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Tabula Rasa Mods ([personal profile] tabularasa_mods) wrote in [community profile] tabularasa_rp2020-09-15 10:58 pm

003 - Memories of a False History

Memories of a False History State of the World Locations Bestiary
OOC Comments
Please refer to the original Event Announcement for more information or to ask any questions you might have! For the disaster prompt, players are not restricted to the versions given, but they are intended to be the most common. Feel free to borrow ideas from the disaster suggestions thread as well!

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The Sound of All Things Bad
The sound comes without warning. What the sound is cannot quite be made out - it is at once artificial and natural, bestial and mechanical, rumbling and roaring and crunching, shattering and crashing and screaming. Everything about it feels like a threat, warning of danger. The cacophony of noise reaches throughout the entire Void, loud and inescapable, the mangling and clashing of different sounds leaving each individual with a different idea of what it could possibly have been. It sounds different to everyone, each person able to pick out a part of the sound that ties to their own fears.

What if...?

How long the sound lasts would depend on how the individual perceives time. It might last for seconds, or it might last for minutes, but once it stops it does not repeat. Where it came from or what it is does not become the slightest bit clearer, and people are left to only speculate.

Disaster
No one can quite be sure what has prompted them to remember that day. It might have been that noise of approaching doom, or perhaps it is seeing the crumbling ruins of Hammerlocke itself. Once a stray memory surfaces, it is easy enough to look into the details and recall in full the vivid memory of Hammerlocke’s destruction - the ‘truth’ of what caused the mountainside city to crumble into ruins, as so many have wondered since their first appearance. Though the memory is clear and detailed, vivid enough to have been witnessed in person, it is out of place and does not belong, and anyone who can recall the events knows it.

Attempting to discuss the matter will soon reveal that while others recall the event with similar clarity, the details vary from person to person. Over time, their own memory changes and adapts, occasionally changing to something new entirely, yet the original is never completely forgotten. Memory is a strange and fickle thing, so easy to influence and manipulate, that the truth is difficult to find.

While memories differ from person to person, there are three particular tales that recur:

From the Sky

Though the sky above did not change from its paper-like blank white, the land grew darker and darker as though cast in shadow. The source of the shadow was clear: above, slowly descending towards the wings of the castle, was... something. Something immense, yet shrouded in crackling storm clouds.

As it continued to grow closer and closer, something in the clouds began to swell. It grew larger and larger, an electric hum of energy in the air, until with a resounding crack it burst and a great shadowy beast fell to the ground, landing with such force that the resulting shockwave shook the earth and tore through the stone buildings, causing so much of the city to tumble in an instant. It moves, and it screeches, raising its head up as the great storm above continues to swell and crackle.

This would not be the only beast.

(Based upon: Meteor, the Lunar Cry, and the Darkest Day)
The Battlefield

It was never clear why the fighting eventually made its way to this defenseless city, but it came without warning. The chaos was heralded only by explosions as the city walls were blasted through by tanks that had somehow made their way along the treacherous and narrow mountain path that simply was not meant for such heavy machines. The thundering explosions and the collapse of buildings could surely be heard for miles, and people and animals alike were quick to flee.

Though they reached Hammerlocke first, the tanks seemed like nothing compared to the enemy. The enormous shadowy monstrosity that swooped in from the sky seemed to be made from far more advanced technology. Even just the one towering machine, as large as the castle falling to ruins beneath its feet as it lands, proves deadly as it fires upon the approaching tanks, blasting them all to pieces within an instant before turning fire on whichever buildings remain standing.

(Based upon: Tanks, and Reapers)
The Mysterious Storm

There had been no way to predict the change in the weather, never mind how destructive it would prove. One moment, everything had been still and quiet, and the next the city was assailed by howling, violent winds and freezing, glittering snow and ice. Though the city was built of stone and had stood the test of time for centuries, it could not stand against these combined forces. The only shelter was underground, for the furious storm was so powerful it could rip through earth, lift up and fling any object in its path with devastating force, shattering windows and toppling buildings.

Propelled by such force, the ice and hail proved destructive in its own right. As the storm froze everything in its path, the hailstones became like bullets and great chunks of ice became missiles. By the time the winds began to grow calm, there was little left standing.

Something about the storm seemed somehow unnatural, but where it came from was anyone’s guess. Some, however, may have spied a vague figure through the tempest, of unclear appearance but its presence somehow threatening.

(Based upon: Weather, El shortage, and Diamond Dust)

Misplaced Memories
Worries about whatever disaster must have befallen the ruined city of Hammerlocke aside, people quickly become aware that memories of the disaster are not the only invasive, foreign memories. How the other memories come to them seems, on the surface, to be very similar: a connected thought occurs, and upon realizing the memory is not theirs, people are compelled to think more about it until the memory is uncovered in full detail. Unlike the memory of the disaster, however, this one quite clearly belongs to someone else. Someone who is here.

On puzzling this out, some might find they have more than one stray memory sitting in their minds. More importantly, however, is the feeling that something from their own memory is missing, and whatever memory is missing feels like it is something important. It could just be their own phone number, or it could be their name, or the face of whoever is most important to them. It could be something small, it could be something big, but all people know is that it’s something important and it’s gone.

There is no clear, immediate answer as to what people can do about their lost memories. With regards to their new memories, however, the path might seem a tiny bit clearer, for surely it seems a bit unfair that they can see into someone’s past in such a manner without their knowing. Perhaps it’s best to talk to them about it?

Although the lost memory is not always the same as the ones borrowed, taking the memory back to its source and prompting them to discuss and think about it proves a great help - as they talk, the invasive memory leaves, a lost memory is restored, and those who succeed are able to tell others the solution.

While the invasive memory is gone, people can still recall having it, and can still recall the details, but they will no longer remember it from the other’s point of view. Perhaps it might change how they see each other from now on?

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forethinking: (kPGgYAq)

[personal profile] forethinking 2020-10-07 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
It was a team effort.

(Through and through! He'd be dead by now if it hadn't been.)

I'd definitely warn if that was happening though.
activatingcombatmode: <user name=sefirot> (8)

[personal profile] activatingcombatmode 2020-10-07 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Grew up there? ... You were a little kid in those labs?

[That's kind of depressing. Not even Sephiroth deserves a childhood like that. Another thing to blame the bastard Hojo for. He has to wonder how things would've been different had Sephiroth grown up like a regular kid. Running around, playing tag, making friends, scrapping his knees up...]

Damn, dude...

[Zack runs a hand through his hair. The chill of the labs is still in his bones and he hates it.]

I don't know if it means anything to you but... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that happened to you.
activatingcombatmode: <user name=sefirot> (9)

[personal profile] activatingcombatmode 2020-10-07 08:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[In Zack's opinion Tifa's ability to see the good and worth in people is top tier. She probably had a good reason to give the partyboy the bar. Somewhere under that charming smile and lick of his lips against the glass is probably a pretty good person.

No, he's not staring appreciatively. Too much.]


You're doing a good job so far from the looks of it. [Zack's eyes moving from the glass to Blue's eyes. He grins.] Things are feeling less weird by the minute. Is that because of you or the alcohol?
activatingcombatmode: <user name=sefirot> (9)

[personal profile] activatingcombatmode 2020-10-07 08:22 pm (UTC)(link)
The princess of your own castle. Or bridge in this case. I kind of like the sound of that.

[He blinks.]

But who do I sound like? Hah.
activatingcombatmode: <user name=sefirot> (Default)

[personal profile] activatingcombatmode 2020-10-07 09:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[Chuffed to meet you-- What is that accent? But no time to ask or talk pleasantries right now. Zack nods and follows Raihan on the path back towards the apartment complex.]

Lead the way, Raihan. Let's hope that whatever is falling out of the sky it's something we can deal with easily.

[Zack is wary that something might fall from that new sky. With the strange creatures he's seen around so far he has to make some wild guesses.]

Have monsters ever been a problem too?
realway: (kEKat07)

[personal profile] realway 2020-10-07 10:04 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah. ...Yeah.

[ as tifa elaborates and ahsoka paints a picture in her mind, the blurry splotches she creates start to take a shape of their own. the image of a kindly older bearded man, and a younger hot-head with a scar running down his eye. and then herself - still a child. ]

It was... a tense meeting. There was an emergency situation and no one available to provide support. Communications were fragmented, and Master Yoda requested I go to relay important information. Anakin didn't like having me around, but he came around by the end of the day.

[ ahsoka smiles fondly, lost in the nostalgia for a moment. the memory eases back into as an old friend would coming over. ]

My first day as a Jedi.

[ she says that word and it looks for a moment like she'll continue, but... something about it doesn't sound right. jedi. why does that word keep haunting her? ]

I remember now. [ she turns her body to tifa, the warm smile shot her way. ] Thank you, Tifa. I... still don't remember you very well. I hope it'll come back to me soon. I suppose that means it's my turn - what do you remember, if anything?

[ hopefully she's not scrambled too heavily. ]
Edited 2020-10-07 22:05 (UTC)
realway: (Akpiga0)

[personal profile] realway 2020-10-07 10:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Anakin...

[ she mutters that name after parsee's first half, quieting down for her to continue. yet as she continues, an uneasy discomfort begins to creep through her skin. anakin, sidious... the discomfort she feels is dread.

ahsoka takes a step back, expression turning fearful, as the memory starts taking form again in her mind. she hesitates to take hold of it, afraid of what it will show, but it's starting to connect without her reaching for it. the memory that demands its recollection and forces its way back.
]

Maul. [ she says the name, unfamiliar. then her brow furrows down, and she scowls- ] Maul.

[ damn him. yes, now she remembers, just as parsee described. she breathes in sharp through her nose, eyes closing, then reopening again. ]

He wanted to use me for his plans. He thought he could turn me against my - my master with his lies. It's the way he operates, him and his kind.
realway: (kEKat07)

[personal profile] realway 2020-10-07 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ she pauses for a moment and then, gently, snorts. ]

Zappy laser swords. [ ren, you do have a way with words! ] They're called lightsabers. They're the weapon of... the Jedi. It's who we both are.

[ she remembers this much, even as she is still unsettled with referring to herself as a jedi now. it hasn't clicked why yet. ]

But wait, why would we have them out? What was going on?
realway: (Akpiga0)

[personal profile] realway 2020-10-07 10:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[ a hard lump starts slowly taking shape in her throat as legion elaborates, feeling a cold dread crawling up her spine as more comes to light. ]

She wouldn't frame me. [ she scowls, nearly offended in her forceful denial. ] She's - She's my friend, Legion. I've known her since I was a child, she wouldn't do that to me, and she wouldn't bomb the temple, and...

[ ahsoka stops, heart racing and expression lost. why is she defending a person she doesn't remember? the name strikes so much familiarity, so much longing, but she doesn't know why. ]

I'm sorry. I don't mean to get emotional. [ emotions are... they're not to be expressed, aren't they? she thinks barriss would agree with that. ] Something inside me tells me you're wrong, but... you wouldn't lie to me, would you?
realway: (kEKat07)

[personal profile] realway 2020-10-07 10:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't. You do.

[ it's a simple correction, and she figures he must at least remember who zack is if he asked her that. ]

I heard his name in a memory of yours. I've lost all of mine, and they have been replaced by many others. Yours is one I saw. [ she laces her arms together, crossing them lightly in front of her. ] You have one of mine too. I need it back.
bridge_princess: (003)

[personal profile] bridge_princess 2020-10-07 11:32 pm (UTC)(link)
You'll try. I'm pretty sure one person who's gone would have preferred to tell us. But if you don't... I won't hold it against you. I know you'd rather let people know.

[She'd put a fair amount of thought into this, apparently, and she was reasonably sure Osomatsu would have told people if he'd had the chance, which meant he didn't.]
bridge_princess: (012)

[personal profile] bridge_princess 2020-10-07 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmmm.... yeah... he feels like a Maul, doesn't he? [The name felt right. Even as the memories were starting to come more clearly back to her she found she could still remember Maul even if it was returning.]

He's good at looking like he believes the lies. Helps make you an effective liar. I'll say that. Anakin's your master then?

That... kind of tracks with why you were so pissed off.
bridge_princess: (028)

[personal profile] bridge_princess 2020-10-07 11:36 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmmmph, it's not nearly as glamorous as you're making it sound, buuuut whatever. No biggee. [She snorted and gave him a smirk.]

You sound like Tifa. Long black hair. Pretty girl. Kind of super confident some of the time? Runs the bar over that way. She was saying something like that about the shrine.
bridge_princess: (035)

[personal profile] bridge_princess 2020-10-07 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
I think... it helped a couple understand where I'm coming from. Which? I think... yeah, I think people don't quite get how had it is to turn that part of me 'off.' Feeling how often it happens, how regular, how seething it gets?

Probably better that way than me actually having my powers work, you know? I don't think I actually want that. I'm safe for now, so I don't need them working. They'd be a hassle here.
king_in_dreams: (Default)

[personal profile] king_in_dreams 2020-10-08 12:27 am (UTC)(link)
[Noct nods.]

Yeah, but, uh. Niflheim was kind of attacking when we were trying to get to Titan and Leviathan, so I guess it wasn't really their faults. And I guess they wanted to make sure I was worthy or whatever.

[Spoiler: he's still not sure he is, but that's beside the point.]

Ramuh just gave me headaches and clues I had to follow to find him.

[He pauses a beat.]

What does Leviathan look like, where you're from?

[He's curious if the Astrals she knows look the same.]
activatingcombatmode: <user name=sefirot> (13413824)

[personal profile] activatingcombatmode 2020-10-08 12:35 am (UTC)(link)
[Zack won't press her about it at the moment. Maybe later when they've figured out the other list of things between them. Right now he trusts Aerith enough to know what she needs to know and that it doesn't hurt her. But he is still curious.]

Yeah, I get it. [He shrugs his shoulders.] All of the turks are morally gray but they tend to lean on the bad side of things more often than not. I'm not saying he was great either.

[...]

But he was my friend.
psychokinesia: (I-0149)

[personal profile] psychokinesia 2020-10-08 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
[it's fine, at least if they're both digging they'll end up on the same level]

Kyo? Who the hell is that? [He wasn't really expecting Leo to place the blame on someone else... does he actually know what's going on here after all?? Add narrows his eyes, allowing himself a suspicious glare in Leo's direction (even if he's still too self-conscious to maintain eye contact for very long). He's onto you, bucko.]

I don't want it, so fine. You can have it back.

[except this is his first experience with the memory swapping shit, so... he has no idea how to do that. maybe that's all it takes? what else is he supposed to do? it's not like this stupid place would make him re-enact the damn thing or something like that, right??

... right???]
menaretrash: (pic#14132370)

[personal profile] menaretrash 2020-10-08 03:42 am (UTC)(link)
Cat bus-- OH! Yeah, That was Mona! He does that sometimes. Ah, yeah, the pyramid... that was fun. [ It wasn't fun. ]

I saw something from you, too! I think. There was a book, and a very cute dog. Also, three other guys around your age.
forwearemany: (Cute)

[personal profile] forwearemany 2020-10-08 03:44 am (UTC)(link)
Affirmative.

(The void is ... empty. Unsuitable for prolonged habitation. They also wish to return.

They turn and begin to head back.)
rotomphone: (pic#13815586)

[personal profile] rotomphone 2020-10-08 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ if anyone were to see that memory, he's glad it was Lance. it's a little embarrassing, but he's sure that it's something that the older Trainer had seen before from his fanbase... and it's not as if he could (or would) deny being a fan himself.

evil team takeovers don't make for the best table conversation, but it's one that has to be had under the circumstances. Raihan keeps his eyes on the grill, making sure nothing burns before handing Lance a pair of tongs for him to take things at his leisure. his brow furrows slightly at Lance's explanation. ]


And he's been in hiding for nearly a decade, yeah? That's mad... but we can relate over in Galar if it reassures you at all. The Chairman of our League is the one that ended up being a complete nutcase. He might as well have controlled the region, honestly.

[ the heavy hand that Macro Cosmos had on Galar's infrastructure and, well, its entire economy was something of a touchy subject for some. at least things appeared to be kept in check - until Rose's big damn villain meltdown, anyhow. ]

But the important thing is that he's not putting anyone in danger right now. I reckon he'll get his when the time is right! [ which he knows sounds a little naive, but he'd rather that than be pessimistic. ]
indigloaming: (Faceless)

[personal profile] indigloaming 2020-10-08 06:48 am (UTC)(link)
"Before, I was a bit busy for hobbies after." Too busy saving the universe and all.

"Wait, what'd you say about my graduation?" She didn't recall telling him about her graduation. Come to think of it, she didn't remember her graduation, though she knew it must have happened... was it another one of those memory oddities going around?
sefirot: (cc - 9)

[personal profile] sefirot 2020-10-08 10:18 am (UTC)(link)
[It's fine. He no longer remembers that childhood ... or what little he had of one. He doesn't even remember all those times he spent fantasizing an actual family for himself.

His head tilts lightly to the side, watching Zack for a moment.
]

Why? I've taken much from you. Why would you feel sorry for anything that has happened to me? Not that it matters. I do not care what happened. I do not remember any of it.
abeautifulgame: (Default)

[personal profile] abeautifulgame 2020-10-08 03:58 pm (UTC)(link)
[and there's the difference. he does hate Aiden, at this point, and the feeling is more than mutual. he doesn't owe Aiden a fucking thing]

[he nods slowly, then, that in mind]
Fair enough. I was just -- curious, I suppose. [he's still not sure he understand why they don't hate each other, but well, while he can and will compare himself to Akechi and Ren to Aiden all day, they're ultimately not the same people. it's probably better, that way]
realway: (1RwKkAQ)

[personal profile] realway 2020-10-08 04:00 pm (UTC)(link)
It's a good first impression! [ she bluntly asserts, quick to assure. ] Not everyone would do that - for a person, or an animal. If not for you...

[ the cat would certainly have died, at least that's the only end she can see for it. ]

Well, you did the right thing. You even... hm. [ she pauses, the second part of the memory not so pleasant to remember. ] You're a songwriter, right? Do you always channel your experiences into your work?

[ she doesn't know a thing about The Arts. ]
abeautifulgame: (Default)

[personal profile] abeautifulgame 2020-10-08 04:05 pm (UTC)(link)
[ah, now it's all coming together]

[Akechi's father, the would-be Prime Minister, met Akechi's mother at a nightclub. they hit it off to some degree, slept together, and dear old dad didn't stick around, because it would have ruined his political career. he wonders, though, why Akechi's mother didn't try and use that, try and blackmail the father for money, to keep quiet, so she and Akechi wouldn't have to struggle. maybe she tried, and she didn't really commit suicide, maybe the father had her killed. maybe, and more likely, she was just a genuinely good person and didn't think to go that route. maybe -- ]

[ -- well, the list goes on, and it's ultimately unimportant. he's not going to press anymore than he already has. not right now, anyway]

[right now, he feels like he should offer something in return, a tit for tat, if only for manipulative reasons. if he shares something with Akechi, now, he'll be more likely to share more with him, later. it needs to be something that matters, though, something relevant to the conversation, and so, at great lengths ... ]
... you know, I have a son. Marcus. He's probably about your age, now.

[a little younger, but]