[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

[holdmyhand]

[ his voice goes up. He's yelling now, screaming at her, feelings intertwined in absolute rage and self deprecation. She can't help but cringe. His hands sink into his hair and a hand reaches out for them before he absolutely lets loose. What is she supposed to do? What does she say to him? What can you say? He...t-to his dad...

...of course it's scary. Of course he's scary, but there's someone nice in there who makes mushrooms slightly more edible, and someone who loves his pokemon without fail, and...where is he? Which one's the right one? ]

Don't yell at me! [ she retorts with some anger. Bitter. Maybe a mob boss always stays a mob boss. Maybe his goons were liars, and he is just as weak and monstrous as he claims. A man who stole a pokemon from a preschooler. Who clubbed his-- that man to the point of breaking the clubs. Maybe he's as bad as he says. Luna's angry, fist shaking-- she just wants to punch him in the nose and scream back. After all, she's just worried!

...and she is worried. Scared. Is this the same guy? Who is this man?Who's she really worried for-- herself, or Guzma?

She scowls and turns her face away. It's not good. None of it is. ]

Some trash can be treasure. [ she thinks of Ren, who found, amongst a pile of rotting food in an abandoned market in a world she'd never understand...a small, plastic flower clip. And she was so excited-- she babbled about it to Luna with vigor...even though it was ordinary. Even though it was so plain, and small, and...it didn't have a point. It was just her treasure. Luna bites her lip. A genuinely good person-- that's what Ren is, because Luna's struggling to see the curbside appeal. ]

If you're such trash, why do so many other people love you?! Idiot!! [ she's yelling back now. ] I can't make you see it. I can't make you see how much people care about you-- even if they could be hurt they still care! I still care! Because you're you!! Why do you have t-to... [ she chokes on her words. Eyes are hot. Heart is pounding. ] ...b-be so mean?! No one here has ever asked you to change...have they?! That's wrong, and...!! [ she can't talk well now, the tears are in full stream, and she's so angry that she just has to keep talking-- she has so much more to say besides a choked sob. Besides an infuriated growl. ]

N-no one hates you for who you were...th-they love you for who y-you are...!

[ she sucks in a breath and then screams at him. As loud as she can. ]

IDIOT!!

[ does it hurt to hear the truth? She keeps her eyes shut tightly, arms trembling. Body shaking. You want to be a monster? Here's your chance. She huffs out a breath of air, exhausted at the amount of air that just left her lungs. Don't yell at a kid, Guzma. She doesn't know how to be an adult about it.

She's just a kid, after all. ]

[yallstupid]

[She yells back, tells him not to scream at her, and Guzma sets his teeth together, jaw clenched and muscles tense. His pulse pounds in his ears, and he's sure there's a vein throbbing somewhere, pumping blood to his face and making him look red - like some sort of fiery devil. That's what he is, that's what he does - he yells. He yells and is scary, angry, and bad. Big Bad Guzma...it's not just a title for show, it's the truth. He opens his mouth, ready to combat her thinking, to tell her to shut up and get out of his head, but...but she goes on.

Some trash can be treasure.

He remembers the same girl - did he ever really learn her name? Maybe, but he's forgotten by now, or just can't think straight at all. But he does remember the young girl and her love for seemingly useless things - things he'd so easily discard, or toss aside. Broken things, things with missing pieces, empty dolls, with their stuffing pulled out...and nothing left inside. He says nothing, and turns away again, away from her, hands shoved into his pockets. He says nothing, because he believes that to be true, but he doesn't want to associate himself with that - with treasure. It goes against everything he was told about himself, from childhood. What's right anymore?

People love him, that's true, too. Those idiots he took in - his grunts; his brothers and sisters, they may have been afraid of him when he was upset, but they all adored him, didn't they? There was always one - the one who loved to make those fluffy pancakes and sweet berry cakes, who'd always try her new recipes on him. Because she knew how much he loved sweets - and she'd always get so happy any time he cleaned his plate, or asked for more.

And then there was Plumeria, who had been with him through it all - his right hand, his admin, his second in command. The big sister of Team Skull, and his best friend. She knew how to talk to him, how to deal with him, and how to calm him down when he was about to blow his top. She could put him in his place, and he'd even allow it - because he trusted her so much. If she was the sister of team skull, then she was his sister as well, and he couldn't have been more happy to call her that.

He turns, looks back, uncertainly, when Luna goes on. I care. I still care. The anger seems to roll off him, slowly, as he's brought back down from his crazed high. The silence that persists, as she goes on and on, is dense, and heavy, but Guzma doesn't interrupt - he listens to it all, lets it soak in, and...and--]

G-Go away... [It's a tired, broken gasp of air, forced out from his lungs like a cough. It sounds wet, too, and Guzma tenses his shoulders, eyes squeezed shut. Heat burns behind his lids; he wants to wake up. He wants to wake up and...and do what? Run away? Run away, like he did before? Take the emergency exit out of here? It's cowardly, but--] Just leave me alone.

[He needs to think.]

[holdmyhand]

[ she's been biting her lip since she called him an idiot. That wasn't a nice thing to say, and she starts deflating just a bit. Wants to apologize, but moving her lips is hard. This whole experience is hard on her brain, and knowing how to properly process it all is...well, it's hard. He's thinking about things, and when he turns away, she confirms he's...probably not thinking about nice things.

It's hard to think about nice things, sometimes. But...not impossible.

He wants her to leave, and she'd grant him his wish. He reminds her a bit...of Gladion, being that she'd seen more of Gladion before she came here. Very one-track minded. Needed alone time, and she was more than happy to let him do as he pleased. He knew what he was doing. She knew what she had to do. It's different, here. He doesn't know what he's doing...and Luna doesn't know what she's doing, either.

Her voice is soft, like a whisper. Lost without answers, she clenches her fists. ]

O-okay.

[ he's become so important that leaving is harder than staying. Is he like Gladion? Does he need space? Will he remember to come home? Does she need to vocally burn into his skin the reminder that people love him? She wishes it could be easier. That she could shut her eyes and not see a child, cowering beneath his fa--...another man, waiting to be beaten. A pokemon who would give their everything to keep that child alive and safe. She wonders if he thinks she pities him. If she wants to apologize. But in honesty, Luna doesn't know what to do. No apology could strip any layer of that heavy burden from him, but all she wants to do is apologize. All she wants to do is tell him that things will be okay, and that even if he's bigger than her, she wouldn't let anything bad happen to him, if she could help it. She'd have her companions beside her to make sure that wouldn't happen.

In a situation like this, her mom would hug her, and pet the back of her head. Back when she was small. Back when dad was around. Long, tan fingers would run through Luna's soft, black hair comfortingly. There, there. The voice of the angels cooled her hot tempers and any sadness. I'm here now, everything is okay. He...never had that, and Luna withdraws her hands to her sides, pressed tightly into her body.

She swallows thickly and shuffles backwards a step. Opens her mouth to speak. But what do you say? Nothing. Say nothing, and...remember to smile later, when he comes home. Remember what her mother did. Remember the patience in her voice, and the softness of her hands. Luna walks away from him.

Don't forget. ]