"‘I guess this is it,’ he thinks, ‘I've finally lost my mind.’" - In My Restless Dreams (Chapter 8 - Duos Oculos)
In My Restless Dreams is a fanfction on Archive of our Own, written by underratedgrapejuice and initially published on June 20, 2024. It currently has 14 chapters and is still in the process of being updated.
Plot Summary[]
In My Restless Dreams takes place in between the events of Shipwrecked 64 and HI-09. After Bucky's suicide following the events of Shipwrecked, he wakes up outside of a house in the woods, with his friends alive and well ushering him inside. With mysterious implanted memories of deciding to stay on the island to try and help the wolves, yet still haunted by everything he's seen, Bucky struggles to adjust to the jarringly normal life while experiencing horrible dreams at night. With the Dwellers escaping the lower layers and the nightmares growing worse and worse, Bucky doesn't know how much longer he can preserve his friends' ignorance.
Characters[]
Bucky[]
Personality[]
Bucky serves as the protagonist of IMRD[1], with most of the story from his point of view. He's kept his memories from the events of Shipwrecked, and his time with Rex in the 50s before his redesign, something he still carries resentment over. He is terrified of his friends finding out about the secrets the island is hiding, and unable to face Wulf and Stumbler in the aftermath of taking his own life. The hiding only causes him to grow more paranoid and isolated. His secrecy and overprotectiveness uninintentionally causes the capture of his friends by the Dwellers, and he carries the guilt with him for the rest of the story, even after they're all reunited. The tendency to take everything on his shoulders and self-deprecate likely stems from when he was younger and reckless, nearly getting Walter killed.
The situation at hand is overwhelming, something Bucky deals with with panic, isolation, and outbursts that he usually regrets afterwards. In his attempt to spare his friends the misery he went through, he's only caused them to believe he doesn't trust them. He genuinely believes his existence is cursed, that no matter what he does, he's doomed to be miserable and scared for the rest of his life.
Bucky's strange mental connection with Brandon makes his self hatred even worse, after spending so long convincing himself he could never be driven to do what the man did, he realizes his paranoid terror has only made them more and more alike.
History[]
Bucky was on his own from a young age after his parents passed away in a housefire[2], and he raised Walter on his own until they were taken in by Hazel. In his early teenage years, he meets a young Olive, promising to see her again if they ever returned to that town. He grew up sailing and eventually inherited the boat, the Triton, fulfilling his promise to go and see Olive again. Hazel's crew disperses in the months following her death, leaving Bucky, Walter, and Olive as the Triton's new crew.
This section will be updated as information is revealed.
Walter[]
Personality[]
Walter is the youngest of the main cast and, for all intents and purposes, is a doormat most of the time. He's softspoken, scared of almost everything, and only really asserts himself when Bucky is threatened in some way. When he finds his older brother in the midst of a nightmare, he does his best to comfort him, unused to the responsibility due to Bucky always looking after him instead. Walter laments this the morning after, insisting that Bucky allow himself be taken care of for once.
Walter is most terrified of being abandoned, a fear that rears his head when Bucky leaves and him and the others are taken by the Dwellers. When he's alone, he begins unknowingly mirroring Bucky's behavior, hiding his nightmare of Nathan from Olive and Giovanni. His older brother has been the only stability in his life. With him gone, Walter begins to doubt everything, including if he's even worth rescuing. He assumes everything is his fault in some way, from Bucky's unhealthy coping to their capture.
Walter's connection to Nathan is something he can't really conceptualize, which is likely the only thing protecting him from the downward spiral that Bucky fell victim to. Despite his confusion and terror of everything that's happening, he knows he'll do whatever it takes to keep Bucky safe.
History[]
Walter lived with neglectful parents who never came looking for him when he wandered off one day. Bucky found him alone and tried to help him get back home, but when no one came looking for him, they resolved to take care of each other. They made ends meet near the docks, where they first meet Hazel. After Walter's near-fatal injury at sea---which only reinforces his mindset that the bad things that happen to him are his fault---Bucky becomes much more protective of him. When they're taken in by Hazel, Walter's shyness and kind nature leads to him befriending most of her crew while Bucky keeps to himself. When Olive joins their group years later, her and Walter develop a close friendship.
When they're able to afford it, Walter gets his own boat, providing him a bit more freedom. Prior to the events of Shipwrecked, Walter hears about the storm that caused Bucky's boat to crash, and sails off on his own to help him.
This section will be updated as information is revealed.
Giovanni[]
Personality[]
Giovanni is generally full of himself, and tends to be cold and rude to the rest of the group. It irritates him that Bucky doesn't just lay down and take his verbal abuse, unlike Walter. He stays with the group mostly out of principle, and because Olive knows that the friend group breaking apart would put tremendous amounts of stress on Walter (and because his life's purpose seems to revolve around making Bucky miserable).
Giovanni seems to be incapable of thinking he could ever be in the wrong, until it's proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, and even then he avoids giving anyone else any real credit. He talks a big game about knowing better, but when actually presented with the task of leading, he's internally fumbling with the responsibility. He freezes when he's afraid, something that happens more and more often as the story progresses, and something that he struggles to process. He occassionally shows glimpses of a vaguely good person beneath his attitude, before immediately backtracking to his old ways.
When Giovanni discovers the nature of his existence---a conduit created by Rex with the sole purpose of torturing Bucky---he must come to terms that his identity, and his hatred of Bucky isn't even his own, and he despises being manipulated.
History[]
Giovanni grew up in a fairly well-off family that pushed him to succeed, and to not disappoint them. It engrained itself into how he lived, driving him to become the world-renowned chef he is today. Doesn't mean it didn't give him an unhealthy mindset about independence and self-worth, though.
This section will be updated as information is revealed.
Olive[]
Personality[]
Olive is the only stable member of the group. She calls out Giovanni on his nonsense, supports Bucky and Walter as best she can, and speaks her mind freely. When Bucky shows signs of being unwell, she urges him to open up to them[3], and is the one who eventually decides to seek out Wulf and Stumbler for help. She's proactive, choosing to try and find a way out of the cell instead of staying put and waiting, and insisting they all stay together to avoid getting hurt or lost. Her kindness extends beyond her friends, choosing to try and comfort Olivia after seeing what happened to her[4].
When her and Bucky are reunited in the Aquarium, she has a moment of vulnerability, revealing she really was worried about him, but that she knew he'd come through for them. She thanks Wulf and Stumbler for helping him, given that she's usually the one in that role.
History[]
Olive is the oldest of 5, with 4 younger brothers. She lived with her parents for most of her life, with her and her siblings helping to run their shop. She meets Bucky in her early teens, promising to meet him again if he comes back. When he returns with Walter and they reconnect, her parents give her their blessing to join their crew and become a sailor when she asks. When Walter gets his own boat, Olive and Bucky work together often, selling what they catch to make ends meet. Though they both considered a romantic connection, when they tried it, they simply felt awkward and agreed to continue being friends instead.
This section will be updated as information is revealed.
Chief Wulf[]
Personality[]
Wulf's only goal is to protect Stumbler and his pack. To everyone else, he's gruff and prickly, but not deliberately cruel or rude. He doesn't care much for Bucky, seeing him as the catalyst for the horrible things that have happened, but is cordial to him at Stumbler's request. As they spend more time around each other during the rescue, Wulf catches on to similarites that they have, warming up to Bucky slightly. He mostly cares because Stumbler cares, but it's the thought that counts.
Wulf is used to taking charge of things even if he gets hurt, grounding Bucky in reality when he panics and making sure he and Stumbler can escape while he handles Olivia. He's in this for the sake of the island residents and Stumbler, trying to delay the extinction as long as possible. He doesn't have the connection to the Dwellers that the main four do, but clearly sympathises when he sees how much it's hurting Bucky.
History[]
Wulf's history in IMRD is identical to his creation in Shipwrecked, save for his intereference after Bucky's suicide. He's been working on a side project as well, somewhere everyone can be safe.
This section will be updated as information is revealed.
Stumbler[]
Personality[]
Stumbler, ever the sweetheart, worries about Bucky after the island resets, despite Wulf's dismissal. When they reunite, Stumbler shows deep concern for Bucky's mental and physical condition, and seeks him out so that he isn't processing everything alone. Having gone through the same revelations himself, Stumbler empathises with how much the events of Shipwrecked affected Bucky. He tries to de-escalate conflicts and keep everyone safe, but tends to grow upset when the people around him insist on not listening to him.
Stumbler's worry extends to Wulf, who he chastises for not telling him he had gotten hurt in the altercation with Olivia. He shares Wulf's desire to protect as many people as possible. He usually does so with comforting words and lending a helping nub when he can.
History[]
As with Wulf, Stumbler's origin is identical to his canon one.
Brandon Lester[]
Brandon was Bucky's real life mascot and voice actor, who died of a fentanyl overdose and was turned into a Starling. In IMRD, the Dweller verson of Brandon serves as the main external threat, stalking Bucky in an attempt to either capture or kill him. He seems to be the leader of the group of Dwellers, aside from Rex, who is yet to appear. There is a deep jealousy of Bucky's ability to lead a somewhat normal life, while Brandon himself is trapped below the island, with shells of his former friends.
Hazel[]
Laverne[]
Chapters[]
Don't feel like reading the whole fic? Here's some spoiler-riddled summaries!
Chapter 1[]
Chapter 1 introduces Bucky, and his recent nightmares. After lamenting his deteriiorating mental state, he has a vivid nightmare of a recreation of Nathan's death where he beats Walter to death. He awakes to Walter attempting to comfort him, and the two stay together until morning.
Chapter 2[]
Chapter 2 introduces the rest of the main 4, in the midst of a house-wide movie night. Bucky and Giovanni bicker slightly, which Walter diffuses. Bucky falls asleep at the couch, resulting in a nightmare where the Dwellers have invaded the house. He wakes up screaming, to the fear and confusion of the rest of his housemates, and Walter's attempt to calm him down is initially fruitless.
Bucky attempts to brush the incident under the rug, to the protest of Olive and Walter, who insist he be honest with them. Except a jab from Giovanni tweaks Bucky's nerves enough to angrily explain his venture beneath the island and the existence of the Dwellers. Giovanni dismisses him as crazy, and Bucky storms to his room.
From the living room, Bucky overhears his friends' plan to inquire about his wild claims to Wulf and Stumbler, and he fears what will happen if they find out the truth.
Chapter 3[]
Walter awakes early to find that Bucky hasn't slept, noting his avoidance of the incident the night before, and his generally distracted and exhausted demeanor. Bucky insists he needs to deal with this on his own, and that everything he does is to protect him. Walter protests that, for once, Bucky should let himself be taken care of. Bucky rushes out the door without explanation.
Bucky arrives at the town hall searching for Stumbler, only to be met with Wulf, and they walk to the gallery together to meet Stumbler. The rabbit is initially excited to see Bucky, but then notices his exhausted appearance. They both listen as Bucky explains his friends growing curious about the layers below the island after his night terror, coming to the conclusion that they need to block off the entrances in order to keep them from running into the Dwellers.
Bucky retreats to the shore, ruminating in his isolation before being approached by Stumbler. He comforts him, insisting that he isn't selfish for not wanting to be alone. In better spirits, Bucky heads home. On the path, he narrowly avoids being spotted by Olivia. He runs home to ensure his friends are safe.
Chapter 4[]
When Bucky arrives home in the afternoon, only Giovanni is home, with Walter and Olive having gone to visit Wulf and Stumbler. When Bucky attempts to tell him about the escaped Dwellers, Giovanni brushes him off coldly, leading Bucky to shout at him in anger. As soon as he does so, the front door is broken down by Brandon, and Bucky drags Giovanni to a hiding spot in Walter's room. After they're sure the Dweller is gone, they emerge. Bucky determines that they need to warn Wulf. Giovanni reluctantly admits that Bucky really wasn't crazy.
Chapter 5[]
Chapter 5 begins with a flashback to the events of Shipwrecked, with Bucky being taken to the cell by Olivia. He chastises the player, before resigning himself to just keep going.
In the present, the sun is going down, and Giovanni is lost in thought about the implications of Bucky hiding something so monumental from all of them. When he asks, Bucky answers that only Wulf and Stumbler know, and that he told them to keep everything a secret from Walter and Olive. Giovanni points out that Bucky lying to his brother is odd, to which Bucky lashes out before calming down.
When they reach Wulf, Olive, and Walter, Bucky rushes ahead, frantically telling Wulf about the Dwellers escape despite the others' attempts to talk to him. When Giovanni catches up and vouches that Bucky is telling the truth, Wulf confirms one more time. Still terrified of everyone finding out the truth, Bucky insists to Walter it's nothing to worry about, to which Walter defensively snaps back that he isn't a child, and that Bucky doesn't have to keep treating him like one. While Wulf warns the other two that things were dangerous now, Giovanni notices Bucky spiraling into his thoughts and reluctantly grumbles that he did what he had to (mirroring Bucky's words from earlier where he defended lying to Walter).
Wulf snaps to attention suddenly. When Olive asks him what the problem is, he simply says Stumbler's name and then runs off.
Chapter 6[]
Chapter 6 begins with a flashback to Bucky and Walter as children, bickering over what to name their small, cobbled together sailboat. They're approached by an elderly heron who compliments their work and warns them not to go out too far in case of a storm. The brothers decide to name their boat in honor of her.
When they sail out, Bucky dismissively saying that they aren't out that far, Walter drops his oar, and the ensuing panic causes the boat to capsize and hit him in the back of the head. Bucky gets him to shore before collapsing in exhaustion. When they wake up in the hospital, they're visited by the heron, who replaces Walter's lost cap with her own and reassures Bucky that he's a good brother, that he saved Walter's life. Bucky promises Walter that he'll never let him get hurt again.
Switching perspectives to the present, it is twilight when Bucky tells Olive and the others to stay put while he checks on Stumbler. Upon entering the town hall after Wulf, Stumbler is revealed to be unharmed, the scent of blood coming from him getting his bandages replaced. When Wulf informs Stumbler that the Dwellers have escaped, Bucky realizes with dread that he left his friends at the theater by themselves. He runs back, only to reveal that the three are gone, nothing but broken glass in their wake. He hits his head in an attempt to prove this is all a nightmare, but it only confirms that his friends are really gone.
Chapter 7[]
In the cell, Olive bickers with Giovanni before attempting to comfort an uncharacteristically upset Walter, who resigns to sleep. While sleeping, Walter has a nightmare similar to Bucky's in Chapter 1, with himself in Nathan's place. While trying to process the senseless violence, he laments that he probably deserved this for having made Bucky upset, for trying to be brave. He panics as he wakes up, only to see Nathan staring at him with what appears to be understanding.
Back on the surface, night has fully fallen, and Wulf and Stumbler are trying to calm Bucky down from his panicked meltdown. Stumbler promises that they'll find hsi friends, that they were probably taken to the cell. Wulf tells him to pull himself together, which grounds Bucky enough to get to his feet and start the trek to Layer 3.
Chapter 8[]
The well planned out rescue mission is revealed to have gone sideways, with the puzzles and doors leading to the Plaza having been tampered with. What should have been an easy journey was dragged out to almost an entire day. When they arrive in Layer 3, they make it pretty far before being noticed by Olivia. Wulf urges Stumbler and Bucky to go on while he stalls the Dweller. Trying to navigate the Plaza is as mind-bending as the hijacked puzzles, and Stumbler does his best to remember what he can. After tripping and falling, Bucky collapses into a lightheaded coughing fit, telling Stumbler to go ahead of him and get the others while he recovers. Stumbler reluctantly agrees, and Bucky is left in darkness.
Back in the cell, Olive discovers a slip of paper with the jail code scrawled in what appears to be Bucky's handwriting. Despite Giovanni's hesitance, she urges him and Walter forward to try and find an exit.
Bucky's condition has only worsened, displaying symptoms of what appears to be a fentanyl overdose, before he begins to see through Brandon's eyes. He resolves that he's lost his mind and is halucinating, before hearing a mimicry of his own voice forming thoughts in his head. Somehow, Bucky becomes aware that Brandon is now hunting for him.
Chapter 9[]
In a flashback, a young Bucky and Walter stand aboard the Hazel's ship, the Triton. While Walter is watching everything in fascination, Bucky grapples with his guilt over what happened to Walter, and thinks about the promise he made to keep him from harm. He is broken from his thoughts when the three of them head into town for supplies. While waiting for their caretaker, Bucky and Walter meet a young Olive. She chats for awhile, saying to meet her again if they every come back before running back to her parents' shop down the road. Walter teases Bucky over his presumed crush on the otter.
Back on the ship, Hazel is approached by her spouse, a loon named Laverne, who playfully scolds her for neglecting her health. They discuss Hazel's past distaste for being around kids, to which she admits she feels a responsibilty for them after Walter's accident. They admire the sunset for a moment before heading to the living quarters of the boat.
Back in the present, Bucky has recovered slightly and continues his limping walk to the cell. Before he can reach it, he sees Wulf and Stumbler approach. They tell him the cell was empty, but they recovered Walter's hat. To the surprise of the pair, Bucky swallows his panicked tears and determines that something is luring his friends to Layer 4 while simultaneously keeping him separated from them. He admits to Stumbler that his collapsing earlier is due to a strange connection with Brandon, unaware that Walter has had the same occurrence with Nathan.
Switching perspectives to Walter, Olive, and Giovanni, they've been wandering aimlessly for likely hours. When they determine that Giovanni can see best in the dark, he hesitantly leads the group. After walking for another stretch of time, Giovanni freezes when he sees Olivia down the dark hallway. Olive begins to cough and choke up water, getting flashes of Olivia's death as Walter holds her in an attempt to shield her. When they realize she won't be able to walk, Walter lifts Olive in his arms and they run until they reach the elevator. All the while, a mysterious narration recites the contents of the tape "PKJUJB" from Shipwrecked.
Chapter 10[]
Olive, Walter, and Giovanni arrive at the Aquarium in Layer 4, with Olive having recovered mostly. Her and Walter lightly joke with each other, while Giovanni is alert and paranoid. When they begin exploring, he pulls ahead, claiming he's more likely to find an exit on his own, to which Olive protests before letting him go off alone. After walking awhile, Walter and Olive stop to rest. Walter tearfully asks if Bucky's even looking for him, his repressed emotions boiling over. Olive reassures him that everything will be okay, and that Bucky would never leave them behind. They continue their search.
Giovanni, after walking on his own for awhile, catches sight of a room full of computers, with one of them mysteriously undamaged compared to the rest. Upon waking it, the computer shows 2 tabs, a web page about the life and legacy of Rex Broadside, and the Cogware Games website's promotion of Shipwrecked. Giovanni begins to spiral at the information, the realization that their entire lives are a work of fiction, that his memory had somehow been manipulated. Even further, he finds worn pages of Rex's journal, lamenting his inability to torture Bucky, and the eventual loophole he created: Giovanni himself. With the revelation that he exists to be a tormentor, and that he and his friends technically aren't real, Giovanni struggles to keep up his irritated mask when he's found by Olive and Walter.
Chapter 11[]
In the elevator, Bucky reminisces on his late parents, and mourns his apathy towards life and death as a whole, wishing he had an opportunity for the ignorance and livelieness that his friends had. He begins to spiral and assume the worst, that his friends were already gone. His train of thought is broken when the elevator opens to the Aquarium.
Steadily becoming delirious with sleep deprivation, Bucky ignores the threat of the Dwellers and begins to shout his friends' names despite Wulf and Stumbler's protests. The two express concern amongst themselves, before Stumbler points out the wound in Wulf's arm. Bucky continues shouting.
Eventually, his voice carries enough for the others to hear, and they continue yelling until they finally reunite, Olive and Bucky crashing into each other like how they had done as children. When Walter tries to apologize to Bucky, he is silenced, with Bucky admitting that his own overprotectiveness had gone too far, and that he's sorry. He gives Walter his hat back before approaching Giovanni. Bucky knows that Giovanni is acting odd, but knows by now that he won't tell him why. Wulf calls out, urging them to head back to the surface, and Giovanni falls behind as they head back to the elevator.
Chapter 12[]
Perspective diverts to the real world, in the past, with Brandon lamenting to Gary about his poor stance with Nathan. They have a brief casual conversation, and Brandon's tendency to self deprecate is eerily reminiscent of Bucky's behavior. Brandon jokes that if Gary really acted like Giovanni that he would quit.
Chapter 13[]
After escaping back through the Plaza, the group emerges into the Diner. Bucky collapses again, and it's revealed that Brandon has blocked their exit. Giovanni collapses soon after, suffering the same process of experiencing his respective Dweller's death. Gary blocks their other escape, but seems hesitant to harm the group, to Brandon's irritation. When he decides to take it upon himself, Bucky shields Olive and Giovanni with his body. In a fit of painful rage, Brandon begins bashing his face into a table, knocking him unconscious almost instantly.
Walter, in a moment of adrenaline, tackles Brandon to the ground and slams the nearest chair into him, granting him enough time to grab Bucky and escape. When Brandon recovers, and sees that Gary has made no move to follow them, he reviles him for being a coward, and tells him to get out of his sight.
When they're all presumably safe in the theater, Walter holds a bloodied Bucky in his arms, paralyzed, until Stumbler urges him to get to the Town Hall to find the nurse, to which he silently exits.
Chapter 14[]
The chapter begins with a retrospective of Bucky's recovery from Brandon's attack. Walter carries him to the town hall to recover, and he doesn't wake up for almost a week. When Olive visits, he apologizes for "dragging them down with him", to which she assures him everything is okay.
Wulf puts the island on lockdown, simultaneously keeping watch for the Dwellers and keeping the volcano at bay, as well as his side project.
Walter insists on staying with Bucky, even when he insists he's okay on his own. They have a brief heart-to-heart, a quieter reconciliation than they had in the Aquarium. Bucky returns home after a few weeks cooped up in the town hall, still adjusting to his non-functional eye and counting himself lucky that his sleep isn't riddled with nightmares anymore. Though the dreamless sleep is a different kind of disconcerting.
On a rainy day a few weeks after the initial attack, Bucky finally catches Giovanni, who seems to have been avoiding him. Bucky tries to have a casual exchange, but gives up when he gets nowhere. Giovanni stops him as he's about to leave, revealing that he knows about Rex, and Bucky's history with him. Bucky steadily devolves into a fit of rage, both at his presumed notion of how Giovanni reacted, and that he kept this from him in the first place. Giovanni shows him Rex's journals, but it barely affects Bucky's anger. The argument only gets worse, with Bucky eventually shouting that neither of their existences even matter, that Giovanni only exists to torture him, and there's no point in trying to change that. He breaks down in tears, and the other does his best to comfort him, his first small step to being more than Rex created him for.
Chapter 15[]
Similar to the beginning of Chapter 2, the cast is winding down at home trying to decide what to watch. Bucky suggests they visit the beach, and after Giovanni is coaxed into going by Olive, they all go out swimming. Despite the underlying feeling that this is only a brief reprieve from everything that's happening, Bucky can't help but appreciate that he's alive to experience it.
Chapter 16[]
Husk finally appears physically, showing up in Wulf's office. It taunts Wulf about his and Stumbler's previous deaths, attributing their fates to Bucky's presence, and encouraging him to leave Bucky behind when he moves everyone to the hotel. Wulf snaps at it to get out, but he's clearly swayed by what Husk said.
Bucky sits on the front porch of the house, getting fresh air as per Carol's request for his recovery. In the middle of his introspection, Husk appears to point out that this happiness he feels is only temporary, to which Bucky snaps that he knows. Husk follows Bucky as he enters the house, informing him of Wulf's plan to abandon him. Bucky panics, before Husk accuses him of being selfish, to which he retaliates that he's done everything he can for his friends. The exchange is abruptly ended by Olive's return home, causing Husk to disappear.
Olive can see something is wrong, and asks Bucky not to lie to her and act like nothing is happening. When he explains, Olive gets upset, and storms off to interrogate Wulf if the accusation is true.
Chapter 17[]
The beginning of the chapter is an introspective of Bucky's feelings about the scar left by Brandon's attack. While at first he hated it, he's grown to appreciate what it represents: his autonomy from Rex, and from his Friend.
The perspective switches to Olive and Bucky entering the town hall. Wulf appears cordial until he sees Bucky, and upon seeing the look in his eye, he knows Husk told him his plan. When Bucky lashes out, Wulf tries to stay level-headed, explaining that it's not that he doesn't trust Bucky, and that he doesn't take pleasure in doing this to him. Bucky nearly escalates things before he's stopped by Olive, who demands that Wulf figure out a way to take Bucky with them. Before Wulf can answer, a tremor rattles the island, signifying the volcano's looming threat. Wulf promises he'll try his best to figure something out, now with more resolve in his voice.
Chapter 18[]
Olive and Bucky walk home silently from the town hall, noting how much hotter and more oppressive the air around them feels. When they arrive home, Walter is sitting at the table. After preventing Olive from fully explaining things to Walter, Bucky gets caught in his half-truth by Walter, who seems far more reactive than normal. Even as he storms outside, his mannerisms are suppressed, frustratedly telling Bucky to give him some time to cool down. When he's gone, Olive comments how strange Walter's reaction was.
Walter wanders off with no direction, internally struggling to justify and pinpoint his feelings, and why he lashed out in the first place. He isn't used to things being so complicated, and has no real blueprint to follow in regards to processing trauma. While thinking, Walter finally comes back to his senses and realizes he's lost. He quickly spirals into a panic, the situation causing him to relive his own abandonment. In his mind, both this and his getting lost as a child are entirely his own fault.
Just as Walter's panic peaks, a disembodied voice informs him that the path isn't very far. Snapping out of the spiral, Walter catches sight of Husk lurking in the trees, who tells him that "there's still time". What he means by this, Walter is unsure. He stumbles backwards into the path that has inexplicably reappeared. As much as he wants to leave and get away from Husk, something (fear, or Husk itself) keeps him in place. Husk cryptically taunts Walter and lies that Bucky will never truly be honest with him, and tells him that if he wants answers, he'll have to do it himself. Finally able to move, Walter runs away, Husk's laughter echoing as he flees.
Development History[]
In My Restless Dreams originated as a oneshot about Bucky's nightmare about Walter. It eventually evolved into the multi-chapter fanfiction it is now, exploring Bucky's struggle to cope with the events of Shipwrecked 64, with a prologue and epilogue planned for the future.
Trivia[]
- Originally, instead of taking Walter Olive and Giovanni, the Dwellers would have taken Stumbler. This was rewritten, because there was no narrative reason for it to happen.
- Instead of Nathan staring at Walter in Chapter 7, the original draft had Brandon doing so.
- Brandon's broken apart voice in Chapter 8 is in reference to the Dwellers slowly gaining the ability to speak beyond their character's pre-existing dialogue.
- In My Restless Dreams was the inspiration for Room 103.
Gallery[]
- ↑ "IMRD" serves as the abbreviation for the full title of In My Restless Dreams.
- ↑ "Bucky’s parents died when he was nine years old... It was a tragic thing— a freak house fire that the beaver barely recalls..." - Chapter 11
- ↑ "It-It's not fine! We're worried about you!" - Chapter 2
- ↑ ...[Olive] hopes [Olivia] understands when she thinks—with as much conviction as she can muster— ‘I'm sorry that happened to you’. - Chapter 9