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

Entry tags:

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

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[[Warnings for character death and major Marble Hornets spoilers.]]

Finally retreating from the metaphorical smoldering wreckage that used to be a movie night, Jay reaches his room and snaps the door shut behind him.

The world flickers like burnt film on an old projector, and the wood of the door warps and cracks. He steps into Benedict Hall, with its peeling paint and crumbling walls and dirty windows and leaning stacks of desks piled high against the walls. There's a familiar weight in his hand--his old camera, a half-used tape spinning away inside. He tilts his head (tilts the camera) to better read the block lettering on the door: "PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO AND DARKROOM". Muffling a cough, he peers inside. Where's Alex?

Oh god, where's Alex?

There are footsteps above him, and he has to get out, now. It can't happen again. He won't let it happen again. Jay breaks into a sprint, and he knows his cover's blown, but maybe if he's faster this time, maybe he won't--

Something catches his ankle, the half-rusted leg of a broken desk lying on its side. He trips, skids across dust and concrete and insulation, and he feels something snap, feels a sharp spike of agony shoot up his leg, but he has to get up, he has to--

Alex Kralie rounds the corner.

Jay struggles to his feet.

Alex raises one hand.

Jay turns to run.

Alex fires, and a bullet punches through Jay's back, snapping his spine.

Jay falls. Alex draws closer, raises his hand to fire again, but something stops him. The air hums discordantly and then splits, allowing a pale, thin form to step through. It retrieves the body.

The tape skips.

Jay Merrick, whole and alive, stumbles back through the door, back into the warm light of the mansion, and bolts.

[[If anyone wants to come see and/or interact with Jay's final moments, here's the thread to do it. The Jay you'll meet won't be the real one, but the one from the memory. The version in this thread was a modification of the original scene. For the original scene, click here.]]

[Shepard isn't trying to pry on anyone this event. She was lucky enough not to be in her room when this thing started, and while she is going to need to head up there and get some locks on it, or do something, she already knows something terrible is going to be awaiting her. But she sees Jay enter, just accidentally as she heads up the stairs, and she panics just a bit. What is he doing, wandering in like that? Before she knows it, she's rushing forward, she's following, and it's--

Oh, fuck.

She's stopped short when she sees him. Alex Kralie. A face she hasn't seen in over a year, except for in a fake memory of Tim's, and even then, it wasn't-- well, it wasn't good. And to top it all off, another face, or lack thereof, that sends a remembered jolt of pain through the circuitry that constitutes her spine.

When it loops, and she feels like she can breathe again, she finally speaks.]

Shit, kid-- come on, we have to go.

[Jay jolts back, flattening his back against the wall. His eyes are wide and red-rimmed, and the shadows under his eyes and in the hollows of his cheeks are somehow even deeper than they are back home.]

Who are you? [He hisses it, quiet but unusually forceful. He knows who could be listening.]

[She keeps her voice equally low, reaching out a hand for him. There's gotta be a way out here- judging by the position, it's the door right behind her, but that won't be useful if Jay bolts out like he did in the last loop.]

A friend. Here to help. You've gotta come with me, and quick.

[He sees her hand move toward him, and he twitches away.]

[A friend. Here to help. Tim just wanted to help. Alex just wanted to help, and look where that landed him and Jessica and everyone.]

[But she's talking like she knows something, and that's too important for Jay to just bolt.]

[He looks over at her, eyes dull and glassy, now barely visible between the brim of his cap and the viewfinder of his bulky handheld camera. He shakes his head.]

There's someone here I...I have to see.

Edited 2017-11-04 07:12 (UTC)

[Damn. She has the single advantage of knowing what's about to happen, but she's only seen it once, interspersed with pain. She can't promise it'll always keep looping. She has to get him out of here, and fast.]

Jay, we don't have time. I know this is a hard ask, but I need you to trust me. Please. We have to go.

[She knows his name.]

[He must have forgotten. He must have known her, but the memories were scraped out like the rest of them. More than that, he's missing the footage. How much else has been taken?]

[He's caught between two leads. He's so close, so close to finding Alex, but this is new. He can't just ignore it.]

Fine. Fine, just--

[If Alex doesn't know Jay's found him, maybe he won't change locations. Maybe Jay can come back.]

[He reaches for the door behind them, and the world ]

[~~shifts~~]

No, no, no, no, no--

[The walls are the same, cracked white paint trimmed with stained and rotting wood, but the door's gone. In its place is a long hallway lined with open classrooms, leading to a stairwell. There's a stack of old boxes along the wall, and the floor is littered with chunks of old insulation and lumber.]

[There are footsteps.]

[The world just moves, a disorienting lurch she's not prepared for, and Shepard stumbles. Shit. Ah, shit. They can-- she can still fix this, they just need to make it back to where they were.

She looks down the hall where she knows who will emerge, what will happen, and grabs Jay's arm.]

Come on! Run!

[She doesn't need to ask twice. He scrambles back through the door of the nearest classroom, pressing his back against the far wall because he doesn't see another exit, just a window.]

[A window's still a way out.]

[He reaches for it--what floor are they on again?--and just as he manages to get the latch open, the wall blips out of existence.]

[He lurches forward, towards the water (water?) below.]

[She's lost complete track of where they are now, trying initially to put herself between Jay and what she thinks is coming, sticking close. But the wall disappears and he's disappearing behind her, so she reaches out to try and grab him and--

God, water, that's right, Jay is from the same world as Tim and Alex and that-- that thing, and just the memory of the pain makes her move faster. She grabs for him on unsteady footing, breathing a little heavier and movement more ragged as she grabs for him.]

[He can feel her grab onto him, and it's enough to steady him. It takes Jay a second to focus, to fully grasp the sheer drop in front of him, and he takes a hesitant step back and trips--]

[--skidding against the leaf litter. The old university building had a chill, but it's somehow worse out here, with wet, yellow-brown leaves scattered in the mud below, with the canopy dripping fat droplets of water.]

[It wasn't raining before, he thinks, hysterically.]

[The underbrush is thick, wound with peppervine and kudzu, and even though he doesn't see the trail, Jay knows where they are.]

Rosswood.

[He says it for her sake.]

C'mon, we gotta run--

[He grabs clumsily at her arm and pulls her along, lurching toward a narrow break in the underbrush. He only manages a few steps before there's an awful c̸ra͘c̴k̡

echoing in the space behind them. They've been spotted.]

[Weren't you looking for him?]

[Doesn't matter. Run, run.]

[She doesn't need to be told to run, feet hitting the pavement as steady as she can. Shepard doesn't need to look to know who's here; she can feel it, creeping up the circuitry in her nerves, in the wiring at the top of her spine. Every movement in Its presence is known, and for a second, she's afraid it'll just reach in and grab it, wrench control away from her limbs and stop her heart in an instant.

She doesn't know where they're running. She just knows she is.]

We need to find somewhere safe! Anywhere! And fast!

[There's a small building up ahead, nearly a shack, but Jay recognizes it. It shouldn't be here, though; it's by the hospital--well, the annex to the hospital, the one that matters--but they're nowhere near there. At least, he doesn't think they are.]

[This could either be the worst idea ever or the best.]

[Another gunshot echoes behind them, sending a sharp spike of static across his skull, and it's enough to make the decision for him.]

C'mon!

[He tugs at her arm, pulling her inside the building. It's barely six feet across inside, lined with metal pipes that lead into a square hole in the concrete floor.]

[Jay scrambles down into the hole without missing a beat, kicking up a cloud of dust. Ducking his head, he backs up further into the tunnels below, allowing her more room.]

[She doesn't need to be told twice- if this is a way out, or even a decent hiding place, she's going to take it. Shepard stays one step behind, using her body as a cover. She can take a few bullets and keep going- somehow, she imagines that's not the case with Jay.

She climbs in after him, looking for something to use as a weapon or shield and comes up empty. Instead, she just tries to keep body blocking Jay, throwing an arm over him as they move.]

[The tunnels are narrow even for someone Shepard's height; beside her, Jay is nearly bent double. Maintenance lights hang down from the ceiling, easy to knock into if you're not paying attention, and old metal pipes line the walls. The floor is coated in a thick layer of dust, billowing up in clouds with every step.]

[Jay fidgets with his flashlight for a moment before turning it on. It flickers for a moment, but stays lit. He nearly speaks, nearly warns her they can't stay long, but he cuts himself off, instead pointing to the ceiling of the tunnel.]

[If Shepard listens closely, she can hear footsteps above them.]

[A few steps, a pause. The creak of a door. A few more steps, and a very familiar voice:]

["Come on out, Jay. I know you can hear me." Muffled by layers of concrete and dirt, Alex's usual drawl is held even. Controlled. There's a faint hint of annoyance, but beyond that, nothing. "I told you not to get anyone else involved."]

[She stays perfectly still, trying to run through her options. She never fought Alex, but- he's a scrawny kid. How hard could it be?

Well, judging by the fact that she lost a wrestling match to a child earlier, maybe a lot. Probably shouldn't be her plan A, at least.

She looks towards Jay, raising her eyebrows, expectant that he's got some sort of plan.]

[Jay...doesn't. He doesn't have some sort of plan.]

[But maybe he can think of one. They can hear Alex, which means they know his position. And that position isn't at the end of the maintenance tunnels.]

[He brings a finger up to his lips, and then points upward. If they talk, Alex can hear them. Then, he motions for her to follow.]

[Quietly, gingerly, he shuffles back toward the entrance to the tunnel system, flashlight casting long shadows against the concrete walls.]

[It's blocked.]

[Where the exit should be--and it should be here, right?--there's a knot of pipes, backed by a concrete wall. New hallways extend to either side. Jay can feel his breathing picking up, feels the dust pricking against his throat. He stifles a cough.]

[The urge to clear his lungs gets stronger, more insistent. He doubles over, wheezing pathetically. He just has to keep quiet. He has to keep quiet.]

[A spike of static burrows into his skull. He loses his footing, shoulder landing hard against a cluster of pipes. The sound echoes.]

[Down the rightmost corridor, through the haze of dust, a pale white oval hangs in the air.]

[Shepard nods, mouth squared shut. She has to trust him, now. She has no choice but to follow.

She sees him double forward, grabbing at him to cover his mouth, but it's too late. They're boned, and when he feels the pain, so does she, a hiss escaping her lips as it shoots down her spine, through the electronics in her nerves. Fuck. Fuck, it's found them, why doesn't she have her fucking guns--

She gets one more glimpse of it, and tears her vision away as her head swims, pushing Jay down the left side with a whisper.]

Go, go now--

[Jay only hesitates a moment before he bolts, only making it a few feet before he stumbles sideways against the wall. He can't stop. He's done this before. He's done this before, and he's made it out fine, and she'll--]

[He doesn't think about her.]

[Jay rounds a corner, flashlight swinging toward the darkness.]

[The figure with the blank face flickers closer. Closer.]

[It looks down at the creature tangled up, envenomated, and immobilized, follows the way it twitches, traces the way the metal wound around its bones sparks and hisses.]

[It should not be here.]

[He left her. He left her. He's a coward, a fucking coward, and he knows it because he knows he won't turn back. Instead, he stumbles onward as the tunnels twist and split in foreign configurations, running farther in each direction than Jay knows the property will allow. He strangles another coughing fit.]

[There are footsteps down the hall.]

[Jay turns the opposite direction and runs.]

[Shepard finds her footing and bolts after him, but everything's scattered. She's barely able to see through It's influence, the way it fries the hidden wiring and bolts under grown flesh when it's not even trying. This would be so much easier if she wasn't half fucking robot. She's trying to keep track, trying to find and follow, but her vision is tunneled and eventually she has to stop, press her hands into her eyes with her head back against the nearest wall. She doesn't know where she is, she can't help, fuck, this is terrible, this is--]

Jay-- fuck, Jay, where are you, we can-- come back! We can still get out of here!

[She'd like to think she's inspiring. But right now, she just feels like a terrible, terrible liar.]

[It flickers away, and the pain eases slightly. Just slightly. It's still watching.]

[Jay freezes when he hears the voice, jaw clenched tight enough that it might as well be wired shut.]

[The footsteps behind him stop, shuffle in place.]

[Jay presses himself into the shadows and tries to quiet his breathing. That woman, whoever she is, whatever she knows, is still alive. And she's close.]

[But now, Alex--because those footsteps are almost certainly Alex--knows she's close.]

[He can't let Alex hurt her.]

[He can't let Alex hurt him, either.]

[Fuck.]

[He steps carefully, head stooped and one hand running along the wall below the pipes. He just has to get far enough. He just has to get away from Alex, and then he'll find her, and then they'll both get out, and they'll be fine. Everything will be fi--]

[Jay's foot knocks against a glass beer bottle, invisible in the darkness. The sound echoes down the hall.]

[The footsteps--Alex's footsteps--freeze for a moment before breaking into a run. In the same instant, Jay bolts.]

[There's a deafening gunshot, but the bullet lands yards from its target, accomplishing little more than sending more cracks through the concrete.]

[Alex knows where he is. No use keeping quiet anymore.]

Get out! Get out now! [It's wheezed out between breaths, but maybe it's loud enough for her to hear.]

[She has no idea where she is. She's turned around in the tunnel system, but she needs to find him, and it's the gunshot that brings her out of it, slides her mind back into place. They're on the field. They're on the field and she needs to get her act together, effective immediately. Shepard grinds a foot into the dirt, feels the strain in her muscles, and takes off into a dead sprint towards the sound of his voice.

She doesn't have any kind of spectacular vision in the dark, and the glowing scars of her cybernetics have long since healed, but she still has a few limited moments of invisibility if she needs it. She can't extend that to him, but if she has to carry him out of here, so be it. Her lungs feel like fire, her body aches, but she can rest when the job is done.

Shepard skids into his view, grabbing at his wrist to move, fast.]

Tell me now if you can't run!

[He jerks his hand away for a split second before realizing who it is. She's here. She's here with him, still breathing, ~~not lying next to the road, not splayed out on the concrete with her head caved in~~. Maybe they'll get out of this okay.]

I can run, I can--

[Another gunshot ricochets off the steel pipes lining the walls. Too close.]

[Jay tries to pick up speed, squinting through the pain in his head. He switches the flashlight back on and holds it out in one shaking hand. They're too loud; no use hiding anymore. More important to see.]

[She grabs him again, out of instinct- she'll carry his ass wherever they need to go if it comes to it. And now that they have a clear adversary, a direct path, there's more she can work with to maybe get out of here.

Her voice isn't hushed, but she hopes it's low enough to keep it from Alex.]

You got another one of those? Maybe we can blind him for a sec and I can get that gun out of his hands.

[She should know, by now, that these situations cannot be changed. That this is a fight she will not win.

But Shepard has never really cared about the odds.]

[Jay turns a corner (a corner that shouldn't be here, it shouldn't be here) before finally speaking.]

No, just the one. Here--here, take it.

[He clumsily passes the flashlight. Either she knows what she's doing, or she's good at sounding like she does. Either way, she's got more reason to have the flashlight. He can just switch on nightvision.]

Who are--?

[Another gunshot, and Jay bolts, yanking at her sleeve as he pulls away.]

[A voice echoes down the hallway, familiar Southern drawl turned blunt and flat and emotionless.]

"There's no use running. Just come on out, and we can finish this."

ota | floor 4, room 4

hell! hell! hell!

memoryjay incoming!

yess

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