, dere aside, he's gotten this sense of unease he can't explain.
-They did think the New Republic were brainwashing terrorists.
-Grif says they're harmless morons.
-The Republic also apparently promoted all of them to Captain and gave them squads.
-There is a brief silence.
-...Sarge is pretty spot on though, the Republic can't be that cunning if they really thought that was a good idea.
-Sure, he has faith in his men, but he also knows they are not the type you put in charge of a squad. '-'
-Like ever.
-Why would you do that.
-But as far as Wash is concerned, at this point, they don't have an enemy.
-This is a war, they've both got reasons, they're both not innocent, and they're just caught in the middle.
-Making friends and allies with some of them does not absolve them of guilt Tucker.
-Extremist attacks, government screwing them.
-But that doesn't matter, what they need to do is get both sides to talk to each other.
-It's a war that's in stalemate, they're both taking heavy losses, relying mostly on kids to fight at this point.
-If they can just talk, they might reach an understanding at this point.
-Just gotta get Doyle and Kimball to meet.
-Simmons says something is wrong.
-Wash agrees, there's plenty wrong with the situation, and his own unease is growing and he still can't pinpoint why.
-A talk is their best move still.
-And he's just
-SO HAPPY they're all okay. '^'
-Simmons says something doesn't feel right and it's upping Wash's own unease.
-Sarge and Grif bicker, as they do.
-Simmons talking about hearing something.
-Hear? Hear what?
-Simmons asks what happened to the alarms.
-....oh.
Meaning
SO SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT. By this point in canon? NO ONE HAS EVER COME TO RESCUE WASH BEFORE. There had been help during fights and confrontations, but no one was ever in a place of safety and decided 'welp, time to get agent highway back.' This is a very big deal, because being abandoned was part of why the Epsilon incident was so bad. That's why this is sig pos.
Even if Sarge, Donut, and Lopez are with him, the fact was, HE was part of the reason why they came. Tucker even said his name FIRST. He's not a second thought, they wanted to save him, they thought they were being held by an evil army and THEY CAME TO RESCUE THEM/HIM and the amount of dere and love he has for these idiots is immense and if he wasn't already insanely loyal, this would get it out of him alone.
Of course, there's also the bullshit of Feds and Republic and how they think they're both in need of an edge, and the alarms, and Puma already knows that the mercs were probably playing them or something and that this miiiiight lead to the incident where that came out.
But mostly DERE DERE DERE for his colorful space marines.
Significant Neutral: Cecil Kyle
The incident in question is referred to here.
This takes place when Wash, or rather David, is in the fifth grade. He's in a three bedroom apartment. He wakes up with the door closing, and he knows it's his father. His mother then comes and wakes him up and the reminder to wake Cindy, and two more sisters in another room, Meena and Rosa. David gets up and he goes to shake Cindy awake. She jumps a bit, grunts random noises that he knows is 'five more minutes,' and he shakes her again before she relents to wake up.
They get ready for the schoolday, with mother being busy making breakfast and getting ready for work. It's also faiiiiiirly obvious David is probably adopted seeing as him and Meena look nothing like Rosa, Cindy, or his mother, who actually of Korean descent with Meena being Latina, and David being Caucasian. Meena and Rosa are also a few years older than David and Cindy.
Eventually they're all bustled out to the street of FUTURE CITY. It still looks pretty city like, but there's stuff like hologram ads and sleeker ground cars and tech things everywhere. So future, but not SUPER FUTURE looking. Mother makes sure they get to a tram stop before she has to go to head into work herself.
David...actually gets along really well with his siblings! They talk about some old series that Meena dug up, Marvel Movies, and David just goes on and on about it. All the while he's signing stuff, and keeping an eye on Cindy if she has anything to 'say.'
They get on the tram and head on to school. Meena and Rosa get off first at the middle school, and then David and Cindy converse until they get to the elementary school. Some more FUTURE THINGS in the school, with screens everywhere and tablets, and Cindy gets an auto translator in her tablet. David and her are in the same class and for the first hour, things seem fine. He's learning, being a good student, and then.
The new student arrives.
When he walks in, David feels his heart stop. He sees Cindy beside him actually grow fearful, moving deeper into her seat, whimpering as she reaches for David. He understands.
Cecil Kyle was supposed to be GONE. He moved. And David remembers. He remembers the flicking of his ears. Remembers all the insults towards him, but those are just enough to make him uncomfortable. But then he remembers what he says about his family being 'patchwork' and 'broken kids' and how dumb Cindy sounded and how what little hearing Cindy had was taken away after a particularly hard shove from this kid sent her down a flight of stairs right before he left for what they had hoped was forever. They never had a chance to even get justice because he had to be one of those damn rich kids who used their parents influence to get away with anything.
For the next few hours, David's head just kind of...blanks out. He shushes Cindy, tries to keep her calm, and he can see Cecil Kyle's smirking at them and he's just....he doesn't think.
Lunch comes. David guides Cindy to the cafeteria, and keeping them far from Cecil Kyle. He doesn't even eat, just watching the kid until he gets up and heads for the bathroom. He gets up, brushes up Cindy's question, and follows him to the bathroom.
He doesn't even know what he's going to do. He just follows them in, sees they're alone, and waits across from the mirrors. Cecil Kyle comes out, sees him, laughs and goes to wash his hands. David just...watches him. Finally, Cecil Kyle talks. Uppity, smarmy, like he knows he nothing can happen to him.
David snaps, and all the hatred he has for this kid comes rushing back. He won't let it happen again. He won't let anyone fuck with him, and he ESPECIALLY won't let this kid hurt Cindy again. Never again.
He crosses the bathroom, Cecil Kyle turning, and before he can put up his fists, David's got his hand on the side of his head and SLAMS HIM INTO THE MIRROR.
There's the sound of shattering glass, there is red everywhere, and David let's go of Cecil Kyle, who falls to the ground, but he's not quite passed out. David kneels down, glaring with all the hate he feels. "Never. Go near Cindy. Again."
He then leaves the bathroom and, well, the teachers notice he's got blood on him. From there, he's ushered to the office. He tells the teachers that he was provoked, that Cecil Kyle bullied him three years ago. He even gets himself to start crying, but it's mostly because he's so ANGRY that he can conjure up the tears.
He stays in the office, trying to think if he should feel bad, even after an ambulance is called for Cecil Kyle. His parents come and it's only then he says it's the kid who hurt Cindy. His dad says he'll handle the parents.
David is brought home, cleans up, and is sent to his room. He stays there until his sisters come home and Cindy comes in immediately and hugs him.
David just hugs her tight and promises he won't let anyone hurt her, even if she can't hear.
Cindy is eventually called out, saying David had to be alone while being punished. It's a few more hours until dinner and by then his father comes home. His parents come in to talk to him and
They understand. They know why he was so aggressive, but he can't go bashing kids heads in like that. So he's going to be grounded for the week he's suspended from school. He understands. It's fair enough. Especially when they explain Cecil Kyle suffered major head trauma and they think he might lose vision in one eye. There was threats of charges, but...
Well, his father brought up it's on file about the incident three years ago with Cindy. They knew they it would be a costly court battle, but after what happened with Cindy, if the Kyles decided to ruin their son's life to, they would be more than willing to push this as far as they could and make it the biggest scandal possible. David asked if that would really matter?
His father hesitated, but then he explained they were a middle class family, with two adoptive children, and the fact David was a survivor of a glassed planet, it would buy them a lot of sympathy over a very rich family with questionable rumors. They might have lost, but EVERYONE sides with survivors like David emotionally even if they didn't legally.
So they wouldn't be pressing charges.
He confined to eat his dinner in his room as part of his first day of grounding. Eventually Cindy comes in for bed, but she gives him an extra long hug and thanks him before heading to bed.
David decided that next time, he'll be careful about the amount of force he uses, but what he did was totally worth it.
Break Down
-He has three sisters! Rosa, Meena, and Cindy.
-He and Meena are pretty obviously adopted.
-Has both parents!
-Lived in an apartment in the city.
-He's the same age as Cindy, who is deaf and mute.
-Cindy does not always use proper sign language, he understands her anyway.
-ADORES HIS FAMILY.
-He loves old movies.
-Especially superheroes.
-Takes a tram to school with his sisters.
-Off to school, which he actually likes and does well until NEW STUDENT.
-Cecile Kyle, who he used to go to school with.
-Cindy is afraid of him.
-He HATES him.
-Cecil Kyle is a bully, teased him, flicked his ears, MESSED WITH CINDY, and pushed her down stairs which caused her to lose what little hearing she DID have.
-He got away with it because MONEY.
-He just focuses on keeping Cindy calm and safe and ignore the SMUGNESS.
-Lunch comes.
-He sees Cecil Kyle go to the bathroom and he follows.
-He has no plan, he's just running on white noise static in his head.
-That is until Cecil Kyle actually speaks to him.
-And he absolutely snaps because no.
-NO ONE IS FUCKING WITH HIS FAMILY AGAIN.
-HE IS NOT GOING TO SCARE CINDY AGAIN.
-Aaaaaaand puts his face through a mirror.
-Gives absolutely no fucks and threatens him to leave Cindy alone.
-And he walks away.
-Gets in trouble, says Cecil Kyle provoked him, uses tears of rage as tears of distress.
-Suspended, grounded, all normal punishments to be expected.
-Is told later charges won't be pressed.
-Because Cecil Kyle DID hurt Cindy a few years ago.
-And being a family that adopts kids.
-And David himself is a survivor of a glassed planet.
-Gets a lot of sympathy points and like hell they're going to let their children's lives get ruined anymore without a fight.
-A fight they would probably lose, but damn they would drag the Kyle name through the mud.
-Still, David was too extreme, so he has to be punished.
-Even if it was good he defended Cindy, but seriously, chill next time.
-But Cindy thanks him later.
-NO FUCKING REGRETS.
Meaning
HIS FAMILY. His family he never mentions later and he has no idea when he's last seen them, but aaaaaa, FAMILY. He has so many sisters and of course he's the younger brother except for maybe Cindy.
Also he's....he's not surprised. He knew 'David' was kinder than him, sure, but David does become a very good soldier who separates his dorky side from his killer side very easily. He's not surprised his anger may have been a lifelong thing. Especially when tied to his protectiveness. And this memory is important.
It's where he decides he hates bullies. Where he decides to protect his people even if it's a bad idea. He won't regret doing whatever he has to do to reach that end. But mostly it's the first time Puma gets to remember NOT MILITARY.
Significant Negative: Article 12.
This takes place after the MOI Crash and before Recovery One. This time lasts roughly three years.
Wash wakes up in in a hospital. He's hurting and he's told about the Mother of Invention crash. He's told nothing else about it at first, but instead it's brought up he's been more or less in a coma, though there was a lot of near conscious states with begging for someone to 'stop' and 'calm down.'
He knows he was dreaming of Epislon, reliving what happened. He knows he was injured in the crash. He says he doesn't remember anything. He's then informed he's been certified Article 12. Unfit for duty.
Insane.
He'll be put in isolation, in a psyche ward that Project Freelancer controls. And he knows. He knows they suspect what's happened, but they have no proof, and they can't just kill him. Either because they can't quite make him disappear, or because they don't know if they're done with him. Either way, he knows he's in for hell.
He doesn't remember the first few weeks well at all. Locked in a room with only his thoughts doesn't go well. He has enough control to not give himself away, but the details are fuzzy. All he remembers is the feeling of his mind being torn apart, that he's in danger, he's going to die he's going to die he's going to die-
Then one day he wakes up in power armor. He looks it over, realizes it's bare bones, it's not enough to break out. He also has a gun, with no ammo. He realizes it's to get him to calm down. He must have said something, though he doesn't remember what. He's given enough to feel safe enough to maintain his sanity.
Well, he's not going to complain about it.
But the questions come. Usually through a reinforced glass wall. He's asked about Epsilon a lot. He says he doesn't remember any details. Just that Epsilon was unraveling, that he couldn't tell who was who at the time, then he died. The questions get more insistent, more persistent.
He starts faking panic attacks. It takes a few times to figure out how to do it right without fucking himself up, but he used to have anxiety attacks, and he knows what he needs to do to achieve them. As soon as the questions get too problematic, start digging at memories and making him lose himself, he starts the attack and they back off. Over time, as they try to manipulate him, break him, he'll use it often. As well as just zoning out. Shutting things down. Anything and everything to get them to realize they can't get anything and maintain they're doing this 'for his own good.'
Eventually they start giving him details about what happened. They bring up how everyone was MIA. In his bitterness, he says that's just dandy, because everyone in charge is kind of an asshole. After he realizes that mistake and the questions continue, he says they shouldn't have. The war is still going. Humanity still needs to be saved.
He finds he can't really care right now about the war.
He hopes they're okay, that they got out, that they're fine.
He's told about Carolina dying.
He almost let's himself be upset. But he's painting a picture and makes a comment on how she should have been better.
He's not the only one upset in his head, he hears a voice that isn't his own screaming about her death, how he should have been better, how he should have protected her. He ignores it.
He's bitter at his old teammates, he's bitter at his leaders, he still wants to help with the war effort. That's the picture he paints. Instead, he hopes they got out, he hopes they're okay, he doesn't care about the war, he wants his leaders dead.
He wants to get out of there.
He doesn't have tools, he doesn't have access, but he hopes for a while. He finds he's being told about appearances of the other Agents. How they're still being tracked. He keeps up the facade, but he listens. They keep targeting Freelancer facilities.
He hopes they're looking for him.
He's told about a break in for the facility. At first he thinks it's the one he's in, he thinks maybe they were trying to save him. He's asked what he knows about it, but he plays dumb, but he does ask why there wasn't an alarm. The Counselor says it wasn't this one, it was an AI facility.
He realizes what was going on. He realizes the Counselor is looking for him to feel betrayed, abandoned, and he catches it in time. He scoffs and waves a hand. "Then why the hell would I know anything?"
He tries to pretend that he doesn't feel a little abandon, but from there, it gets worse.
Days, weeks, months pass. He'll often zone out for great periods of time, get lost in memories that aren't his own, (which doesn't show as anything more than white static because other shards). Eventually he reaches the first year, which he only knows because he's told and he realizes no one's coming. He's been abandoned and he feels his hope dwindling away. His zoning out gets worse, he gets angrier, more bitter, and subdued.
Some part still hopes the others are okay, because he can understand why they ran, but he's angry he's been left alone. They know it's bad and they left him. He understands, but it hurts. Eventually he focuses more on the anger for the Director, the Counselor, for Freelancer in general. He's in this situation because of THEM. He's stuck like this because they're able to gt away with it. They toy with him, try to manipulate him, but it's so hard to manipulate someone who has a master manipulator in his head. He starts mentioning how he wishes he could at least have a point to his existence instead of just being stuck here in moments of 'weakness' and he hopes it does something.
He's tried to break out plenty. He's looked for weaknesses in the structure, or ways he could modify what he has, but they only people they send in are obvious newbie residents and there's always an armed guard at the door, and he reads the threat. If he acts out, they're not going to hesitate to shoot. Despite everything, he can't bring himself to get some kid hurt.
He also makes plans. What would he do if he got out. He knew what he had to do. He had to free the AI from Freelancers control. Whether or not Epsilon fucked him over, he only did because Freelancer fucked him. And there were broken fragments being made to exist without relief. Give them peace and put Freelancer out of business. He just needed to find some help and the Alpha.
It might be better to just give them peace. He focuses on certain memories, codes, locations, objective data on Freelancer.
More time passes, he keeps up the act, he hardens himself mentally and emotionally, feeling almost dead inside when the Counselor makes a comment at the end of a session after mentioning wanting a point to his existence.
"A job, hm," the counselor murmured as he walked away and for the first time, Wash feels a bit of...excitement? It's not hope, but the counselor didn't say a point, but a JOB and that sounded like he had something in mind. And if he was out....well, then he could put his own plans in motion.
Break Down
-THREE YEARS.
-Three years of imprisonment in a psyche ward.
-Three years of imprisonment with people pretending they want to help, but really they're trying to figure out if they need to kill him for knowing too much.
-Three years of imprisonment of them trying to figure out if they can use him.
-Three years where he hopes one of his friends will come save him.
-Three years of disappointment.
-Three years of plotting how to take down corrupt officials and get revenge for people he considered family and an AI he choose to feel sorry for instead of hating.
-Three years of being stuck in his own head with memories that aren't his own and trying desperately to keep them separate.
-Three years where he loses hope.
-Three years where only his iron will to SURVIVE is his only saving grace.
-Three years of lying, of fake panicked attacks, of anger, of bitterness.
-Three years of lying constantly.
-Three years to never want to be locked up again.
Meaning
....
Well, that explains why he preferred DEATH over prison.
Significant Positive: (E) I thought i could spend a whole lifteim with her and not even know a fraction of her
SO the thing is, not all of Wash's memories are his own. As such, sometimes he gets memories of someone else. Some are clearer than others, particularly ones that are dumped entirely in his head, but he's got a lot of partials. These memories are fuzzy, like people who remove memory shards. It's still REMEMBERED, but it's not as clear, especially for him.
This is one of them.
Break Down
-Fuzziness to the memory.
-In line at basic training for food.
-And there's a meathead kicking the terminal.
-Juuuust gonna keep my distance because vicious tiny dog guy kicked in someone's teeth on the transport in.
-That poor machine.
-That dumb AI doesn't know what he wants, come on, stop hitting it.
-SIGH, this guy isn't gonna figure it out.
-I guess I have to help. =T
-Oh look, I get the machine to work right.
-Because it's a computer and does what it's told. (Dumbass.)
-Delaney asks why I care and if I'm sweet on machines.
-Wow, seriously?
-No, I did it so you didn't starve to death, but maybe it'd be better to be short an idiot.
-OH HELLO MOUTH, GETTING ME IN TROUBLE AGAIN.
-Getting punched HURTS.
-And kicked.
-And everything.
-Oh god, everything hurts, body WORK.
-Then someone comes to save the day!
-And she is probably the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
-I could know everything of the universe.
-But I could never know all of her.
-She has to know my name, all else is secondary.
-Leonard Church!
-Funny name, she thinks my name is funny.
-It's Jewish.
-And oh that laugh.
-Clearly I died, clearly I was beaten to death, because this must be an angel.
-Oh, no, wait, Delaney is still here.
-And picking fights, doesn't matter she's a girl.
-Also doesn't matter she's a girl because she KICKS HIS ASS.
-Oh yeah, he's pretty sure he's in love.
-Wait, name!
-Allison.
-Her name is Allison.
-Good-bye, Allison.
-But not for the last time.
Meaning
Puma is probably gonna scream when he takes the memory because it's NOT HIS and oh god, he knew it was coming, but he was hoping it'd be a looooong while longer. Just...so much internal screeching and trying to not make Allison important to him too because no.
From 4:18 to the end. Before Wash appears on screen, it's them returning from lunch. He's going over schedules for training Feds, mostly ignoring Sarge's ridiculous ideas for obstacle courses that involve far too many bombs, and maybe considering a few of Donut's more reasonable morale boosting ideas, and Lopez...well, he's speaking Spanish that probably involves insulting Sarge. They're also staying in the detention facility (because Wash isn't sleeping with people he doesn't really trust.)
Then alarms go on about the sewage breach and he stops. At first he feels pity for maintenance, but then comes the amendment about the baracks and he sees all the Fed soldiers heading for it through a window and every alarm bell goes off because this is suddenly seeming an awful lot like a distraction.
He calls the other three to him because he wants to check out what's going on and they head for the exit and there's voices through the doors. Something about hacking it? Wash tells them to be ready for fire, and then he opens the door and CUE THE VIDEO.
Then brief explanation of what happened to Wash and them, how Locus was supposed to capture them alive, basically he's a dick for how he did it, and Doyle asked for their help to end this war in exchange for helping them rescue their friends. Apparently they got the same deal from Kimball.
During this whole bit of exposition, Wash is very calm and collected, but inside he's just in this chant of 'they came for us, they came for me, they came for us, they came for me.' And is full of ALL THE DERE FOR THESE IDIOTS.
But there is a sense of unease growing.
Then from the beginning to 1:34.
Break Down
-Sure working with the Feds.
-Maybe they shouldn't ALL go to lunch at once...?
-Schedules, training, Sarge being Sarge, Donut being Donut, Lopez being Lopez.
-They room in the detention facility. Have meals their too.
-Sewage breach.
-All the Feds going.
-Sounds like a distraction, might be paranoia, MIGHT BE LEGIT.
-Off to INVESTIGATE.
-Someone wants to hack the door?
-Well, that's suspicious, be ready to shoot.
-Is that...
-Tucker?
-They came to save them?
-But....but they were supposed to save THEM.
-Caboose says something about cliffhanger, but....that's Caboose being Caboose.
-Exposition exposition exposition.
-The Feds weren't doing too well either.
-Pretty hopeless as soldiers.
-They were supposed to help in exchange for the Feds help in rescuing his friends.
-TUCKER, CABOOSE, SIMMONS, AND GRIF CAME FOR THEM.
-CAME FOR HIM.
-ALL THE FUCKING DERE THAT HE HIDES, BUT GOOD GOD IT'S THERE.
-Still, dere aside, he's gotten this sense of unease he can't explain.
-They did think the New Republic were brainwashing terrorists.
-Grif says they're harmless morons.
-The Republic also apparently promoted all of them to Captain and gave them squads.
-There is a brief silence.
-...Sarge is pretty spot on though, the Republic can't be that cunning if they really thought that was a good idea.
-Sure, he has faith in his men, but he also knows they are not the type you put in charge of a squad. '-'
-Like ever.
-Why would you do that.
-But as far as Wash is concerned, at this point, they don't have an enemy.
-This is a war, they've both got reasons, they're both not innocent, and they're just caught in the middle.
-Making friends and allies with some of them does not absolve them of guilt Tucker.
-Extremist attacks, government screwing them.
-But that doesn't matter, what they need to do is get both sides to talk to each other.
-It's a war that's in stalemate, they're both taking heavy losses, relying mostly on kids to fight at this point.
-If they can just talk, they might reach an understanding at this point.
-Just gotta get Doyle and Kimball to meet.
-Simmons says something is wrong.
-Wash agrees, there's plenty wrong with the situation, and his own unease is growing and he still can't pinpoint why.
-A talk is their best move still.
-And he's just
-SO HAPPY they're all okay. '^'
-Simmons says something doesn't feel right and it's upping Wash's own unease.
-Sarge and Grif bicker, as they do.
-Simmons talking about hearing something.
-Hear? Hear what?
-Simmons asks what happened to the alarms.
-....oh.
Meaning
SO SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT. By this point in canon? NO ONE HAS EVER COME TO RESCUE WASH BEFORE. There had been help during fights and confrontations, but no one was ever in a place of safety and decided 'welp, time to get agent highway back.' This is a very big deal, because being abandoned was part of why the Epsilon incident was so bad. That's why this is sig pos.
Even if Sarge, Donut, and Lopez are with him, the fact was, HE was part of the reason why they came. Tucker even said his name FIRST. He's not a second thought, they wanted to save him, they thought they were being held by an evil army and THEY CAME TO RESCUE THEM/HIM and the amount of dere and love he has for these idiots is immense and if he wasn't already insanely loyal, this would get it out of him alone.
Of course, there's also the bullshit of Feds and Republic and how they think they're both in need of an edge, and the alarms, and Puma already knows that the mercs were probably playing them or something and that this miiiiight lead to the incident where that came out.
But mostly DERE DERE DERE for his colorful space marines.
Significant Neutral: Cecil Kyle
The incident in question is referred to here.
This takes place when Wash, or rather David, is in the fifth grade. He's in a three bedroom apartment. He wakes up with the door closing, and he knows it's his father. His mother then comes and wakes him up and the reminder to wake Cindy, and two more sisters in another room, Meena and Rosa. David gets up and he goes to shake Cindy awake. She jumps a bit, grunts random noises that he knows is 'five more minutes,' and he shakes her again before she relents to wake up.
They get ready for the schoolday, with mother being busy making breakfast and getting ready for work. It's also faiiiiiirly obvious David is probably adopted seeing as him and Meena look nothing like Rosa, Cindy, or his mother, who actually of Korean descent with Meena being Latina, and David being Caucasian. Meena and Rosa are also a few years older than David and Cindy.
Eventually they're all bustled out to the street of FUTURE CITY. It still looks pretty city like, but there's stuff like hologram ads and sleeker ground cars and tech things everywhere. So future, but not SUPER FUTURE looking. Mother makes sure they get to a tram stop before she has to go to head into work herself.
David...actually gets along really well with his siblings! They talk about some old series that Meena dug up, Marvel Movies, and David just goes on and on about it. All the while he's signing stuff, and keeping an eye on Cindy if she has anything to 'say.'
They get on the tram and head on to school. Meena and Rosa get off first at the middle school, and then David and Cindy converse until they get to the elementary school. Some more FUTURE THINGS in the school, with screens everywhere and tablets, and Cindy gets an auto translator in her tablet. David and her are in the same class and for the first hour, things seem fine. He's learning, being a good student, and then.
The new student arrives.
When he walks in, David feels his heart stop. He sees Cindy beside him actually grow fearful, moving deeper into her seat, whimpering as she reaches for David. He understands.
Cecil Kyle was supposed to be GONE. He moved. And David remembers. He remembers the flicking of his ears. Remembers all the insults towards him, but those are just enough to make him uncomfortable. But then he remembers what he says about his family being 'patchwork' and 'broken kids' and how dumb Cindy sounded and how what little hearing Cindy had was taken away after a particularly hard shove from this kid sent her down a flight of stairs right before he left for what they had hoped was forever. They never had a chance to even get justice because he had to be one of those damn rich kids who used their parents influence to get away with anything.
For the next few hours, David's head just kind of...blanks out. He shushes Cindy, tries to keep her calm, and he can see Cecil Kyle's smirking at them and he's just....he doesn't think.
Lunch comes. David guides Cindy to the cafeteria, and keeping them far from Cecil Kyle. He doesn't even eat, just watching the kid until he gets up and heads for the bathroom. He gets up, brushes up Cindy's question, and follows him to the bathroom.
He doesn't even know what he's going to do. He just follows them in, sees they're alone, and waits across from the mirrors. Cecil Kyle comes out, sees him, laughs and goes to wash his hands. David just...watches him. Finally, Cecil Kyle talks. Uppity, smarmy, like he knows he nothing can happen to him.
David snaps, and all the hatred he has for this kid comes rushing back. He won't let it happen again. He won't let anyone fuck with him, and he ESPECIALLY won't let this kid hurt Cindy again. Never again.
He crosses the bathroom, Cecil Kyle turning, and before he can put up his fists, David's got his hand on the side of his head and SLAMS HIM INTO THE MIRROR.
There's the sound of shattering glass, there is red everywhere, and David let's go of Cecil Kyle, who falls to the ground, but he's not quite passed out. David kneels down, glaring with all the hate he feels. "Never. Go near Cindy. Again."
He then leaves the bathroom and, well, the teachers notice he's got blood on him. From there, he's ushered to the office. He tells the teachers that he was provoked, that Cecil Kyle bullied him three years ago. He even gets himself to start crying, but it's mostly because he's so ANGRY that he can conjure up the tears.
He stays in the office, trying to think if he should feel bad, even after an ambulance is called for Cecil Kyle. His parents come and it's only then he says it's the kid who hurt Cindy. His dad says he'll handle the parents.
David is brought home, cleans up, and is sent to his room. He stays there until his sisters come home and Cindy comes in immediately and hugs him.
David just hugs her tight and promises he won't let anyone hurt her, even if she can't hear.
Cindy is eventually called out, saying David had to be alone while being punished. It's a few more hours until dinner and by then his father comes home. His parents come in to talk to him and
They understand. They know why he was so aggressive, but he can't go bashing kids heads in like that. So he's going to be grounded for the week he's suspended from school. He understands. It's fair enough. Especially when they explain Cecil Kyle suffered major head trauma and they think he might lose vision in one eye. There was threats of charges, but...
Well, his father brought up it's on file about the incident three years ago with Cindy. They knew they it would be a costly court battle, but after what happened with Cindy, if the Kyles decided to ruin their son's life to, they would be more than willing to push this as far as they could and make it the biggest scandal possible. David asked if that would really matter?
His father hesitated, but then he explained they were a middle class family, with two adoptive children, and the fact David was a survivor of a glassed planet, it would buy them a lot of sympathy over a very rich family with questionable rumors. They might have lost, but EVERYONE sides with survivors like David emotionally even if they didn't legally.
So they wouldn't be pressing charges.
He confined to eat his dinner in his room as part of his first day of grounding. Eventually Cindy comes in for bed, but she gives him an extra long hug and thanks him before heading to bed.
David decided that next time, he'll be careful about the amount of force he uses, but what he did was totally worth it.
Break Down
-He has three sisters! Rosa, Meena, and Cindy.
-He and Meena are pretty obviously adopted.
-Has both parents!
-Lived in an apartment in the city.
-He's the same age as Cindy, who is deaf and mute.
-Cindy does not always use proper sign language, he understands her anyway.
-ADORES HIS FAMILY.
-He loves old movies.
-Especially superheroes.
-Takes a tram to school with his sisters.
-Off to school, which he actually likes and does well until NEW STUDENT.
-Cecile Kyle, who he used to go to school with.
-Cindy is afraid of him.
-He HATES him.
-Cecil Kyle is a bully, teased him, flicked his ears, MESSED WITH CINDY, and pushed her down stairs which caused her to lose what little hearing she DID have.
-He got away with it because MONEY.
-He just focuses on keeping Cindy calm and safe and ignore the SMUGNESS.
-Lunch comes.
-He sees Cecil Kyle go to the bathroom and he follows.
-He has no plan, he's just running on white noise static in his head.
-That is until Cecil Kyle actually speaks to him.
-And he absolutely snaps because no.
-NO ONE IS FUCKING WITH HIS FAMILY AGAIN.
-HE IS NOT GOING TO SCARE CINDY AGAIN.
-Aaaaaaand puts his face through a mirror.
-Gives absolutely no fucks and threatens him to leave Cindy alone.
-And he walks away.
-Gets in trouble, says Cecil Kyle provoked him, uses tears of rage as tears of distress.
-Suspended, grounded, all normal punishments to be expected.
-Is told later charges won't be pressed.
-Because Cecil Kyle DID hurt Cindy a few years ago.
-And being a family that adopts kids.
-And David himself is a survivor of a glassed planet.
-Gets a lot of sympathy points and like hell they're going to let their children's lives get ruined anymore without a fight.
-A fight they would probably lose, but damn they would drag the Kyle name through the mud.
-Still, David was too extreme, so he has to be punished.
-Even if it was good he defended Cindy, but seriously, chill next time.
-But Cindy thanks him later.
-NO FUCKING REGRETS.
Meaning
HIS FAMILY. His family he never mentions later and he has no idea when he's last seen them, but aaaaaa, FAMILY. He has so many sisters and of course he's the younger brother except for maybe Cindy.
Also he's....he's not surprised. He knew 'David' was kinder than him, sure, but David does become a very good soldier who separates his dorky side from his killer side very easily. He's not surprised his anger may have been a lifelong thing. Especially when tied to his protectiveness. And this memory is important.
It's where he decides he hates bullies. Where he decides to protect his people even if it's a bad idea. He won't regret doing whatever he has to do to reach that end. But mostly it's the first time Puma gets to remember NOT MILITARY.
Significant Negative: Article 12.
This takes place after the MOI Crash and before Recovery One. This time lasts roughly three years.
Wash wakes up in in a hospital. He's hurting and he's told about the Mother of Invention crash. He's told nothing else about it at first, but instead it's brought up he's been more or less in a coma, though there was a lot of near conscious states with begging for someone to 'stop' and 'calm down.'
He knows he was dreaming of Epislon, reliving what happened. He knows he was injured in the crash. He says he doesn't remember anything. He's then informed he's been certified Article 12. Unfit for duty.
Insane.
He'll be put in isolation, in a psyche ward that Project Freelancer controls. And he knows. He knows they suspect what's happened, but they have no proof, and they can't just kill him. Either because they can't quite make him disappear, or because they don't know if they're done with him. Either way, he knows he's in for hell.
He doesn't remember the first few weeks well at all. Locked in a room with only his thoughts doesn't go well. He has enough control to not give himself away, but the details are fuzzy. All he remembers is the feeling of his mind being torn apart, that he's in danger, he's going to die he's going to die he's going to die-
Then one day he wakes up in power armor. He looks it over, realizes it's bare bones, it's not enough to break out. He also has a gun, with no ammo. He realizes it's to get him to calm down. He must have said something, though he doesn't remember what. He's given enough to feel safe enough to maintain his sanity.
Well, he's not going to complain about it.
But the questions come. Usually through a reinforced glass wall. He's asked about Epsilon a lot. He says he doesn't remember any details. Just that Epsilon was unraveling, that he couldn't tell who was who at the time, then he died. The questions get more insistent, more persistent.
He starts faking panic attacks. It takes a few times to figure out how to do it right without fucking himself up, but he used to have anxiety attacks, and he knows what he needs to do to achieve them. As soon as the questions get too problematic, start digging at memories and making him lose himself, he starts the attack and they back off. Over time, as they try to manipulate him, break him, he'll use it often. As well as just zoning out. Shutting things down. Anything and everything to get them to realize they can't get anything and maintain they're doing this 'for his own good.'
Eventually they start giving him details about what happened. They bring up how everyone was MIA. In his bitterness, he says that's just dandy, because everyone in charge is kind of an asshole. After he realizes that mistake and the questions continue, he says they shouldn't have. The war is still going. Humanity still needs to be saved.
He finds he can't really care right now about the war.
He hopes they're okay, that they got out, that they're fine.
He's told about Carolina dying.
He almost let's himself be upset. But he's painting a picture and makes a comment on how she should have been better.
He's not the only one upset in his head, he hears a voice that isn't his own screaming about her death, how he should have been better, how he should have protected her. He ignores it.
He's bitter at his old teammates, he's bitter at his leaders, he still wants to help with the war effort. That's the picture he paints. Instead, he hopes they got out, he hopes they're okay, he doesn't care about the war, he wants his leaders dead.
He wants to get out of there.
He doesn't have tools, he doesn't have access, but he hopes for a while. He finds he's being told about appearances of the other Agents. How they're still being tracked. He keeps up the facade, but he listens. They keep targeting Freelancer facilities.
He hopes they're looking for him.
He's told about a break in for the facility. At first he thinks it's the one he's in, he thinks maybe they were trying to save him. He's asked what he knows about it, but he plays dumb, but he does ask why there wasn't an alarm. The Counselor says it wasn't this one, it was an AI facility.
He realizes what was going on. He realizes the Counselor is looking for him to feel betrayed, abandoned, and he catches it in time. He scoffs and waves a hand. "Then why the hell would I know anything?"
He tries to pretend that he doesn't feel a little abandon, but from there, it gets worse.
Days, weeks, months pass. He'll often zone out for great periods of time, get lost in memories that aren't his own, (which doesn't show as anything more than white static because other shards). Eventually he reaches the first year, which he only knows because he's told and he realizes no one's coming. He's been abandoned and he feels his hope dwindling away. His zoning out gets worse, he gets angrier, more bitter, and subdued.
Some part still hopes the others are okay, because he can understand why they ran, but he's angry he's been left alone. They know it's bad and they left him. He understands, but it hurts. Eventually he focuses more on the anger for the Director, the Counselor, for Freelancer in general. He's in this situation because of THEM. He's stuck like this because they're able to gt away with it. They toy with him, try to manipulate him, but it's so hard to manipulate someone who has a master manipulator in his head. He starts mentioning how he wishes he could at least have a point to his existence instead of just being stuck here in moments of 'weakness' and he hopes it does something.
He's tried to break out plenty. He's looked for weaknesses in the structure, or ways he could modify what he has, but they only people they send in are obvious newbie residents and there's always an armed guard at the door, and he reads the threat. If he acts out, they're not going to hesitate to shoot. Despite everything, he can't bring himself to get some kid hurt.
He also makes plans. What would he do if he got out. He knew what he had to do. He had to free the AI from Freelancers control. Whether or not Epsilon fucked him over, he only did because Freelancer fucked him. And there were broken fragments being made to exist without relief. Give them peace and put Freelancer out of business. He just needed to find some help and the Alpha.
It might be better to just give them peace. He focuses on certain memories, codes, locations, objective data on Freelancer.
More time passes, he keeps up the act, he hardens himself mentally and emotionally, feeling almost dead inside when the Counselor makes a comment at the end of a session after mentioning wanting a point to his existence.
"A job, hm," the counselor murmured as he walked away and for the first time, Wash feels a bit of...excitement? It's not hope, but the counselor didn't say a point, but a JOB and that sounded like he had something in mind. And if he was out....well, then he could put his own plans in motion.
Break Down
-THREE YEARS.
-Three years of imprisonment in a psyche ward.
-Three years of imprisonment with people pretending they want to help, but really they're trying to figure out if they need to kill him for knowing too much.
-Three years of imprisonment of them trying to figure out if they can use him.
-Three years where he hopes one of his friends will come save him.
-Three years of disappointment.
-Three years of plotting how to take down corrupt officials and get revenge for people he considered family and an AI he choose to feel sorry for instead of hating.
-Three years of being stuck in his own head with memories that aren't his own and trying desperately to keep them separate.
-Three years where he loses hope.
-Three years where only his iron will to SURVIVE is his only saving grace.
-Three years of lying, of fake panicked attacks, of anger, of bitterness.
-Three years of lying constantly.
-Three years to never want to be locked up again.
Meaning
....
Well, that explains why he preferred DEATH over prison.
Significant Positive: (E) I thought i could spend a whole lifteim with her and not even know a fraction of her
SO the thing is, not all of Wash's memories are his own. As such, sometimes he gets memories of someone else. Some are clearer than others, particularly ones that are dumped entirely in his head, but he's got a lot of partials. These memories are fuzzy, like people who remove memory shards. It's still REMEMBERED, but it's not as clear, especially for him.
This is one of them.
Break Down
-Fuzziness to the memory.
-In line at basic training for food.
-And there's a meathead kicking the terminal.
-Juuuust gonna keep my distance because vicious tiny dog guy kicked in someone's teeth on the transport in.
-That poor machine.
-That dumb AI doesn't know what he wants, come on, stop hitting it.
-SIGH, this guy isn't gonna figure it out.
-I guess I have to help. =T
-Oh look, I get the machine to work right.
-Because it's a computer and does what it's told. (Dumbass.)
-Delaney asks why I care and if I'm sweet on machines.
-Wow, seriously?
-No, I did it so you didn't starve to death, but maybe it'd be better to be short an idiot.
-OH HELLO MOUTH, GETTING ME IN TROUBLE AGAIN.
-Getting punched HURTS.
-And kicked.
-And everything.
-Oh god, everything hurts, body WORK.
-Then someone comes to save the day!
-And she is probably the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
-I could know everything of the universe.
-But I could never know all of her.
-She has to know my name, all else is secondary.
-Leonard Church!
-Funny name, she thinks my name is funny.
-It's Jewish.
-And oh that laugh.
-Clearly I died, clearly I was beaten to death, because this must be an angel.
-Oh, no, wait, Delaney is still here.
-And picking fights, doesn't matter she's a girl.
-Also doesn't matter she's a girl because she KICKS HIS ASS.
-Oh yeah, he's pretty sure he's in love.
-Wait, name!
-Allison.
-Her name is Allison.
-Good-bye, Allison.
-But not for the last time.
Meaning
Puma is probably gonna scream when he takes the memory because it's NOT HIS and oh god, he knew it was coming, but he was hoping it'd be a looooong while longer. Just...so much internal screeching and trying to not make Allison important to him too because no.