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

[normandysbest]

Of course.

[Ugh, she hates saying this, and he face looks conflicted even as she responds.]

I don't have a real purpose if you all disappear. If the Normandy's gone, if-- if I fail, there's nothing left. I am this mission.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged. The Geth also experience this fear.

(They look at her and chatter.)

If you fail, it is unlikely you will be alone for long.

(It is a statement of fact, not reassurance. She'll either die or have her mind melded with her friends as they're harvested and made to suffer as components of a new Reaper, for all eternity.)

Our death, however, remains a result of our choice. Our people are at peace with their Creators, and will join you as allies against the Reapers. You did not fail.

[normandysbest]

[She chews on his words, still not happy, still not really satisfied. What's still bothering her? If they're-- if they're really fine, she's just being selfish, she's just being stupid. But is that, maybe... what it is? A selfish want to keep her friends close? A need to never lose anyone?

The event catches up to the admission before her brain does, and she almost surprises herself with the words.]

I failed myself, Legion. I promised myself I would protect you. All of you. And... I failed. I couldn't keep you safe.

[She's quiet, and when she speaks again, it's almost too soft to hear.]

I miss you.

[forwearemany]

We were unable to experience loss while no longer alive. However, we regretted that we were unable to spend additional time with you and our crewmates.

(They turn away, looking out at the ocean, and not at her, when they say the next bit.)

We sacrificed ourselves because we wanted the Geth to be able to experience similar connections.

[normandysbest]

[She swallows, when Legion talks. Shrinks a bit more, in small tight motions, like the grip of her hands and the snuffle of her legs. Nothing so noticeable by anyone else.]

It was noble. You saved your people. I’m not saying it wasn’t right.

[She’s not sure there’s anything they can say to bring her around, and this is usually the point where she’d drop it, where she’d shove her emotions down and not say anything else. But the truth continues to be forced out of her, in all of its bitter reality.]

I just should’ve been able to fix the situation. Before that was the only way. Or even maybe someone else could’ve died that wasn’t someone I cared so much about.

[She lets out a little ‘uuuugh' noise, covering her face with her hand.]

Shit, that sounds awful out loud.

[forwearemany]

(They turn and look at her, watching the subtle shifts in posture.)

"It has harmed you."

(They are unsure of what they think of this.)

"Such bias is common in organics." (And then, becaeuse they cannot stop themselves.) "We would judge the most "deserving" of death to be Creator Admiral Han'Gerrel."

(Such biases occur in Geth too, apparently.)

[normandysbest]

Of course it did. I love you. You're my family.

[It's just that simple. They are. The whole Normandy team was. They were all she had.

At least they add a small modicum of humor into this, and she grins just a bit.]

Yeah, he was a dick. Do not regret kicking that guy the fuck off my ship.

[forwearemany]

(They stare at her for a moment.)

Acknowledged. It is similar for us.

(Who says they were trying to be humorous?)

Affirmative.

[normandysbest]

[She laughs a bit, a half-shake of her shoulders for nothing more than filling space. But she does shift a bit, curl slightly out from herself. Just enough to put her hand on top of Legion's on the sand.]

I know why you did it. I just... I miss you, okay? I'm always going to. Maybe it'll get better with time, but... I dunno. It's just how it is.

[forwearemany]

(They watch as she relaxes, reaches to touch them again. They almost squeeze, but stop.

Shepard is probably familiar with the rippling motion their headflaps make when they're debating something, or otherwise in deep thought.

Their actions do not feel... sufficient. They have spent considerable time among Organics, both here and on the Normandy, and they go through their accumulated files now, seeking similar scenarios.

...Consensus achieved.

They withdraw their hand, and attempt to give Shepard-Commander a hug.)

[normandysbest]

[She doesn't quite know how to react when they move. Out of all the time they've had together- and not much, really, it was never enough with the SR2, stolen months out of time and lawless- she doesn't think they've ever hugged. She couldn't really imagine it until they started doing it and she realized, oh, this is what's happening now.

And she lets them. She's not going to stop them, she-- she's a little shellshocked, doesn't really raise her arms much but when they're close, she lets them slide around their torso, bent at the elbow, reaching up Legion's back and pressing her head into their shoulder.

It takes her a few seconds to realize she's crying.

Maybe they won't notice.]

[forwearemany]

(They have never hugged anyone. It is a new behavior.

She doesn't stop them, and then she's in their arms, and they're not really sure what to do anymore.

She's ...small.

This is unsurprising. Though they are small compared to many models of Geth, organic models, save for the Krogan, are typically smaller.

And yet.

She defeated Nazara. She returned from the dead. She has ended conflicts between species, and killed multiple Reapers. It is likely, if Humans and other organics survive this war, that she will be the most important historical figure to have ever existed.

...If they wished, they could crush her with her arms. She would not survive this hug.

It is disquieting.

They shift slightly, almost consider letting go, when they notice the moisture on their shoulder.

She is crying. They watch, silent. She has indicated feelings of extreme distress over loss of allies. In their home universe, they are one of the ones that had 'left'.

Here, they stay.)

[normandysbest]

[It's weird for her, letting herself go like this. Lapsing into something... messy, and uncoordinated. This person, here, crying in the arms of a friend, isn't what the galaxy needs, she thinks. She's used to being larger than life, to being dangerous, to causing problems.

Maybe she's still doing that now, head bowed, as she forgets the world.

It takes her a few minutes to stop, but she still doesn't let go, trying to contain her shame with a sniffle.]

Thanks. For letting me do... all that.

[forwearemany]

(Though it is ...disconcerting to see her vulnerability, were she to voice such thoughts, they would argue that she has a right to it.

When she stops, they're still watching her.)

You are our ally.

[normandysbest]

I mean yeah, but... augh, I want to say something about how that doesn't mean you need to put up with my bullshit, but that's probably a lie. You and everyone else on the Normandy have put up with more of my bullshit than anyone else in the galaxy.

[But she doesn't move away from them, not yet. Just stays here. And for once, she's not just staring at the ocean, wondering about what would have been.]

You're more than an ally. You're my friend. You and everyone else on the Normandy, you're-- my family.

[forwearemany]

(They don't move away either, despite how utterly bizarre this experience is.)

Yes.

(They continue watching her.)

Shepard-Commander. We enjoyed being a part of Normandy collective. Your 'bullshit' is not a burden to us.

(She was the first organic to openly cooperate with them, and the first to declare them her friend. They will not forget that.)

[normandysbest]

[She laughs just a bit, letting her shoulders shake, head tilted down towards the ground.]

Thanks, Legion. Really, I... thanks.

[She can't think of anything else to say.]

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(Legion, on the other hand, has many things they want to say, but cannot articulate them, even in their head.

They think about the friendships they have made as a result of Shepard-Commander welcoming them aboard the Normandy, and chatter to themselves.)

[normandysbest]

[She chuckles again, and leans her head back down on their chest. This is nice. This is temporary. But both of these things are allowed to be true.

Shepard closes her eyes, focuses on her breathing.

This is gonna be okay.]