It may very well be the worst thing that's ever happened to you! | OPEN MINGLE

[vitaelamorte]

Who: EVERYONE!
Where: EVERYWHERE!
When: Friday October 27th - Tuesday October 31st
Rating: PG-13, warn if you're gonna go higher!
Summary: A catch all for the Horrible Memory Truth Event!
The Story:

For the duration of this event, everyone's entire room will be replaced with a memory playing on loop. They will likely recognize the moment as soon as they see it – it is a moment they remember as the worst moment of their entire lives. It could be a memory from home or something that happened in Wonderland. Lengths of the memories will vary, but they will find that these are not memories they can merely watch – they can step into these memories and attempt to make changes to them, and the memories will be long enough that they have time to make changes (though no more than 24 hours). However, anyone who tries will find that it is futile. No matter what you do or how hard you try, the outcome is always exactly the same somehow. No changes you make will prevent that horrible outcome. It just happens over and over and over again no matter what you do.

On top of that, perhaps complicating any attempts to make changes, everyone will be forced to be honest for the duration of the event. No lies or half-truths are allowed, and filters will be gone for the entire five days. If something bothers someone then they will blurt it out, regardless of whether or not it hurts someone's feelings, and no one will be able to simply keep quiet when they have something to say. They must be truthful and honest with every word they say.

This is a catch-all log for all of your Worst Memory needs! Please mark your threads clearly in the subject line with your character's name and Room Number + Floor for character rooms, or just location if you're making a top level for a public place in the mansion (like the tea rooms or the kitchen) so people can see if there's already a thread available. And here's the plot post if you need it!

Have fun!

Comments

[postictal]

He's trying to breathe through it. He's trying, he really is, trying to breathe through the haze of lingering panic and trying not to hyperventilate when Sans is pleading and Max is calling him nice, and he wishes he could just say that she's lying but she isn't. Alex tried to kill her. And he hasn't. And that's - that's her set of standards, right? That's the best he can do! Not kill her.

"I - I - "

He can't form enough of a sentence to hurl back as an argument. He's not crazy? Of course he's fucking crazy. That's all he's ever been. Lunatic, locked up in the hospital so he doesn't hurt himself and everyone else!

A faint sound works out from his throat, from between gritted teeth, and Tim sinks into a half-crouch with his hands mantled over his face.

He's going to start crying again. Again.

"I don't want to," he mumbles into his hands. "I don't want to go back and think of everyone staring at me."

[punful]

He nods slowly, agreeing, eyesockets sliding closed again.

"alex had problems. i never knew all...all this stuff, about why he was like that. didn't even know you were from the same world till a...a little while ago. but think about how...when he didn't trust something, he took it out on everyone. you're taking it out on...on yourself."

Tim isn't a bad person. Tim doesn't have LV, as far as Sans can tell, and he does know that the rules work differently for people from other worlds. But Alex had the closest thing to LV. He was the sort of person who would try to kill a kid just for acting a bit spooky.

"we don't think you're crazy. or bad. or any of that."

It's honestly hard to talk at this point. Everything's starting to feel sluggish, like his mind is wading through mud.

"you don't hafta...go anywhere, tim. we're not gonna m...make you. we can just..."

He slides down the tree, and in the darkness it hopefully looks more like he just decided to sit down to be at Tim's level and less like his legs just gave out.

"we can just sit here for awhile."

[trabryu]

Point.

Mondo was much bigger than the creature he faced in the tower, and yet he wasn't able to compete physically. A long-distance combat might prove to be much more effective. He takes a mental note to find the person mentioned. Rocket, huh? He could try combing the network for that, and he could definitely use some pointers from more people ー especially those who've been here for long.

"Right. Thanks a lot, ..." His words trail off upon realisation that he doesn't know this guy's name, even while asking him questions. "Uh. I'm Mondo Oowada, by the way."

[didntknowbest]

Oh, no, I said I... but, then, I really would like to.

[She can't lie, about how very appealing slipping into a drunken haze seems right now.]

Well... alright then. In for a penny, in for a pound as they say, hm? If we are going to do this, we might as well do this.

[heroica]

Of course I don't. It's the least I can do to try and help.

[ 'Doing okay'... 'alone,' yes. In general? She shifts, considering. ]

I'm fine. [ She says, and it's true, at least inasmuch as she minds being out here with only Oren for company. There's a pause, and then Wonderland's magic coaxes out a confession: ] I... do miss the others, though. Who've left.

[ Surely he does too. He'd lost both his siblings. ]

[ofletters]

Sometimes. Not often, but... once or twice.

[ When he'd tried to stop being a hunter, anyway. For as well as that had worked out... ]

Yeah. No money, just... this. [ Sam gestures vaguely, meaning exactly what she'd said. They pay with their lives, sometimes, or just with emotional distress. ] I'll take the cash, if they ask us our opinion, ever.

[backpacking]

[ She's been through this so many times before he even found them that... yes, she's willing. And Ellie guesses that Riley - the fake, memory Riley - will be here again if she comes back.

Her jaw tightens. ]

Yeah. [ She gets up, taking the hand he offers. Ellie finds the nearest door and pushes it open... to find them standing in the hallway of Wonderland's mansion. The wound is no longer fresh, her clothes have changed, and she's a little older, but the memories remain.

New is the key in her pocket, which she immediately uses to lock the door behind them. She doesn't feel the need to explain the action. ]

[backpacking]

You didn't remember it? [ Ellie frowns, too, looking hard into the face of this... talking, thinking zombie. ] So, like... when you died, your memories got screwed up?

[ She assumes that's what he's saying. ]

Sorry. [ She offers, and means it. ] It's - fuck, it'd be one thing to just... be a zombie, but then... if you didn't remember anything from before?

[ Though... maybe that'd be easier, really. Considering what state he's in. ]

[backpacking]

Riley.

[ Ellie swallows, flushing with a little embarrassment, and, primarily, the sting of recently having to see the attack over and over again. ]

We were in school together, and... we snuck out one night, and... she got killed.

[ There's more to it than all that, of course, but that's the bottom line. ]

She came here, once. [ She breathes, biting her lip. ] For like, a week, and that was it. Haven't seen her since.

[keephersafe]

Forgot everything.

[He isn't looking back at her, though he can feel her eyes on him. One shoulder lifts in a shrug as he looks down over the edge of the building.]

M... my life, how... it happened. [There's a bite mark, one that sometimes itches on the back of one of his ankles. He suspects that might have been it, but he doesn't remember how it got there.

R closes his eyes briefly.]

I w... woke up in the woods. [He remembers that. Trees. It was dark.] Hungry. [Yes, he'd been hungry then, too. The Hunger of the Dead is an intense thing that seems to almost speak to you.] And... I-I was alone. But not f... for long.

[His head shakes minutely, and he looks over at her again.]

We... always group together.

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket goes silent, having hit the point where he no longer has anything to say in agreement. As brutal and awful as his life is, he's never thought about ending it permanently. If he did, the whole hero thing would have appealed to him a lot more- at least make an inevitable demise mean something. At least he'd understand why Groot and Yondu chose it.

But that doesn't mean he stays silent for long. What would normally make him just shrug and think "not my problem" has him suddenly pressing forward.]

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Dude, you can't think like that. That means the other guys win, and that's about the only frickin' thing that guys like us have.

[mypartnerintime]

...I'm so sorry, Ellie.

[What do you say to something like that? Hell, Max can't even figure out what she wanted people to tell her after Chloe left. She feels like her small words of comfort, sincere as they are, fall a little flat in the face of Ellie's moment of vulnerability... Maybe the first one Max has ever seen.

Ellie, so grounded and mature for her age. Down to earth. Practical. Really quite the opposite of Max, with her gentle and comfortable upbringing. Seeing Ellie like this, brought down by the event... it kinda pisses Max off.

Fuck Wonderland.

Her voice stays soft, sincere.]

Would you rather she hadn't shown up?

[mypartnerintime]

[She huffs another small laugh through her raw and tight throat.]

Guess I'm calling you doc Sans from now on. Screw the actual phD.

[It's not lost on her that a physicist would know something about how time works. But now's definitely not the right time to ask. Maybe it never will be, and Max is fine with that.]

[mypartnerintime]

Given some time to reflect, it will eventually dawn on Max that she called Tim nice. Or, to be exact, that she said he was nice to her during that one conversation. The sting of the Neverland event always hits her whenever she sees him, enough that she can't quite think of him in a good light. But over time it's gotten harder and harder to actually dislike him. How do you stay mad at someone who's gone through so much? And who's huddled down on the grass now, so vulnerable?

"That's a good idea." she says. Sans sits down (or his legs give way? She can sort of tell), so Max does too. She draws her jacket around herself and shivers slightly, turning to talk to Tim. "We can stay here if that feels better... Until you're ready."

It's too cold to sleep out in the open, but they could probably spare some time to get tents later.

"And Sans and I can just shut up. If you want."

But not leave. Max excels at being a wallflower. If Tim wants her to be practically invisible, she can do that. But no way in hell is she going to leave him alone, not after everything he's said. Not yet, anyway.

And she's not going to mention him crying. Or him huddling on the ground. She's just going to sit, and watch him from the corner of her eye, and just... be there, in case he wants to talk.

[beatupgrass]

[oh no unsolicited affection. what do.

tense up, mostly. he's not good at this at all, and he neither gives or receives enough hugs to know what to do, so he just ends up awkwardly patting her back with one hand.]

No, I'm not... [he relaxes a bit with a sigh.] But I appreciate you sayin' it.

[bloodmagics]

[Hawke's expression shifts into something resembling a smile. But it fades quickly, given the magic-induced confession.]

...There's so many now, aren't there?

[He runs a hand down his face, letting out a sigh.]

The thought of who could be next terrifies me.

[Damn honesty.]

[heroica]

I remember when there were so many that I could hardly remember them all. [ And not only because she didn't know them all. ] But, that was... a long time ago, now.

[ Now, there are only four left. Like Hawke, Robyn wonders who might vanish next. She can imagine who he's most afraid of losing without any issue. ]

We may have no control over it, but we can hope. [ The Warden says quietly. ] And, for now... I think that all we can do is to enjoy each other's company.

[beatupgrass]

Yeah, I guess. I haven't actually tried insultin' anyone yet. Kinda worried it'll come out as a frickin' compliment or something, which would suck, 'cause I honestly do think most people are idiots.

[and then:] Just not the ones that I'd probably feel up to talkin' to during this event.

[kryptomight]

( listen, tim. it's delicious. and not having that awkward moment of oh ow, that hurts makes eating ice cream faster so much easier. he super appreciates the inability to get brain freezes, too. )

Maybe he'll come back soon. Maybe my dad'll come for us.

[thecourier]

He knows that look, and it's not the first time he's seen it. When someone's mind is completely elsewhere and they're drawn back into the present by something that they didn't expect. So, he smiles at her and nods, stepping back to sit down on a nearby chair.

"Doin' okay in here? I know shit's been rough all over."

Dan's keeping to easy questions; ones that don't prompt too much of a response if the person being asked doesn't want to talk about what's really on their mind.

[postictal]

[Hm. Don’t like this. Tim shrugs, or tries to - the motion ends up looking as strangled as it feels, the muscles coiled to tight and the tension too insurmountable. How’s any of this make it better? Why’s Rocket even give a damn? Is he making another mistake, again? Roping someone into his problems, whether they asked for this or not?]

What - the hell do you mean? What’s it matter if they win?

[slapfight]

That's the best part! [She waves her arms enthusiastically.] It'll just be us! We won't even tell anyone we're going, so no one will bother us!

[thecourier]

At night, worse shit than what's out durin' the day starts walkin' around. An' it's fuckin' cold in the desert after dark.

[Dan never lightens things up for the sake of children. If you lie to them when they're young they just get one hell of a shock when they realise how things really are.]

So, y' stop somewhere defensible - buildin' with four walls an' a roof, or a cave, somethin' like that... or y' keep walkin', 'cause stoppin' out in the middle a' nowhere an' lightin' a fire 's as good as wavin' a big neon sign sayin' "eat me".

[madehervows]

[Regina leans over to kiss the top of his head.]

He's in good hands. Thank you, Henry.

[But,]

...I know he moved on. That he's not in the Underworld but... he deserved more. Better.

[naughty_nurse]

[A slow, hesitant smile begins to show on her face.]

... I know you might not understand it, but... you... a version of you has been here several times. And each time... they've always been nice to me. And I wanted to be friends with all of them...