all i can taste is champagne when it hits the brain like cocaine ( closed-ish )

[became]

CHARACTERS: neal caffrey + empathy link partners
LOCATION: all over the place, october 11- november 7th.
WARNINGS: tbd. potential blanket 'here be triggering shit' to start off safe.
SUMMARY: stage two and three links, to be back and forward-dated as needed.
NOTES: closed-ish, but if we haven't plotted a link yet and you'd like to my plotting post will be open the whole run.


[ individual starters below, separated by stage. ]

Comments

STAGE TWO

[became]

[sugarbear]

[ Casey made a lot of noise, grumbled a lot, but he didn't really have any problems meeting up with Caffrey in the end. It was less that he needed to know what Neal had found out about him and more that he didn't want to spend more time alone than he had to. He was unnerved, on edge, and the ship was vast and empty. It made him want to shoot into the darkness at the end of corridors, made him want to reach out and touch the people passing him, and frankly he wanted it all to go away by now. These memories weren't his, these feelings weren't his. He was the big bad Casey, the wolf in the sheep pen, El Angel de la Muerte.

He was not the kind of man who became anxious about the draw of the ship. He wasn't the kind of man who became paranoid that someone might share all his secrets. And he didn't. like. touching. people.

But Neal Caffrey was in his head, and he'd brought creepy things and bodies with him that didn't belong, and paintings and creepy smiles, and now he was cooking, like it was normal day. It wasn't a normal day. He checked his gun and secured it away before he entered the kitchen. People died around Neal Caffrey. ]

What's cooking?

[became]

Waffles.

[ ostensibly because he has a waffle maker it's pointless not to use; more, it's just domestic and casual enough to be hopefully slightly irritating, delicious or not.

( and if they remind him of el and that's one more reason, it's his business and not the semi-guest in his heads'. ) ]

I found something that stands in nicely for syrup on the Cyllene.

[sugarbear]

Mmph.

[ Son of a bitch, he's thinking, because they smell nice, and Casey grumbled all the more as he comes closer, shoving his hands into his pockets. ]

Haven't had waffles since Burbank.

[ Breaking through his cold, hard exterior with food. HDU. ]

[became]

Well, at least I know I can beat Burbank.

[ not that he's a snob, or anything. ]

Sit down, you have this... honestly, really irritating habit of looming threateningly instead of standing like a normal person. Coffee?

[ if cheerfully domestic works, he can do cheerfully domestic. ]

STAGE THREE

[became]

[certainproclivity]

[Truth be told, it only took one memory for Sark to figure out who's responsible for this link. After Lauren and the Swan girl, he knows how these things are dealt with and that's why he wastes no time in knocking on Neal's door with no regards to whatever the hell he might be doing. It's not as if the headaches are going to make whatever it might be comfortable.

And he'd like to get this over with, sooner rather than later. Neal Caffrey may be a less unappealing person to share memories with, but the bastard can't keep his mouth shut to save his life when it doesn't suit him to.]

we knew this was coming.

[became]

[ the idea of sark feeling his weaknesses ( and he won't bother to hope for anything else, not with the ship's sense of humor ) isn't one neal relishes— it might help convince him neal's the only one being used between them which is an admitted benefit, but the idea still sits wrong.

still. at least he has his own deeper view into sark, now. speaking of: ]

Julian. [ oh yeah, that felt good. ] To what do I owe the honor?

beautiful

[certainproclivity]

[Sark's normally deadpan face develops a slight tic at the mention of the name and he wastes no time in proceeding to violate Neal's personal bubble.]

Regardless of what you may think, Mr. Caffrey, stupid does not suit you. [He doesn't have to say he doesn't like being called that. It's just... very obvious. And given he has no choice but to endure Neal right now, he can only hope to make this as painless as possible.

With fewer jibes, because he is truly in no mood. When he's not irked that windows open both ways, he'll be able to appreciate all that he's getting from it, but for now? Now he is a compromised spy who doesn't want any more shit than is absolutely necessary.]

i've decided they're going to be stage three deal with it.

[jilt]

[ it's not difficult, picking neal out of a crowd. after all this time, he's familiar to her, even if his secrets aren't. and, out of everyone aboard save her counterpart, neal may be the only one she doesn't fear. he's the only one that she doesn't hate the thought of sharing herself, of letting him see what he would see.

they're birds of a feather. irene knows that about that.

she comes to neal's door, and she doesn't knock. she just waits for him to let her in, to slide her hand into his and hold on. ]

Hello, my dear.

[ like this is any other day. ]

as if i would accept anything else

[became]

Irene.

[ he leans in, presses his forehead against hers and breathes in the gentle scents of perfume and tea leaves and fabric and paper, reassure himself she's here ( alive, a separate person from himself ) in this moment. ]

How bad was it?

[ he tries to keep his tone wry, but some of the anxiety creeps through. he may trust irene more than anyone but peter and moz, but trust doesn't usually include intimate experiencing of the uglier parts of his past. even knowing about them isn't feeling them from his side. ]

good cater to my whims always pls

[jilt]

[ they make a pretty pair. they always have. her hand tightens in his, closing her eyes as he moves into her space. it's still easy. she's glad of it, of the fact that nothing has been lost or shattered. ]

Tell me what you mean by bad, and I'll give you my answer.

[ irene's never had any illusions. not about him, nor about her. they're birds of a feather. if irene had done ugly, selfish, petty things, then so had he. they mirror each other. they're cut from the same cloth. they speak the same language. irene saw so much of him, and she doesn't think there's anything that will make her turn her face from him. ]

[northerner]

[ i am also making this decision for you yoloooooooooo ]

BEIN' A RENEGADE AND SETTING THIS TODAY FOR ONCE OH SHIT SON

[became]

[ he can't say he's ever felt jealous of robb stark before. vaguely, and in general terms— his sanity is intact, for example— maybe a bit, but he's never considered comparing their lives and finding his own lacking.

there's a mix of painful, raw longing for a man he's never met and petty, bitter jealousy behind his pleasant mask when he knocks on robb's door. ]

Stark.

[ if he concentrates he's almost sure he can feel robb behind the door, and he breathes a small sigh of relief. trying to track someone down on a ship this size and suffering while he does isn't exactly an appealing prospect. ]

flips this tag

[northerner]

[ robb doesn't crave any sort of familiarity with neal caffrey. he's a difficult man, one that robb can't quite define, but when he knocks on robb's door, robb has to sigh, and at least thank the gods that they've already found each other, that this need not be painless. ]

Come. I was about to come seek you out myself.

[ it's not quite the truth, but it's not wholly a lie either. ]

Sit with me, Neal Caffrey.

[ he doesn't know if he wishes to discuss what he saw. it's unexpected, though robb's aware that his grasp of neal's world is tenuous at best. but it's not the sort of life he'd thought would deliver a man like neal, and robb isn't sure how best to handle that. ]

another day in november!!!!

[withlace]

[ lauren isn't stupid - though she does occasionally find herself on the other end of deception, or finds herself caught aware. however those are usually the times she's most eager to seek retribution, to push back until there's nowhere left to go. it's no matter however, considering she's fully aware it's neal's memories coursing through her mind, making the pressure of a headache dig in behind he eyes.

to what extent she's meant to care, lauren doesn't quite know, at least not yet. it's not as if it's the agony of her own life unravelling behind her eyes, and they're all made from various threads of the same exact cloth. perhaps neal isn't one to use fire arms in his preplanned escapes, perhaps he doesn't enjoy killing in ways that have been pressed upon her from early adolescence but they've all managed their own atrocities. hers are simply ones she'd rather not be revealed.

the nineteenth floor has become something of their own personal lounge and it's there she knows she'll find him. she doesn't waste time pounding on doors and simply finds the closest common area, leaning against the nearest wall when she finds neal. ]

You really do have quite the interesting past. [ she sighs, eyebrows raised expectantly. ] And while i'm hardly surprised that you seem to prefer the romantic, the FBI seems such a bore in comparison.

THE FIFTH LOOK AT US AN ACTUAL DATE

[became]

[ criminals of all stripes depend on the routines the rest of the world sets. a man jogs the same route every single day, you know when to hit his house. they pride themselves on stripping away their own routines, but the truth is they only replace them with another set, one outside and coded.

floor nineteen is one of those, and he stretches out on a couch with his hat over his face to block out the light as he waits. ]

What can I say? I'm an original. [ the one advantage of all this hard flooring is the distinct sounds each shoe makes. sark's footsteps could never be irene's could never be lauren's. ] We all make sacrifices to stay a step ahead of the greater worst case scenario. Thanks for getting here before the bleeding started, by the way— I almost ruined a shirt last week.

I'M SO PROUD OF US.

[withlace]

[ caffrey has managed to make himself comfortable - which is actually a tad amusing, as if their shared connection is just another passing day. she's only smiling a touch though, listening to what he says in case there's something meant for her to decipher.

there's not, thankfully, and she makes her way further inside, shrugging as she goes. ] Except you hardly seem to mind what you've given up.

[ moving around chairs until she finally, casually drops next to caffrey on the couch, she sighs, minutely perturbed. ] I've found so far there's no use in wasting time when it comes to finding whoever it is i'm supposed to. Even if it's merely to impress upon the fact that i'd rather keep my past from being spread to those who might not approve. [ which, y'know, is everyone save for a few. practically having an orgasm while killing men isn't highly regarded as sane activity. ]

Or perhaps I simply enjoy a good conversation.

[askedtobe]

[ somebody else on board has a dirtbag for a father. okay, so maybe a lot of people on board do, but father's are a sensitive subject for peter. father's who were in a business that people looked up to in the hopes of finding justice, when instead they used their positions to further their own atrocious needs.

peter hasn't been around neal long enough (he has though, he just doesn't know it) to figure out who breaking out of jail might apply to, though you have to be an idiot to not realize enough people on board seemed to practice the fine art of conning... or things far worse. his intention aren't to be judgmental, he only wants to find the guy. not just to make his headache go away, but because he sort of has to. the fates are, however, occasionally kind and as peter makes his way down the hallway he finds his feet near frozen to the floor. ]

It's you. [ a profound discovery as he stared at neal. ]

[became]

You were expecting someone else?

[ the response is instinctive, same as the grin neal offers— they're pale cover as peter's stare makes the back of his neck prickle uncomfortably. ] Do I want to ask what brought on the epiphany?

[ he likes peter. likes him enough bothering nathan isn't just for fun— petty grudges have always been a bad habit of his.

still, the idea of people seeing his vulnerabilities is enough to bring on that horrible, yawning fear from after peter looped him out on fowler and left him home on house arrest. it's one thing, playing up what the ship's done to him for cover or influence; anyone knowing what's really behind that is almost as terrifying as experiencing it all again. ]

[askedtobe]

No, I was just-

[ for some reason, peter glances over his shoulder, as if not really knowing who to expect at all; as he missed something in the midst of his headache. his thoughts seemed willing to transform without his consent, his mind hollow from the inside out. after another second he shakes his head, pops back to looking at neal. he can't explain it, he might've seen flashes against a mirror, someone's name. maybe he's just done what he's always done..]

I don't know. It just felt like it was you? [ 'not in a weird way,' he would've said it if it wouldn't have likely made it all awkward. ] Besides, i'm pretty sure I've heard the name Neal thrown around. Here and in your head.

[ and he'd spoken to him a few times on the network which cemented his earlier time here, but also didn't make him feel quite so off. it made it a little more tolerable that he knew the guy, even a little. ]

[reticencies]

[by this point sarah had experienced quite a few links already to know how they work. it was easy enough for her to figure out neal's memories once she got them so after she had contacted him and decided to meet in his room she headed over there as quickly as she could if only because the sooner this was dealt with the better considering how she felt about the situation.

the moment she is at his door, she just knocks since he should already be expecting her after their conversation]

[became]

[ neal places his hand over the doorpad, letting it slide open and stepping back, gesturing inside with a little half-bow he stole from robb stark and improved on. ]

At least you know for sure I am who I say I am now, right?

[reticencies]

[sarah walked inside as soon as he opened the door for her and while she does feel a bit uneasy about what he might know about her, she does smile at his comment. it was weird that the last time she went to his room was probably when she believed he was still bryce and confronted him about it, so it was a bit ironic for her at how things at changed since then] If I didn't believe you before, then yeah now at least I know for sure I wasn't completely wrong about that.

So how do you want to do this? [sarah is just getting straight to the point here because once they decide on that, then they can talk about what they saw from each other]

[vindicating]

[jay had a couple of these links already mostly with complete strangers but while they didn't turn out as badly as he thought, he was a bit relieved at his next link being with neal. he already knew him and neal was one of the few people he told about his situation back home too so he wasn't too concerned.

not long after he contacted neal, he was just waiting for him in the kitchens where they decided to meet]