d-day + 1 ✯ video

[withtheoldbreed]

[It's been a day. Gene's showered, eaten, slept, and been told he's way behind everyone else, and he honestly has no idea what to do with that. None at all.

(Doesn't know what to do with the fact that he'd collapsed into his bed, in his room, in his house, which he hasn't seen in over a year either.)

But he's here to do a job, and it's not something he can fuck up, so he does his best to shove it all away, to remember the reason why he's here - Sniper got the Skipper - so after clocking out for a solid ten hours, he knows he's got to keep moving, get started, find ways to make this work.

Gene finds the comm on his bedside table after he's up and dressed in clean dungarees. It's more advanced and smaller than any radio he's ever seen, but he's not an idiot and it's not super complicated, so after some fiddling around and a little trial and error, he manages to click on the video feed, and... realizes he doesn't have a hell of a lot of idea what to say.

So the red headed young man in the fatigue green combat uniform looks a little wary, and tired, and maybe a little hollow around the eyes. He's still got scrapes and nicks on his face and neck, but he's clean for the first time in over a month, so really, he looks a hell of a lot better than he did yesterday.]

This is Private Eugene Sledge, United States Marine Corps. [His accent's definitely distinctly from south of the Mason-Dixon Line, even if he looks like he could be Dillon's twin brother.] The Admiral asked me to come on as a warden.

It was October of 1944 before I got here. I was with the 1st Marine Division on Peleliu. K/3/5. [He's not expecting that to mean much of anything to anyone, but he still says it because even after everything, he's still proud of his company and what they were fighting for.] I know I'm pretty far behind a lot of you. [Most of you, even, and it definitely shows in his expression how horrible that feels.

Mostly, it looks like shock.

But then it kind of filters out to be replaced by confusion and genuine interest (even if he still looks pretty dead around the eyes), because this is a problem he absolutely didn't expect encountering when he first agreed to come on board here.]

Is that gonna be a problem? I don't expect anyone to keep it all a secret from me, but- [Sledge draws a breath, like he's bracing himself for the inevitable.] I've gotta go back eventually.

[He's gotta go back to Peleliu sometime. Fuck.]

Comments

[orderfromchaos]

Wow. Okay, that is definitely creepier than I would have expected.

[He's just a tiny smidgen younger, 17 or 18, and speaks about three times as fast, with no accent to be found.]

[withtheoldbreed]

[It's like looking in a mirror, or at a color photo of himself from three years ago, back when he'd told Sid he wished they were going together.

Apart from the accent. And the clothes.

So Gene blinks, definitely unnerved, even if Mickey warned him about this.]

You Dillon?

[orderfromchaos]

...ha, yeah, that's me. I guess you ran into a lot of confused people?

It's okay, there's other doubles around, people will get better at telling the difference, it's just, you know, a little weird to start with.

[So weird. So weird. Gene's clothes are wrinkled??? His clothes never wrinkle anymore, except sometimes in neat accordion rows. Gene looks human.]

[withtheoldbreed]

Yeah. [Most people had made that assumption first, even if they'd changed their minds pretty quickly.] Are we supposed to be related?

[It seems unlikely, because it's not like kids or grandkids look that much like their relative.]

[orderfromchaos]

Nnnooo, I don't think so, you are not either of my grandpas and I would know if I had a great-uncle who fought in the Pacific and nobody related to me is from Alabama, the extended family is pretty much all Boston Irish before my parents moved to New Mexico, so probably it's just like - you know, there is a limited range of physical possibilities for human features? The universe turns up some coincidental duplicates.

And the barge turns up coincidences.

private to dillon; threadjacking the hell outta this

[adelphoktonos]

Do you see a soul in him?

[At least she's asking instead of murdering.]

private

[orderfromchaos]

What?

Yes, I mean, yes, that is definitely - he's fine, I promise.

[chaotica]

More likely to be a problem for you than for anyone else.

[ He has a uniform, of sorts, but it won't be a familiar one: grey-purple shoulders, blue collar, two pips. ]

[withtheoldbreed]

[He doesn't recognize it, and it's strange, but he's still polite. One of the first people he talked to was Captain America, so.]

That's what I mean, sir. Isn't knowing about what's supposed to happen kinda dangerous?

[chaotica]

Yes. But as a single soldier, the events may simply be beyond your ability to change. Knowing America wins likely won't change that America wins.

[withtheoldbreed]

What about other stuff? If, say, the stock market crashes again, or I know someone's gonna die.

[chaotica]

I personally couldn't tell you those kind of specifics, unless you mean notable historical figures. I doubt anyone else here could do much better.

Stock market - well, an individual can't do much to control the overwhelming tide of behavior there.

I would posit that your universe is probably unconnected to most of these, however. For all intents and purposes, for your universe, it is October of 1944 and the future is in flux. There are certain things that may happen, or even almost certainly will happen, but you won't be destroying a future any more than you would have been otherwise.

[justlikemom]

[ Have another redhead, Gene. One who's a bit TOO excited at hearing you rattle off your military credentials. He may have decided that the military wasn't the place for him, but that didn't change several years of hard work and focus on it. ]

That's incredible! This time thing I knew was going to be crazy, but to have someone from that far back and from a place like that?! I remember reading about Peleliu! And you were actually there?! That's...wow.

[withtheoldbreed]

Yeah, I was there. [Gene doesn't sound especially excited or proud or anything when he says it, though. He hates that goddamn crab claw shaped island more than almost anything, and so while a part of him might be satisfied that at least people knew what it was, and maybe what happened there, the rest of him's just... tired. Maybe even a little dead.]

[justlikemom]

[ Unfortunately, Ian completely misses the affectation. His mind is spinning way to fast to pick up on anything beyond the confirmation. ]

I'd love to talk to you about it! When things are a little less crazy, I mean.

[withtheoldbreed]

Sure. [He's not entirely sure what he's agreeing to, or if he'll really be able to have a long, productive conversation about it with someone who wasn't there, but he still finds himself saying yes.

He's also not sure things are ever going to seem less crazy, but that's kind of been the new normal for him for long enough to not get too upset about it. It's not like he came here for a vacation.]

[justlikemom]

That's great! And hey, if you wanna know anything, I'm happy to help! I'm from a lot further ahead than you. 2014, to be exact. My name's Ian, by the way.

[strangehistorian]

Hello, Private! My name is Chromie, I'm a warden here too. It's nice to meet you.

I don't think it will be. If the Admiral was concerned about temporal paradoxes he would have to put more safeguards in place.

[withtheoldbreed]

Thank you, ma'am. That's good to hear.

[strangehistorian]

Just Chromie is fine. I have a leaflet for newcomers you might be interested in, when you get yourself settled.

[withtheoldbreed]

I'd appreciate it. Thank you.

[He's half tempted to make some comment about how the Admiral already seems like he's got his head up his ass, but that's not exactly polite, and he still doesn't really know what the command structure here is like. Definitely not smart to mouth off to someone you just met about your boss.]

[changeitroundsome]

[Well, that's something. Seems there really is a war in the future, or at least a whole lot of military activity.]

'Least you're ahead of one person here, mon ami. It was 1926, before I found myself here.

[withtheoldbreed]

[Oh, jeez. It's not a huge gap between the two of them or anything, but being almost ninety years behind is probably harder than being seventy.]

Sorry to hear that, sir. [But the accent pokes at him, and it's probably stupid to miss certain stuff from where you came from after you've been gone for less than a day, but. He misses his buddies.] You from Louisiana?

[changeitroundsome]

Don't worry about it. You learn to live with it, eventually. Most folk here are happy to point out things that come after our times.

[He chuckle softly.] Sure am. New Orleans, born and raised.

[withtheoldbreed]

My buddy's from Louisiana. I've never been.