Invasion!

[goneawaymod]

Who: The New Hires
What: Sudden Memory Share
Where: Their Memory Palaces
When: After Intermission
Warnings/Notes: Possible in every memory, warn in subject lines.

Contact.

It's during a pause in their day. A nap. An idle moment looking across the Top Deck. Taking a slow breath between reps in the training room.

The New Hires are connected. Mental pathways locking together, they're forced into one another's innermost beings. Thrust into one another's memory palaces where the mind collects and stores everything that makes them who they are. The core of their beings are only a few steps away and no one can help the violation.

To make matters worse, it comes with no explanation or no ability to pull out and stop. Once they're through the first memory, perhaps they can find a way out, but they're already witnessing some event from their host's past. And, if they left, who knows whether or not they'd end up accidentally invading another memory palace?

And if they were there, who was in theirs?

[[So, how this works: the memories can either be viewed in spectator mode or experiencing everything themselves. The person whose memories are being shown, the host, can watch as their current self or take the form they had of their past self.

They cannot control the first memory shown, the player decides that, but they can control any other memories they'd like to show people. Of course, there's always the option of an extreme emotional reaction bringing up memories unbidden.]]

Comments

[somnioergosum]

Another deep breath. Ronan lifted his chin and squared his shoulder. It should have helped him feel more at ease but he only became more aware of how different his body was. How had he lived through puberty?

"Not outside a dream. This--" Ronan waved his hand vaguely around the room. He looked back at his father, who was now brushing the flowers and blood from his face.

He paused and stared at him. His heart felt like a glass hitting the floor in slow motion.

"This is a memory. Can't do shit about those."

[garmr]

Guts notices the pause, quite familiar with the feeling of a child's yearning for their parents. Seeing the distress in Ronan, he tries to bring the topic to something a little less heavy.

"I'm curious why you'd want to learn to use a sword with this kind of magic."

Swordplay was just so mundane by comparison. Straightforward and effective, but mundane.

"Did none of your powers come with you?"

[somnioergosum]

Ronan stared at Guts. "Dreams won't always be there to defend you," Ronan said. He cast another meaningful look at his father. When he turned back, his face was hardened even if he tried to speak in a lighter tone. "Besides, what's the point of dreaming a sword if you don't know how to use it?"

He crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know what happened, but I can't dream anything. I got some weird crappy power exchange. I can make light when I'm awake. Couldn't ever do that before." That power could be a bit more involved. He had secretly been playing with that ability but he still had some things to figure out.

[garmr]

Guts starts to get the picture when Ronan gives a second look to his father. The supernatural has a way of attracting bad things to people. Things that could devour them if they aren't careful. It isn't any of his business to ask, but he can only imagine what must have happened. At least, he can start to understand more why Ronan wanted to train.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a good answer for why it might be gone. I've traveled with magic users but don't know much of it myself. It must be frustrating."

Swordplay was a thing he could help with, but this was a bit out of his league. He really can't be of much help.

[somnioergosum]

"That's an understatement. I don't even know how I'm alive." Ronan gathered himself and kept his eyes on Guts. As much as he wanted to just look at his parents, he wasn't alone.

"It has to be something to do with the Stuff. Whatever it fucked had better get unfucked when I get home." He really didn't want to think about what would happen if it didn't.

[garmr]

"Seems to work kind of like some of the astral magic I've heard about."

Not that he could explain it well enough, but he does his best to remember.

"Strong feelings and thoughts all forming together into something real. Something you can touch. Never seen anything like this before, though."

[somnioergosum]

Ronan shrugged. "And did you hear about it from anyone you actually trust?" Astral magic definitely didn't sound right to Ronan.

He looked at the room, trying to remember just what all had been dreamt and what was real. All he could really recall now was his mother.

"They're not made of feelings and thoughts. They're real. Whatever that word even means." His voice went bitter when he said that last part. He'd been told never to use the word but none of that mattered while he couldn't dream.