tabularasa_rp | 003 - Memories of a False History

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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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code bases by tricklet

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[Let him notice!! It's worth ogling, in Blue's objective and very neutral opinion. Blue, on the other hand, sinks right on in up to his shoulders, and is using his small washcloth-towel to keep his hair wrapped atop his head, like he's having a spa day (and he is).]

Ah... Well, you know.

[Blue rolls his wrist with a quiet pop as he his hand waves and gestures in the air over the surface of the water, eyes flicking to a corner as he figures out a congenial way to phrase this besides 'you know, just that trauma everyone knows you're going through in particular'.] There was that weird rumor goin' around with everyone, about what ended up happening to the fake Hammerlocke ruins here, right?

[Fake, he stresses, in an attempt to remind and soothe Raihan's worries that whatever happened there won't affect his real home ....probably.]

There's been all kinds of weird mixing-up of headstuff lately, anyway. Don't tell me you didn't get affected by anything else?

[Blue raises a brow. He's almost confident that isn't the case, considering his own experience, but he's not gonna call him out on it outright.]

[ the steam and warm water is definitely helping him to relax, even if his mind is still heavy with memories that aren't his own. he doesn't want to admit that he's having a hard time, but knows by now that Blue can put two and two together. he'd seen him at the ruins at their first meeting - he knows how much Hammerlocke means to him, even if he'd never visited himself. ]

I'm alright. It was weird, but you said it yourself - it's fake. I shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[ "shouldn't" being the key word in that sentence, of course. that doesn't mean that it isn't actively bothering him, but he is doing better than he was when the memory was fresh. besides, there are other, more Blue-related things on his mind. ]

Oh, that. [ he smirks. ] Yeah, some memories that weren't mine found their way into my head. What about you?

Yeah, right? It'll be fine, so don't think too seriously on it! Be like a Quagsire and float on past it~!

[Blue gives a cheerful swat to Raihan's shoulder, the wet SLAP echoing in the tiled room of the baths. He leans back against his side of the tub and sighs in relaxation, peeking an eye open when Raihan turns the question back on him.]

Huh? Oh. Well, yeah, I saw a whole bunch of weird stuff... People in stupid costumes, and ...some other stuff.... [His eyes slide to the side. He couldn't explain some of it even if he wanted to- and much of it, he definitely didn't.]

[His gaze drops to the water at his lap and he idly pushes a current with his hand.] --Hey, your League's Champ has been in his position for a long time, right? When I was studying in Kalos I would see stuff about him on TV and magazines, sometimes, but I didn't really pay too much attention to it then....

[ Blue's chipper disposition is enough to get a proper smile out of him - he's tempted to splash some water his way in retaliation for the slap, but relents in the name of propriety. ]

Same. Some of the people here have some really weird memories... [ weird, but unique. some of what he's seen were happy, hopeful glimpses of their lives, others were deeply despairing... and some were just plain stupid. at least the void doesn't discriminate.

but it doesn't seem like Blue wants to dwell on other people's thoughts, so he'll focus on what's between them. ]

If you mean Leon, then yeah. He had the title for a whole decade, until our new Champion took it this past season. He was pretty popular during his run - still is, really.

[ Leon may not be as social media-savvy as Raihan is, but there wasn't a human being in Galar that didn't know the Champion's name. he just naturally possesses that kind of charisma that even drew in those that didn't care for Pokémon battling. ]

[Weird is.... a way to put it. Blue visibly, awkwardly cringes and laughs at Raihan's comment, eyes rolling off to the side as a handful such 'weird' examples bubble unbidden back to mind. He pushes them back down again.] Yeah, no kidding. There's some real weird places that people come from. [There's some real weirdos!]

[Blue's memories received hadn't seemed to follow any specific pattern, he's pretty sure.... He had tried briefly to find one before he decided that he didn't want to think much more on several of them, although there were certainly a few that had stuck to him as ones he'd contemplated more often than not.]

[Leon, huh.]

Haha! Jealous? [He's just kidding!! He waves his fingers to show it, before Raihan answers his tease.] Don't worry.... A guy like that wouldn't even realize how popular he is, probably. What a dope, heheheh! Well, but that's part of the charm, I guess, huh....?

[These are all ...guesses, so far, based on what Raihan's told him, and based on what he's seen, but he watches Raihan carefully as he teases and pokes to see how he reacts. After all..... reacting badly would just ruin the mood!]

I bet everyone else thinks the same thing about us, though. Have you talked to anyone here that seemed to know anything about battling?

[ let alone the concept of Pokémon in general, but that goes without saying. he still has to wrap his head around the fact that something so integral to their everyday lives just... doesn't exist for other people. ]

No way! I was never interested in being Champion. [ that's not a lie. he wasn't in it for the title; it was always just about beating Leon. ] You got that right... but he's sharper than he lets on. All of us play it up a little for the crowds, in a way.

[ all famous Trainers take on something of a battle persona when they're on the pitch, and the Galar League is no exception. though Raihan's boisterousness is part of himself, it's also part of his brand. ] But he's my rival. I know him better than anyone.

[ he knows for a fact that Blue can relate, and while the memory confirmed as much, he didn't need it to come to that conclusion. ]

You know exactly what I mean, right?

I guess so, but their worlds all sound way crappier, [Blue scoffs, saying it in a bluntly matter-of-fact way. It's just true!] Imagine, no Pokémon! How do people manage to do anything, in other worlds?

[And people disrespecting nature? Now that's just silly, people would never get away with such foolishness!]

[Blue draws patterns in the surface of the water with his fingertips as he relaxes back and listens to Raihan talk about Leon, peeking an eye open as he turns it back on Blue. He tries to keep his face as neutral as possible, but, well....]

[What he'd seen, through Raihan's eyes.... It was awfully familiar.]

Oh, yeah....? If I know exactly what you mean, that guy must be way harder to read than I took him for..... [Blue's eyes shift to the side, somewhere between amused and annoyed.] Even I can barely tell what Red is thinking, half the time.

[And predicting him? Forget it.]

No clue! I never even thought about it before we showed up here... I guess they scrape by somehow.

[ maybe that's a bit... naive? but it's not like people from their world had a reason to imagine a world without Pokémon - they were around before humans, and will no doubt be there long after they're gone. either way, it's still strange to have to explain it to people that have no idea what they're talking about when they talk about companionship with their partners. ]

Mmhm. Red's obviously way quieter than him, but they give off the same vibe... it's weird.

[ they both had a similar look in their eyes, and he's sure they'd have the same presence on the pitch. Leon knew how to put on a show for the crowd, but when it got down to the grit of a battle, he turned into a completely different person. ]

You'd know what I meant if you met him.

Right? A world without Pokémon seems too impossible to take seriously.... That's what I woulda thought before, I think. But then, everything about this world seems impossible, so I guess it's just how it is.

[No day and night, no time, no sleep.... Blue has wondered before if other people here were somehow weirdly affected by whatever other impossibilities this place held, but everyone else insisted as much as they did that their world was the real one, so who really knows? Everyone seemed to agree that the laws of physics breaking in this place was strange, though; so maybe there were some usually universal constants.]

[Speaking of universal constants. It's a little hard for Blue to imagine that- or rather, it's hard for him to think about a talkative Red. If he thinks on it longer, maybe this Leon guy is more like Lance.... Champions all had some things in common, maybe.]

Do they televise the Pokémon World Tournament in Galar? Me and Red went, a few years back. [Blue leans back against the side of the tub as he reminisces.] It's like a series of invitationals, back to back, Gym Leaders from all different regions, Champions from all different regions, stuff like that. We got invited for the latter.

Seeing how Champs fight from all over.... I bet you can really pin down some common things between us, if you study it from the right angle. [Blue rests his hands behind his head as he sighs.]

It's the new abnormal, right? [ he grins, keeping their introspection lighthearted. ] I dunno how I'd be able to cope if I didn't have Duraludon around... I can tell he's starting to miss having the rest of my team around, though.

[ not being able to return Duraludon to his own ball is one thing, but the rest of his team not being able to be called out of theirs is another problem altogether - not because they're unsafe, but because of the isolation. the first thing he'll be doing when he sees them is rounding them all into the biggest group hug the void has ever seen!

but that's a depressing topic best saved for later. right now, he's more interested in the fact that Blue is bringing up the PWT - he'd seen the signage for it in that memory. ]

Yeah, I caught a few matches... We were invited, but those Unovan bastards wouldn't budge on holding it in the middle of our season. Be thankful - we would've wiped the floor with you!

[ he chuckles a bit to himself at the thought, but his mind continues to stray to the memory - of Blue's excitement at seeing Red for the first time in what felt like forever, but also of anxiety and uncertainty. it was familiar, especially when the battle was about to begin. ]

But I saw your meet-up with Red - not on the telly, obviously. The memory.

Haaah, really? [Blue chuckles softly, swirling patterns around in the mineral water.] Imagine if we'd met there, huh...!? What a missed connection.

[It was only a couple years ago. He and Red had been teenagers, but mature enough that the way they were able to interact- the way Blue was able to handle the interaction- it was the first time since true childhood, and it showed. Blue hopes he was way less embarrassing about it than he remembers....]

[....Especially since apparently, Raihan's been hiding that all this while!! Blue startles a bit and lifts his head up with an incredulous stare across the short space at Raihan. And a little betrayed (or violated?), maybe.]

...You know, you could have led with that, [He replies, a little miffed and off-guard. Well fine, tit for tat, then!] Yeah, well. My tantrums were bad as a kid, too, so I guess I can't say I don't know how you felt.

That bastard seems annoying, [Defiantly, tilting his head back against the edge of the tub.] Smiling like that, like he doesn't get what he's done.... Arceus, that would have pissed me off even more than Red's never-changing face!

No kidding! I bet it would have been a blast.

[ though he's still only concerned with beating Leon, it would have been fun to flex his battling muscles against other Trainers for an off-season tournament. it really is a shame... maybe if the tournament comes back, they can try and vouch for a more convenient time.

hey, there wasn't a good time to bring it up! and it's not like he was hiding it on purpose, which is why his brow furrows at the jab back. he's confused for a moment, but the pieces quickly fit together - he doesn't look Blue in the eye right away, but does his best to brush it off. ]

Yeah, well... I didn't know how to deal with losing back then. It took a lot of growing up to get where I'm at now! [ it wasn't just against Leon - he didn't lose often against other people, but it wasn't pretty when he did. as he recalls it, he chuckles. ] He didn't actually. To him, it was just a great battle.

[ they'd had an argument about it not long after Leon took the title. Leon honestly hadn't put the pieces together about why Raihan felt the way he did until he told him about it. it was frustrating in itself, but they gained a new understanding of each other and themselves from that point on. ]

[Blue frowns to himself, staring up at some point near the ceiling of the bathhouse as he muses on it- on his childhood frustrations, the nature of competition, the reality of being unable to defeat that One Person. By now, even by then, he had been... over it, already, but that didn't mean that he had forgotten what it had felt like.]

[Raihan is tall enough that he's still in Blue's peripheral vision even glancing upward, and he sort of watches him sit still looking away as he ponders it. Old bitterness rose back up easily. He was okay, losing to Red, now. but he couldn't say everything had been resolved, on their part.]

Guys who have all that stuff come easily to them will never notice on their own....

[It feels like another conversation he had, recently. Certainly, it seemed this sort of feeling wasn't uncommon. That, at least, sort of made Blue feel... better. Vindicated, childishly, that it wasn't just him, that this sort of unfairness really did exist in a broad sense.]

That doesn't bother you?

[ it's never that easy, is it? even when you're certain that your feelings have been resolved, something inevitably comes up that bubbles them to the surface again, like they'd never left. that's the nature of their positions in their respective relationships - always chasing, but always two steps behind. ]

Sure it does. But I'm not about to let it get in the way of the fact that he's my best mate.

[ even though they've talked about Raihan's frustration at the times when it boiled over throughout their rivalry, he had a feeling that Leon didn't quite understand, solely by virtue of not having ever experienced a loss. it was what it was, and he'd learned to cope in his own way... if anything, their rivalry had made Leon become a little more considerate of his opponent's feelings over the years. ]

He finally got a taste of what it's like to lose when the kid took his title, and he'll get another dose when I beat him. That's good enough for me.

[ it's the resolution he's come to, and the one that brings him most comfort. ]

[That's a pretty big 'when', Blue wants to say, but he doesn't. Maybe the look on his face says it anyway. Blue learned his lesson about letting the pettiness get in the way, painfully, and he'd sworn never to let it happen again.]

[His head tilts back down to glance at Raihan, and hooks on something else curiously, if at least to wrench himself off from the path of getting too gloomy and introspective when they're supposed to be relaxing.]

Kid, huh? So what's the deal with your new champ? Another new dynamo rising star, huh?

[ yes, he knows. but it's not going to stop him, and that's that! he's stayed determined for this long... and yeah, sure, he's a little salty that he wasn't the one to take Leon's loss virginity, but it's far from a deterrent.

in any case, the new topic is welcomed. ]

Gloria? She's pretty quiet off the pitch, but that's the type you have to watch out for! Her game face is wicked intense.

[ out of the few challengers he got this year, she definitely stuck out to him. it was different than Hop and Marnie, who he was more or less expecting to reach him thanks to their lineage. Gloria, however, had no such background. other than her Champion endorsement, she didn't seem to have any sort of advantage or claim to fame. she was just a kid from a town in the sticks. ]

This year's Leauge was pretty stacked to begin with - Leon's the one that endorsed her challenge in the first place, along with his little brother. They did the whole rival song and dance, then ended up against each other in the semi-finals... honestly, you can't write this stuff!

...Tell me about, [Blue can't help the grim smirk that twitches up in his face. Quiet with a wicked battle stare, huh?]

[Boy, he doesn't know aaaaanyone like that.]

[He might think Raihan is a little too much of an optimist, and maybe wonders how much of that is real, versus just masking his doubts.... But he's also aware of how much projecting that is, so he keeps his thoughts to his self. Nothing constructive about them anyway, right?]

[So the Champion pit his own brother up against her, huh...] Champion pedigrees are hard to come by, but sounds like it's more than just happenstance in that case, [He smirks a little to himself.] Some places just breed Champions, like Pallet! Though really, I'd hazard it's less the 'place' and more the right people at the right time. Me and Red left on our journey at the same time, too.

A good rival's just that important. The kid brother and her musta grown up neck and neck, huh?

[ he hasn't seen Red on the pitch yet, so he can't make the distinction. at least Gloria was chattier than he was... but then again, pretty much anyone would be chattier than Red. ]

I'm starting to think that Postwick is one of those places. [ why is it always the boonies?! ] There's gotta be something in that country water...

[ Leon had left on his journey with Sonia, but he recalls that she had never really been interested in battling competitively. either that or being pitted against Leon had made her lose interest... they never really talked about it in depth. ]

Probably! Hammerlocke's a ways away, so I only met them when they came to the city. Heck, I only met Leon once we were in the Gym Challenge together.

[He laughs at the comment about country water. Pallet was close enough to Viridian that he considered it more of a suburb than a truly rural village, the way some towns in Johto were- but for sure, it was peaceful enough that even its proximity to the city could be overlooked. There wasn't much there, other than the lab....]

Hah? Ah.... I never really met with anyone else doing my Gym challenge.... I guess I'll admit that might be one advantage to the way you guys do things over there.

[And little does he know, he never will. Too bad, that; Blue was really looking forward to seeing Red destroy Raihan, the gleeful, prideful kind of schadenfreude he got from seeing Red beat down anyone other than himself.]

[...Red was the only ongoing 'company' he'd had all that time, and that said something, he supposed, considering what 'company' meant in this context. He chews morosely on that fact, and feels himself grow slightly envious.]

It's hard to not meet people when you're taking Galar's challenge. Everyone gathers at the opening ceremonies and pretty much starts at the same time, so there's plenty of people out on the road. Even if you don't make it to the end, you're bound to make a friendship that'll last a lifetime.

[ hell, a few of the people he met on his own challenge ended up being his colleagues, years later. that was the sort of determination that the Gym Challenge bred. he'd met lots of people on his travels, but Leon was always the one person that really made him want to get stronger.

Blue's admission surprises Raihan, looking at him with a cocked eyebrow. he thought that the other man would be the social Beautifly type, but maybe things were different when he was younger... it was that way for himself, after all. the quick-tempered wild child that was Raihan in the past is nigh unrecognizable now, with his remnants only showing on the pitch. ]

Can't imagine there was a lot of talking going on if Red was your only company.

Pffhuh. [Blue lets out a heaved sigh in response to that, giving Raihan a sort of withering look. ...Yeah, it was lonely, and his goals and sense of purpose had been an entirely different sort of beast.... So even when he and Red did cross paths, the talking was pretty... one-sided.]

...Everyone going Gym to Gym together, like a big group trip... Kinda more of a marathon, huh? [He muses, idly drawing circles in the swirling steam on the water.] I still think a standardized Gym season and sponsorship requirement is kind of lame for competition and training, compared to anyone being able to compete whenever they want, but.... It sounds like it'd be pretty fun to take part in, at least.

[Somehow, though, he doesn't think that sense of companionship would lessen the sting of losing to your rival any less. Well, that much was evident, huh?]

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003 - Memories of a False History

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