portalhopping | memory share; ota

memory share; ota

(( ooc: whoops, he's still in intake at the DoDS, but rest assured that if you don't know who he is and you're receiving these memories and you want to shoot off a message, it'll be routed directly to him via intuitive filters on the network. what a way to be welcomed into this world, huh? ))

Josh is kidnapped by vampires for underground werewolf fighting
Josh and Nora dig up Sally's corpse to bring her back to life (end at 3:36)
Josh gets married (end at 4:57. Note: he cannot see or hear Sally in this clip, so she does not exist in it as far as the person on the receiving end is concerned.)
Josh and Nora take Aiden to try his first burger as a human

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[The scream is distinctly different from the ones of fear or upset that tend to come, or have as of lately, anyway. Sally is standing in the kitchen with a knife in hand (lucky for you Josh she immediately drops it and her hands come up and away from the cutting board) when the vision hits. Or rather the memory.

It's probably the movement that triggers the video inadvertently truth be told.]

Oh my god! Oh.... Josh? Why am I getting Josh's memories...

[There's hope edging into her tone as she reaches to start the video only to see that it's already started and she lets out an annoyed huff. Man is she glad her boyfriends aren't home right now because if they were that probably would have scared the shit out of them, actually.]

Great I'm not sure how much that pickedup - Josh? Are you here - I just got like a handful of memories and I'm hoping to god this isn't some sort of cruel joke to tease me.... is that you are you here - it's Sally.....

[There's a great deal of emotion in Sally's voice at the idea of seeing Josh again - at seeing his memories of all of them - though there's a sadness in the pit of his stomach remembering the wedding where her best friend, one of them, couldn't even see her. She's not sure what she's going to do if Josh isn't here and this is just a surprise random memories from people you love thing.

She hasn't seen Josh in so long... and she'd resigned herself to the fact that she would never see him, Aidan, or Nora - any of them - again. And the idea that she might... well there are already tears in her eyes as she nervously starts pacing the kitchen.]

[ There has to be some sort of mistake or...maybe this is just a really fucking bad dream. Things have been calm lately. Maybe he should've been concerned that it's been too calm, what with the new baby finally starting to sleep through the night and he and Nora finally fully working through their trust issues instead of ignoring them now that it's over.

Maybe calm is the wrong word. If this wasn't happening, he might even go as far as to say dull.

But interdimensional travel? No. That's not a thing. Neither is time travel, so he cannot be in Florida in 2022. No way.

And yet, here he sits in a black car driving him to his new apartment while they 'sort it all out' for him so they can send him home. The bracelet on his wrist beeps and Josh looks down at it, irritated. Nobody even knows he's here, is it another stupid welcome message? Because the first one from live people certainly left a lot to be desired, that's for damn sure.

Still...he sighs and opens the message, not realizing that doing so also kicks on his outgoing feed.

A huff escapes him, a sound caught somewhere between a gasp, a sob, and a laugh. It's been over a year since Sally went through her door. ]

Is that...?

[ Before he can get the word out, she announces it herself and Josh stares back at the screen in confused awe. ]

Sally? No, but you—

[ He blinks, shaking his head a little and then squints, looking back at the screen. ]

Were you...just holding a knife? [ Something processes belatedly. A pause and then, ] Wait, did you just say you were getting my memories? What the—what?

[Sally can't decide if she wants to stop in her tracks or run through the whole house and somehow the answer manages to be to stop and lean back against the kitchen counter, sliding down into a seated position in the middle of her kitchen.]

Holy shit... Josh I can't believe you're here...

[She tries to sniffle the tears that are beginning to sting and pool in her eyes back before they fall.]

I missed you guys so much. And there's so much that I have to explain on my god...

[Sally reaches up to rub her face and lets out a breath and some of the anxious and emotional tension.]

And yes I was holding a knife because I'm not dead here - I'm alive. Solid. Huggable. The whole shebang. [Sally swallows heavily, talking fast with a mixture of excitement and pure emotion - so many of them actually.]

It's honestly a longer story, but the portals sometimes cause different effects here - the current one is that people's memories are being shared at random with other members of our little community. It seems to happen the most when they've done work on the portals to try and right something that's a little off, which it has been because it's bringing people in again - like you - oh god..... How's Nora? And Aidan? And... oh when are you from?

[Sally jumps from topic to topic, going from leaned against the counter to sitting up ramrod straight in the kitchen floor.]

[ As she sinks to the floor, Josh can feel his own eyes starting to prickle. ]

Oh, don't cry, you'll make me cry!

[ He follows up the warning with a watery laugh as Sally goes off with her ramble of information. Hearing her ask after Aiden sobers him, though, and his eyes shift away from the screen as he gives her a small smile that falls sort of them. ]

Well, baby Sally's finally sleeping through the night, if that gives you an idea of when it was.

[ He cannot believe he even just said that. This has to be a dream, but hell, if he can hug her one more time, then it's a good dream and he'll take it. ]

I don't even know how to process the rest of that...so I'm not going to pretend I understand.

[Well if you didn't want waterworks you shouldn't have said that Josh - because a small sob (though it's touched and happy and not destroyed) escapes Sally as she lifts a hand up to her face, a couple of fat tears sliding down her cheeks as she asks, in a small voice.]

Baby Sally? You named your baby after me?

[Sally lets out a small laugh as she wipes at her eyes, feeling sad... feeling happy... feeling the pain that she's compartmentalized about losing the family that meant the most to her and leaving them... only to wind up here. And as much as this has been her second chance in every way possible it doesn't change the fact that she has missed Josh, Aidan, and Nora with every fiber of her being after how important they had become to her in her previous life.

But it's even more sad because she wishes Josh could stay here, but he can't, can he? Not with Nora and a baby back home - and Aidan.]

I'll explain it as many times as you mean in the dumbest ways possible because I only vaguely understand myself... I can't believe you're here.

[ In spite of himself, he laughs again, a few of his own tears slipping out and he swipes at his face. ]

Stop it. And yeah, of course we did. It was kind of a no-brainer.

[ This is cruel, Sally being here. He can't stay; he has to get back home to his family. She's family, but Nora and his baby need him. Being forced to choose isn't fair because he's missed Sally so much, but he can't stay. He just can't... ]

Oh, shit, Nora's going to be pissed I got to see you and she didn't...

I can't just stop it - you have no idea how long it's been since I've seen you! And I never thought I'd see you again - and then you went and named your baby after me like it was a given - shut up, Josh I'm allowed to get a little emotional!

[Sally's tone is both teasing and full of emotion, the waver to her voice a clear sign of just how much seeing him, hearing this all, means to her - especially coupled with the tears that she reaches up to wipe away.

And she feels even more entitled to her emotions because she knows that this is temporary. A tease. Josh can't stay, and even though a hopeful part of her wants him to - wants to have her family here like Steve and Caleb do she can't do that to Nora or Baby Sally or Aidan. But maybe... just maybe... he could bring them back with him?

Though it would be asking a lot.]

I mean we might be able to fix that once they pinpoint the exact moment from our world that you came from - you could maybe go back and get her and come back for a visit or something - but we can talk about that later. How bad was the welcome you got? Kenny has kind of given up on doing his job properly and anybody else is generally better than him.... it looks like you're in the car and on your way here - do you want me to meet you in the lobby or out front and I can try to fill in question blanks?

[ In spite of the emotions washing over him, Josh huffs out a laugh. God, he's missed her so much. Sally brought so much light into their lives. Losing her had been awful. Losing Aiden so shortly afterward had been crippling, because it felt like losing them both at the same time. ]

It was a given. We didn't even discuss it, she just told the nurse what to put on the baby's birth certificate and I couldn't have argued if I tried, but I didn't want to. It just fit.

[ He looks a little surprised at that. ]

Wait, what? You...no, hold on, you don't get to gloss over like that, go back and say that again but with more explanation?

[ The car stops, though, and Josh's brow creases in confusion as he looks past the screen and at his driver. The confusion goes away when the girl announces that they've arrived and he turns his head to look out the window before looking back at the camera. ]

Uh, yeah...I guess I'm actually here? So...sure, yeah, but be forewarned that once I get to hug you again I might never actually let go and we could very well be trapped in the lobby of that building until the end of time. This is crazy...

[ He gives the girl a nod and exits the vehicle, turning his attention back to the camera. ]

Also, I have no idea how the welcome was; I thought I was dreaming. I wasn't paying any attention. How long have you been here?

You say that but I never expected it... and I'm really touched, Josh.

[Sally touches her chest, hand over her heart - meaning exactly what she's saying because it is warming to hear, but insanely gut-wrenching. She's not going to get to see little Sally grow up.]

Okay, okay, okay....

[Sally moves to stand and takes a deep breath as she moves to put things away, speaking as she does so that she can get to Josh sooner.]

You'll be stuck here at least a few weeks, probably, maybe a little more depending - it takes time for the scientists who run the portal to pin down the moment that you were taken from. Nobody back home knows that you were taken and you won't miss anything while you're here. When they send you back, you won't have missed anything; unless something goes wrong, you should have all of your memories intact. And you can, technically go and come back. I know people who leave for visits, but they don't come for visits here, that's the slightly uncertain part.

[Sally shoves the food she was working on into the fridge and then heads toward the door, sliding her feet into her flats and grabbing her keys as she moves to step out the door.]

I'll take you up to your apartment - or you can come to mind. I don't really care, but you're not escaping me for a little while, so...

[Sally shrugs and then beelines for the stairs, not having the patience for the elevator - bursting into the stairwell and taking them very quickly to get to the lobby faster.]

Uh.... I've been here a while. Over a year or so, I think? I didn't really count, I just... settled in for the rest of my life, basically. Made myself at home.

[ He smiles a little, rolling his eyes. It's just like Sally not to fully grasp her worth, after all. ]

She said, as though she hadn't had a heavy hand in Nora and I actually working out...

[ He makes his way up the sidewalk and the small flight of stairs to the main entrance of the building, his eyes shifting slightly to his right to catch a glimpse of his new surroundings, giving a small, impressed facial shrug as he looks back at the camera again. ]

Nice digs...

[ Josh walks into the building and the camera drops out when Sally comes into sight, exiting a stairwell. A part of him had already decided that he was crazy and she wasn't really here at all, just part of this weird dream, but then there she is, right in front of him, just across the lobby.

The smile that breaks across his expression is full and genuine. She looks the same as she always did, he thinks, and when he calls out to her, he's already walking faster to close the gap between them. ]

I swear to God if I try to hug you and I end up hugging air, I'm gonna be pissed...

[ It's a joke, mostly, but he can't help the little niggling worry that that's exactly what he's about to get out of this. He's still not completely convinced he isn't having the most fucked up, random dream ever. ]

Edited 2022-12-27 00:28 (UTC)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

memory share; ota

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

Re: video;

video;

video;

video;

video to in-person;