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

Link | Solvunn | Strength

[hylife]

OOC: FULL DISCLOSURE I'll Probably be slow-tagging this month bc of ongoing IRL stuff, but I really wanted to participate in this one, so if anyone is willing to put up with that... 😇 also feel free to hmu at urgentmatters or PM for plotting, or to direct me towards your TL!

I. The one where Link dies

Location: Solvunn

[ Link is on the road between settlements of Solvunn when the first memory hits, caught totally unawares. He is no stranger to sudden and debilitating flashes of memory - but this is the first time such a memory has come with a thunderclap of pain strong enough to bring him to his knees. He crumples to the ground with his hands clutching at his temples, gritting his teeth over a pained cry. ]

Link is on his knees in the mud. It's not just his head that hurts. It's everywhere. His eyes sting with blood and sweat, and the sweet, acrid smell of burnt flesh is in his nose - from the searing pain on his shield arm, Link is aware that it must his own. His ears ring with the unnatural, high-pitched whine of the Guardians' lasers sizzling through air and pouring rain, each followed the screams of the soldiers struck down by those relentless machines' beams of burning light.

A Guardian spots them, sirens blaring as it skitters over fallen bodies and debris on its looming, spidery legs.

Their enemy is in front of them. The Princess is behind him.

Link lifts himself onto shaking knees, his field of vision swimming and lurching - no! That's not just the concussion playing tricks on him. Zelda has pushed him aside, standing in front of him with her hand outstretched, her palm out as if she means to block the laser with her hand. Link's stomach bottoms out. She'll be incinerated! He opens his mouth to scream at her to get back, but his lungs are empty. He can't even breathe.

And then there's light. Dazzling, blinding light, its gentle warmth washing over him like a tide. The pain evaporates from his face, leaving behind a small smile as his lips form the words:

She's done it.

Link collapses.

II. The one where Link finds the Master Sword

Location: Horizon or Solvunn!

Verdant foliage surrounds, the air cool but heavy with humidity, a not-quite-mist as a young blond elf boy - no older than 12 - pushes aside tangled clumps of leafy vine and springy fronds of fern nearly as big as he is. He's breathing hard, moving through the dense, untamed forest as quickly as he can.

A hollow, rattling sound calls attention to the little green creature he's following, which giggles as it runs. The critter's body is just as green as the trees, its face disguised as a leaf. It would be nearly impossible to see, if its giggling didn't plainly betray its location -

- in fact, there isn't just one. There are many, in the trees, in the vines, floating through the air on oversized dandelion seeds. A chorus of giggling.

It's hard to tell if Link is running towards them, or with them, away from something else.

"Wait! Where are we going?!"

III. The one where Link crossdresses

Location: Horizon or Solvunn!

The sun is blisteringly hot in the clear blue sky, and the breeze through the filmy fabric of his cropped Gerudo top feels bone-dry, sapping away what little moisture Link has left on his lips despite the meager protection of his veil. He desperately wants to get inside the City and bury his face into the cooling meat of the nearest hydromelon, and the only thing stopping him is this creepy guy.

Said guy is dripping with sweat and breathing heavily, hunched over his wringing hands and muttering something to himself while his gaze flickers over to the breezily clad she-elf - er, Link - with alarming frequency. Link isn't sure what to make of it, but had a man had ever looked at the Princess like that whilst Link was on guard, someone would soon be missing a pair of hands. As a preventive measure.

Jayce Talis | Arcane | The Magician | Fixed Arcana

[hextechhead]

That strange dream was pretty unsettling and Jayce had trouble falling back asleep so he's tired the day after, but it doesn't stop him from having things to do. He doesn't really question whether it's a dream someone else would have, it's not a big deal. He is very easy to run into because Jayce is friendly and recognizes a lot of Summoned now that he's settled in. 

He could be found accidentally falling asleep in a medicine lecture at the very back after not sleeping at all from the dream, and if you put your hand on his shoulder to wake him, you might get hit with a memory. The same could happen in the workshop, for people who know to go there to see him or Viktor, he might be passed out or drowsy in his chair. 

Maybe you've stumbled and he reaches out to grab you or he helps carry something. Whatever it is, Jayce is easy to touch whether it's a handshake or a light pat on the back. If you fall into a memory of his, Jayce will be concerned deeply as you show pain, kneeling next to you if you've fallen down and deeply worried when you come to. 

After realizing what's going on, Jayce flees into the Horizon, but as everyone eventually figures out, that does not help in the least. It is there that the following memories can be accessed, and if you want to confront him directly afterward, feel free to, he'll be in the lab. For those who want to walk through a memory with him, this is the Fixed Arcana option. 

[ooc: Please feel free to jump at any of these however you'd like, whether we've discussed it or not! Message me on plurk @ waftingcurtains if you want to check anything first. ]

The Memories: OTA on every one! TW marked where necessary.

[hextechhead]

The memories are vivid, some beautiful, some tragic, but they all come with some kind of general emotion due to Jayce being a strong feeler. 

1. One memory shows a mother and son lost in a blizzard. There is no end in sight, blind to all but the snow, and his mother collapses, her fingers frostbitten. The child pleads help please into the abyss, wrapped around his collapsed mother. A figure appears out of the gloom and in its hand glows a bright crystal that seems to crackle with electricity. At first the boy is scared, but the mage starts using bright and powerful magic, lighting up the snowy sky and surrounding them. The boy and his mother are weightless and teleported in a bright and unnerving tunnel, until he comes to in a beautiful grassy and flowery spot. The boy's mother wakes up, looking confused, and he smiles, relieved. He bravely goes up to the mage and asks 'how' and the mage hands him the same crystal, now depleted of power. And that's the end. The heavy emotion here is wonder/joy.

2. A young Jayce stands in the center of the council chamber, a light on top of him. This is a trial. They accuse him of dangerous experiments. At first he keeps his eyes down and admits he was reckless and endangered people, and that he is sorry. At first he remains contrite, but as the council starts picking him apart, questioning it, Jayce explodes in emotion. "I was trying to create magic!" He goes on to argue his case about them using magic instead of fearing it.  In the end, the council declares he is dangerous, and it is implied he will be exiled. His mother begs for him, and Heimerdinger declares him expelled from the academy.  The heavy emotion here is rage.

3. TW: Suicidal thoughts. The next memory is a quiet night in a half-destroyed apartment.  Jayce looks beat down and depressed, staring out over the city. He stands on the very edge of a steep drop, leaning, looking as if he intends on falling off, likely to his death. The moment before he does, a voice speaks out "Am I interrupting?" Viktor enters the scene and stops him, leading to a little argument but then Viktor telling him he thinks his theory is correct. Jayce passionately speaks about magic and its beauty, and Viktor talks about being a poor cripple from the Undercity. He hands Jayce a bracelet with the dead crystal given to him by the mage. The heavy emotion here is hope.

4. Later on, Jayce and Viktor are in a lab working with a bright and brittle glowing crystal. They have set up a contraption that when they press the button, it starts zipping around. While at first it seems out of control, they manage to stabilize it briefly. The door is being pounded on, they're in trouble for certain, but they refuse to stop the experiment. Jayce sees the runes in his mind, the ones similar to what the mage did before, and there is a bright flash of light in the room. At first it is blinding, but then you witness the two of them floating in a room made of blue light, smiling and joyful. Heimerdinger looks both impressed and then worried, but Jayce and Viktor are glowing and happy. Jayce knocks a gear through the glowing portal and Viktor gets it on the other end. The heavy emotion here is joy.

5. TW: Terminal illness. This is a brief but intense memory. Jayce sits beside a bed where Viktor is lying, a tube in his nose to keep him breathing, and he looks terrible. He has his head in his hands until Viktor says his name and he looks up, lost. "Viktor. The doctors, um. They said you...." There's harsh emotion in his voice, so much it hurts his throat. Viktor asks how much time he has. There is no answer for now. The heavy emotion here is grief.

6. They're in the council room and Jayce now has a chair of his own. Heimerdinger starts speaking about losing their way and his speech is supposed to come off as inspiring. "We must hold each other accountable," he says. Abruptly, Jayce interrupts, anger in his voice: "And who holds you accountable?" Jayce starts arguing with his former mentor, the anger still in his tone, getting more as he points out the violence in their city, and the inaction of leadership. "All under your watch." Heimerdinger eventually seems to assume it's because Jayce is frustrated about his experiments needing time, and Jayce shouts:  "Humans don't live for centuries!" while slamming his hands on the table. It leads to Jayce saying they need leadership and suggests Heimerdinger needs to retire. Slowly the other councilors vote for this, leaving Jayce as the last vote, and he looks down as he puts up his hand. The heavy emotion here is rage.

7. This one takes place in the forge. Jayce is working shirtless, clearly getting some aggression and feelings out in his blind use of it. It is hot and dark in there. A beautiful woman steps in, Mel, and they clearly are intimate with one another. He is upset and she wisely asks what is bothering him. "He was my mentor, Mel, and I betrayed him." She assures him everything he said was true, and displays intimacy by coming up behind him and putting her hands on his back, her forehead on his shoulders. She takes his hand and assures him they'll do what he dreamed, which seems to help. He says "First I have to save Viktor." But he's missing. She caresses his face and they flirt a little, it's clear the two of them are romantically involved. The heavy emotion here is sadness.

8. TW: Violence. This memory is in what looks like a plant. What is being made is bright colored substance, but someone on the outside wouldn't know. A boy runs across the room and hits a button that warns that Jayce and what looks like police are there. People appear in giant mech suits with bright colored powder in the face mask, and they seem to have no trouble cutting through all the people Jayce brought down. Jayce seems alone at first carrying a giant glowing hammer. When he is attacked from behind, a woman appears with giant glowing gloves and saves him. The two of them then fight the people and seem to be very easily defeating them despite being outnumbered. At a point Jayce seems to turn the hammer into a giant gun-like weapon that is blowing electrical explosions at people. He looks caught up in the moment, intense. The heavy emotion here is adrenaline/excitement.

OOC NOTE: This memory stops before the boy dies. 

9. TW: Suicidal thoughts. Viktor stands over a very high drop at a water treatment facility. It looks as if he plans on jumping, leaning over the edge, in a parallel to when Jayce was in the same position. "Am I interrupting?" Jayce asks, coming up behind him. He sets a giant hammer to the side. He brings up a fond memory between the two of them which makes them both smile. Viktor asks him to destroy the Hexcore, which is clearly a surprise as it's the only thing to save his life, which Jayce brings up. Viktor looks deeply sick and unwell, coughing horribly.  He makes him promise which Jayce does with great reluctance. He touches Viktor's shoulder and Viktor says: "We lost ourselves. Lost our dream. In the pursuit of great, we failed to do good." The heavy emotion here is love. 

Alucard | Free Cities | The Hierophant, fixed

[cryptsleeper]

For plotting, hit me up here.

Content warning: Canonical levels of extreme violence, gore, and sexual assault will follow.

Closed. Geralt, Old Public Hall

[cryptsleeper]

Careful, I’m behind you.

[The words come out automatically as Alucard passes behind Geralt, loaded with steel beams. There is a need to put supports up against the floor being replaced on the second story balcony, and using a steel frame with supporting planks is the most structurally sound way to do it.

Having a second set of hands with decent strength to bring to bare doesn’t hurt either, at least as far as having someone hold up a part of the structure while the other screws the hardware in to complete the frame. Alucard’s request was genuine, and it played into his own observation of Geralt’s skills.

It was quiet work, all things considered. No need for conversation unless it was wanted, or there were instructions to give. And here, now, that’s all just fine.

Alucard will admit, he might have grabbed a few too many pieces of metal this time around. They’re long, meaning he has to walk sideways, and for it he brushes over Geralt’s back.]

Closed. Harrow, Old Public Hall

[cryptsleeper]

Could you grab the paint cup on the workbench, please?

[The question comes from very literally on high, as Alucard is currently marking areas of the ceiling that need further attention. It is useful to be able to float in these moments, but it also makes retrieving supplies harder. His current cup of black paint is bone dry..

Harrow’s presence for doing work today has been quiet, but no less welcome for it. There are a few of the other Summoned that Alucard has learned he can simply coexist with in silence for a time, and Harrow ranks among them.


His descent is slow and practiced, knowing that moving too fast in this mode is jarring for most.]

Free Cities, out and about

[cryptsleeper]

[The doors behind Old Public Hall are locked with the sunset. Enchanted, bespelled, made a challenge to break into unless one happens to be from 1400s Wallachia or know much about Dracula.


The past two days were strange workdays for reasons that became quickly all too personal. To see a happy memory or two was all well and good, but the occurrences put Alucard on edge. Tonight would have a quick meal and then see the dhampir off to his graveyard home, quiet and trying not to think too hard about recent events.


While walking Alucard is aware he is moving fast. Not vampire speed, but with a coal in his shoe. It runs the risk of bumping into others.


At the Surly Wench he has tucked himself into a corner of the bar which is rapidly filling up. Good for business, but bad for what is yet to come.


Regardless of where he is, the immediate reaction is to let out a perhaps too feral hiss.]

Do you mind?

Jaskier, Horizon

[cryptsleeper]

[The Horizon was the first and most obvious place to retreat once things became weird. One odd little blip was something to be concerned about, but not enough to cause a withdrawal from society. Twice? More than that? Absolutely not.

So the dhampir has taken to the Horizon, curled up in his little hut under warm furs and listening to the fire crackle. Rain pounds against the roof, a proper storm tonight. It is dark out, but the windows glow.


Alucard’s ears perk when he hears something at the door. A knock? A tree might have fallen over. Impossible to tell, as he’s muted his own hearing for a time due to sensory overload. These memories are already too much.

He gets to his feet reluctantly, shuffling over to the door. A dark grey fur remains draped over his shoulders as he opens the door to...]


Jaskier?

HORIZON, OTA, cw: violence and gore, especially in the links

[cryptsleeper]

[It is rapidly becoming clear that the Horizon is no safe space from whatever is happening. Jaskier’s presence was a harbinger of that, but the worst of it? The worst of it manifests in horrifying little bursts.

None of it is helped by the short waves of memories that roll off of him in the same space, extending outwards in all directions.


Some moments are muted. They are his mother, running after him as a child as a part of a game. Sitting with his father to design the crypt under Gresit, an awkward but enjoyed thing. The actual tomb in Gresit, both the final resting place and the long corridors and oversized machines that surround it, silent and stately. The sight of two corpses impaled in front of a castle whose architecture should not work, and yet it stands all the same, corridors moving out into parts that stand freely with no ground support. Alucard sits around a fire with two others, speaking of what will come to pass on their journey together. They appear other times, including inside of a library.


Others go on. Alucard stands across from his father in the wake of impossible grief, debating who should die for the murder of Lisa Tepes. There is no comfort there, only anger. Only the demand from Alucard that only one man pay for what happened, and Dracula's insistence that anyone might have stopped what came to pass. The declaration of I will not let you commit genocide and the blows that follow.


He assaults his own home with the intent to murder his father. The Belmont and the Speaker are essential. They fight as if they have always stood together - Alucard with his tricks, the Belmont his lifetime of training, Sypha with her magic and ability to slice a vampire in half with a sheet of ice. They are deadly. Effective. Filled with grim purpose. And so it goes, death after death, and then deeper into the castle.


The dungeons of Thorne are quiet. Dark. It is probably night. Alucard presses himself into a corner of the tiny cell, ignoring all of those around him. He's a mess, hair out of place, garments that of all others in the cell, and all he desires is to be as small as possible. Fear and anger mix in a horrid, heady cloud that hangs over him, and this silence too seems to go on forever.]

Sypha CW: Sexual assault, child murder, basically all of season 3 of Castlevania

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard has only left the cactus in the evenings, and it has not been to walk among the citizens of Cadens to find food. It has to take to his bat form, hunt for food in the desert among the night life, and then return to the cactus to sleep. The nocturnal schedule is not new, and it isolates him from the risk of someone else transgressing in his memories.


Sypha’s not subtle, thankfully. His wolf ears perk, and by the time she makes her way to the cactus, Alucard is alert.

He shouldn’t have to say go away, but he does. The growl is low. Furious. He tries to snap, or at least chase her away. But all of that sees his tail accidentally slap against her, and in that moment, Alucard realizes he has erred.]

Jasper | Thorne | Judgement [Fixed]

[leitstern]

Plotting: safekeeping or PM

TW: Death and body horror and spoilers. Want something different? Feel free to get in touch.

Fandaniel (Endwalker Spoilers ahoy) | Hanged Man | Free Cities | Mutable

[endcaller]

((Select a memory here! Or people who are canon familiar can select a different memory. If there is a type of memory you are interested in and you are not canon familiar we can find a memory that works for you.

Instead of writing top levels for every potential memory I will be writing top levels as individual threads under this comment for each memory someone picks, closed to them. Anyone is welcome to pick a memory and get a top level.))

Goro | The Free Cities | The Chariot | Mutable

[fourarmedandangerous]

[Memories here! Feel free to pick one and get a prompt written, that way the writing I have to do is cut down. Goro is in the Free Cities when it first starts, but tries retreating to the Horizon on the second day and finds his situation is now actively worse.]

Closed | Shuten, Wanda, Sephiroth

[leitstern]

[Jasper examines the Silver Orb in his hand. It weighs him down: his fingers adjusting to gravity and pressure. Nails scratch glass without leaving a mark. He lifts it before his eyes and blinks for a handful of seconds. Motes of light spark and fade within the sphere, the crystallised blood of the power of creation

But he wastes no time admiring it - magic erupts around his hand and engulfs the orb with a malevolent darkness. Black flames envelop his arm and ignite the remains of his humanity. His heart pulses, pounds wildly in expectation. The orb is brought to rest against his bare chest and cradled for a second.

One second more. Two. Three. Flames conflagrate and ignite - motionless for a moment until he slams the orb into his chest. He forces it deeper, sinking it into muscle and bone. Nerves spasm and spread around the sphere. Fingers elongate into claws. Bones lengthen and malform. Spikes erupt from his arms and vertebrae. Teeth grow into fangs. Skin hardens into leather and covers a tail that extends from the end of his spine. His ashen hair covers his body: arms, thighs and torso sprouting fur. Horns crack through his skull and the wrist joints of a large pair of wings.

One moment later, his tail twitches, flicking back and forth before curling at its tip. He feels the orb within his chest and fondles it thoughtfully. Wings extend and push, swimming through the air before folding by his side. He strokes a clawed hand through his mane and smiles, proud and satisfied of his power.

Strong. Powerful. Humanity is no longer a millstone around his conscience.]

Edelgard von Hresvelg | Thorne | The Emperor | Mutable

[flame_emperor]

[Memories can be found here. Same deal as Gorp, pick a memory, get a prompt to save on writing. Edelgard will likely also try to see if the Horizon is a refuge so I'm open for cross-faction experiences if you wanna do that.]

Mat Cauthon - Thorne - Wheel of Fortune

[a_better_man]

The dream alone is enough to unsettle Mat and have him on edge. Unfortunately this means he's restlessly roaming the castle or changing things up in his domain in the Horizon, where anyone might easily bump into him...


Memory 1 - CW: Child Neglect

A dark, tiny hovel. There's dirt on the floor and the windows are shuttered with nothing but pinned cloth. Three children huddle together in a hollowed out space in the wall, a boy of about eleven with Mat's curly dark hair and hazel eyes with his arms around two very young girls...


Memory 2

Nighttime. Crickets are chirping and a night-bird is calling. This is a small village, a handful of stone and thatch buildings visible, mountains in the near distance. Mat, a few years younger than he is in Abraxas and dressed in a dirty gray shirt and worn green jacket, stands with his fists balled in front of an older man with a red face, both of them appear angry...


Memory 3

Night again. Inside a dark building. The smell of smoke is on the air and people are screaming. It's chaos, even in here. Frightened people huddle together. Mat, in his worn green jacket and dirty shirt, is addressing an older man and woman.

"Where are they?" he's screaming. "Where are the girls?"


Memory 4 - CW: Possession

The empty streets of a dead city. It's cold. Something smells wrong. Mat is running. There's another young man with him, red haired and dressed in an animal skin coat. They're fleeing as though for their lives.

It flickers for a moment with another image. Mat in a darkened chamber, crouching in front of a chest, eyes dark and intent...


Memory 5

Sunlight. People laughing and calling out. Music. Mat sits on a balcony, legs dangling over the side, next to the red haired young man. They're watching the street below, expectantly. Mat looks ill, hollows under his eyes and a sheen of sweat on his skin...


Memory 6 - CW: Possession

A bedroom. Mat is in bed, bathed in sweat, shifting with pain. He groans. Two voices can be heard outside the door, a young man and a woman. The words are hard to make out but they're arguing. Mat attempts to lift his head but can't manage it..


Memory 7

Mat stands alone in an open field. There's a stone structure before him with a shimmering surface between the two towers of stone. Mat is staring at it, face contorted in confliction as he looks from the structure to behind him and back...

Closed to Byleth [CW child abuse, imprisonment, rats, experimentation, death. this is a heavy one.]

[flame_emperor]

In a cell, somewhere underground, a young girl in tattered red clothing that might at one point have been quite fine, but are now tattered with mud and filth, sits in a dark corner sobbing. Another figure, a young man in his late teens, early twenties perhaps, similarly dressed, sits slouched over on the other side of the cell, head bowed and silent. The young girl's twin tails have been undone, and the roots of her hair appear to be slowly turning white. Along her exposed arms and legs are what look like surgical scars. Recent ones.

She looks up to the cell's other occupant. "C...Conrad?" She utters, her voice terrified and hoarse. "Conrad, wake up." She starts to lean forward perhaps to try and go to him, but as she does so a small dark shape skitters across the stone floor and the girl throws herself back with a terrified shriek, curling into herself protectively. She does not try to get up again, but looks towards Conrad. Towards her brother.

"Conrad!" She sounds desperate now. "Conrad, please wake up! They're going to be here soon. Please...!"

In their shared domain, in the living quarters of the cottage by the windmill, the real Edelgard (at least as real as any other manifestation of a Summoned in that space) enters the living room with a tray of her and Byleth's preferred blend of tea, but her attention is immediately drawn to the way her love is slumped in the chair where Edelgard had left her.

Dismissing the tray and all its contents, Edelgard quickly crosses the room, and kneels down by Byleth's chair, cupping a hand to her cheek. "Byleth. Byleth, look at me." But the other woman's gaze is...glazed. Like she's in some sort of trance. Damn. Edelgard can guess the reason. The headache must have come on suddenly when Edelgard was out of the room.

The only thing she can do now is wait it out. She takes Byleth's hand in her own, ungloved in this most private space of theirs, and holds it, giving a small squeeze, if Byleth can even feel it wherever she is.

"I'm here, love. It will pass soon."

Closed | Thancred

[leitstern]

[Jasper sits upon a chair, legs too short to reach the floor. There is no energy for sitting upright - not with all his crying. His eyes feel painful, damp and sore, his body wracked with emotion. He wipes his face with his sleeve and bites his lip to keep silent. How he longs to stop himself but finds he cannot.

He listens to the older man with hope. It is difficult to believe mother is gone, he thinks. It is unfair. His lips itch to speak but he doesn’t open them to share feelings. Thoughts are kept to himself. He cannot hear those questions about what he wishes to do in the future. He cannot imagine the future. He winces and tenses in discomfort, finding the comfort of a hand upon his shoulder a welcome one.

For a moment his tears stop. He looks towards this adult - dressed in the regalia of a king - who explains he is welcome to stay. It takes only a second for his silence to stir. Lips quiver and he struggles to keep quiet. The offer is too much and he begins crying once more.]

Jesper Fahey | Grishaverse | Wheel of Fortune | Mutable Sign

[itookashot]

Jesper is very active and he's always at the inn. He didn't give a second thought to the dream, odd and all, but whatever. He's doing work for Mags which means he is very easy to walk into or accidentally graze for a lot of the Summoned, leading into any of the following memories. He also is often running through the streets running errands, for Nadine or anyone else, and can run right into people in the meantime. After the first few times he gets the picture and tries to avoid touching people, but it's still possible.

Like others, he ends up fleeing into the Horizon. And it's also a mistake. At one point he gets tired of hiding in Kaz's room or Wylan's room, the only places of safety in his mind, and thinks maybe if he goes to other people's Horizons, he has a better chance of escaping it. No such luck.

[ooc: message me on waftingcurtains on plurk or just throw yourself at whatever!]

OTA any of these memories, marked for triggers

[itookashot]

Memory 1. These memories are a bit of a jumble, of a young brown-skinned gray-eyed boy six or seven and his loving mother. He helped her with all the chores, laundry, cooking, wood chopping, mending baskets, and they'd sing songs together. She was there teaching him how to ride a horse, clean a fish, but the most important thing they did together was shoot. It is on this memory that it pauses, the woman and her son training with a gun as they hunted together, or training him how to track and shoot from on top of a horse. "Anyone can shoot, but not everybody can aim," she'd tell him, and he started closing his eyes when he pulled the trigger, feeling the bullet. 

She showed him too how to strip stains from clothes and make gunpowder with her fingertips, and she said they were blessed, they were Zowa. "What kind of mother would I be to my son if I hid away my talents?" Her voice echoes through the last of the memories.

Memory 2. TW: Parental death. It's the middle of the night. A young boy is pretending to be asleep as his mother gets prepared to leave. A little girl needs her. She sweeps him up in her arms and whispers "go to sleep, little rabbit, and I'll be back tomorrow." Except she doesn't come back, they had to go to her. A little girl was crying when he came to her house, she looked guilty, because it was her who was sick, who his mother came for. "She didn’t take enough care when extracting the poison,” a strange man said. She's unconscious, lost in dreams, and Jesper presses his cheek to her hand, waiting for her to wake up. She never does.

Memory 3. The man who spoke about his mother's death appeared later, with the young girl she saved with him. He spoke of zowa, of people with gifts. He told Colm Fahey that he wanted to take Jesper with him. "There are teachers in the west, past the frontier. They could train them." Colm coldly replies. "Jesper doesn't have it." They man pushes, asks if he's sure, if he's been tested. Jesper is hidden in the back of the house, staying out of the conversation, although he's watching, he's listening. "You come back on this land and I'll consider it an invitation to put a bullet between your eyes. You go and you take that girl with you. No one here has the gift and no one here wants it."

When they leave,  Jesper asks him if he's zowa, and his father tells him to never say those words again. "That's what killed your mother." He tells Jesper never to use them again, that he has to promise. He asks Jesper if he wants to go with them, instead of stay with him, and he is ten now, his father needs him, shaking his head. "I want to stay with you." And they don't speak of it. 

Memory 4. Jesper's fifteen now, just off a farm so still a pigeon, but he's lost all his money and left the academy. He looks desperate, he feels desperate. He has been gambling again, every penny of his money from work with the gangs going to it. He's tossed out of another place, living on the streets. No matter what he does, there's never enough coin. He is trying to find a place to sleep when he's jumped by two men in a dark alley. Jesper puts up a valiant fight but he's not particularly well and he's about to get the beating of his life, he does know that. And then Kaz Brekker shows up, a boy like him, all sharp edges and ice, dark-haired and cold-eyed, and even with a cane he elegantly took them both up. Like a damned hero. Looking up at him, Jesper thought he was the cruelest looking angel that ever lived. "Come along, Jesper," he says, limping away, and he doesn't think about it. He gets off the ground and follows.

Years later he and Inej joke that it's possible Kaz hired them so Jesper would be indebted to him. Needless to say, by the love in Jesper's eyes as he follows him, it worked.

Memory 5. TW: Gruesome death. You're thrown into a memory that's almost like a nightmare. Wylan and Jesper are running and a woman walks right through a wall, she is made of mist. The two of them pause, confused, as guards turn to fight her and her partner, a man. The guards start to scream, loudly, flesh turning in on themselves, and Jesper says, horrified: "The Tidemakers are draining their blood." Blood is pooling on the ground and Jesper tries to get them to escape, but they're noticed. The woman disappears and appears again, kicking Wylan. Jesper starts to feel that same pain, red in his eyes, until Wylan tells him to Fabrikate. 

He hears him scream, the merchling, and through the pain Jesper focuses on every piece of metal, his clothes, the gate chain, on them. He thrusts his hands forward and the metal shoots out, stabbing into the two of them. They try to turn into mist and back into bodies, but he keeps throwing the metal at them, little pieces that they couldn't fight as they banged through their organs. The two of them die right before your eyes, with the woman crying "help me." But all Jesper and Wylan can do is run. Run while they can. Jesper looks behind him, at the people who would have been his people, other Grisha, and feels like a part of himself is left with them.

Memory 6. You're thrown right into the middle of a fire fight. Jesper and Wylan are running as bullets zip around them, Jesper returning fire and sniping one person after another. They're in a giant ice prison, dark and foreboding, outnumbered in a way that no one should be able to survive. Inej has run ahead toward one of the tanks and a huge loud boom split the air. A wall of glass shatters into infinite pieces and he manages to throw Wylan down, protecting him with his body. The two of them run to the tank and he climbs in, taking the controls from Inej. "Oh, hello, darling," Jesper croons as he pulls a lever. Wylan and Inej try to take the guns and aim, but Jesper focuses on the wall. On that damned famous legendary impenetrable wall made of ice and steel, and he pushes the tank's steering. They slam right into it ... and through it.

Inej, Wylan, and Jesper all end up in laughter and tears, as they drive right away from the ice prison, from men still trying to fire at the tank. They came there with all odds against them, and they were stealing it right from under their noses. 

Memory 7. There's a group of young Crows talking and arguing over what to do, the room is tense. There are a lot of opinions all at once, with Kaz saying he'll go to jail, and Jesper saying they should leave the city. Flee. Stay alive, stay safe. "This is my city," said Kaz. "I'm not leaving it with my tail between my legs." He and Jesper start arguing intensely, loudly, and Kaz says that the only reason Jesper wants him to run is so he doesn't have to feel bad about running. Jesper claims it's to stay alive.

"For what?" Kaz says. "So you can play another hand at the tables? So you can find another way to disappoint your father and let down your friends? Have you told your father you're the reason he's going to lose his farm? Have you told Inei you're the reason she almost died at the end of Omen's knife? That we all almost died?" 

Jesper looks devastated but he doesn't back down. "I made a mistake. I let my bad get the best of my good, but for Saints' sake, Kaz, how long are you going to make me pay for a little forgiveness?"

Kaz brings up a name Jesper's never heard before, Jordie, and he calls Jesper by that name. Surprised, confused, he asks who it means, and that seems to turn Kaz meaner, angrier, he calls Jesper a born loser and the two of them start to physically fight. They're punching and grabbing at each other, and the others watch, although Nina and Inej reassure the panicked Wylan they're not actually trying to hurt each other. It all ends when his father appears, yelling "Jesper Llewellyn Fahey, that's enough," and it stops, abruptly.

Memory 8. This is a completely different memory than all the others in that it seems to be made of pure joy. They are in a beautiful mansion, colorful, bright, and Jesper, Wylan, and Inej are happy, they're smiling like the weight off the world is off their shoulders. Anyone who has visited Jesper's Horizon may recognize the fancy Van Eck Mansion as this location. They're sitting around a table decked out with so much food, it should be enough for a whole group, but Jesper looks at it with his 'challenge accepted' face. 

"If you two want any, you'll have to act fast, because I'm going for the record." It's waffles, stacked high, with fruit and syrup and everything any waffle enthusiast could ever ask for. Jesper takes way too much onto his plate and Wylan smiles at him. He's a beautiful boy with blue eyes and russet gold curls, and Jesper smiles back like the sun hung over him. Jesper takes his hand and kisses the soft fingers, making him blush and pull it back with a laugh. Inej rolls her eyes at them, and the memory ends in that glowing sort of happiness.

Closed | Thane

[leitstern]

[Jasper lifts his head off the floor: his attention turning to boots that obscure and climb beyond his sight. It is hard to imagine why this man now confesses feelings after many years. It is hard to comprehend why he was admired while he was shunned. The confusion and fear drives him to push his elbows and lift his chest. There is a significant pause as he struggles to breathe.

He begins to speak. His words swell within his chest, forcing his heart to continue beating. He hardly possesses the luxury to be silent in this time of need. Hands claw against stone until fingers fall still.

“Hendrik, I…”

No more words come from him. No apologies. No confessions of feelings. A moment later, he collapses against the ground. Unconscious and comatose - his body disappearing to leave behind a golden pendant.]

Ronan Lynch | Thorne | The Moon (Mutable)

[nightwash]

Choose one or more of the following memories & tag into a starter below or post your own!

1 - Bury It: Minor spoilers. No warnings. A very young Ronan is excited to show everyone the present he's dreamt for his mother, but she tells him to bury it because such things have to remain secret. Provides context for #11 & #12.

2 - Matthew: Minor spoilers. No warnings. Three-year-old Ronan is tired of his grumpy older brother so he creates a brother who will actually be happy to see him and play with him. Provides context for #6, #11 & #12.

3 - Damn Cool Trick: Minor spoilers. Warning for gore and vague references to pedophilia and child murder. In the midst of dreaming blackmail material against the man who killed his father, Ronan is forced to kill a copy of himself.

4 - Cabeswater: Major spoilers for The Raven Cycle. No warnings. Ronan and Adam are investigating the corruption of an enchanted forest when Adam has a realization about Ronan's connection to it. Provides context for #5, #6 & #10.

5 - Unguibus et Rostro: Minor spoilers. No warnings. Ronan's first kiss. Provides context for #6, #9 & #10.

6 - Sacrifice: Major spoilers for The Raven Cycle. Warning for body horror and death. As Ronan is being destroyed by a demon, his friends decide a ritual sacrifice must be made to save him.

7 - The Worst Dream: No spoilers. Warning for existential horror. Ronan's worst dream. Provides context for #11.

8 - Bryde: Minor spoilers. No warnings. Ronan's first encounter with his mentor. Provides context for #9, #10, #11 & #12.

9 - Murder Crabs: Minor spoilers. Warning for creepy nightmare creatures. Ronan's plans to start a new life with his boyfriend are ruined when he loses control of his dreams. Provides context for #10, #11 & #12.

10 - Fuck Texting: Minor spoilers. No warnings. Ronan and Hennessy dream together. Provides context for #11 & #12.

11 - End of the World: Major spoilers for The Dreamer Trilogy. Warning for existential horror. Ronan has a devastating realization about his mentor and his own nature. Provides context for #12.

12 - Start Something: Major spoilers for The Dreamer Trilogy. No warnings. Ronan feels betrayed when Hennessy confronts him with a dream that will change both their lives.

Plot with me here or hit me up at pana / pana#3353!
If you'd rather, we can handwave a memory experience. Just let me know.

Castle Thorne / The Horizon | OPEN

[nightwash]

Ronan is used to sharing his mind with others. It can be a very crowded place, in fact, under the right circumstances. In dreams, his thoughts are laid bare for any other dreamer who might decide to drop in. In the waking world, his mind is a physical place that can be sought out, explored, violated. Back home, it was a forest called Lindenmere, nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains along a ley line that cut from Virginia to Wales. In Abraxas, it's a different forest, tucked into different mountains, feeding off a different source of magic.

It's not unheard of for Ronan to invite someone into his forest. It's quite another matter to have someone enter his sacred mindspace without his permission.

By now, Ronan has realized that this is out of his control. His memories are spilling out of his mind whether he likes it or not, and he can either hide himself away like he's done all his life or he can carry on as usual. He chooses the latter.

That means he's at breakfast, sitting at one of the communal tables like he does every morning. He's at training after that, though physical contact is almost guaranteed, and he even goes to the baths when that's over. He does a fair bit more meditating in Kylo's study than he would ordinarily dare, seeking out answers on the Horizon, but then he's at dinner with everyone and socializing or eavesdropping for a couple hours until it's time to sleep again.

Castle Assault *cranks up Bloody Tears*

[fourarmedandangerous]

The headache comes even as Goro had retreated to the privacy of his Domain. Gripping his head in anger, he finds himself being drawn away from the comforts of his cavern and into what appears to be a large, well-appointed castle's main hall, sheltered in part by the large columns that line the hall's edges Perhaps for the best, given that the castle appears to be in the middle of a small war.

But he barely has time to process this before a large sword goes flying—no, not thrown, actually flying—past Goro and impales a hooded soldier through the heart. He steps back quickly into the shadows of the columns as three humans charge past...the woman looks vaguely familiar, but his eyes are drawn to Alucard and his visible Arcana symbol, something the other two lack. His eyebrows furrow. That one...that one he's not sure he knows.

From the cover of the pillars, Goro observes the battle, and how easily the three take apart a numerically-superior force. A pale guard in silver armour makes the mistake of backing up in fear too close to the pillar that currently covers Goro, and in mild curiosity he decides to reach out, grab the soldier and if at all possible, tear him in half.

After all, his compatriots are being killed with wilful abandon, why should he not partake if possible?

[cointosser]

[Whatever in Melitele's fucking name is happening -- and Jaskier would like to not repeat it, thank you -- he is getting away from it. Foremost. It is clear to him and to anyone with a thought in their head the Horizon is, clearly, the first place they can go. Other than attempting to sequester himself away from everyone he knows, maybe.

Which. He'd rather not do, thank you.

However, he is concerned with a particular friend of his who has things that he knows, for a fact, the other would not want shared. This sort of catastrophe is only going to serve to drive Alucard further towards his goals of living in a crypt forever. A goal which Jaskier is selfishly eager to slow.

So he drives his horse through the storm, which is incredibly inconvenient. Radu, however, appears to thrive in the weather, giving great tosses of his main and slinging raindrops up into Jaskier's face. The bard huffs at the horse, but in lieu of avoiding a bit of biting, says nothing to him. He's too busy hiding under a cloak in an attempt to remain somewhat dry.

If there's a storm, he has a feeling Alucard may be here. Perhaps he had a particularly moody day?

Once the door opens, Jaskier wastes little time in stepping inside, shaking off his cloak.] Some welcome mat you've rolled out, isn't it? Gods, I'm wet down to my -- [Balls is what he was going with, but he considers Alucard polite company.] Nevermind. What's -- what are you up to, anyway? Listening to the storm?

[Let it never be said he can't be easily distracted sometimes.] Look, rather weird occurrences are spreading in the Free Cities, and the guards are up in a tizzy. I came to warn you to, perhaps, stay here for a bit, lest you share some secret family recipe with relative strangers accidentally.