[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

Ooh, I have unintentionally appropriate icon keywords. :D

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet breaths in sharply as the memory ends, not quite loud enough to be a gasp, one hand still outstretched where she'd reached forward on pure instinct. Because that's what you do when you see someone about to fall, isn't it?]

[You try to catch them.]

[But Chara isn't falling in front of her right now- and, most certainly, Chara does not want to be caught. Nor did they want to show her this memory, she knows, just as she did not want- was not asked whether or not she wanted- to see it. She lowers her hand slowly, folding it neatly in her lap with the others, and says nothing.]

[achievementhunter]

[They are not falling right now, but is that really a mercy?

Haha. No, it isn't. They see her reaching and stare her down, long after Muffet lets her hands fold into her lap, the silence continuing between them. Waiting for her platitudes and pity.

It's torture of an entirely different kind.]

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet meets their gaze evenly, not offering any kind of challenge but not flinching away, either.]

My condolences... are likely thoroughly unwanted, I suspect. Given that none of us chose to share the things we've seen tonight, I assume you would prefer not to discuss it.

[She keeps her tone calm and matter-of-fact, trying not to burden them with any more emotions than what they're undoubtably already struggling with.]

cw: suicide

[achievementhunter]

[The response she's expecting is likely not a soft scoff, nor the sharp smile that accompanies it. A razor sharp thing, stiff and almost inappropriate, given the situation.]

Condolences are hardly necessary, Miss Muffet. After all, for a few minutes there, I thought I'd actually be allowed to die. Isn't that a lovely concept?

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She's honestly not sure what she expects from them, at this point. They're full of surprises.]

Well, not from my perspective, no. As a concept, I find it worrying on multiple levels. Evidently, you felt differently about it than I do.

[Muffet has absolutely no idea what the appropriate response is here, so she's just going to default to polite honesty and pretend that she isn't still mentally screaming a bit.]

just lemme know if this thread is getting too heavy chara is Biting rn

[achievementhunter]

Evidently! [It could easily be mistaken for enjoyment, the smile on their lips. A baring of teeth and a breath of laughter that is all too wrong for such a discussion.]

I wouldn't expect you to understand, Miss Muffet. You and your kind come from a world where the idea that death is better than continuing to live remains a concept unheard of.

Make no mistake. There are plenty of things worse than death.

Nah, we're good. :D

[prettypurpleparlor]

[Muffet does not, for a moment, mistake that smile for happiness. She has fangs of her own, too sharp for her to confuse good cheer with merely showing the other person your teeth.]

Not, perhaps, unheard of- but I think those of us who hear it don't often return to tell the rest.

[Those who Fall Down don't get back up again- with one notable group of exceptions.]

[She can't help but think of the Amalgamates, now, wondering what they might have to say about it. She hadn't known any of them well enough to ask, not without it being cruel and strange to pry into such private matters. Then again, she hadn't asked to see this, either.]

[achievementhunter]

Really? What a pity.

[They stare up at her, smile growing by the second, remaining ugly throughout. Though she is slightly taller than her, they look down at Muffet, all the same.]

Might I suggest, miss Muffet, that you are currently out of your element.

Commentary based on ignorance is unwelcome.

[prettypurpleparlor]

[She does not flinch or falter in the face of their gaze, even when their red, red voice once again sets her mind to insisting that she should know that voice, not because she's ever heard it before she came here but because it's something important, something that exists on a deeper level than mere memory.]

Very well, then. Would you prefer to discuss another topic, in that case, or simply end our conversation entirely?

[achievementhunter]

[She does not shrink or cower, and it is something they cannot find joy or relief in, not right now. Possibly not ever, when their tongue is a blade and their words are red hot, eyes narrowing.]

I think it would be best for you to leave.

[prettypurpleparlor]

As you wish, then.

[She rises smoothly to her feet and turns to leave, back straight and bearing calm as she walks away. Perhaps calmer than she truly feels, but getting emotional won't help things now. If this is what she can do for them right now, so be it- as little and late as it is.]