Event Log: Memories Past

[hadrielmods]

Who: Everyone
What: Memory Share Event!
Where: All around the city
When: November 14th-20th
Warnings: Please remember to tag all warnings for memory shares!

Have you ever looked through someone else's eyes? Heard through their ears, spoken with their tongue? The gods have tried to teach some of you empathy, but it's time you learned the hard way, exactly what the others here have been through. For a week, every time you brush skin to skin with someone, you'll experience a memory of theirs: happy, sad, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that it feels real to you.

The first touch may come as a surprise- it lasts only for a split second but may feel like an eternity, where you're trapped in someone else's memory. After that, it could be more expected, and some may even figure out how to control it and share specific scenes from their past with others. Or, you might wear gloves and long sleeve shirts for awhile, nobody's judging.

Maybe curtail the handholding for awhile- or go right ahead, if that's your thing. After all, you never really know somebody unless you've walked a mile in their shoes, right?

► This log covers November 14th-20th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you die in a memory, you don't die in real life, but if you do die in real life please let us know here.

Comments

Fire Dancing

[oldtonew]

This memory is loud and chaotic, though happy. A young Kettara - perhaps eleven or twelve - is dancing hand in hand with an older troll woman, laughing wildly. A large bonfire has been built on the edge of a beach, the night sky gleaming above them. Other trolls and orcs are standing a little apart from the fire, cheering and clapping. But only Kettara and the troll woman are dancing in the fire itself.

Strangely, the flames don't burn them. The troll woman lifts Kettara up and roars. The crowd cheers and the flames whip around them, suddenly taking shape. Like shadow puppets, animals appear in the fire - wolves, dragons, raptors. Even fish. Kettara reaches out in wonder and the flames curl around her almost gently. She laughs, spreading her hands wide, and the fire jumps in response.

The troll woman kisses her on the head and the crowd roars. And the memory ends.

[unphase]

[Tinya has never seen anything of the sort, not even in her times following her mother around in diplomatic missions. she's from a world where science reigns supreme, but this seems to be magic. magic unlike anything she's seen or imagined before. she wants to pay close attention, to see how it works, but she's too captivated by the end result.

she assumes (she hopes?) that the troll woman means something to Kettara. she'd never allow such liberties with someone who wasn't very close to the family. which consisted of her and her mother. her biological father wasn't really in the picture]

That was amazing! Was it amazing to you, too?

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara frowns, turning slightly to face Tinya. Confusion is evident on her face. ]

...I don't understand. What do you mean?

[unphase]

[it doesn't matter for the moment what she meant. as soon as any contact is made, Kettara will find herself in Earth orbit, gazing at the weather control machines ringing the earth, a tall, bald man in a black jumpsuit with a white triangle emblazoned on the breast saying "More of these sickening contraptions! Weather control! The very idea! Are humans so perverse that they can't even tolerate their own planet's nature? Every new fact I learn about these creatures just confirms my opinion and gives me new ammunition against them!

So let the hard rains fall! Let the thunder deafen them! Let the snows blind them! Let the roaring winds pluck them from their feeble shelters and whip them to oblivion!"

what he doesn't see is Tinya and her boyfriend, Ultra Boy on approach to stop him. He gets as far as "And let the--" before Jo punches him in the face, using his ultra-strength and yelling back "All right! We get the flippin' point already!"

Jo's opponent only grins and says "You are strong, boy! I actually felt that! But you're so slow," and escapes using super-speed.

Tinya doesn't know what to do. he's moving too fast for the eye to see and as far as she knows, the man is halfway down to Earth by now. in the meantime, Jo has some recriminations for himself "Grife! Super-speed! And I had him! I'm stupid, Tinya, just plowing in as if one super-power at a time is enough to handle that maniac--"

but he doesn't see what Tinya is seeing. their attacker, on a direct course for the both of them. she phases to protect herself and tries to get his attention, "Jo! Invulnerability! Now!" as the man flies straight through her, hitting Jo at the base of his spine and sending both of them hurtling towards Earth.

Tinya's in a near panic. the boy she loves being attacked by a being with all of the powers of Superman with the intent to kill and she calls out desperately "Please be invulnerable, Jo! Please!"

and the memory fades]

[oldtonew]

[ It takes Kettara a long moment to remember how to breathe, let alone process the scene that came into her mind.

Eventually she clicks her teeth. Huh. ]

...I believe we shared memories, Tinya.

[unphase]

[and Tinya is wide-eyed, both at what she'd seen and what she's afraid Kettara might have seen.

she blinks rapidly, coming back to herself]

I--I think we did. What did you see?

[oldtonew]

You were in a great battle. A man was at your side. Your mate, I think?

[ Kettara scratches her head. ]

You fight well.

[unphase]

Did he have brown hair and eyes with a red and green costume on?

[if he does, that narrows down the number of fights she's seen]

Thank you. I learned self-defense as a little girl, but I haven't had to really fight since I joined the Legion.

[theweakhavepurpose]

[Pratt is in the shops, because of course he is. Where else would he go now that the orchard, his main source of food, is gone. The man has enough stored in his house to feed several people for months, but he's always checking the shops anyway. Maybe something new and exciting will show up. Powdered milk or pasta or maybe even some Mountain House rice pilaf.

And then suddenly he's not in the canned goods aisle anymore, but in front of a fire and surrounded by orcs and something larger, skinnier and more toothy that he can't identify. He's never seen anything like it. Bonfires sure; big ones even where they all got drunk and sometimes set off fireworks and threw their beer cans into the blaze to watch them implode.

But this is something else, something magical and fascinating and he wishes he could reach out and touch the fire animals. ]

[oldtonew]

Pratt?

[ Curiously, he seems to have - Kettara isn't sure she has the proper words. But he almost seems to be looking at something beyond her, far in the distance.

How very strange.

Kettara tucks her satchel under her arm. ]

Are you well?

[theweakhavepurpose]

[The vision ends and he stumbles back from her, panting a little.]

What the hell did you just do?

[Because clearly this is her fault. He's not exactly upset, more confused.]

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara's frown deepens. ]

I didn't do anything.

[ Though something clearly is happening. ]

What is wrong?

[theweakhavepurpose]

There was .. I dunno a bunch of orcs I guess, around a fire. And yelling and cheering and animals that seemed to be made of fire?

I don't know it was weird. Like a hallucination or something, but it felt oddly real.

[He rubs his eyes with his palms.]

I'm going crazier than I thought.

[oldtonew]

[ Kettara hesitates. At first she thinks it might be a trick - the gods play tricks, she's been told - but then he mentions animals made of fire. And she remembers, ever so distantly, traveling with the Darkspear trolls when she was younger. How they would gather and dance under the stars. ]

Was it on a beach? And - a troll woman?

[theweakhavepurpose]

Yeah a beach and there was someone tall and hunched over, lots of teeth. I don't know what a troll is.

[Well he knows what they are according to Lord of the Rings and also those weird toys with the pink hair, but he's sure that's not what she means.]

Why? Did you see that too?

[shithefuckup]

[Zack's raised a hand halfway and was about to shoo away the handshake when he finds himself somewhere else. A place with a strange-looking ground near the water and equally strange-looking people celebrating something would have been enough to have gotten his attention. Should have, even.

Yet- the only thing his eyes gaze onto is the bonfire. He doesn't even notice the two dancing among them, all he can register is just the flames. Big, intense, bright...

'Dangerous' is what his own mind is screaming right now. Though the memory ends, Zack's stare is off somewhere as he just stands there completely frozen; fear washes over him and his lungs tighten, forcing the rhythm of his breathing to become more short and panicky.]

[oldtonew]

[ This one looks human even if he's covered in bandages, so Kettara had commenced with her plan to Make A Good Impression. Master Muln would be pleased, she thinks - right up until her new acquaintance goes very still.

His breathing is rushed. Edging into panic.

Oh. ]

Are you well?

[ She frowns, leaning forward to sniff him. He doesn't smell injured... ]

Are you hurt? I can heal, a little.

[shithefuckup]

[Her voice rings through his mind, enough to snap him out of it. Slowly, but eventually, his breathing returns to normal as he gets his bearings and realizes he's in the shop again.]

Fine...I'm fine!

[Despite those words, it comes out more choked up.]

The fire, is it gone...?

[oldtonew]

[ How strange. Kettara steps back, wary. ]

What fire?

Hope this is okay? -- beach

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin is curious about this one, and is pleased that she approaches him. He takes her hand gladly and squeezes it with a grin in response to the bone-crushing pressure.

The memory translates itself right into his mind with the speed of fire, very appropriate to the content of the vision! He sees the bonfire surrounded by the dancers, and the young Kettara and the troll woman dancing. . . right in the middle of the fire! The fire leaps and twist in the form of real and mythic animals, and caresses Kettara like a relative!

Curufin is entranced by this picture and doesn't realize he has let go of her hand until the vision vanishes.

"That must have been some party!" he comments, with a smile.

[oldtonew]

Kettara blinks, surprised, but smiles nonetheless. "You saw the fire dance, yes? Even now, I remember it well."

[so_dark_a_road]

He returns the smile.

"I saw it, yes. Can you normally share memories? If you didn't do it on purpose, then I guess the gods must be craving a snack. But it seems to be working out well, this time. I've only seen pleasant memories, so far, from anyone. You must have fire powers, then? Since the fire didn't burn you. I wonder if I saw it because I have a connection with fire myself."

[oldtonew]

"I believe the gods are responsible," Kettara says slowly. "There are rituals to do such things in my world, but they are difficult and take time to attend properly. And yes, I am a shaman. I speak to the elemental spirits to hear their wisdom and guide them in turn. Fire among them. But you are not like me, I think. What sort of fire powers?"

[so_dark_a_road]

"A shaman, eh? You can speak to fire, and to other elementals as well? The fire did not harm you. Do you have immunity to harm from the other elements as well? Would water refuse to drown you, for instance?"

He guesses they are not of the same race -- the difference in appearance guarantees that. And he's very curious about her and her history and experiences.

"I am an Elf of the First Age of Arda. When we went to live in the land of the Valar, the Powers of the World, we absorbed much of the energy and magic of the land. It depends somewhat on the individual's inclinations, but my clan typically produces craftsmen who can summon fire, water, earth, or air. I myself have an affinity for earth and fire. I'm a metalsmith and a gemsmith, and so it comes in handy. It is very easy for me to shape iron or other minerals, or for that matter, to find them in the landscape. Light and fire will both respond to my call, though it's generally in the context of craftsmanship and sometimes of war. My sword may blaze with blue fire if I'm up against an opponent who has great power. It did when I fought the demon Caedra."

[oldtonew]

"Not immunity, no. But I can ask the elements for aid and if they agree, they will not harm me for a time."

The elements are fickle, like all living things, and don't always obey.

She watches him curiously, listening. "An elf. I see. There are elves in my world, but they do not look like you. I don't know much about their inherited gifts. Some of them are gifted gem crafters and smiths, but that is true of many races. Some elves follow the druidic path, but there are no shamans among them. But among my people, among orcs, it is a common path."