003 - Memories of a False History

[tabularasa_mods]

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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code bases by tricklet

Comments

memswappin'

[theforgottenboy]

(for Aerith)

[This is convenient, because Cole was looking for her too, among a number of others. She'll run into him in the lobby of Merlaut, as this seemed like a good place to find most of the people he's looking for, though he doesn't know where all of them live...]

[But she's here now, so he can worry about the others later.]

Yes. I think I have something of yours, too.

[He clearly doesn't think this is crazy, at least.]

[anciently]

Oh - good. We can trade, then...I hope.

[ She smiles faintly, but this whole thing is...clearly weighing on her. It's not every day that you're forced to carry other people's memories, after all. ]

Um...do you want to start, or should I? [ Aerith crosses, then uncrosses her arms: considering. ] I'm not sure if it'll go back to normal if we talk about it, or if there's anything else we have to do...but, talking's a start, right?

[theforgottenboy]

I can start.

[Talking about it seems to work so far, and the memory he has of hers is brief compared to some of the others he's carrying. But...]

You were young. A man from Shinra came to your door and said you came from the Ancients, and you were afraid. That's why you lied to him about never hearing whispers when you were alone.

[anciently]

[ In response, Aerith just nods. The memory...starts to become real in her mind again, filling with color and detail. His description isn't long, but it's enough to plant the seed of the memory that had once been hers. ]

...Yeah. [ What more is there to say? She's glad, though, that it was Cole who received this memory, as he seems to understand her...nature better than most. ] Was that all you saw? Me and...my mom, and Tseng: the man from Shinra?

[theforgottenboy]

[He nods faintly. It was a brief memory compared to some of the others that made their way into his head, though raises as many questions as it answers.]

Yes. You're different, and he wanted to use that.

[Even if he doesn't understand all the details, that much seemed crystal clear.]

I don't understand why, though. Is the "promised land" important?

[anciently]

Right. [ Simple as that. The Cetra were different, and the gifts they had were exploited. ]

People like him...like Hojo... They think the "promised land" is a place full of mako energy, which they use to power all their machines. So...they want to get here so they have an unlimited supply. [ She shrugs weakly at that idea. ] They thought I could show them the way, but it doesn't really work like that.

[theforgottenboy]

[Cole only has so much concept of what machines even means, but he's been getting by on knowing the general concept of needing a power source to use something. So maybe "mako energy" is a kind of magic, or electricity, which he thinks is some type of magic anyway.]

[While he can make some guesses considering the context, there's one question he wants to hear her answer to.]

You were afraid. What were you afraid of?

[anciently]

Back then? [ She laughs weakly, dropping one arm and using the other to grasp it around the middle. ] Well...I didn't want to be taken away from Elmyra: my mom. Those Shinra guys are pretty scary, you know?

[ Tseng had been...maybe a little better than the others, but, in the end, he was still a Turk. ]

And, maybe...because I didn't understand what was happening to me. I knew I was different, so I...felt really alone, sometimes.

[theforgottenboy]

[That makes sense. Though that was a long time ago, probably.]

[He can understand being lonely, though being alone was always part and parcel of what made him "different."]

Did they take you away? Do you still feel alone?

[Aerith may be different, but as far as he can tell she's still a person- just one who can hear things other people can't. She shouldn't have to be alone.]

[anciently]

[ Aerith watches Cole with a quiet wariness: he sees much more than most people, and is perceptive in a way that...she isn't used to. She's quiet for a moment, then offers a gentle nod. ]

I had to go with them eventually, yeah. [ For Marlene. ] But it's okay. My friends came to get me out of there.

[ They always do. As for the second question, well...she just presents a little smile, but no worded response. ]

Anyway, um...I actually think I saw a memory of yours, too. Do you mind if I tell you about it?

[theforgottenboy]

It's good that your friends came for you.

[He doesn't know anything that happened in between, but she had friends who helped her, so that's good. Hopefully she has friends here too. She didn't answer his other question, though...]

[But he should find out what memory she has. Maybe it's not a very bad one. She doesn't seem to be afraid of him, at least.]

Yes, I want to know.

[anciently]

Okay. [ Where to begin? ] Well...I saw a big field, one with a lot of purple flowers, and there was a barn nearby. The people in the memory had a kind of camp there, I think. There were two people there, and...you, I guess, walked up to talk to them. But...

[ Her expression seems to fall a little, and she worries at her lip. ]

Well, they-... One of them didn't remember you, and said that people have trouble...remembering you, sometimes. [ She's quick to add: ] But, the other man there didn't have any trouble at all! So...