Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket | OPEN

[vitaelamorte]

Who: EVERYONE and all the stars in the sky
Where: Mostly on the grounds, though some have crashed through windows and walls.
When: 2/29 → 3/6
Rating: PG-13, label it if you're gonna go higher.
Summary: Shooting stars have fallen in Wonderland, and they're bringing with them glimmers of Wonderyears past! A catch all log for the fallen star holograms.
The Story:

Each glittering, golden star brings the woosh of a sonic boom and there are impacts that shake the whole world. They crash hard into the snow, the trees, and even break through a few windows. None of them leave behind meteors or space debris, but instead just a glimmering cloud at each point of impact. In each gold light is a projection, a scene lit by starlight and moondust, a memory of years ago. Even if someone were to be struck by one, it would simply pass through them.

These are just the first stars to fall. More will come the next night, and the night after that, and perhaps even more. When budding astronomers look upward, they will notice fewer and fewer constellations dot the night sky with each passing day.

All memories are semi-opaque, and will play in a loop in one spot the whole time. Most stars will have landed somewhere on the grounds, but some might have crashed through a window, playing their memory inside the mansion. Characters can listen to and watch the scenes as many times as they like, but they will be unable to influence or interact with the memories in any way.

You can make a top level comment with all the scenes people will get to see. Please include who is in your memory and where it can be found somewhere in your top level. Either prose or [action brackets] are welcome! And finally, check out our plotting post for reminders on what everyone's doing, or ideas for the finishing touches on your memories or the most recent event announcement for more on the falling stars.

Comments

[outofthebreach]

[ Wonderland is full of magic. Brennan's learned that well enough since arriving here, but that doesn't mean seeing it used around him doesn't still catch his eye.

This is just another memory, one of the many strange ones littering the grounds today, but he pauses to crouch beside the scene, watching as the mage in the image floats the crayons around above the other two girls with a fierce sense of focus he is all too familiar with. He can't help but chuckle when the stern blond catches them and the crayons drop back to the ground as the others straighten with a guilty start, wondering who they were and if they were still in Wonderland. ]

[goeth]

[ strung out, and bearing an armful of books, bonnie stops up short when she sees a strange man all up in her business. is it her business? whatever, it doesn't matter. what does matter is getting it taken care of -- removed.

she's not as brusque as she could when she moves forward again, but bonnie can't hide that this is not a pleasing situation for her: ]

Hi, excuse me? Do you mind?

[ bon pls ]

[outofthebreach]

[ Brennan looks up with a curious look to find the mage from the vision walking towards him with a purposeful stride, and he straightens instinctively, dipping into a slight bow of greeting. ]

Ah. You're the... My apologies, Lady. Your magic fascinated me, I didn't hear you approach.

[goeth]

Oh. Uh-- I'm no lady.

[ to say that the bow and the way he speaks is disarming is an understatement. bonnie might have to sue him for the whiplash she just experienced, actually.

she laughs, a nervous near-giggle that takes the place of words she doesn't have quite yet. ...should she also bow? ]

And how do you even know that's real?

[ don't mind her trying to hide all these magic books... ]

[outofthebreach]

What? The magic?

[ He looks puzzled for a moment as he straightens back up before something occurs to him and he gives her a crooked grin. ]

I suppose it could be a trick, but I think that would be much more complicated. If you are a mage, you have nothing to fear from me.

[goeth]

Is there someone I do have to worry about?

[ also mage sounds way cooler than witch, bonnie's just feeling a little too awkward to mention that just now. ]

[outofthebreach]

[ His moment of hesitation at her question is probably telling in itself, but... ]

Probably not. We've a Templar here with us, but he's one of the ones with a great respect for mages as long as it is not your intent to bring harm to people.

[ There had just been that confusion upon his arrival where the first person he encountered looked like a desire demon and... well. It hadn't gone well. ]

[goeth]

[ bonnie's mouth opens before she realizes she just ... has no words. what is happening? ]

OK, I didn't understand most of that, but as long as my friends aren't in danger, I'm not going to hurt anyone. Why would you even say that?

[ she's floating crayons for god's sake! ]

[outofthebreach]

[ Brennan makes a face, because he's going about this all wrong. ]

Where I come from, many people are afraid of mages. Magic. It's an art that few understand and the ambitious have long abused. My world was recently wrecked by a war between the mages and templars and it spilled over... everywhere. I'm still adjusting the the understanding of other worlds, and that magic -and mages - don't function in quite the same way elsewhere as they do where I come from.

I apologize if I've given offense. It wasn't my intent.

[goeth]

Oh.

[ a w k w a r d. ]

Maybe you should lead with that next time. [ she's not smirking, shut up. ] I'm actually a witch, and people don't really believe in them, where I'm from. Being this open about it is new to me.

[ and probably now very obviously uncomfortable. ]

[outofthebreach]

[ He just laughs and rubs a hand sheepishly against the back of his neck as he shoots her an apologetic smile. ] Sorry. I'll remember that.

[ When she goes on to explain, he listens with rapt attention, curious about the world she speaks of. ] Have you always had it? Your magic?

[goeth]

[ bonnie just shakes her head, a slight frown ghosting across her mouth. her origin as a witch is always a somber memory, tied to her grams. a weight in her stomach. ]

It's been like a year or two, I think. [ a really LONG year. ] Are there-- mages here? From your world?

[outofthebreach]

[ Older than when most mages discover their magic in his world. He wonders if it works differently in hers?

Although her question gets a quick grin and chuckle from him as he dips his head in response. ] Aye, there's a few of them here. One arrived with me - Dorian's his name. If you haven't yet crossed paths, I'm sure he'd be interested in meeting you. He's been studying everything he can find on the magic of this place, and the magic of people from other worlds.

[interpersonal]

[ bonnie catches brennan mid-viewing.

elena is going to bump into him as he's leaving, not that she can be sure he's seen anything just yet. she'll take a step back before they collide, smiling an innocent smile. see? she's just a girl. a girl who most definitely wasn't talking about vampires and magic like it's yesterday's news. ]

... Hi. [ how much did you see, dashing good sir? ]

[outofthebreach]

[ The magic won't be that strange for him, although vampires might need some explaining. The undead where he comes from are a lot less... alive-looking? They also smell considerably worse.

He looks a little surprised when she steps up as he's departing, but he's quick to recover, offering her a friendly smile. ]

Ahh, it's the little artist's assistant, I see. [ He's teasing her, in case that wasn't clear. ] My apologies if I've intruded on something private.

[interpersonal]

[ it's so weird to see people reacting to magic and the supernatural in wonderland. there's a reason elena had to guard those secrets so fiercely back home; it was dangerous for anyone to know them. it could mean life or death. and here—well, considering where they are, she maybe shouldn't be surprised.

but old habits die hard, and elena wavers. ]

It's not your fault. [ that much is true. his teasing alleviates some of the tension that sets on her shoulders. ] It looks like everyone's privacy is being invaded. [ she's stumbled on holograms that are admittedly much more intimate and revealing. ]

[outofthebreach]

So I've noticed.

[ His own tone is a little dry, because he's seen quite a few of the memories himself, and how they can range from the mundane to the downright volatile. ]

I take it this isn't a memory you remember having?

[ He's also noticed this seemed to be a trend with the visions playing out all over the manor and grounds. ]

[interpersonal]

[ insert vehement headshake!!!! ]

Not at all.

[ she isn't even lying, though she certainly omits the full truth. she's hoping her firm refusal keeps him from asking too many questions about the memory itself. and as luck would have it, elena isn't without a dry, snarky bone of her own, volleying a question right back at him. ]

I take it this isn't the first time Wonderland's decided to collectively mess with its residents?

[outofthebreach]

No, it seems to make a hobby of it, in fact.

[ His words are wry, accompanies with a faint grimace. ]

I have only been here a few months myself, but this place often changes the rules of what we know and what we remember, it seems. At least these little pockets of memory seem relatively harmless, if confusing.

[interpersonal]

So I've heard. [ s-so much wryness between them. there's the slightest shift in elena's expression when he answers her; a lot of the people she's met in wonderland have been here for quite some time. but brennan is relatively new, like she is. he seems to be taking it well, all things considered, but there's sympathy and commiseration all the same. ]

Do you think there's any chance they're real? The memories.

[ if not real to them, then to somebody. ]

[outofthebreach]

[ It has his expression turning more serious as he turns to regard it seriously for a moment. ]

Perhaps somewhere. Time doesn't always flow in a straight line. And it can be... interrupted. Possibilities can always exist outside of what we know, or what we remember. I don't have a certain answer I can give you, I'm afraid. Not about this. I'm no mage, and deciphering the will or purpose of a spell is beyond me.

[ He glances over, giving her a curious look. ] Does it trouble you to think that it might be?

[interpersonal]

Honestly? ... I don't know.

[ elena is no mage, either. she's resourceful and quick on her feet, but she's been thrust into a world much different to her own. even its magic is unfamiliar, much to bonnie's frustration, and the currency is memories. she keeps clinging to the answers she finds, but they only lead to more questions. ]

I don't know what troubles me more. The fact they might be real or that we can easily forget anything they want us to.

[ whoever 'they' is. dipper mentioned a core, but elena remains on guard. ]

[outofthebreach]

This place has proven very skillful when it comes to the talent of tampering with memories.

[ He heaves a long-suffering sigh, shooting the scene an exasperated glance. ]

It wouldn't be the first time it's done such.

[interpersonal]

[ it's part of what elena finds so unsettling about being here. it's why adjusting has been difficult, despite her adaptability. the longer she is here, the more vulnerable she is to wonderland consuming her memories. and memories are too important to lose. she can't forget. ]

I just wish there was more to go on. Every time I try to learn more, all I end up with is more questions.

[outofthebreach]

That does seem the way of things here, doesn't it? [ He gives a wry chuckle at that. ] Whether it's the strange magics of this place or the confusions of the worlds and times we're plucked from. Every answer I stumble across spawns a half dozen more questions in its wake.

[ Granted, he'd often felt that way back home as well, so it's beginning to be a bit of a familiar feeling for him. ]