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

[bloodmagics]

[After they'd seen the state of their room, Hawke and Cullen had grabbed some supplies and set up camp in the woods with their own mabari. Not so far in that they'd risk losing a life, but far enough that they wouldn't be disturbed.

So it's only natural that Dog would sniff out Oren and go tearing off to find his friend.]

Dog! Dog, come back!

[It isn't until he catches sight of Robyn's camp that it clicks, and Dog himself seems to sense the change in the air and slows down. The pair approach slowly, not wanting to intrude.]

Robyn?

[heroica]

[ She isn't surprised to find Hawke outside and offers him a small smile as he and Dog approach. ]

Hello, Hawke. [ Small, but... forced. Seeing the events of Highever so many times has taken its toll. She sighs, gesturing for him to sit, if he'd like. ]

Hello to you, too, Dog. [ She produces a treat and offers it to the other mabari, to Oren's apparent chagrin as he whines in her direction. ]

[bloodmagics]

[It's not hard to see the toll the event has taken on Robyn and he briefly wonders if she'd rather be alone. ...Well, he's never been the best at judging that.

Dog is all over the treat, chomping it down immediately and licking her fingers. Hawke joins her, watching the pair of mabari.]

I won't ask what Wonderland decided to torture you with, but I'm sorry it's happening. Again.

[heroica]

The same as you, I imagine. [ If what she's heard is true, then everyone's rooms had been transformed. ] But... thank you. I hope you're doing as well as you can, considering...

[ He and Cullen, who she assumes are out in the woods here together. ]

Would you like to sit for a while? [ The Warden asks, lacing her fingers together over her lap. ]

[bloodmagics]

[Hawke offers a weak shrug, because of all the horrible memories it could have chosen, it had to choose his mother's death.]

If you're sure you don't mind.

[But he's going to take the seat anyway.]

Are you doing okay out here?

[Alone, he means. Even though Oren is here, and as much as he understands the bond between Fereldan and Mabari, it's not quite the same, sometimes.]

[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. ]

[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.

[bloodmagics]

...Part of me is angry they got to leave, but Thedas isn't any better. At least here, there's peace a lot of the time.

[And not all of the events are bad. It's a fine line to walk on, and he isn't sure how much longer he can.]

No matter what happens, we'll always have each other.

[heroica]

Thedas isn't better?

[ Strange. It isn't better... for her, at the moment, since there is no Thedas for her to return to. But, maybe he's right. In the future - in his future - their world may still be warring.

She considers this, and then shakes her head. ]

I wish that I could go back. I'm grateful for the people I've been able to meet here, but I miss Ferelden - so much.

[bloodmagics]

Any place that has Orlais can't really be better than anywhere else.

[And that's not even the compulsion talking.]

... I miss Ferelden too. I miss Lothering. I don't think I get to go back anytime soon, though.

[heroica]

[ That makes her laugh, surprised... and brings a little warmth back into an unpleasant conversation. ]

I'm sorry that we weren't able to save it. [ She says quietly. ] That we weren't able to do more...

[ So many lives lost along the way. They'd tried, but they were a motley crew at best, barely-trained and badly-organized. ]

I hope you'll be able to return there one day. [ beat ] Do you know much about your future?

[bloodmagics]

Nobody would've been able to save it. [It's a quiet admission of his own.] But the Blight was ended, and that's the important thing.

[So many losses and sacrifices along the way, anything else wouldn't be honoring the fallen.]

No, I've been trying to avoid finding out too much. I can't do anything about it here, and it might not even be my future.

[heroica]

I know what you mean. [ Nathaniel knows a Robyn Cousland who lived, who became Warden-Commander, after all... and that can't be her. ] It can be so frustrating, hearing about... what you're 'going' to do, or the kind of person that you 'will' be.

[ Luckily, though, he seems to understand. ]

[bloodmagics]

There's at least one... [He frowns about his own upcoming choice of words but he sure what else to use.] version of me that uses blood magic. That scares me more than anything else.

[Damn honesty.]

What about you? Do you know much of your own future?

[Oh god Hawke no.]

[heroica]

Blood magic? [ It seems to unsettle Robyn, too, whose expression shows it. ] Who said that to you?

[ As far as she knows, he isn't the type at all to try... that. ]

My-... [ "I have no future, she's compelled to say, but manages to spit out another truth instead: ] Nathaniel tells me I'm to become Warden-Commander, which is how we meet in my future. But, that would be difficult, seeing as I died fighting the archdemon during the Blight.

[ Ah, well. It came out anyway. She sighs, looking down at her hands. ]

What's done is done, isn't it? No use regretting my choices now, even if I did, which I don't.

[ Mostly. ]

[bloodmagics]

Fenris, if you met him during his brief stint here. [He sighs.] The Hawke he knew was a tyrant. She sold out her friends and did everything she could to get more power.

[But that pales in comparison to what Robyn says and his stomach drops out. He feels like a complete asshole, even though he couldn't have known but still. That wasn't an admission Robyn wanted to make, likely, and it's her own business.

... I'm sorry. Both for asking and for what happened. I shouldn't have --

[He sighs.]

What's done is done, after all. But you have my word, it's not something I'll ever share.

[heroica]

Ah. [ Robyn shakes her head. ] I knew of him, I think, but we never spoke.

[ Not more than once, perhaps. He had been a... former slave? A elf, and a man full of something like hatred. Is this why? Because of the Hawke he knew? ]

It's all right. [ She says quickly. ] I... struggled with that knowledge for a long time, but it is what it is. I made my choice, and I've learned that I can't regret it, or else I'll drive myself mad.

[ Most people don't have this kind of time to reflect on their sacrifices, but... Wonderland is what it is. A long stretch of time. ]