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

[thecourier]

Yeah, me too.

[It's not even the truth that he can't handle telling. Dan is by nature a truthful person and not inclined to lying or hiding anything and it hasn't really impacted on him that much, save for telling Evie exactly what he thought of her frustratingly cavalier attitude towards her personal safety.

In the end, it needed saying.

What's bothering him more are the repeated flashes back to being shot in the head in a dusty hilltop graveyard over three years ago. His memory of it had been muddy until now, but seeing it played out in front of him like a bad holotape has brought it all back in all its terrifying detail. It's one thing he would have rather stayed permanently forgotten.

He gives Jay a gentle pat on the shoulder.] Don't worry, kid. Nothin y' say t' me is gonna go any further than him.

[A small nod is given to the dog, who chuffs softly and finally relents in his attention to Jay's face.]

[burntvideocassette]

[The lick barrage finally lets up, and Jay manages to reach one hand out to scratch Oscar behind the ears.]

Yeah. I mean, thanks, but it might not be enough. There's a--[Damn this event.]--a friend of mine, and if you ask him, just telling you some stuff could be risky. For you, not us.

[And if he's right, Jay's a ticking goddamn timebomb, so it'd be best if he just. Keeps his mouth shut. Thanks.]

[thecourier]

Okay.

[He doesn't ask why. He doesn't ask because he knows that if he does, Jay won't be able to hold back from telling him. Instead, he just smiles and gently pats the younger man's shoulder, letting the dog take the lead on this one instead.

Oscar rests his chin on Jay's knee, not at all aware that the glass brain case on top of his head can be very disturbing, and makes a soft whining sound.]

... Hey. [Dan says then, softly.] Want me t' leave Oscar wi' you fer a while? Reckon 'e's taken a shine t' y'.

[burntvideocassette]

["Okay," he says, and for once, Jay doesn't feel compelled to blurt anything out. Huh. Maybe he should've tried that before the entire movie night went down in flames.]

[And then he asks about Oscar, and Jay can't help but say: ]

Yeah. Yeah, I think I'd like that.

[He's fine. He's fine, and he doesn't need a dog to cheer him up, but of course he can't say that.]

Does he know how to get back to you, or is there a place I should take him?

[thecourier]

He knows where t' go, but 'll be around outside if y' wanna find me. Jus' drop me a line.

[His attention goes to the dog, a low whistle getting the animal's attention. Oscar's tail wags as he gets a gentle pat on the head, and Dan smiles faintly.]

Okay, yer gonna stay here wi' my buddy Jay fer a bit, right? Make sure 'e don't get 'imself into no trouble.

[Dan straightens up, and the dog sits down by Jay's seat, still wagging his tail.]

A'right, kid. 'll maybe see y' later.

[burntvideocassette]

[Jay flinches at "buddy". He's not really friends with anybody. He knows people. Sometimes they tolerate him. Sometimes their dog tolerates him. Sometimes he invades their privacy with a camera and misplaced determination, and they look at him like he's something to be afraid of.]

Yeah, maybe.

[It's mumbled, interrupted by a persistent dog nose. Jay's not petting him, which is clearly some kind of mistake. Hesitantly, Jay returns to scratching at Oscar, tracing along the metal edges of his brain case.]

And thanks. [And of course he has to keep talking.] Oscar's the first dog I've seen up-close in years, and I...I didn't realize how much I missed, just. Dogs. Until now. I still feel like shit, but now there's a dog, so it's...not as bad. So thanks.

[God, this is pathetic.]

[thecourier]

[Dan thinks his dog a good judge of character, so if Oscar likes Jay, he sees no reason why he should be too suspicious of him. The young man continues talking, so Dan takes a seat (rather than remaining crouched on the floor) and loosely clasps his hands together.]

Y'no, [He starts quietly, giving the dog a soft look.] I 'ad a dog like 'im back in the wasteland. Rex. Sometimes 'e was the only company I got fer days at a time.

[It's not something he's being forced to say, but if there's going to be talking, it feels like a safer topic than whatever Jay was trying to avoid.]

Saved my life a few times, seein' things I didn't know were there.

[burntvideocassette]

[His memory immediately, painfully winds back--]

["For whatever reason, this really set off Rocky, and, uh, h-he got really scared. He wouldn't move and kept pulling on his leash to go home. There was something about this guy that was just...it was strange."]

[...He said that out loud, didn't he? He did. It was muttered, but he did.]

Uh. Yeah, dogs are...dogs are good at that stuff. Picking up on things we don't.

[thecourier]

[He muttered it, but Dan doesn't comment. He's said worse things at the tail end of nightmares that gentle hands have shaken him out of. Besides, it doesn't seem like anything Jay wants to talk about, and he isn't going to press the matter.]

Yeah, they are.

[Dan gives Oscar's ear a rub. His fingers brush the top of the brain case and sparks follow across the glass.]

Even dogs as patchwork as this one.

[burntvideocassette]

[He looks down at Oscar, scratching at the fur at the edge of his metallic shoulder joint.]

Yeah, even you, buddy.

[Jay has an idea. It's a terrible idea. It's an unforgivably terrible idea, but he's having it anyway. He looks back up at Dan, still with one hand on Oscar.]

What happens to him during events? Or, uh, anybody's pets, to be honest. Do people here have pets?

[thecourier]

[Oscar just wags his tail. He doesn't know how serious the conversation is, all he cares about is that he's getting attention.]

Mm, plenty people have pets. Sometimes 'e's around. Usually 'e is.

[He's rarely away from Dan's side, so he notices if the animal suddenly isn't there.]

When 'e's not... I ain't sure where 'e goes. Never seems t' bother 'im any.

[burntvideocassette]

[Jay grimaces. It doesn't seem bad, but it doesn't exactly seem good, either. He'll have to look into this some more, before he...]

[Before he tries something stupid.]

[He focuses back on Oscar, reaching between the metal supports to try to give him a good scratch behind the ears.]

At least it doesn't seem to bug him. Does it, Oscar? [His voice drops into the deep, borderline Muppety range exclusively reserved for talking to dogs.] I know a couple people who'd love to meet you!

[He freezes, shoulders tense, and the truth event drags out an explanation, this time in his usual register.]

...One of them's dead. But that doesn't mean he's not...doesn't mean he can't show up here. And I wouldn't've even brought him up if not for the event.

[Time to pet the dog and absolutely not make eye contact with his owner. Good plan.]

[thecourier]

... Relax, kid. Y' keep lookin' at me like 'm gonna think yer sayin' somethin' weird.

[So far, nothing Jay has said has felt really out of the ordinary. Perhaps it would to other people? Hard to say, when Dan's life has been so peculiar on its own.]

Yer fine.

[burntvideocassette]

[He's fine.]

[That's...that's good.]

[Jay looks up at Dan from the theater seat, silently thankful. After a moment, he resumes petting Oscar.]

[It'll be over soon. He's fine.]