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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(Not too much, or maybe not enough if Parsee and others could pinpoint he's hiding much more than he shows. Well-mannered? Yes. Quiet? Yes. Caring about others over himself? Absolutely. Ren isn't faking that.

What he's faking is exactly what she keeps calling him out for, again and again. Watering himself down, letting on an image that doesn't quite fit here.)

None of what you've seen, that's for sure. (It's the most he's willing to give her. If she stops and leaves how much he enjoys fighting aside, she would be able to feel the care and love for his teammates, the responsibility. The selflessness in knowing how things will hit and how he much rather it's him over anyone else, regardless of the horrors that await.)

... Marisa? Fighting someone.

[Yeah, the well-mannered, caring hero side wasn't something she doubted. It was the persona that confused her at times. It as so blindingly "protagonist" that it felt very over the top and extra. Unecessary, though if he was peacocking to distract... it made more sense.]

So, take this as you will... but whatever you were fighting? It isn't here, even if people showed up here. You don't have to pretend. And it might ... do you good to drop the act once in a while. It's gotta be a strain.

[She shrugged. He wasn't usually as bad as he'd been at the casinao heist, though. So he wasn't 'on' 100% at least.]

Marisa's usually fighting someone. What did they look like and where was it?

[Funny story. The memory of her was clear enough and her powers weren't at work other than the fuzzier parts of the memory itself, but Parsee probably wouldn't clearly remember Koishi.

Not even if she got the memory back. That was just how she was. she'd remember fragments, however.]

(Ren doesn't answer, not because he has bad news or that he doesn't know what she is talking about, but just because they've dropped it. Focus on something else now, rewire his brain for a second.)

I don't know. You didn't care to ask. She had green hair.

Edited 2020-09-22 23:45 (UTC)

[She'd been about to say something about him avoiding, but he found the perfect thing to catch her attention. Whether he knew it or not, he'd said the magic two words.]

Green hair? That can't be right. Moriya never came down to fi... no... not Sanae...

What do you mean Green Hair? There'd be nobody I even know with green hair?!? Other than Sanae Moriya and she wouldn't have been down in hell... Look if you're going to screw with me at a time like this...

[but the expression on her face said something very different. There was something there. She was just railing because it wasn't clicking together. It was like staring into her past and remembering that mouse that crossed the kitchen floor that one day that you barely noticed out of the corner of your eye. Animals left more impression than this person.]

Ngh... no, that's not right. Gr...green hair? Wh...Why does that f...f...feel like I should know. I kn...ow everyone around there. I re..remember them all. All the things about them that are better. I know why I'm jealous of them all, wh...what they're jealous about. Y...you don't forget that sh..shit when you're around them.

[Why couldn't she remember? It wasn't blocked. She didn't feel a barrier. She didn't feel something stopping her. There just wasn't enough. She was tearing through her memory banks, rifling through them to find this one person, this person who HAD to be in Hell. It was the only thing that made sense, like she SHOULD know. She should remember her. They all should.]

WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER HER NAME?!?

K...Koishi. Koishi Komeiji. The Satori's sister. Fuck me... the one with the closed eye.

[Three eyes. Three eyes. One of them always closed. Nobody ever remembered her because she left no impression. They only vaguely knew because Satori remembered. Satori mentioned her, rarely. Because Satori knew her sister, from before, from before something happened. Something terrible. That none of them remembered.

And now they'd all forgotten her.]

That bitch is scary. It's hard to notice her, to remember her. She's got three eyes, right? Always smiling like some kid. Maybe carrying a knife. Friendly... giggling. But you'd never notice her until she was on you.

You'd never know if the knife was a squeak toy, until she stabbed you with it. [Shudder] She lives in hell. None of us remember her properly. She did something to herself. Not sure what.

But even Satori is scared of her.

(There isn't much Ren can do aside from watch her put the puzzle pieces back together. It seems like the issue with forgetting runs deeper than it seems, not entirely crafted by the Void itself. He listens, a hand on her shoulder as an attempt to calm her, be there for her while she has her realizations and resolves.

He barely has to explain, it hits her like a thousand bricks and Ren has his eyes fixed on her, even coming closer if she needs him.)

That's her. (He confirms, the description matches.) Why is this hitting you so hard?

Don't mistake me. I don't give a shit about her.

[For once? That actually didn't sound like bullshit. She was pretty firm when she said it. She and Koishi had nothing in common other than that they were both from Old Hell and some very distant connection to her sister.]

It's not hitting me hard. It's hard to remember her. I remember her now, but if you asked me tomorrow? Barring a recording, I wouldn't remember, and you might have trouble. It's a strain, and it's strange... because I remember everyone in hell for the reasons I'm jealous.

It's... not that she's invisible. But... do you notice every sparrow in a flock of them eating bird seed in front of you, or are they just sparrows? She's hard to remember like an individual sparrow.

And that's not how it's supposed to be. She's a satori, those mind-reading youkai. She's powerful, dangerous, but ... she did something and nobody remembers her. It's like this... elemental 'wrongness' to the girl. There's either something very wrong and dangerous about her...

Or something very sad.

Edited 2020-09-27 00:41 (UTC)

(He says that with such strong conviction that it's a little disappointing to hear the rest.

It might not be hitting her hard as a memory, but the fact that this person exists and Parsee can't remember her, as everyone else, seems to bother even here. The fact that she seems this powerful and it's inherently impossible to pinpoint what she has done.)

Honestly, I'm happy you're not there anymore. (Not that the Void is a walk in the park by any means, but alas. She seems to have more quality of life here.)

... you. [She reached over and ruffled at his hair in an almost playful way. His opinion wasn't entirely wrong. Mind you, the memory he had? Marisa hadn't been nearly as disturbed. Parsee was a bit prone to overreacted. Marisa was just annoyed.

Then again, Marisa was seriously overconfident.]

Don't you go worrying about me too much you. But you're not wrong. I'm...

...

I'm probably happier here than I have been in a while. Which is to say I'm not actively unhappy.

(The hair ruffling makes him laugh, eyes closing as he does so. It's nice.

While his hair is already a mess, he just shakes his head a few times to return it to the original shape of such. Which is still a mess.)

I know. It's good to see. (Not that he has seen her home aside from the one fading memory, but from their conversations, it's easy to assume.)

It's like... I'm sort of remembering. You know. What it was like. To be human.

[Because, despite the fact that she couldn't stop it. Couldn't stop being so fucking envious of his fucking confidence about everything, about how he could seem so cocksure even when he shouldn't be, about how he was so damned charismatic she wanted to ring his neck? It wasn't ruling her mind.

She was having conversations with people.]

Say... Ann. She's a friend of yours, right? She seems... ok. [They'd barely spoken. She'd just seen her there and chatted a little.]

Mhm? (Ren blinks a few times, it felt very out of nowhere to be asked about Ann like this.

There are no two ways about it, though.)

She's one of my best friends. (His co-founder, even. Ren couldn't imagine his life without her at this point.)

I... remembered hearing her voice. That's why I asked.

[It was like she sort of 'expected' him to be suspicious. He was always sketchy about his past, after all. She nodded and relaxed a bit. Best friend, huh? She felt a pang of something start to bubble up.

...

And then she did something intentionally. It wasn't obvious, but there was a little flare of green. She couldn't control anyone else's jealousy, couldn't sense it, but she could raise, or dampen hers. Consciously, she toned it down a little. And then, she just chuckled and smirked at him.]

She seems cool enough. I'll try not to get too jealous.

(He doesn't confirm or deny! A few people have seen Ann with him in the memories, Akechi likewise, but if she hasn't? He isn't outing any of them.)

She is. (Of course he notices. He's dumb, but he's observant enough to see that maybe she has done something, or maybe it was just the reflex. Who knows?)

She will do well here. (She's not too high on the list of Phantom Thieves he would be worried about here.)

[She was getting used to this cagey side of him. It kept cropping up more and more, and him not acknowledging that she had been in the memory was a bit... normal. She needed to ask Ann about this. She didn't trust Akechi that much. he was a cunning one.]

Once she's done being annoyed at her plight, she should be fine, yeah. Not that I'm faulting her. We all have that day.

(Ann and Ren together make a full braincell, that's true. Especially when they're together.)

She'll get the hang of it. (No doubt in his mind.)

I hope no more of us end up here, though.

It's not so bad here. And... as long as time's weird in your place, whatever you're dealing with back home isn't getting to them. But I guess I could see that.

I mean, you really don't like it here do you? [Grunt] It's definitely different from what you're used to isn't it?

Speculation. (They barely know how time is here, much less at home.

Well. That's the thing. It is, but it isn't.)

It's not about that. They can't make their plans come true here.

Maybe, but what's worrying going to get ya, Ren? Just figure out a way out of here for now.

And maybe not, but while you're here, ever thought about trying a new dream until you're gone?

It's what I am trying to do. I'm not worried about what I can't change right now. I just wouldn't like my friends stuck here in the same situation.

(He tries to explain, at least. If she understands it, good, if not, he's moving on the subject.

Honestly? Ren doesn't have much in the terms of the future, or so he thinks. A criminal record will most likely hinder his college acceptances, if the police don't eventually act on him first. His dream is societal reform, and well. They barely have a society TO reform here, no inherent brokenness to fix.)

Like what?

[She understood, in principle. She was just selfish enough that she'd probably have wanted them here herself. But... she was used to him being selfless. So, she simply nodded and focused on the other.

Hmmm. A thought occurred to her.]

What do you want in life, Ren? I don't think we ever talked about it, and what I saw? ...at most, what you wanted in the moment.

I want to make the world a better place.

(That's really just it.

He has no hard, future plans, aside from defeating the enemy back home and moving on. How could he?)

Ya know... when you say crap like that and I remember dancing around the casino, kicking thug asses, it's real hard to get that "protag" image out o my head, Ren. Just saying.

[She giggled a little and leaned in close to him, staring right in his eyes when she said it.]

But fine. You want to go back and make your world a better place. Got it. Why don't you do that here too, while you're stuck here? Make sure this place becomes 'a better place' too?

That way you save two worlds, right?

(She gets him to laugh, simply because of the way she put it. It's the truth though! That's really all he wants, and he doesn't waver his stance as he stares back.

He's trying his best, Parsee. He has jobs, attempts to help around as most as he can, and be a comforting figure to others, including you!)

I'm working on it.

Edited 2020-10-05 12:42 (UTC)

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