You are dreaming of what you once were. The life before all of this, and the memory is...
- One of a huge mistake. - One of a great turning point in your life. - One of love, but it's bittersweet. - One of excitement, or surprise. - A past memory of your choice!
When you wake up, reflect a little bit on the life you can't yet return to, if you can ever return to it at all. What would you change? What would you do differently, if anything?
First time doing this quest? Please write a minimum of 200 words for 1 Arcade Token.
Repeating? Minimum word count jumps up to 400 in order to claim your 1 Arcade Token.
Feeling wordy? Go above and beyond the bare minimum for additional tokens! These token bonuses do not stack, so you can't write 100 words to claim 1 token, then add 300 words to claim 2 more tokens.
500 words = 2 Arcade Tokens. 600 words = 3 Arcade Tokens. 700 words = 4 Arcade Tokens. 800 words = 5 Arcade Tokens.
Whistle While You Work: While dreamsharing technology is still in development, feel free to wake up, wander, and have a discussion in the dark with your friends about your past.
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 11:53 pm
Dated to one of Lissa's casino blackouts:
Lissa's eyes fell, and so too did her consciousness, settling into somewhere warm and cozy and familiar in a way that seeped into her bones. She breathed in and smelled the crisp, clean air of September, as well as the freshness of newly-washed linens. Though her eyes were closed, Lissa could tell that it was bright out, morning perhaps, and there was birdsong lilting in from what sounded like an open window, where the breeze rolled in softly. Lissa crinkled her nose and rolled into the sheets, letting out a hum of contentment as she curled her fingers around the soft fabric. It was so out of place, but she felt like if she didn't hold on tightly, the whole world was going to come crashing down.
"Good morning, beautiful."
Lissa giggled as she unfurled from her blanket burrito, meeting the voice in a kiss. "You schmooze," she purred as she opened her eyes, her world a blur as her sight adjusted to the day. His face was too close to be in focus, but his slow laughter felt like the peal of bells.
"You got me," he growled warmly in response, pushing back into the kiss with a force that made Lissa melt. She pushed up, using her vantage point on the bed to earn her some momentum, and with a quick flip of her arm and reversal, she pile-drove her partner into the bed, letting him hit the mattress hard while the bed-frame groaned.
"Got you like John Cenaaa---bah bah-duh baaaaaaah-" she sang into his neck, holding the pin as he squirmed underneath, laughing.
"You are so weird," he laughed in response, wiggling his way free from her oppressive grasp with a grunt and a shrug of his shoulders. Lissa's expression faltered as she pulled back, but she pulled back into her self-assured grin the moment he looked up at her, running a hand through her hair.
"Yeah, well," she shrugged, trying her best to look nonplussed, "Non-weirdos don't get free breakfast."
"I think I can live with that," he responded coyly, sauntering from the bed and into the living room. "I think it's already brunch-time anyways, sleepy-head, you couldn't take me up on that threat if you tried."
Lissa huffed, then looked around the room--minimalist, chic, everything her place wasn't. That was why they'd come here, after all, instead of heading back to her place after the club: she knew that home was a disaster, and she could tell by the polished way he'd dressed last night that his was a pad worth coming home to. She hadn't been wrong, guessing by the number of apple products he owned and the generous view of the city out of his bedroom window, but for all of his dance moves his personality was a bit...stiff. Still, there was potential, and all wrapped up in his over-sized shirt Lissa was an absolute fox.
She meandered from the bedroom into the kitchen, draping herself against the marble counter tops as she watched him start the trappings of a mid-morning pot of coffee. "Sooo," she started, rolling over onto her back. "Yesterday was fun, yeah?"
The blonde man was mid-sip of his first cup, but otherwise smiled warmly down at her. "Of course, baby, I told you I was gonna treat you right." He nodded, mostly to himself, and then his mind wandered into his cup, drinking deeply as he contemplated something distant.
But he hadn't caught Lissa's drift, and so she scooted over a few inches with a lopsided grin. "So, like, I was thinking we could do it again, sometime, yeah? Because we're both fun people who like to hang out, it's a good time and all, I think we could keep this going."
"Mmm," the man responded, walking past the splayed out woman on his kitchen counter and reaching for his copy of the newspaper.
Lissa frowned, uprighting herself with a single fluid motion. She began to fold her arms in on each other, her brows crossing in a confused look. "Is that...not a thing that you agree with?"
"Eeehhh..." the man let his voice trail off into his coffee mug, leaving the pair in uncomfortable silence. "I mean--that is to say--we had fun, luv, we did, but I'm not really a second dates kind of guy, you dig?"
Lissa tilted her head, first in confusion and then in anger. "Wait...what?"
"I'm just saying, I don't really do the second date thing," the man shrugged, waving absently with one hand as he put his mug down with the other. "See, you're perfect, just the way I remember you last night, and as long as we stop here, you'll always be perfect. But I start to know you, really know you, ya know, then you'll have all these little quirks and cracks and flaws...it's just messy, you know?" He glanced back to her, giving her a quick scan down and up, and then sighed. "You know, I figured with the whole barista thing, you would be cool, but I guess I can't be right every time."
"No, no, I'm cool, I just..." Lissa shook her head, trying to process what was going down. She was being rejected? Over this? "You spent like a year trying to get my number, I thought maybe you were a 'date two' kinda guy. I--I made sacrifices to go out with you last night, and--"
"Whoa, babe, chill," the man responded, putting a hand on her quivering shoulder. "Nothing here is serious enough to be throwing around words like 'sacrifices', okay? We had fun, that's it. If you messed up something somewhere else, then that's your problem."
Lissa's face began to turn red, and she bit her lip. "No, you don't understand, I thought--"
"Wrong is what you're gonna say," the man finished for her, putting a finger to her lips. He paused, then motioned to a pile of her things, which had already been neatly folded by the door. "I'll see you around, mmkay, sweetie? It's almost pumpkin spice season."
In her dream, Lissa reared up for what would have been the most satisfying punch she'd ever delivered. In her dream, she yelled and screamed and cried and fussed and took all of his shitty iPhones and threw them out of his penthouse window. But as she woke, groggy and sore from the evening's proceedings, she was grimly reminded of every way that conversation hadn't gone. No, she'd walked right out of there like the obedient little child she was, she'd always been, never to return and forever to bear the mark of her indiscretion. Of all the things she had to remember, it was of course going to be this scene in the Casino, her one moment of weakness in this den of avarice. There was no rest for the wicked, after all.
She tried not to think of the damage she'd done, the pain she'd indelibly caused Micah with her little lapse in judgement. The past could not be changed.
OOC
Character's name: Elizabeth "Lissa" Buckly Character's faction: Mall Character's journal link:[Journal] Character's survival stats: [Stats] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER: Freckly-tan skin, wavy auburn hair, brown eyes, stands at 5' 7" with strong shoulders and a little bit of holdover baby fat on her stomach and thighs. Currently wearing a light blue gown made of cheap fabric, calling to mind a particular character from Game of Thrones. The dress is worn over what appears to be a comfortable sweater and jeans because nothing about Khaleesi's outfit is Canada-approved.
