#⮜ ε ⮞ mission logs. (THREADS)

[ncwblue]

@perpetualxfire sent: "Soooooooo, I've got some, news for you, once you're, settled with breakfast." Carolina was quick to plop down at the nearest seat, in sweats and a tank top herself, having dragged enough sand in with her to build a sandcastle judging by the soles of her bare feet.

"Is it that I have to sweep again?"

It was meant to be a joke, though he says it so flatly that Wash felt the need to give her a small smile just to be sure she knew he meant it as such. He picks at his eggs some more, feeling he might have overcooked them (at least to his liking). Chances were high he'd be settled with breakfast sooner rather than later.

All the better, he supposed. It would be a lie to say he wasn't vastly interested in whatever Carolina wanted to tell him. "What have you been doing all morning?"

[ncwblue]

@thestupidmeanone cont.

"Just because you have a degree to back it up, doesn't mean I'm going to listen to you. Besides, you'd make a horrible therapist."

[ncwblue]

@perpetualxfire

This was a project he preferred to work on once everyone had either preoccupied themselves with their own work or gone to bed. It wasn't necessarily secret, but Wash was never a fan of the 20 Questions game and the Reds & Blues were masters at it. The more time he spent answering questions he already didn't want to answer, the less time he was focused on his search.

Not that said search was going well to begin with.

While he liked to consider himself a jack of many trades (though a master of few), Wash was not much for dealing with technology. He was certainly no Simmons, so when his data pad froze for the fourth time that night, followed by an inevitable crash, the former Freelancer nearly threw it across the living area in frustration with an agitated groan.

"This would be going so much faster if I didn't have to reboot this damn thing every ten minutes."

[ncwblue]

NIMONA

@perpetualxfire said: “ I don't know what's scarier. The fact that everyone wants to run a sword through my heart, or that I just want to let them. ”

Carolina was not an open person. She was not an emotional person, but that certainly didn't mean those emotions weren't there. Wash had seen bits and pieces of them as she started to soften around the Reds and Blues--around him. Armor cracking little by little, Carolina was slowly starting to allow herself to be more vulnerable.

For better or worse.

When Carolina felt something, she felt it with her entire being. Carolina had a much gentler soul than she was probably ever willing to admit ( than he ever believed, once upon a time ), and it was why his heart bled for her whenever she did allow herself to feel--to express--what she was feeling.

"Hey, hey, come on."

There is nothing to think about. It's like a dormant brotherly instinct kicks in as he practically rushes to her side, arms wrapping around her. Wash once told Caboose he didn't really "do emotional things". Suppose he had softened, too. "Don't do that," he said softly, gently rubbing her back. "Don't think like that. You've worked too hard and come too far to beat yourself up like this."

[ncwblue]

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind for next time." Wash laughs, but there's something bittersweet about it. "I gotta tell you, I have no idea. Cars and I have never got along. The battery died in my sister's car when she was teaching me how to drive. Pretty sure I'm just cursed."

         "...So your aim was always that bad?" She's teasing, the jab made mostly in jest. "Next time, aim for his junk. Seems to work out for Tex." Is she bitter? Yes. "Seriously though, what is it with you and the cars, Wash?"

[ncwblue]

TEXT PROMPTS

@perpetualxfire sent: [TEXT] - you’re gonna laugh, but can you pick me up at the police station?

[ TEXT, LINA ] Oh my god.

[ TEXT, LINA ] I mean, I'm on my way.

[ TEXT, LINA ] I would expect this from one of the guys, but Carolina? What the FUCK did you do?

[ncwblue]

@abitofafatass continued.

"It's not rabbit food. It's..."

Wash has to stop himself. There was no point in arguing about food with someone like Grif. "You know what, judge me for the fact that barely eat, like everyone else. Not for what I eat when I finally remember to do so."

[ncwblue]

SHIT THE GAME GRUMPS HAVE SAID

@perpetualxfire sent: "At age six I was born without a face." (drunk convo maybe?)

The statement is so absurd, Wash isn't sure if the laughter that immediately erupts from his throat is from it alone or the alcohol. He's sober enough to assume both. Carolina might have lightened up quite a bit over the years, but their conversations were never stranger than when they both had the buzz of alcohol in their systems.

"Thank god Sarge wasn't around. He probably would've given you part of Simmons'."

[ncwblue]

Wash actually chuckles at that. "No. No, you're right. If I was married and I went back home as the man I was after Freelancer, the man I am now wouldn't have to ask himself why they divorced my ass." Hell, he looks back on that man now and he grimaces.

ncwblue​:

Wash has to stop himself from asking what the divorce process was in Kentucky and how Sarge knew about it–assuming he actually knew. Another long-winded Sarge story for another day. “I don’t know. I worked with Hargrove, and I’d be willing to bet his wives weren’t the problem.”

He shrugs and nods with a kind of agreement. “You know, I ain’t gonna argue with that. That makes plenty of sense. No one we’ve met that came outta the Project was exactly the most agreeable”. A pause. “No offense”.

[ncwblue]

LACK OF SLEEP STARTERS

@perpetualxfire sent: "Go. To. Bed. That's an order." (hypocrisy 101)

"I will when you do."

Washington didn't really think about how that might have sounded until it was out. He thought about backtracking, but now that he was going on just over twenty-four hours without sleep Wash figured he would end up making it worse. Instead, he pushed aside his training objectives (he couldn't make sense of them anymore, anyway) and rubbed his hands over his face.

"I can't," Wash adds. "Not yet, at least. If I can't figure out a way to get these soldiers, these... these kids into fighting shape, then..." For one reason or another, he refuses to finish that sentence.

[ncwblue]

@perpetualxfire

"I'm honestly impressed that's the only thing that bothers you about this whole thing."

[ncwblue]

SALTY / SASSY GAME GRUMPS

@groundedxdreamer sent: “Hey bro. Your tits. Gonna need you to calm ‘em.”

"Don't fucking tell me to be calm." Wash hated that, but not nearly as much as he hated being called "crazy". He had heard these phrases more than too many times whilst recovering from the Epsilon's attempted suicide.

"Tell me to be calm again. See how fast I shoot you."

[ncwblue]

"So what you're saying is: you believe marriage is a transaction. Jesus, just when I thought you couldn't get any sadder. Suppose the joke is on me for being surprised by this, which I shouldn't be. I really, really shouldn't be."

"I worked long and hard to get where I am today. Why wouldn't I find some pride in it? My marriages afforded me connections and funds I might not have otherwise had access to, and I have also secured heirs and grandchildren. All in all, despite their ending, the ventures were quite profitable."

[ncwblue]

PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

@abitofafatass sent: "He's still trying to shag that waitress from Olive Garden."

"It'd be funny if it weren't so sad."

It was often hard to believe Tucker was an adult. His idea of flirting was more akin to what a sixth grade boy thought was suave and cool. Laughably pathetic. "I'd say he'd have better luck if he just acted like himself, but this is Tucker acting like himself."

[ncwblue]

PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

@humanxcreated sent: "I have to congratulate you for being happy, because you deserve it."

"Don't patronize me."

He hadn't intended to laugh. It wasn't even really a laugh; more like a chuckle, one he already wished he could take back now that Delta was talking to him. Analyzing him. Why couldn't these damn AI mind their own business? "I've never seen more incompetent soldiers," Wash muttered, watching Church shout at Caboose as if he were frustrated with a child. It reminded him of himself, bickering with York or North like they were all children. The brothers he never had.

Wash hated that. "My nephew could follow orders better and he's four." Well, he was four. How long has it been now? God, that kid must have been in high school now. "There's nothing to be happy about. It shouldn't take this long to track down one man."

[ncwblue]

"Trust me. Didn't think that at all."

"What in fuck's name makes you think anyone around here respects law enforcement?"