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

[suspense_kills_me]

[Red chuckles, he can't help himself. Easy would not be a word that he'd use to describe anything related to himself and Elizabeth.]

I met her four years ago, before that the last time she saw me she was a young girl. It was better that I keep my distance before then, it helped to keep her safe. I still don't know if I'm going to get to see Agnes grow up, that is up to her parents.

[thevulnerability]

I guess you got into something you shouldn't have, huh?

[ Chloe winces, wishing there had been a way to stop herself from saying that. It was a toss up, of course; maybe he didn't leave the most honest life, or maybe he was in a job where he was constantly in danger while doing the right thing. Chloe didn't want to judge, but her experience in Wonderland had shown that most people she met fulfilled the former rather than the latter. ]

I'm sorry. It's none of my business, I... This event is really frustrating.

[suspense_kills_me]

[The explanation of his life just comes out.]

I'm Number One on the FBI's Most Wanted List. I've been some number or other for the last Thirty Years. I've gotten into a lot of things I shouldn't have.

[In both cases, Chloe's right. Red neither led the most honest life, but he did think he was doing the right thing.]

I run an extra legal empire worth upwards of One-Hundred and Fifty Million Dollars. I set it all up to protect Elizabeth. I met her when I walked into FBI Headquarters and turned myself in, the same day she began her job there.

[He's done more talking tonight than he had in the last 30 or so years.]

[thevulnerability]

[ Six months ago, Chloe's response would have brimmed with hostility. Things have changed, though; she's changed. So instead, she just nods, staring down at her hands. ]

Yeah, I'd call that getting into the wrong thing. God. [ She shakes her head, unable to look at him, fixating on a frayed edge of the blanket in her lap. ] I'm a cop. I was a cop. I'm also dating the Devil who, by the way, happens to be a pretty great person so... [ She lets out a breath, finally lifting her eyes to look at him. ] That was good of you to take care of her in some kind of legal way.

[suspense_kills_me]

I'm usually able to pick out law enforcement fairly quickly, I can't say I was able to with you.

[Red laughs at her comment about the devil, he can't help it. This place is so...odd.]

I didn't think the devil could really handle a relationship, or at least the one I know about.

[Then he sighs]

She's not safe, not for any length of time. Her mother made some dangerous enemies, and I did little to help matters. I provided her with everything she needed to have a successful life, money, an adopted father who adored her, and a new identity when she was a girl.

[thevulnerability]

You'd be one of the first, so that's a relief. I thought I just smelled like cop.

[ She smirks in response. ] You might be surprised. He's actual from my world which is... Weird enough to begin with. He works with me, kind of a consultant type thing? So, the Devil solving murders and all that. The relationship thing is new to him. Apparently I'm special or something.

[ It's clear she doesn't really believe that, but moving on. ] That must have been so hard for you, regardless. I couldn't imagine leaving my daughter. I would if it kept her safe but I don't think I'd ever get over that. It's hard enough just being here, away from her.

[suspense_kills_me]

Considering I'm a criminal informant for the FBI and most people think I'm at least closely related to the devil, the consultant position is less surprising than you'd think, and you might be. Elizabeth certainly is.

[At least as far as Red's concerned. He told her as much when they first met.]

I was never really able to and managed to keep an eye on her from afar. Her father, Sam knew I was watching and helping when I could. I even went to her wedding. Then I was hell bent on killing her husband, but I was there.

[thevulnerability]

Well, of course she is. She's your daughter. There's not a lot that's more special than that.

[ Even if he didn't see her grow up, Chloe doubts that changes a thing. It certainly wouldn't with her and Trixie. ]

A criminal turned FBI informant who wants to kill your daughter's husband? Okay, you have to explain what that's about.

[suspense_kills_me]

When she began her job at the FBI, I hired someone through a contact, to keep an eye on her, Tom Keen. He was supposed to be a friend of a friend, a contact that could tell me what was going on with Elizabeth, if she was safe. My instructions were clear, and he disobeyed them. They got involved. I terminated the contract.

I found out they were engaged when I was in the middle of a negotiation in the Andes, between the Colombian Government and FARC rebels. Back then, I was one of the few people who could serve in that capacity, having brokered deals for both sides of the conflict in the past.

I wasn't able to return until the day of their wedding, convinced he had to die. Then I saw the way Elizabeth, looked at him, and how happy she was, and I couldn't take that away from her.

[thevulnerability]

That... Isn't as bad as I thought it would be.

[ Better than him being abusive or hurting his daughter in some way, even if the events surrounding it were a little strange. ]

I mean... That's certainly a way for him to keep an eye on her, yeah? You at least know she's going to be safe, that he isn't going run off at the first sign of a problem if he actually loves her. I think the only thing we really want for our children is for them to be happy.

[ Which makes her wonder how her dad would feel about all of this, if he was alive, if he knew the truth about Lucifer. At least Red's daughter wasn't in love with the Devil, so it could be worse. ]

[suspense_kills_me]

It was, though once I terminated the contract, he decided to align himself with an enemy of mine. After that, things got complicated between myself and Tom Keen. The only thing I have to give him credit for is firmly believing that everything he's done he's done to protect Elizabeth. He usually made the situation worse, but he tries.

[Red is firmly in the camp of 'Father-in-law hates Son-in-law' and he doubts any of that is going to change for as long as Tom and Elizabeth are together.]

[thevulnerability]

[ Chloe snorts a laugh, shaking her head. ]

You don't have to tell me about getting involved with guys who try and just make everything worse. That is my ex-husband. [ Dan was a master at screwing things up, even more so when he tried to make them better. ] And my partner too, for that matter, though at least he usually helps me work it out at the end.

[ Chloe often wondered if Lucifer was so incompetent that he came right back around to being useful; he always managed to get done what needed to be done, albeit in a manner that seemed completely accidental. ]

[suspense_kills_me]

Elizabeth and Tom are waffle between married and divorced, together and not. In fact, all of this started on their second wedding day. They didn't make it to the end of the ceremony, thanks to the gun fight, child birth, and her untimely death.

[He hoped they would stay unmarried at least legally. Though he didn't count on it.]

Her partner, Donald Ressler, isn't particularly good at not screwing up their operations. I've had to bail them out on more than one occasion.

[thevulnerability]

Ah. One of those marriages. That is my literal nightmare. As much as I hated my divorce, it's done with and I'm not going through that again, at least not with Dan.

[ Chloe is more than happy to date again, but she would never consider going back to her ex. They tried to make it work and couldn't. Something just couldn't be fixed. ]

The feds where you from sound like a disaster area. [ She puts her hand over her mouth. ] Wow, that was rude. Sorry. [ But true. ]

[suspense_kills_me]

Tom and Elizabeth's divorce was fairly clean cut. I did leave him handcuffed to a chair in her living room after she found out he'd been lying to her for their entire marriage. She made the mistake of breaking his thumb.

[Tom and Elizabeth were suited to each other more than either of them or Red would care to admit.]

Oh, don't be. I've managed to evade them for decades. I've often joked that Donald would slip on a banana peel on more than one occasion. I'm surprised it hasn't actually happened.

[thevulnerability]

I don't know whether to think they've managed to rise above the odds or be concerned for the welfare of their child.

[ She clearly joking about the latter, but she also does have to wonder how that kind of relationship can work out. It might be because she sees a little of herself and Lucifer in it; they are certainly antagonistic to say the least, in polar opposites, but maybe not in the ways that matter. ]

What finally brought you around? Your daughter?

[suspense_kills_me]

To work for the FBI? Something like that. It was always part of the plan, perhaps not when it happened. But it was always in the cards. I knew she's always been in danger. Things like that happen when your parents both work in foreign intelligence for opposing sides.

[thevulnerability]

Wait, so all that, the criminal behavior and everything... You planned on going to the FBI the whole time? Then what was the point?

[suspense_kills_me]

Much of it. Some of it I did because I enjoyed it. One of the perks that came with my life at home was a jet, and the freedom to travel where I wanted and when I needed to. That is something I miss.

[As for the rest of it...]

Elizabeth's mother was a spy. During her career, she acquired a lot of powerful and dangerous enemies. The only way to stop them and keep my daughter safe was to become more powerful than they were.

[thevulnerability]

I mean, as a mom? I can't blame you.

[ She should, but everyone does something for a reason. In Red's case, it's a reason she can understand. She would do anything to protect Trixie, and even she can't be sure of the life she would choose if put in that position. ]

Honestly, though? That's why I became a cop. I wasn't that good of an actress, so there's no way I could pull off being a criminal mastermind. But solving crimes? I can do that.

[suspense_kills_me]

So can I, though mostly through information and experience. I'm still surprised the FBI, lets me continue with my criminal activity.

[thevulnerability]

Wait, they do? [ Uhhhhh ] Why the hell would they do that?

[suspense_kills_me]

If they didn't, their information channels would dry up. Criminals aren't going to keep giving me information if they suspected I was in bed with the government. That, and I really didn't want to give up my jet.

[thevulnerability]

Right, that makes... sense. [ It does, but damn does it give Chloe a bad feeling to think of letting someone continue criminal activities like that. Good thing she's never had to be in that position. ] What kind of stuff were you into?

[suspense_kills_me]

Do you want what the FBI has on my wanted poster? Or Specifics? Or What I've done since then?