[MU] - DECEMBER STORYTELLING / MEMORY SHARE

[lifeaftr_mods]

Something is wrong.

This may not very well be obvious, at first. The Storyteller is not present to put forth yet another diatribe, informative or apologetic, and the backdrop of guttering flame and sandy campfire is as present as ever...albeit briefly.



Those who tell their stories will start to notice something...odd taking place. Indeed, no matter how they intend to begin their tale, the land of Mu will immediately start to warp to accommodate it, or something utterly unlike it, until storytellers and listeners alike may find themselves in an exact recreation of a seemingly random memory, in the most stark and painstaking of detail. There is no altering the memory, nor is there any preventing it once it's begun to play - you will simply have to witness memories that are not your own this go around.

Furthermore, stories that take place in worlds other than LifeAftr will be, frankly, inevitable. Those memories, too, will be recreated, to be relived by the teller and lived by the listener.

---

It is time, once more, for you to tell a story...with a slight twist! This is, in fact, our first player plot, as provided by Dragon! The initial setting will be familiar for oldcomers, and newcomers will recognize it from the introduction they received in their dreams.

Yet for this Storytelling only, people can imagine whatever stories they wish, from both their homes and their time on LifeAftr, as long as they don't mind the fact that others will be reliving those stories in the form of an impromptu memory share.

Even those who prefer not to voice their stories aloud are not safe this time around. If the memory is recalled in essence, Mu will shift to accommodate it in full.

There is, however, a benefit to this: those who venture memories to be relived will receive both a befuddled apology from the Storyteller, who will assert that this was most definitely not meant to happen (they're the Storyteller, not the Rememberer!), as well as a tired promise that the relived memories will be worth two offerings each, as if in compensation.

Not that it counts for much, probably.

Comments

[ungrieved]

Gabe, on the other hand, is envious for other reasons. Talking mouse or not, he didn’t consent to let anyone spy on the only good memories he had. The boy who abruptly placed himself between Mickey and the crib is older, but he’s the subject of the story nonetheless.

For however long that lasts.

“What are you doing here?” he snaps.

[souris_keteer]

Mickey is so startled he lets out a big "WHOA!" and stumbles backward, landing on his behind. He flails and fumbles, trying to get back up and properly apologize.

"I-I'm sorry!" He stammers. "I didn't mean... I was just tryin' to find out what was goin' on..."

[ungrieved]

“Has anyone ever told you that it’s rude to eavesdrop?”

He should be smiling. In control. He should be fending this attack off with ease. But with everything he is having gone unacknowledged until now, what does he do when someone finally does mention him, recognize him, address him - and do so in a moment of the utmost privacy?

[souris_keteer]

Mickey is about to protest that, again, he didn't mean to - but ultimately he realizes that the second he saw anything, he did have the choice to turn away, close his eyes, not listen... He sighs a little.

"I'm sorry." He repeats, head lowered shamefully. "I guess... I was just curious what a mother is like. But you're right, I shouldn't have looked."

[ungrieved]

"You didn't have a mother."

He advances, abruptly far less threatened, far less reactionary, and far more predatory. The mouse has just exposed a weakness, and Gabe intends to take full advantage of it. Think of it as compensation. Emotional compensation for unjust crimes.

"Was it everything you hoped it would be?" His mouth twists upward into something of a sneer. "Is it picture-perfect in your mind now?"

[souris_keteer]

Mickey needs another pause to think. He's an adult now, at least by his world's standards, so the pining for parents isn't as strong as it once was. He has to cross his arms, tilt his head, and mull the question over.

"... No." He finally admits. "I mean, it's nice... I wish I had somethin' like it... but it's not perfect because it's not mine. It's yours. We've got different lives, and at least for me, I'm happy with the way things are. I shouldn't go wishin' for stuff that belongs to someone else."

[ungrieved]

Gabe laughs. It’s a decidedly brittle, unpleasant sound, wrenching at his vocal cords. He’s never had to be aware of those sorts of bodily limitations before. Unfortunately, the newness of the sensation isn’t enough to deter him.

“Maybe you should. Maybe everyone else is wishing for your life.”

[souris_keteer]

"Aw, I don't think..." But he trails off, considering. Before he wound up here on the islands, he achieved his childhood dream, he and his friends were heroes, and he was about to ask the princess out on a date. Compared to most people, that's a pretty darn good life!

"Gosh, you might be right." He finally says, a little worried. "Gee, I hope I haven't been bragging about it and making people feel bad... from now on, I'll be much more careful when I talk about home. Thanks for the tip!"

... Yeah, Mickey is still blindly oblivious that Gabe is trying to manipulate the mouse and make him feel bad. Nooo, surely this is just a normal conversation!

[ungrieved]

This is embarrassing. It’s embarrassing because it’s obvious that not a single word he’s saying is landing a hit. Clearly he’ll have to try harder.

“Just think of how many people whose lives you’ve mocked, pretending that you’ve had it rough.” Pretending. That’s right.

[souris_keteer]

Mickey counts on his fingers, trying to remember who and how many people he's talked to abut his home life. "Let's see... There's Newt, and Roy, and Ren... Hmmm... I think I told a bunch of people at this point. Maybe I ought to play it safe and apologize to all my friends, just in case." Nope, still not hurt.

[ungrieved]

“Really torn up about this, aren’t you?” He’s going to get under this bastard’s skin. He’s going to.

“I bet you don’t even feel bad, do you? Do you really think they’re gonna believe that you’re sorry? Or are you just pretending to be good for all the attention?”

[souris_keteer]

Mickey blinks a bit. Okay, now he's getting the idea that Gabe is being hostile...

... Which is probably because he's still upset that Mickey saw the memory! Why, Mickey bets Gabe's a swell guy normally, he's just upset, and rightfully so. No grudges here, let the guy vent.

"I just gotta try my hardest. I can't make anyone believe anything, that's up to them."

[ungrieved]

A swell guy? Gabe?

The son his mother describes as a little shit, even on one of her good days? He's never been good, or reasonable, or palatable, or acceptable. He'd only been in the world for the blink of an eye before it decided it didn't want him anymore.

"Funny. Seems to me like you're trying to make me believe that you're actually sorry for any of it."

[souris_keteer]

Listen, Mickey thinks this is a good guy. He's not exactly great at spotting danger.

"Well, I am." Mickey merely says with a little shrug. "If you don't forgive me, that's on me. You don't have to."

[ungrieved]

This isn't working. He'll have to shift tactics. The aggression melts away as quickly as it formed, and Gabe smiles, instead. He touches two fingertips to the center of his chest, to indicate himself.

"You wanna know the next part of this story?" he says. "You wanna know how it ends?"

[souris_keteer]

Mickey blinks. That's certainly a change in topic, so he thinks. He glances where the memory was playing. "I don't want to hear it if you're not ready to say it." He decides. "I already saw more than what I should've, I don't want to make things any worse. You have a right to your memory, and your privacy."

[ungrieved]

"But I want to."

Time to see if Mickey's sense of self-preservation will eclipse his sense of generosity - or his willingness to see how a story will end. Because Gabe is still smiling, and his stance is unchanged.

[souris_keteer]

If he has a sense of self-preservation, that'd be news to everybody.

That said, he thinks... mentally debates... then smiles. "Well, if that's what you want. I still won't tell a soul, don't you worry. But how come you changed your mind?" After all, he was so angry at Mickey seeing one memory, what did Mickey do "right" to gain access to another.

[ungrieved]

"Why don't you tell everyone?" It's a vicious, ice-stiff pronouncement. "Tell them all that I'm alive." Because he's alive. He is so alive. And as the memory fades in, Mickey will get to see for himself, just how alive he really is.

Just...not in the conventional sense.