EVENT #7: THE SIGHT

[abraxasmods]

Event #7 - The Sight

go to the OOC event info and plotting post

---

The night before APRIL 18, your dreams are disrupted by a vivid image of the same eclipse that occurred last month. The black sun seems to be an endless void in the sky, growing ever darker - until it suddenly opens into an eye that stares straight at you.

When you wake up, much of your night seems a blur except for the vivid dream of that eye. Whether you find it unsettling or try to ignore it, the image is something you cannot get out of your mind. If you ask, you will discover that none of the locals of your faction saw another eclipse. Speak with your fellow Summoned, however, and you may learn that while there was no eclipse that formed over the world, you were not the only one who had this dream.

Of course, dreams don't need to mean anything. You can't feel or see any immediate effects, and nearly everyone around you is going about their day as usual. Maybe you should do the same.

The Awakening

It might happen that very morning or a day or two later. You could be discussing the dream with a fellow Summoned or perhaps you simply brush shoulders with them as you walk by. Whatever it is, as soon as you make brief physical contact, one of you is struck with a sharp pain in your temple that grows into a terrible headache. It's disorienting and painful as the world around you shifts to someplace you may or may not recognize. Like an old film reel, you watch the events of the past play out before you: the past of the other Summmoned. It might be something they would rather hide, a moment of failure or despair, or something they are immensely proud of and brings them great joy - or even a jumble of several images over the course of a person's life. But you see it as if it were real and right in front of you all the same. When you come to, you'll likely find yourself on the ground or bent over, possibly with one or more people around you to see if you're okay. It'll take you a bit to gather your bearings, and the subsequent pounding in your head could last from minutes to hours.

Or, maybe you aren't the one who receives the vision. Instead, as you watch, another Summoned might grasp their head and crumble in front of you. They may go silent or groan in pain. They'll be impossible to shake out of their stupor until it's over. If you ask what happened, they may be inclined to tell you the truth - that you, you were what happened to them.

Or, if your Arcana signs happen to line up in a specific way, you'll see each other in the shared memory itself. You may also find that for certain Summoned, you can help soothe the effects, calm their emotions, or help draw them out of the memory before it consumes them for too long. It's not entirely clear what determines which effect, but one thing is for certain - within each memory, every Summoned as they appear in the past seems to wear the mark of their Arcana somewhere on their person.

For some, they might experience this only once. For others, they might experience it multiple times: with the same person, with several other Summoned, or with a different memory each time. Over the next 7 days, you'll find the Summoned around you are all receiving a glimpse into each other's past, as if the Singularity has awoken an eye within each of you.

Flee for the safety of the Horizon if you want, but you'll find that in there, it's much the same. In fact, inside the Horizon, the other Summoned don't even need to be anywhere near you - just existing in the Horizon space itself together will be enough to possibly set off a headache-inducing vision.

The Factions

What has occurred between the Summoned will not go unnoticed within the factions. While it's difficult to say how faction officials have picked up what's happening, it'll be obvious they do know.

In THORNE, characters will be asked to remain in the castle walls until further notice. Characters will not be allowed to leave the castle grounds, not even to go into the surrounding city, and anyone who is already outside will be requested to not leave again as soon as they return. If asked, they will be told it's for their own safety, given the Singularity is behaving unpredictably and the Summoned have a unique connection to it. Soothing potions and healers are on hand to offer assistance, if anyone is particularly suffering from ill effects.

In the FREE CITIES, characters will find the army by the outposts show more activity than usual. A higher number of guards will patrol the streets throughout the event, particularly in areas frequented by the Summoned. Anyone who publicly and visibly experiences the effects of the memory share (pain, doubling over, etc.) will be offered assistance by the guards. They are generally there to help, but they are also there to maintain order and ensure anyone behaving erratically due to this incident is properly contained. This might include confinement for a day or two if anyone is especially posing a risk, but no one will be punished except in the most extreme cases, as the locals are aware this is not within the control of the Summoned.

In SOLVUNN, the locals will be watching what's happening with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity. Host families and neighbors will be on hand to help with charms meant to offer protection, as well as general care and assistance (soup, blankets, and so on) if your character seems to be especially under the weather or afflicted by the event. Towards the end of the event, more elders and mages will be out and about to check up on the Summoned to make sure they're doing okay. If asked, the mages will say they aren't sure what's going on, but that they are currently divining with the gods and hope to have a definitive answer soon in the upcoming days.

None of the factions appear to be doing much more than keep a watchful eye on the situation - but as the week comes to a close, officials will start making a decision as to what they want to do and how to handle the Summoned who have demonstrated this unforeseen connection to the Singularity.

Comments

Rey | Thorne | The Star (Fixed)

[provenforce]

OOC: Plotting post is here feel free to hit me up there if you want me to write a starter, here is a list with video clips of the most relevant memories.

closed to sam; free cities; tw: war mentions and imagery

[monomachy]

[She doesn't think the pain in her head has faded for more than a few moments over the past couple of days. Diana has suffered through headaches before, but this feels somehow deeper, as if it isn't just her head that hurts. Whatever power is sending these images, these memories to the Summoned is taking its toll on them all. All she can do, it seems, is pray to her gods that they will all find relief soon.

Having spent time both in the Free Cities and the Horizon, she hasn't yet discovered the connection between physical touch and sharing memories. She has her suspicions, but the events on the Horizon have cast doubt on both contact and proximity being necessary. To be safe, she's tried avoiding other Summoned, spending her time around the native people instead.

But no plan is without its flaws, and on a bright afternoon in the crowded streets, her shoulder brushes against that of a man she's seen before, but perhaps doesn't know as well as she should.

He'll see, briefly or at length, an exhausting trek through muddy Belgian trenches; men in uniforms of a different era staring at nothing or huddling for warmth; the earth exploding near and far as the line is bombarded without pause. The single woman and child who begged for her help, everything lost to them. Her fight with Steve Trevor, her decision, all culminating in a harrowing charge across No Man's Land. It was her first test as a god, as a hero, though she didn't know it to be so at the time.]

[righteously]

( Pain belongs here. Hell, he associates pain with this place so strongly, that ice pick in his brain doesn't stand out as remarkable at first. It's taken a back seat to everything else, to the wariness and the fear, to the confusion. )

What? Yes.

( As though it should be obvious, except should anything actually be obvious right now? What the fuck is going on?

Geralt lets go, and Dean's hand lifts so he can press his thumb against one closed eyelid, absently massaging it like it'll do a single damn thing against the lingering, slow-fading ache.

Jesus Christ, it's the same feeling he got when-

Hold up.

He's not connecting these dots as fast as he normally might, but something's starting to click. )

That first one was yours. But you've never been to Hell.

( Right? So what was it?

If he comes across as a little more demanding than normal, a little more dickish, you're gonna have to forgive him for that later. He's not in a great place right now — literally. He's gone into solve the mystery, so we can get the fuck away mode, before the screaming and the smell threaten to pull his brain apart, or before someone else shows up. )

thancred | ~ apr 20th

[aurasight]

[ It isn't long after Y'shtola's arrival and the subsequent return of her magic when things begin to change. At night, there is a dream of an eclipse, and as the day wanes on she hears more and more of troubled Summoned discussing what came the night prior...and concerns they have that something has changed. For every now and then, someone else murmurs about a dream they encountered, some kind of memory.

And then, well, it happens to Y'shtola too. She cannot lie and say she wasn't angling to try and see such a phenomena for herself, but at least the first time it is only a passing glance. Things seem to grow more and more convoluted, as even the Horizon is not safe from such a thing. She could, of course, hole herself up in the library and look for mentions of this. So, too, could she ask some of the locals, even if they seem not to be affected by what's going on. But as Thorne begins to demand that no one leave the castle walls, she finds that she isn't inclined to share her growing fascination or her inclination to know what else is happening.

Instead, she goes to find Thancred.

She doesn't think he's already slipped out - though she wouldn't be shocked if he had, frankly - and so while it takes some time for her to find him, it, thankfully, doesn't take her too long. She finds Thancred near the outskirts of the North Wing, coming close but not touching him. ]

If you've time, we should speak.

[ Which is the Y'shtola equivalent of not just hello, how are you but also not...really a suggestion. She keeps walking, heading far enough away that they might not be immediately overheard, should someone chance upon them. And she waits until he's joined her to ask: ]

I'm certain you've heard of the complaints around Thorne from the other Summoned. Have you been subjected to anything peculiar yet?

no for real this time

[thearchangel]

At least it isn't a shock.

The scene is a lot of things. It's wrong, it's difficult, it's a long time coming. But it isn't a shock. Garrus had known. He hadn't been there, but he'd known. It's like some sick second chance, in a way, being able to actually see the last moments of a friend - a partner. Crew. On the Normandy, the last one made you practically family.

What the hell is he supposed to say here, do here? Except feel like it was another shot someone should have taken. Someone should have been able to shoot that Leng bastard between the eyes before ... It's war. It's a casualty of ruthless calculus.

But damnit, it is Thane, and shouldn't be another statistic of this mess.

So he shifts his focus. Away from the thing that makes too much painful sense to the thing that doesn't. To the fact there is a man standing there, being addressed as 'commander'. Standing there like he's someone familiar. Like Garrus should know who in the hell got the honor of seeing a man like Thane off.

"Right. Now I'm hallucinating in a hallucination."

Maybe? How does that work? A puzzle to work on rather than watch a friend die.

[hextechhead]

Oh great, I was hoping it would be the opposite.

[ Because he really doesn't want this feeling to linger. Damn. Jayce is someone who doesn't mind taking options when he has them, so he does in fact take a seat on the bench. He doesn't see it as a sign of weakness nor does he care about seeming strong in this situation.

Jayce can tell that Alucard doesn't immediately get upset about the questions, so that's a good sign. They were carefully chosen for that reason. He looks genuinely interested and then even a bit delighted about the shapeshifting. ]

Why a wolf and bats? They seem like opposite types of animals to shapeshift into.

[ Saying he can shapeshift into everything would make more sense than two really different types of animals, but maybe there is no reason for it, it simply is. Jayce really brightens when he says Sypha is in Cadens, his headache starting to subside, nodding his head. ]

Her magic is incredible, I would love to ask her more about it, if you think she wouldn't mind.

[ Jayce will definitely find all magic users and ask them as many questions as they'll let him. He can't help it. A lifetime obsession is only set off more when it's everywhere around you. He looks up at Alucard and considers how to summarize the situation. ]

You and two others were storming what may have been a castle. You fought a lot of people and won. That's what I saw.

closed to wanda; the horizon

[monomachy]

[The Horizon seems like it should be a place she could go to escape the pounding ache in her head, but even a god is not so lucky. Her head still hurts, and the invasion of memories that are not her own have not stopped coming. But the only real solace to be found in all of this is on the Horizon, where she can be surrounded by her domain, shaped to mimic her beloved Themyscira (on a much smaller scale, of course). It isn't the same without her sisters, without her mother, but it is better than the strange world outside it, one she is still adjusting to.

Diana sits atop one of the cliffs, staring out across the Horizon, trying to center herself, to find a few moments of peace. Maybe it's this state of mind that draws the memories out of her, and spear them towards the mind of someone else thinking of home.

Themyscira is beautiful, there is no denying it; and a few thousand years ago, it was even more so. Beautiful mosaics cover the ceiling, and smooth marble does nothing to mask the sound of her bare feet as she runs towards the kitchens--not those in the palace, that would be too obvious; she's headed for the barracks, the last place she thinks her tutor will look. The child, looking no more than ten, races through the palace corridors and out into the open street. It's warm, but it's always warm on the island, and she isn't bothered by the heat as she continues her run towards the kitchens.

On every side of the street are women going about their daily business, and they all greet her by name: "Hello, Diana!" "Good morning, Diana!" Their smiles are each like a small sun, eclipsed only by the girl's as she waves and returns their greetings: "Hi, Niobe!" "Egeria, hello!" But she doesn't slow down at all, not until she's just outside the barracks. The building is only two stories tall, but long, made of stone and wood. It's also a hub of activity, with women in armor talking and working everywhere. But none of them seem to be preparing for war; they all seem friendly, familiar, and most give her amused looks as she tries (and mostly fails) to stay out of their lines of sight.

She finally makes it to the kitchens, where a plate of hot loukomadies are just waiting to be gobbled up by a hungry young girl. The cook's back is turned, and Diana creeps across the tiled floor, small hand just about to grasp one of the pastries--

"Diana! Diana, I see you!" The voice of her tutor, a stern woman wearing a chiton as bright blue as the sea, rings out across the grounds of the barracks. The cook immediately turns, spots the girl, and shares a grin with her. Diana scoops up an armful of loukomadies, and races towards the back door to escape the tutor, the good-natured laughs of the warriors following her all the way.]

closed to geralt; the horizon & free cities

[monomachy]

[It has come to the point where Diana finds sleep difficult; her dreams are haunted by the great eye that peered down into her core on that first night, and even if she does not feel the same immensity of power in its gaze now, it still unsettles her enough that she stays awake at night, letting her mind wander along less troubling avenues. More often than not, she ends up focusing so deeply on avoiding sleep that she instead finds that perfect place of meditation where she is able to enter the Horizon, and chooses to do so.

Even if she cannot escape the intrusions here, there is still comfort to be found in being surrounded by familiar scenery. She trains today, having summoned up a real sword for herself, its balance and heft just right. As she goes through the motions perfected over thousands of years of repetition, she remembers the beginning of her training, covert and thrilling and absolutely forbidden by her mother.

All she'd ever wanted was to fight, to be a true Amazon. Abandoning her lessons to watch the Legion train was one of her greatest joys as a child. And it had taken no great effort to convince Antiope to start her training, though they had agreed it must stay secret between the two of them. Years (decades, centuries) passed, and she trained, learned as much as she could before the day finally came when she thought her hopes would be crushed forever.

But they weren't. Somehow, perhaps by the grace of the gods, Hippolyta had allowed her general to continue training Diana. And she had worked and worked until she was the best of them, outmatched only by Antiope herself.]

[itookashot]

Jesper and Inej spend so much time together that he didn't mean it to head in this direction, but it did. He was actually coming to her room to warn her after already colliding with someone, and she said his name from behind, which made him startle and turn toward her, brushing her arm as he went. Which led to an immediate splitting headache and Jesper swearing, leaning onto the wall as the pain becomes overwhelming. He leans so much on the wall that he starts to slide down it and to the ground.

Inej being taken from them was one of the most horrible things to experience, and they spent so much time worried, waiting, as Kaz plotted and the rest of them tried to stay sane. But she would never talk about the details of what she went through, she kept many things private. Jesper's hatred of Van Eck he was so certain could not get worse than it already was, but as he watches this girl he loves so much get tortured and threatened, he wishes the man was here. He wishes he put a bullet between his eyes. He wants him dead.

It's a helpless feeling come over him and then those words and Jesper knows the him she's referring to, obviously. The him their lives for better or for worse revolve around, or did, before recently. Jesper used to think this way too about Kaz. That he wouldn't trade anything for Jesper, that he'd only keep him so much as he needed him. But he never thought Inej would believe that, she was always more important than him.

When Jesper opens his eyes he's still in the hall of the inn, his head still throbbing. "We need to get back home," his voice sounds rough, "I need to kill Van Eck."

[shadowthief]

Inej hasn't experienced any of the strange memory-snaps that have recently started plaguing the summoned. It makes the most sense that, whatever new thing happens in this city, she would experience first with her best friend, however.

"Jesper?" she gasps when he falls back against the wall, clearly in pain. She's at his side in seconds, crouched next to him. "What's wrong?" She couldn't see any obvious sign of injury, but his distress is obvious.

And when he comes out of whatever had just struck him, those words... they make her blood run cold. The name alone is enough for it. "Kaz took care of it. He's not a concern anymore, you know that." She still doesn't understand what just happened, actually.

[itookashot]

[ It's a beautiful house and a beautiful moment. Inej looks so happy too, she isn't yet reunited with her parents, but it's soon after this. She has her plans to head out to sea, Kaz got her a boat she doesn't know about, but Wylan told him was coming. The only real tragedy of this was Nina and Matthias not being with them, the true waffle queen. ]

No, I wish. Selfish as that may be, I miss him.

[ At least Jesper knows it's selfish, although he thinks Wylan would like it here. Not a whole lot, but somewhat. He didn't want to be the new merchling lord, the only thing he'd probably miss would be his mother, but this isn't the worst place for him. Still, it's not the right thing to want. Jesper hasn't gotten out of the habit of wanting wrong things. ]

I was finally going to do it all right, you know. I stopped gambling, I quit being a criminal, mostly.

[ Jesper has never outright said what he did, but he did say mercenary. The rest of it could be filled in with whatever, but he knows what he was. That's what a gang is where he's from, crime is everywhere. ]

I promised I'd learn how to use my powers, he was going to discretely get a tutor. I was going to be a better person, for him, but also for me.

[ It's important that it was for both of them, Wylan always told him. It couldn't all be about him, otherwise Jesper wasn't doing it for the right reasons. His merchling has such a strong moral code, for a demolition expert. ]

And now I don't think I'm ever going to see him again.

[leitstern]

[Jasper carefully pulls a pancake off its stack, frowning slightly as he collects his knife. He barely manages to keep silent as his companion pulls up a seat. He slices the puffed cake into quarters and drags one through honey before popping it into his mouth.

He refuses to speak with his mouth full. He sits upright in proper company and aligns his posture. But the urge to speak catches him eventually, prompting him to swallow his bite.]

Perfectly well, I dare say. Does the morning treat you well?

[There sure exists a strangeness in the air. He cannot decide on what to think of it.]

[shadowthief]

[Inej stands in the center of the room. This is not the first strange jaunt into someone's memory she's had since this strange occurrence has started happening, so it's slightly less jarring than it might have been otherwise.

The family, close and caring, teasing and loving, reminds her of her own. Makes her heart ache for the parents she'd just been reunited with after three years of not knowing where to even try to search for them.

She doesn't understand– TV and sitcom and episode– but it seems like a nice moment. Family spending time together in what looks like a rather bleak world on the outside.

(Aren't they all? she thinks bitterly)

And then it's over.

Everything is chaos.
An explosion–
the lights are gone–
flames and dust and rubble.

Inej finds herself standing in a tragedy of a stranger– which is the Summoned? The boy? The girl? One of the parents? The dead can live again here, she knows, because Matthias was here for a short time.

As she tries to decide who it might be, the scene fades. Her head is pounding, but she's no stranger to pain.

Her eyes land on the woman who she now believes the memory must belong to.

For a long moment, she's frozen, unsure of what to say. I'm sorry isn't something the Suli say. Not of a need for amends, and not of tragedy they cannot solve.

In her stumbling, she reverts to her faith; signs across herself and mutters a prayer to Sankt Demyan before addressing the woman: ]

Saints be with you.

because it's hilariously casual like nbd

[wickedprayers]

[ Thane spares the children a glance, offering a very light smile despite the wariness as they pull away before he returns his attention to Wanda. He takes note of how the children were drawn to her, smiling brightly before they laid eyes on him. ]

Ah. A pleasure, Wanda. [ He bows at the waist a little. He doesn't have the proper kinds of gloves to offer his hand for a shake. While brief contact is usually okay he would rather not risk it. It may not look great if the new alien figure starts giving people rashes. ] I haven't been here very long, no.

I hope you didn't see anything too unpleasant.

[ She mentioned Kolyat, but that didn't eliminate the possibility, sadly. ]

[leitstern]

[The defiance is whimsical yet layered in truth and honesty. It is offered without reservation - an announcement of intention that is simple to understand. He finds himself grateful for the candor and company; this monster who is truthful with emotions and opinions. He sees something familiar in her behaviour, resembling those under his command, creatures who had been simple to understand. Humans commit to the opposite of what they say and struggle to obey simple instructions.

It had been tiring to play along. Exhausting to the point he had betrayed everything he had stood for, everyone he had fought for. He has no intention of revealing weakness but his face twitches at the memory of loving someone so much, only to hate them so deeply.

Had he become this monster because he had stopped being loved?

He doesn't look away. It is enough to think about.]

That is most unfortunate.

[His voice is dry and emotionless but without hostility.]

Because you seem eager to continue watching a show that has finished. Not so bored after all, are we?

[cryptsleeper]

I seem to be full of disappointment this evening.

[It is absolutely an observation rather than even an attempt at being funny.  Alucard doesn't have that in him right now.  Being humourless is much easier and--

--okay, yes.  Being excited over becoming a wolf is a fair and reasonable thing to take an excited interest in.  For that, Alucard lifts one eyebrow archly.]

They are, and yet that is the skillset.

[There's no clarification about what he is. Alucard might have shared that in time, but forced vulnerability has him trying to throw up protective walls as quickly ass he can. All of this feels like parts of him are being pulled out for the novelty of examination and judgement by strangers, and never has he hated a thing more. In this moment, he is trying to keep the squirming under that microscope down.

He's not sure if it is working. But Jayce is on the bench and not throwing up. That's some kind of a win.] I shall pass along your address to her, but leave the rest to her own judgement.

[Shit. He has to get out of here before Sypha sees...everything. She knows what happened now, but there's no reason for her to witness a moment of it. What Jayce is seeing is already enough.]

That is value neutral then. [Not the worst memory at all.] Do you have enough supplies in the waking world to stay out of the way until this madness goes to ground?

Kell Maresh | Thorne | The Magician | Fixed

[blackeyedprince]

It would be a lie to insist that the dream doesn't affect Kell at all. He just tries to ignore it. For all he knows, it could just be a dream, nothing else. It did disturb him enough though that he can't concentrate on his studies, so he takes to wandering rather aimlessly around the castle.

Memories

I. That one time he killed people who tried to murder his brother
CW: violence, murder

The view is from right under the ceiling height. A tavern, dark, seedy place, filled with smoke. Nobody notices a man suddenly slightly slumping in his seat, his worn out clothes too old and dirty for the quickly growing dark stain on his chest to alarm anyone. His company, a tall, thin man, hiding his red hair under a deep hood, leaves the table, taking his mug with him. Not a soul pays attention to either of them.

With another flash the image changes, and now the view is from the river bank where Kell is standing. The area is pretty much deserted. No respectable person would venture here. So it is only him and a small boat slowly rocking on the waves. He watches in silence as the timber catches flame, shivering when screams of the dying pierce the night's silence, but does nothing to help. Only watches until the screaming ceases and the boat's smouldering remains sink down underneath the waves, taking what's left of its passengers with it.

II. That one time his brother punched him
CW: mild violence, mentions of substance abuse

Kell and Rhy sit on a balcony. They're young. They're also very, very drunk.

"Why would you do that?" asks Rhy.
"I don’t know," says Kell.
Rhy sits up, back straight, even if his eyes are hazy from the alcohol.
"Are you not loved?" he whispers. "Are you not welcomed as family?"
"But I’m not family, Rhy," Kell blurts. "I’m not truly a Maresh, for all that the king and queen have offered me that name. I feel more like a possession than a prince."

Kell doesn't see the blow that is coming, makes no attempt to dodge it, so Rhy's fist hits him square in the face.

III. That one time when he almost lost his magic, almost bled to death and almost died
CW: violence, torture, graphic depiction of self-harm


The white room is empty save for a large metal cage, every inch of it inscribed with runes. Inside the cage Kell shivers, bound by his wrists, arms spread wide, to a horizontal beam spanning the width of the cage, a heavy, metal collar around his throat. He fights against his restraints, but for all his effort, he only manages to make himself more bloody as the sharp metal cuts into the skin.
Outside stands a man, imposing royal figure with dark hair clad all in white. He speaks to Kell and Kell screams.

"Holland, you bastard! Fight back! Show me you're not weak!"

The man says something unintelligible. He doesn't look moved by all the yelling at all. Smiles even. Then turns his back on Kell and leaves. The door shut behind him. Kell screams until his voice breaks. Trashes against his restraints trying to claw free out of his prison. With an ugly crack the bones break, one after another, skin tears, more blood drips down to the floor, but he manages to free one hand, then another. Weak from the blood loss and the burden of the collars still tight around his throat, Kell stumbles, slips on the pool of blood that gathered around his feet. His own blood. He falls, trying in vain to catch himself with his broken hands, but they are limp and useless.
Kell comes down crashing to the floor, pain blinding him for a second that feels like hours. Wailing, he tries to force his body to lift, at least sit, but fails. The collar is draining magic out of him, as the blood drains out of his veins, spilling on the floor. The world goes black.

IV. That one time when he travelled to a parallel world to fight evil twins (and almost died)
CW: violence

Kell is fighting in the ruins of a throne room, then the courtyard. He is loosing. It is obvious from the stance of his opponent, from his vicious little smile, that he's toying with him. Electricity crackling in the air, dark bolts hitting whatever feeble protection Kell is able to raise from the stone floor.

"We both hold swords," the man says as he descends the stairs, his white cloak swirling behind him. "Yet you choose to fight with a pin."

Smoke leaks from his hand closed firmly over an object, a black stone, the source of it all. Slim fingers of darkness turn into knives that shoot forward, towards Kell. It seems as if they're going to reach their target unobstructed. Whatever attempt at defence Kell is trying, it's not enough.

Then the tide changes, shadow wraps around Kell's body, a wall of magic hitting the flying blades, deflecting the blows, sending them back to his opponent. But from the pained expression on Kell's face, it's clear that's not really a change for the better.

[OOC: Plotting post is here and I can add more starters below if those above are not enough... or too grim ;)]

memory collision of 1-3, like a montage~

[shadowthief]

It's a rush of swirled-together memories, but there's no mistaking the active, hyper boy in it as Jesper. Not if you know him the way Inej does.

The first part is just bittersweet as all possibility. His mother. The chores. His off-key singing and her sweet croons. It's the moments he's with her, learning the proper handling of a gun that crushes inside her chest. His pistols. They were hers. It puts a few things into perspective, not least of which is the reason he's so protective of a parir of guns. A pair he's utterly without in this place.

The other parts– little rabbit and the strange man with his terrible news, the crying girl, Jesper's hand on his mother's cheek–– flip faster and faster. The return of the strange man, insisting on Jesper being tested, trained, Colm's fierce insistence against it, certainty that Jesper doesn't have the abilities. The threats do not fit with the man she had met at the Geldrenner.

When it's over, she can't even bring herself to care if it invites him into some other tragedy from her past, Inej flings herself at him, arms around his neck. "Oh, Jesper..." she mutters into his shoulder. "your mother was beautiful, and she was right... you are blessed."

[leitstern]

[It is an inquisitive question. One natural expression of curiosity that angers with its intrusion - yet pleases with its honesty. He could offer the truth if he wanted or choose to lie. It is something he ponders with a thoughtful expression. Hands rest confidently on his hips and he looks to himself as though he might provide direction.

He tries not to stare too long and turns around.]

I dropped by the very first place I wanted to go.

[Which is a whole other memory by itself.]

[earthborn]

The migraine hits her from nowhere, and that's the first clue. Not for the first time, Shepard wonders what she pissed off to deserve a life like this; just a little peace and quiet, just for once in her damned life. Call it shore-leave, call it a vacation...

...Call this, this hallucination, or memory, or psychic trauma reenactment what it was; torture.

Shepard finds herself standing at a strange remove as, very like to a stage, the scene played out again and again, the horror isolated like a spotlight in a sea of shadows. There was an edge to it, where detail bled away, one wall clearly visible, the other obscured by real darkness, or else merely forgotten. But the chair is clear and brightly-lit, and the rest of the equipment, and their faces, wan and sweating and eager and desperate. Shepard is reminded of... Miranda's voice and the Cerberus logo, a haze of agony all her own, Faron's screams, and the howl of the wind against lighting-vanes, Liara's gasp of horror. The surgical lab on Teltin, and Jack's voice a little too quiet, a little too flat; This... this is a bad place.

But this wasn't Jack. And Shepard wasn't Bucky.

"I see you weren't kidding about the science experiment thing," Shepard says, eventually, when she has mastered herself enough to speak calmly. It's not an especially calm sort of calm, but it's the best she's going to have.

[cryptsleeper]

Preparing to leave, in truth, and remain at my place of residence for as long as this endures.

[There has simply been too many misfired memories at this point for Alucard to do anything but send himself out of the Horizon. The real world is awful. This entire thing is awful, and everything feels that it might shatter at any moment.

Viktor asks from afar. It is the only good thing that has happened in the midst of all of this, and of course he too saw something. Of course.]

[shadowthief]

Inej has had the same thought as many others– if something is so haywire in the world, escape to the Horizon for safety. She has not yet figured out it is actually even easier to trip into unwillingly shared memories here.

She sits outside the Suli caravan that is part of her dreamed-up vision of home inside the Horizon. There's a circus tent a short walk from here, and a fire to sit beside, which is where Inej is perched at the moment when another woman wanders up. It's easy to enter other people's domains here, everything crosses up eventually one way or another.

"Oh..." she frowns, looking up at her warning. "I... thought we would be safe, here." Shouldn't this be a refuge? How unfortunate if that is not the case.

[techmaturgy]

I would recommend it. My hypothesis is that our proximity to the Singularity just heightens the effect.

["Hypothesis", like it's not an objective fact. They don't even need to touch other Summoned, to give and receive memories. For someone like Alucard, Viktor imagines this is the absolute last place he wants to be, now that they've figured out what's going on. He might stay--see if he can dig a little deeper, but he won't blame anyone else for doing what they feel they need to do, especially in the face fo such an intrusion.

Still, he appreciates the fact that Alucard seems amenable to a conversation, before he leaves the Horizon. Viktor will do his best to keep things brief.]

Should I come to your domain? [A tacit request, maybe.] I don't want to keep you here longer than necessary.

alina starkov | the hanged man (mutable)

[solmate]

[ closed starters below. ooc post is here or dm me to plot something out! ]

[nightwash]

Without any surprise, Ronan watches the world change form around them. He's used to this, has always been, well before he ever set foot in the Horizon. He understands that they're in her mind, now, and this might be a secret she doesn't intend to share. He looks from the Wanda in the car to the Wanda beside him.

"I do it all the time," he answers, and his expression is more gentle than it's ever been, because he knows how painful it must have been for her, to have created a family but been unable to keep them.

He explains, "They exist in the world as long as I do, once I bring them out. When I die, they go to sleep forever. I've been trying to find a way to make sure they can stay awake without me."

Trying, but not succeeding.