second trial. | voice (unlocked)

[greenies]

[ thomas has not been a common presence on the network since his arrival to the drabwurld; gaining the ability to talk telepathically with the people who've been close to him have made it fairly easy for him to communicate without it. but this time, thomas addresses the network at large, although only with a (perhaps semi-familiar) voice.

he sounds uneasy. tired. ]

Do any of you have nightmares? How do you deal with them?

[ it's a stab at anonymity, mostly because he doesn't want to show his face, but the storms currently raging over head have not made his life any easier. thomas sleeps fitfully, twenty minutes at a time, wakes up screaming. no one's going to see his face as an effect of that. eventually, he tacks on a soft--]

Thanks. [ --and the line goes dead. ]

Comments

video | private

[quest]

[ if there's one thing that Percy has become intimately knowledgeable about, it's nightmares. his trip through tartarus left some lasting damage, though it isn't something that is readily seen on his person. even then, he was already getting acquainted with the nightmare business just by being a demigod.

sleeping wasn't exactly kind to them. ]

Every night, more or less. [ he shrugs, once. he's sort of lost track of when they do and don't happen. still, there's concern knit across his face, because people don't ask these questions unless they (or someone close to them) is suffering through them. ] I dunno. I used to get up and take a walk around the castle. While I'm out traveling with friends, I'd take over watch or keep the person up company? Guess that's not really dealing with them, though.

[ at least- that's how it used to be. ]

Someone really special to me is here now. Sleeping with her there makes it easier, y'know? I mean, I still get them, but they're not as bad. So... maybe try staying with someone that you trust a lot? I guess that's what helps me, is her.

video | private

[greenies]

[ percy is familiar, and thomas turns on the video to meet him with a tired half smile. he looks like a wreck, and if one were to look closely out of the camera, it appears he's keeping his hands busy by idly stroking through the fur of a fairly large fox, curled up next to him. he knows minho can understand him perfectly, but he was pretty sure he was dozing when he made the post so...hopefully he can keep this quiet.

his words are familiar, and thomas nods his head, both in solidarity and understanding. ] ...yeah. I've been going on runs at night, but when I get back, they still don't stop. I just sort of gave up on sleeping. [ there's a faint humor when he adds-- ] It's so much easier to ignore it than to deal with it, right? Like...maybe if I keep moving, I won't have to sleep at all.

[ he offers a small smile. trust is a rare commodity these days, and he looks down to his best friend (even if he's currently small, furry and sulky) and shakes his head. percy's lucky to have that someone, and he's really happy for him, to hear so. ] One of your friends from home came?

video | private

[quest]

Yeah, basically. Feels like that a lot, like if I have enough to do, then I don't really have to think about the stuff that my brain comes up with while I'm asleep. And if I have even more to do, maybe I won't have to sleep at all.

[ which- yeah. Percy can't help but give a bit of a laugh about. ] Pretty dumb logic, but y'know. Helps a little.

[ Percy visibly brightens when Thomas asks, as though he was a candle waiting to be lit. talking about Annabeth was always something Percy was happy to do. ] My girlfriend, yeah. Her name is Annabeth. Came in with the last group at the start of the month.

video | private

[greenies]

Exactly. And...life here's a lot different than home. [ thomas rubs the back of his neck, absently, fingers gentling over his tattoo. ] A lot less hectic, I guess, is one way to put it. Even with all the stuff that happens here, it's not enough to stop it. So, I keep going for runs and trying to put it off but in the end, it feels like it's just easier not to sleep.

I used to get pretty bad nightmares even before everything really started--old memories and stuff, things WICKED couldn't keep from me forever. But, everything was kind of blurry and I used to hate that. [ he chuckles, faintly. ] Now I'd take the blurry memories any day.

[ he sighs, moving his hand to his face and scrubbing at it briefly before returning to look at percy. his enthusiasm reminds him a little of some of the other gladers, and it makes a bit of a fond smile quirk up on his face. ] That's great, man. And she's on your side and everything, right?

video | private

[quest]

Right? Definitely less crazy here than home, which seems kinda dumb since we're in the middle of war here, but- Yeah, a lot calmer here than what I'm used to.

[ it's funny, how much he can relate to everything Thomas says; how similar experiences can be while still being a world apart. ]

Yeah. I used to get nightmares, too. Sorta standard for the place I come from, for kids to have nightmares. But uh- They're definitely worse now. Wish I had better advice, man.

[ he nods in affirmation about Annabeth -- something he's definitely grateful for. ] Yup. Seelie, just like me. Not that it matters, I would've gone wherever she was, anyway.

video | private

[greenies]

It's okay. It's kind of nice to hear it, that everyone else has the same issues. Solidarity, I guess. [ it also makes thomas feel like he should be able to push his away more. percy seems like he's well adjusted. whatever horrors he's been through have clearly been as bad as thomas's. so thomas should buck up and carry on.

his mouth quirks up in a grin. he felt the same about teresa when she'd come. ] Aw. I guess you could have done something stupid and gone to get her from the other side, right? [ the way he says that is very clearly you know, the stupid thing i did ]