InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Put your legs up"

Ariadne is a bit of a dreamer. (triednotto) wrote in utr_logs,
@ 2013-01-04 20:45:00

Entry tags:

ariadne, arthur

WHO: Arthur & Ariadne
WHAT: A Nightmare
WHEN: Friday Night
WHERE: New Orleans
WARNINGS: Nightmare-y type things? Memories of child abduction. Clowns. ~~Dude, screw clowns.~~

Ariadne sometimes wondered if she should be more concerned at how normal all the abnormalities in her life had become. She was setting out a chaise lounge so she could lie down and fall asleep, hooked up to a machine to share dreams once again with Arthur after being trapped in a different universe several months ago.

That hadn't even covered their future daughter in the other room.

Still, she was eager to go under, just Arthur and her for once. Their business had taken off, but she wanted time to build, explore. 'Them' time.

Again, far to used to the abnormal.

She kicked off her shoes, letting her hair down around her shoulders. "I'm ready."

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loadedreminder
2013-01-05 05:11 am UTC (link)

Their daughter-from-the-future who was under strict instructions to come wake them up if they hadn't checked in within an hour.

The plan was only to go one level deep, they wouldn't even need a kick, just the timer on the PASIV running out, but Arthur had also set both his watch and his phone alarms at three five minute intervals each, just in case. It was probably overplanning, but caution was easy.

He nodded, settling back in his own chair, having double-checked the timer, "Starting with raw dreamspace, or a bare-bones construct?" He had both, he just needed to know which to drop them into.

(Reply to this)

triednotto
2013-01-05 05:22 am UTC (link)

"Bare-bones." Ariadne had a thing about raw dreamspace. She never admitted as much, but honestly Limbo had shaken her far more than she'd like to admit. Sometimes she would dream of a beach and wake up sweating.

Silly, actually.

But she didn't find his over-planning silly in the slightest. That was one of the things she deeply appreciated about Arthur; he planned and coordinated the details so that the Architects and Extractors and Forgers could work without worry.

She wasn't sure how often he was remembered for this key feature of their jobs. Ariadne wondered if he had stayed with Cobb as long as he did because Cobb did appreciate it. Either way, it was pure conjecture.

(Reply to this)

loadedreminder
2013-01-05 05:31 am UTC (link)

It was partly that, and partly that someone had to keep Cobb from going off the rails any further than he already had. Something that Arthur only barely managed most of the time, but he tried.

This version of bare bones was the edge of a windswept moor, patches of rain in the middle distance, that while they did move, drifting with the wind, never actually got any closer. There was a footpath, and crags in the distance, as well as the uppermost roofs of a town visible from where they were.

It was a default setting, and while not a completely sterile one, as there was still a way for projections to approach them, it was empty enough for the time being, "Here we are."

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triednotto
2013-01-05 05:39 am UTC (link)

Ariadne smiled as her eyes open, as always struck by this kind of harsh beauty. She loved visiting the Gaeltacht in Ireland or the moors in Scotland just for this reason.

But Arthur couldn't have known that, right?

She reached out, taking his hand to walk towards the town. She'd gotten better at the minute changes that projections would miss; the ways to keep the dream dynamic without calling attention to the dreamer's awareness. "Is that town from memory?" She doubted it, but was unsurprisingly curious all the same.

(Reply to this)

$Arthur - the Point Man (Inception): :\$

loadedreminder
2013-01-05 05:48 am UTC (link)

He hadn't, it hadn't even been a guess, it was just nice neutral scenery to work with that wasn't as blinding as a snowy tundra, because they'd already done that, and wasn't as harsh as a windswept desert, though he might try that one next.

He shook his head at the question, just keeping alert, curious to see what she'd do with the space, "An illustration, well, a couple of illustrations, and a Christmas card."

(Reply to this)

	triednotto 2013-01-05 05:51 am UTC (link)
	Ariadne laughed, as the road became something out of Dickens. The projections followed suit, Edwardian in costume and the cheeks just a touch rosier. She couldn't help it. Ariadne was a sucker for a Christmas card. "That's borderline sentimental, Arthur," she teased, watching as they walked into the town square. And stopping dead. "... they're having a fair today." (Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 05:55 am UTC (link)
	"I just liked the shape." He said with a shrug at the first, even though he wasn't an Architect he still liked the lines and silhouettes, angles and planes. He had actually smiled at the minute shifts, only to stop, brow furrowing in confusion as Ariadne came up short. "Is that a problem?" (Reply to this)

triednotto
2013-01-05 05:58 am UTC (link)

Ariadne didn't notice Arthur stopping, or the adorable little brow-furrow thing he did when something didn't make sense. She was busy trying to not panic.

Well, trying and failing.

Her father never took the family to anything fun like this, so Ariadne was excited. She ran through the booths, smiling at strangers and evading her mother and father's watchful eyes for a few blissful moments.

That's why it'd been so easy to grab her, so easy to put a hand over her mouth and carry her off. She was a small child, it barely took a second.

Forcing herself to start walking, she shook her head.

"I'm fine. Sorry."

(Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 06:02 am UTC (link)
	He was studying her intently, as he did from time to time, the sort of hyper-vigilance he hadn't needed since he'd first ended up in the crazy-bizarro-world, "Are you sure?" Anything that rattled her would in turn rattle the projections, put them more on edge. There wasn't much yet for them to find out of place, but it was only a matter of time. (Reply to this)

triednotto
2013-01-05 06:05 am UTC (link)

She knew it was stupid to lie about it. That's how Shades happened. How dangerous things stalked you because you didn't face them. It was just too big of a risk.

Stopping again, she turned around to look at Arthur, although found she couldn't quite meet his eye. Facing the past was difficult for anyone.

"When I was a child, I was... taken. At a fair. They had an unbalanced employee and he just... grabbed me." Hopefully she wouldn't have to explain.

"They found me in a few hours."

(Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 06:18 am UTC (link)
	He went still, "Then we shouldn't be here. You don't just... throw yourself at a memory like that unprepared. Especially here." In a general sense, in dreamspace, because the subconscious was a tricky thing at best, and worse when it was actively trying to shake off parasites. (Reply to this)

	triednotto 2013-01-05 06:25 am UTC (link)
	Ariadne swallowed, closing her eyes and shaking her head intensely. "I didn't know it would be here, I didn't put it here..." She could swear she heard laughter. The same laughter, but her mind was just playing tricks on her, wasn't it? (Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 06:44 am UTC (link)
	"Okay." He nodded, fingers curling around her wrist, ignoring the crowd now having to part to walk around them, "It's alright. Look at me. You're going to have to focus, change the setting. If you don't think you can, let me know." (Reply to this)

	triednotto 2013-01-05 06:52 am UTC (link)
	She could barely hear his voice, but Ariadne was trying so hard to concentrate on it instead of her memories. She wanted to build but couldn't, almost as if she was frozen. Later, she'd hate herself for this. Right now she could only shake her head. "I can't. Help me, Arthur." (Reply to this)

loadedreminder
2013-01-05 07:01 am UTC (link)

He just nodded, keeping his hold of her arm, "Okay. It's alright, we're going to be fine."

It wouldn't be easy, but it was doable, especially since they were already in his head, he just had to take the control back, and with another: "Okay." He was leading her back up the street and towards a looping helix of almost-spiral staircase, "Up."

The stairs went on almost too long, to where there shouldn't have been enough air for actually breathing, but there was, because why wouldn't there be? Finally they stopped on the upper side of the cloud cover, revealing a vast starfield overhead.

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	triednotto 2013-01-05 07:06 am UTC (link)
	By the time they were halfway up the stairs, her breathing had calmed. By the time they were to the top, she was calmer. And when she looked around the stars, she was fine. But incredibly embarrassed. "I... I don't know what got into me." (Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 07:13 am UTC (link)
	"You got caught off guard, that's all. It happens. Not something that can really be planned for. You will have to face it down eventually, but not yet, and definitely not unprepared." (Reply to this)

	triednotto 2013-01-05 07:18 am UTC (link)
	Ariadne didn't say anything. Instead she walked over to Arthur, curling into his chest, closing her eyes and trying to hide from the nameless shame of her past. She'd done that so well most of her life. (Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 07:21 am UTC (link)
	"Hey, hey hey hey, it's alright." He looped both arms around her shoulders, dropping a kiss to the top of her head, having started swaying gently, "We'll be alright up here until the timer runs out." Mostly because the stairs were already gone, effectively cutting them off from any projections that might have followed. (Reply to this)

	triednotto 2013-01-05 07:25 am UTC (link)
	Ariadne's arms slid around his waist, hands resting on his back near his shoulders as she rested her head against his chest, listening to the dull murmur of his heart. It was better than any totem. "I'm going to have to face that, aren't I? Why did it come up now?" (Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 07:27 am UTC (link)
	"Eventually. And sooner would be better, but not until you're ready." He shrugged at the second question, "And it could be anything that brought it up. The subconscious isn't usually a very tidy place, all full of dusty corners and overturned packing boxes full of stuff we thought we'd forgotten." (Reply to this)

	triednotto 2013-01-05 07:29 am UTC (link)
	Ariadne pulled away just enough to take his hand, lacing their fingers together and walking slowly towards a bench sitting in the clouds. She wasn't going to mess with things up here. It was too unnatural as it was. She didn't want the dream to collapse just yet. "How? It's not like with Cobb, this... this isn't something I can reason with." (Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 07:32 am UTC (link)
	He settled beside her, bumping her with a shoulder, "So, think unreasonably. Or..." His brow furrowed, trying to figure out how to phrase it, which wasn't something he usually had trouble with, "Logic works here, even if reason doesn't. Say the starting point of a dream is a dark room. What's the first thing you'd do?" (Reply to this)

	triednotto 2013-01-05 07:34 am UTC (link)
	"Turn on the light," she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes. "But... this is a half remembered thing. Other than avoiding clowns and carnivals I don't... I don't even know where to begin. I couldn't tell you his face or anything. I don't know how to make him go away. Short of a chainsaw." She was probably kidding. Maybe. (Reply to this)

	loadedreminder 2013-01-05 07:36 am UTC (link)
	There was a flicker of a smile, arm sliding around her waist, "That would be a little drastic as a first option. Save the chainsaw for when things get really weird." Another kiss to the top of her head, since it was right there, "What if your dark room doesn't have any switches, what then?" (Reply to this)

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