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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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rotomphone: (pic#13642760)

[personal profile] rotomphone 2020-09-20 01:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ what Raihan hears isn't necessarily war but certainly a byproduct of it - human suffering, clear as day. the panicked cries of Pokémon that he can't pinpoint are laced into it as well, simultaneously confusing him and worrying him more. ]

No clue. But whatever it was, it felt big.

[ Duraludon mounts himself on all fours, putting his claws to the ground to see if he can feel anything. when Raihan asks if he does, he shakes his head. his attention turns to the sky next, to look for something like smoke or an airborne threat. ]

Do you think you can send Toshi on a low-altitude scout?
forwearemany: (standing)

II

[personal profile] forwearemany 2020-09-20 02:09 am (UTC)(link)
(They are unimpressed by his attempts to intimidate.

They remember him, the one whose allies fought to save him. He did not desire this--he places pride over logic, safety, and unit cohesion.

The conviction is impressive, perhaps, but they find the rest ... underwhelming.)


We were uncertain of where to find you.

(They don't really know him, and so they really didn't have any good idea of where to go looking for him. It has made returning his memory and reclaiming their own difficult.)
forwearemany: (redlight)

[personal profile] forwearemany 2020-09-20 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
(They chatter. Parsee might catch something suggesting they think she has a high intelligence, in that it doesn't matter that she's highly intelligent organics are no better equipped for handling Geth perspectives than Geth are for the perspectives of organics.)

We also have a memory of yours.

(The lights on the side of their face flash red again, as the anger starts to surge--but that's less important than the ally currently in distress.)

What do you see?
forwearemany: (Default)

Memswap

[personal profile] forwearemany 2020-09-20 04:08 am (UTC)(link)
(The betrayal is not their own, but it is familiar ... though it's hard to remember all the details of why.

The knowledge that one's own ally would let them die... their allies have done this to them as well. It is why they are the last.

But they do not remember the details, the moments leading to their own demise.

They do, however, recognize the name of the owner of this memory, match it to a face.)


Ahsoka.

(They are fortunate: it doesn't take long to find her.)
koopacrusher: (Burning Anger)

[personal profile] koopacrusher 2020-09-20 05:54 am (UTC)(link)
"You!" Bowser shouts. "What happened to my memories?! Why is one of yours there instead of what's supposed to be?!"
sefirot: (d14)

memswap

[personal profile] sefirot 2020-09-20 06:50 am (UTC)(link)
[His time spent around Shinra scientists for the most part is a memory best left forgotten. Those times no longer held any meaning and the irritating laughter of certain scientists were nothing but a bitter reminder of a long gone past.

Thinking about it now is even odder. Annoying even. Like an itch that has somehow crept up to remind him of things that should be lost. As familiar as the thoughts are they also seem different. Did he spend this much time around Hojo? He can't recall either way.

He's lost in his thoughts that he barely registers that she speaks to him at all. When he finally looks over to her, his gaze narrows though it's mostly from still attempting to place together the memories swirling around his head. He'll entertain this for now, but dealing with Aerith is on the bottom of the list of people he wants to interact with at the moment --

Though at the same time he feels like he should.
]

Then talk.
gardenerofavalon: (individuals don't really matter)

[personal profile] gardenerofavalon 2020-09-20 07:53 am (UTC)(link)
Merlin just raises an eyebrow at that first remark.

"You seem to already be wearing 'something'."

Look, he just had to say it.

"And if they're from a school, then doesn't that make them even moreso? Or at least ordinary."
gardenerofavalon: (tiresome)

[personal profile] gardenerofavalon 2020-09-20 07:57 am (UTC)(link)
"If I knew, I'm sure it wouldn't be there."

There might be just a hint of testiness there; Merlin dislikes the idea of his own mind being messed with as much as anyone.

"It would appear that somehow, our memories have apparently changed places. But seeing as I cannot actually remember what it is for myself at the moment, you'll have to tell me exactly what you know."

Oh, he knows it's something to do with talking to Fujimaru in Uruk. But what about? He hasn't a clue.
simulatio: (282)

[personal profile] simulatio 2020-09-20 08:24 am (UTC)(link)
[The corner of his lip quirks into a small smirk, and he nods to concede her point. Yeah, okay, sure, it was illegal, but that killing in particular? Morally just, in his opinion.

Ah, but then she brings Ren into it, and his smirk sours. Everything between he and Ren is -- or rather, was -- extremely personal. Having someone who's practically a stranger be able to make that connection between the crime he committed and what happened to Ren is...

Unfortunate.]


With all due respect, the relationship Ren and I share isn't any of your business. Allow me to offer a trade: explain to me why you'd allow someone to kill your own mother, and I'll elaborate on my actions.

[It has to be her memory. The little ghost, the phantom feeling of horns, longer and straighter than those on his Metaverse helmet -- it can only be hers.]
forethinking: (NASI2os)

[personal profile] forethinking 2020-09-20 08:29 am (UTC)(link)
(This one wasn't hard. Jealousy is not in his list of strongest flaws, so it was a shock that suddenly, that's what he felt when that memory became prominent in his brain. It takes him several discussions with his brain and Satanael to keep in check.

He needs to give it back and it has to be now. The shrine is ridiculously close to Heavenly Blanc, so Ren finds no issue leaving the bar unattended but locked nonetheless. As per usual, he removes his shoes and bows to her upon entrance.)
simulatio: (282)

[personal profile] simulatio 2020-09-20 08:31 am (UTC)(link)
[The smell alone is enough to freeze his smile into a grimace. Blue somehow got the memory of him eating a certain "special" takoyaki at Ren's school festival, didn't he? And now he's being mocked.]

Ah... thank you. That's very kind.

[He will dump it straight out the window or give it to Ren at first opportunity, because he doesn't want to know what kind of gastrointestinal distress he'll experience when they can't even shit.

He clicks his tongue in impatience when Blue of course goes straight for the flowers. Of course he does.]


Have you seen the sheer amount of flowers Ren keeps in his room? I'm more surprised he hasn't foisted any on you and everyone else, just because he can.
simulatio: (hm5VI59)

[personal profile] simulatio 2020-09-20 08:37 am (UTC)(link)
[He doesn't believe it, not for a second. What is it he'd told Ren? At least the memory of their first meeting is still as fresh as ever. Adults are only interested in using the young, while they only do what the adults say.

He closes his eyes for a moment, though, uses it as a visible sign that he's reeling himself back in, intentionally giving Damien that moment of visible weakness as if it might somehow help him be underestimated.]


I... apologize. That was uncalled for. [He opens his eyes again, still sharp as ever in spite of the apology.] As you can imagine, it's been a rather stressful... time.

[He'd say "day," but what is a day, anymore?]

May I ask what, exactly, you know?
simulatio: (PGO71q9)

[personal profile] simulatio 2020-09-20 08:41 am (UTC)(link)
[Akechi has always appreciated people who are willing to get to the point. It's what he prefers to do, whenever possible, though the niceties of society get in the way more often than not. Cole doesn't suffer from that, though for once, Akechi almost wishes he did.

You died, he says, and every muscle goes taunt as blurred, fragmented bits flash behind his eyes. A door slamming shut. Agony, burning, staring at a puppet with your own face falling along with you.]


And yet, here I am, [he forces through a thick lump in his throat, voice almost hoarse as his gaze drifts somewhere away from Cole's own.] Rather belays that supposition, don't you think?

[And there's a note of hostility there at the end, leaking through in spite of himself. If Cole knows, who else could know? Could someone tell Ren?]
abeautifulgame: (pic#14029839)

[personal profile] abeautifulgame 2020-09-20 09:00 am (UTC)(link)
[he hums, mouth pressing into a thin line]

I know the feeling. [a pause follows, his mouth threatening that manic smile again, and then a shaky breath out as, again, he tries to keep a handle on his glee as he turns his thoughts back to the memory] But what I saw -- you're ... [like him]

You shot your little friend. [not to mention the guard. that's unimportant]
forethinking: (PxDFrbI)

[personal profile] forethinking 2020-09-20 09:01 am (UTC)(link)
( yusuke's lobsters! )

(Both Lance and Raihan are not too difficult to track in the apartments due to the sheer size of their Pokémon, and Ren certainly can remember what door has a giant, fluffly dragon and what door contains a metal friend. Talking to Raihan was in his to-do list the second the sound shrieked in his ears, the Hammerlocke he holds so dearly being destroyed... Ren instantly recalls their first meeting, with Raihan trying to hide the pain and guilt for not protecting it as he should have - even if it wasn't real in the first place.

So, finally, he can do as planned. He waits in front of the door after a quick succession of knocks, hoping for the other's well-being.)
simulatio: (PGO71q9)

[personal profile] simulatio 2020-09-20 09:03 am (UTC)(link)
[Akechi opens the door, and frankly he looks exhausted for someone who can't suffer the effects of physical exhaustion. What's the point of maintaining the pleasant mask when whatever fucking God is running this forsaken place and pluck out his worst memories and hand them off piecemeal to whomever deserves them least.

But while he'd like nothing better than to tell Leo to fuck off, he just sighs and opens the door more widely to allow him in.]


Best to get it over with, no?

[And Leo... maybe Leo can understand. He'd felt the way he lashes out against the people who should care for him most. Leo certainly isn't the boy he'd expected, just a mad musical genius like the composers of old. Maybe it's unkind to reduce someone down to how they present themselves; Akechi's worked hard to make sure people do that with him, but others, perhaps less intentionally.]

Please, come in.

[His apartment is still sparse and clean, in spite of all the other goings-on today. A jagged red sword in the corner near the door beside a metal briefcase, a vase of flowers on the desk. Nothing else remarkable, because what's the point in decorating?]
simulatio: (047)

[personal profile] simulatio 2020-09-20 09:10 am (UTC)(link)
Ren...

[That kiss hurts, and he doesn't know why. It's so touching and emotional, unbearably gentle. Is that the kind of relationship he and Ren have? It's confusing. Something's missing.]

I agree. [And while his voice and expression are still those of an open, honest boy, there's unmistakable seriousness in his tone as he shifts slightly to put some distance between them. Not much, certainly not enough to draw his hand out of both of Ren's, but he still studies him carefully.]

Tell me what's wrong.
simulatio: (081)

[personal profile] simulatio 2020-09-20 09:17 am (UTC)(link)
[Damien feels glee. Akechi feels panic, seeping through his skin and into his bones, someone soaking his gloves in ice water. Perhaps if it weren't Damien, the only adult who seems to respect him around here, it wouldn't be so bad.

No. Breathe. Focus. There's a manic light starting to gleam in Akechi's eye, the feeling of Loki clawing at his heart, a wordless urge to rend and tear and destroy, no matter the personal cost. Someone knows something so secret of his? Fine. He knows secrets, too.]


And you kidnapped your partner's wife and children, [he points out with a voice only smooth thanks to a refusal to show stage fright on television.] So it seems neither of us are quite the "good cops" we pretend to be.
forethinking: (e)

[personal profile] forethinking 2020-09-20 09:20 am (UTC)(link)
(How to summarize almost a year of rapid fire events? Ren notices the shift, but the hand remains with him and for the impact of what he's about to tell Akechi, he isn't releasing it. Instead, he intertwines their fingers and keeps the hands put on one of his legs.)

I don't remember how we met. We went out several times, but they're blurry to me... You figured out who we were and you plotted with the police... And you sold me out. (Ren takes a deep breath, taking the moment to study Akechi's expression. See if something is returning to him.)
abeautifulgame: (pic#14029843)

[personal profile] abeautifulgame 2020-09-20 09:22 am (UTC)(link)
Sister. [a beat] And I had no idea where that little boy went. [Aiden's nephew ran off, at some point, though even he's not sure if it was when the kidnappers showed up or beforehand. he knows the guys he hired tried to get the nephew, too, at some point, but that was against his orders. it was only ever supposed to be Nicky]

[and he's really way too calm, in admitting that. if anything, in fact, he seems oddly pleased that Akechi, of all people, got that]


But no. [a beat] And that's the point, my boy. We're the same. [don't you see?]
Edited 2020-09-20 09:36 (UTC)
simulatio: (045)

[personal profile] simulatio 2020-09-20 09:25 am (UTC)(link)
The TV studio. I was being interviewed, and approached you after. We played pool together at Penguin Sniper.

[As for the rest... it's chilling. He keeps his eyes on Ren's, brows knitted together. There's a part of him that wants to deny it outright, but it feels right. Ren wouldn't lie to him. He could be confused, but it sounds right.]

...Why? [he can't help but ask, brows knitting further together as his hand goes slack in Ren's. Russet eyes scan the other boy's face, trying to make sense of it all.] I don't care for the police, I was just using them. I'd never sell you out to them.

[...Wouldn't he? Hadn't he? There's a blur there, something that keeps slipping out of his grasp as soon as he thinks he has it.]
pinwheels: (066)

spoilers for ff7 inbound!

[personal profile] pinwheels 2020-09-20 09:34 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's a stray musing about the storms of fire that sets it off, a chain of thoughts that leads to a memory that is definitely not hers. She recalls a cold fury, a sharp contrast to the flames burning high around her, something righteous and determined in her soul. Those fools would only be the first. If anyone else dared stand between her and her birthright...

It's with a violent shudder that Rinoa shakes herself out of the intruding thought, looking up the the white-haired man in silence. Until now she's seen him as creepy, mostly, but...

She tilts her head, not quite willing yet to talk about the memory burning at the edges of her mind. ]


Can I help you?

[ It's a pity she doesn't have her powers here, because right now she doesn't feel like she's particularly safe. And with them, she could... do what, exactly? She has the power of a Sorceress, but she's never used it in battle before...

...has she? ]
forethinking: (f3BscMi)

[personal profile] forethinking 2020-09-20 09:36 am (UTC)(link)
(Maybe this Akechi wouldn't and he honestly believes it, from the very bottom of his heart. But reality is what it is, and he remembers that room more than ever now, with double the experience.

It pains him to resume their talk - not because of himself, at least not now and Ren is currently the last worry in Ren's mind.)


So you could kill me and get revenge. We tricked you, so you killed a Shadow... Then we went to Shido's and I thought you had died.

(That part stings for him personally, but before the words start to die in his throat, he continues.)

Then The Phantom Thieves and I defeated God, and now we're here... And I don't remember how... Us. I don't remember how us happened.

(What even is "us"?)
comburst: (Vulture)

[personal profile] comburst 2020-09-20 09:52 am (UTC)(link)
"I mean, it sounded more like you were talking about some sort of amalgamation or like...off-brand Japanese uniform?" The generic part just stuck out to him as meaning not belonging to anything in particular - but perhaps as a Japanese high school student, he sees things more distinctly. Not that he's been in school for like...over half a year now, which annoys the fuck out of Katsuki.

He's actually a very good student.

"And you know what I fucking mean about "something". Having only two outfits or so to change in and out of is a pain in the ass." You have to do laundry basically every day, for example.
theforgottenboy: (screaming do it better)

[personal profile] theforgottenboy 2020-09-20 10:05 am (UTC)(link)
[He's angry, or maybe more than just that. He still can't sense what he's feeling, but with this memory he has a better understanding of the way Akechi feels... even if there are a number of things he doesn't understand, that's the part that matters the most, to him.]

You are here, but I don't know how. There was another you, but that one wasn't real.

[Cognitive, like Akechi explained to him before. Another thing he doesn't fully understand, but he gets enough to know that this Akechi is real.]

That was dying. I felt it- I know how it feels. How can you be here, when you've died?

[He's only seen the dead brought back once, in a very specific circumstance right after it happened- and another life was ended in exchange, her choice. But Akechi had cut himself off from anyone else, and he doesn't know if something like that is even possible where he's from. But if it is-]

How can someone be dead and then alive again?