[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

[unpurify]

[The Drifter, a jackal and a world that exists long enough to detonate before their eyes.

The sight and smell of corpses is not unusual to the Batter so he isn't going to bother commenting on it. Instead he watches the Drifter double over and cough, pink blood splashing against the ground and turning into a black corruption. A shadow rises, something great and terrible only to last a second against the Drifter's blade.

Or not. It comes back monstrous and worse in a way that oddly reminded the Batter of himself. Towered over the smaller Drifter and continued hunting them down no matter how far they ran.

"Escape is impossible."

And what comes next are large machines that are destruction incarnate before a flash of light reveals them to be mere skeletons of what was. Old and withered husks of metal brought down by time and perhaps something else.

The white light the Batter has no problems watching without blinking until it fades away. And then there's the jackal again and a great door. The light beyond the door seems to be something the Drifter wants and they claw towards it despite the vines clawing at their being.

The Drifter tears the vines down again and again until they can't. And then they're gone.]

What were you looking for?

[What was that light?]

[hyperlit]

[What does it mean, when someone can regard a holy beast without flinching, without acknowledgment, when one barely needs to shutter their gaze against the searing blaze? He is a warrior too, they know, but of what sort, they cannot say. They’ve not any cause to pry.]

[Eventually the Batter does, however. The Drifter gestures at the center of their chest with one gloved hand.]

a cure

[unpurify]

[The King of the Rot, the executioner of the end of the world. The Batter.

Myself, in every sense of the word. But this isn't his story.]

For the world? Or yourself?

[Because they were looking pretty sick before the world turned black.]

[hyperlit]

[The answer does not come immediately. For the world? For themself? For...]

[It's hard to say. They had reached the end of all hope, until the jackal god had hinted at another path. If they were not seeking for a means of saving their own skin, perhaps they never would have bothered. Perhaps none of them would have.]

[Perhaps that is why the jackal had chosen them, and others like them. Perhaps she only chooses those whom she knows will be hers; those who have nothing left to lose.]

for myself
and for both

[unpurify]

[For themselves and for both. A reason to continue.

The Batter doesn't know anything about the Drifter besides their appearance and the brief glimpse that memory had given him of their world. And while he hadn't flinched when the darkness approached but the dominating presence of it was hard to ignore at the same time. And yet the Drifter continued.]

Did you find it, in the end?

[He's not expecting an answer so the Drifter doesn't have to give it. But an answer would be interesting for...various reasons.]

[hyperlit]

no

but the world may have

[May have. May have, because they cannot know for certain. They cannot know, when all they have is the promise of a glittering expanse of water beneath the sun, glorious and pure and untouched by poison and decay.]

[But they were not there to see it. Not in person. A vision bestowed upon them by a benevolent god...or the feeble wishes of the dying?]

do not know

[unpurify]

[There are a lot of 'maybes' in the world.

The Drifter did not find their cure but the world may continue to survive from whatever had happened to it. This also implies they were not around to see for certain if it does or not, be it due to arriving in this place or some other reason.

At the very least the Batter saw the darkness consume himself and the world before he woke up on a raft.]

I do not know if this is the correct thing to say.

[He's still learning, after all.]

But if that is what you wished the world to see, then I hope it came to pass.

[hyperlit]

[That is a...]

[It's a kind sentiment. If this is what they wished from the world, perhaps it would come to transpire. The Drifter inclines their head in a slow, deep nod: polite and earnest.]

a final vision:
water
the shining sun

[And the edges of their dark eyes crease in something...something like joy. Something like contentment. Something like relief.]

[If there are any people like the Guardian in the world, perhaps that means they will live well.]

[unpurify]

Another day.

[Continuing in its simplest form. Living another day. Perhaps also purity, in a way. Different for what was called in his world. Maybe...no.

A 'what if'. But if that is what the Drifter's world gained by their efforts, then it should be enough.]

[hyperlit]

a world cured

[For that, they will have to believe it is worth it. They will have to believe that something good has come of that sacrifice, and that others who are kind, others who look at a stranger bleeding out upon the ground and pick them up to take them someplace warm and safe, will live on because of it.]

[They must believe that such a thing is possible.]

[unpurify]

[The Batter has to wonder if there was some irony at work, meeting someone who tried to fix their world without destroying it.

Clear seas and hope for the world.

But it's not his story and the Batter doesn't want to bring the mood down. So...]

However it is defined. Perhaps your world will see a rainbow.

[Something pure and wonderful when you see them in person.]

[hyperlit]

[A rainbow.]

[The word, in context, must mean something nice. It must. They just don't know what it could mean. Rain does not bend. They have seen rain many times, many times over, but the skies are too distorted and dark and blighted with swollen clouds to allow for that clarity.]

define rainbow?

[unpurify]

[Evidently the Batter wasn't expecting that question because he pauses for a moment before answering.]

It is something that comes after a storm. It's rare to see sometimes, but it is full of color.

[It's...pretty. That sounds about right. And means a lot more to the Batter then what he's planning on telling, but that's something else completely different.]

It might be possible to find one on the island.

[hyperlit]

[After a storm. Literal, or metaphorical? That is a decidedly nonspecific way to quantify it, but perhaps they will know it, if they see it. They will keep watch, then, the next time a storm occurs near one of the islands. It likely will not be difficult to miss.]

will wait for a storm

[unpurify]

[The answer would always be both if the Drifter asked. But that may just be something to due to the Batter himself.]

Okay. I think a lot of people will like them.

[hyperlit]

[The Batter is doing an excellent job of convincing the Drifter that he is a fine and upstanding fellow. The Drifter lifts one hand to form a u-shape with their gloved fingertips, holding it over their mantle. A little smile-shape, to indicate their agreement and pleasure with that sentiment.]

[unpurify]

[Well he is trying to be good and making someone smile - he guesses? - is a start. The Drifter could probably see the gears turning in the Batter's head, not because he doesn't get what they're doing but because he's figuring out a response.

The light-bulb going off is probably also visible as the Batter smiles himself. It's...incredibly awkward-looking. Sorry.]

Okay.

[hyperlit]

[It cannot be any more or less awkward-looking than theirs, to be fair. They do not and will not judge someone for their capacity to smile; that would make them something of a hypocrite, wouldn't it?]

[He has promised to wait for a storm. And so they will wait. Perhaps then he can point out to them directly, what it is a rainbow looks like.]