RAIN & MEMORY SHARE

[spoofer]

Characters: Ensemble cast, any/all characters of Xistentia!
Summary: Rain has come to the world, and with it, comes whacky memory share phenomena— certainly not all of which is wanted. Characters are driven to find shelter and solutions.
Date(s): September 30-October 7
Warnings/Notes: None specific, please warn in your subject headers

Awash In Memory

The landscape after cruelty which is, of course, a garden

The Rain

At first, it's just rain, expected to last a week. A swirl of silver cotton-candy clouds in the sky that rolls into a mist, and then a drizzle that freckles the gutters and chases people to their cars or into the shopfronts. It's nourishing and not too cold— a good excuse to share an umbrella or maybe just fitting of a shitty, blue mood if you would like to walk around in a billowy coat like the King of Pain.

Gimme Shelter

It can be a cute or enormously embarrassing way to meet people, pretty much up to you. Fall in step with someone under an offered umbrella, or dart around like a panic with a pizza box or plastic bag over your head. Maybe you'll just find an overhanging tree branch or store awning to tuck yourself under. Hopefully you're stuck with someone you like.

Quite a few restaurants seem to be offering rainy day specials, including Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, comprised of hot cocoa and half-off a second cup if you're buying for a friend. You probably won't be the only one there.

However, for those of you who are taking the weather more seriously, the citadel has opened for shelter. Here, there are beds aplenty scattered throughout, and the bar and lounge is open with its terrible soundtrack as well as plentiful if repetitive food and drink. Residents are also exchanging resources of their own, including harvested foodstuffs and clothes. You can also check out the control room to see the meteorological analysis and forecast... which is behaving a little unpredictably, but-- it'll probably be fine.

Like My Mood

Alternatively, #mood.


Maybe everything sucks because you got stood up for a date or otherwise rejected recently-- it's a good time to storm around tragically in the street. Alternatively, if you're the happy type, there is an entire musical dedicated to the fine practice of dancing in the rain. Who needs musical accompaniment when you have the rhythmic drubbing of water on the earth and the sweet smell of petrichor?

Or maybe you're in the mood to talk. Certainly, there's an increasing sense of nostalgia going around that's stronger and more widespread than the average effect of poetic weather...

Oh Shit

However, the downpour steadily intensifies over the next few days, and soon after F.A.T.E.S. issues a warning— D.E.S.T.I.N.Y. has hijacked the climate. At first, there are only a few concerns— herds of animals coming into the city seeking shelter. Be careful if you find a herd of bison gathered under the highway overpass, or your kitchen is suddenly full of fairies. Hell, maybe you're a Good Samaritan, trying to rescue some hapless native cat or other.

But then it begins.

The Memory Share

As the rain grows heavy, the nostalgia turns into something unexpected. Characters who touch one another find themselves sharing brief sensory memory. These can vary from the sudden and terrible pain of old battle wounds, to the overwhelming, heart-pounding joy of welcoming a new child to the family. The scary thing is, these memory share are uncontrolled, and might come from even the shortest, most accidental touch.

The Telexistence Temple

News from your fellow residents: Era Ra and Ezekiel won visions during the fair. And now Era has information to share, that uploading memories at the Temple can lock and protect them from the involuntary release, as well as fortify the defenses of the city. She's also talking about some kind of a key hole there, which you can check out yourself. Weird!

You can teleport East from the Citadel to the Temple, or you can walk there on your own two legs. Weather allowing.

Within the Temple the chamber lays behind a large round door covered in inscrutable carvings. It's surprisingly bright in here now, in contrast to what Era's message held. It contains numerous strange beds, all of which are now online, having awakened in answer to the rainfall. The characters must lay down on while the daemons connect to a holographic interface.

From there, the memory share becomes intuitive even for the most technologically impaired of Xistentia residents.

The Temple Chamber

If you should choose to share, you may control who sees it; filter it to someone of your choice, or leave it open for everyone. You may post anonymously, but visual cues of identity cannot be erased. Pain is muted and impressionistic, but pleasure tends to be evocative enough. It's the way the mind works. Daemons will flag graphic or commonly disturbing material. With every new memory shared, the rain seems to be lessening.

You can also choose to lock it away, preventing anyone from seeing it for at least another month. Unfortunately your memory will not help to shield the city, but at least it will stop embarrassing you. Let's hope it doesn't provoke any intrusive questions in the meantime.

After 48 hours, enough memories have been shared. The sky over the city and the sphere of forest surround the urban bounds develops a barrier that looks almost liquid, translucent. Though residents can pass through it, it cuts the rain down to half. A few hours later, the storm wanes out and stops entirely. The shield also fades away, and the animals begin to ebb as well, back into the wild. It's only been a week, but it might feel much longer.


The memories will dissipate from storage in a month, regardless of whether or not they're viewed again.

Comments

nico di angelo ▪ open + anonymous memshare

[deathkid]

𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙜𝙤 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 ➨

[ nico doesn't mind rain. on a list of things that annoy him, rain wasn't up there. mostly because it was far preferable to a lot of things he's experienced in his life ( like the fiery waters of the phelegethon ) and really, he doesn't see what the big fuss is. the rain means he doesn't have to water his and will's little herb garden and nico figures once the rain has passed, the air will feel fresh. something he looks forward to.

the more time he spends in the rain, however, the more he notices his mood seems to veer in a positive direction. he feels uncustomary cheer and at some point he reaches for the person closest to him, grabbing their hands and twirling around in a circle with them. ]

There's something refreshing about rain, isn't there?

[deathkid]

𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 ➨

cw: violence, forced outing

[ the memory opens without any name attached to it. nico thinks it's better that way give those who know him will be able to tell who the memory features. and really, this isn't a memory he really wants to share, but nico has always been a little self sacrificing and if it'll help the city, he'll open himself up.

it's set in the ruins of an ancient roman palace. columns and stone are strewn about, and among it all stand two boys. one is bright, all blond hair and piercing blue eyes. the other is dark, shaggy black hair and black clothing. and as the scene progresses, it's clear there's a third someone hiding somewhere among the rubble.

suddenly, something comes zooming out of nowhere and all around the boys, columns begin tumbling, walls begin collapsing. the blond boy stumbles, but it's the boy with dark hair that steps forward, swinging an arm out in anger. ]

Stop it! It's me you want! Leave him alone!

[ the blond collapses near nico, who steps forward, his sword out. he stands as tall as he can, but there's clearly fear in his eyes.

then, suddenly, from seemingly nowhere and everywhere at once comes a voice. it echos in the ruined palace, bouncing off stone and wall alike. nico whirls around to try and find the source, but fails. ]

Poor Nico di Angelo. Do you know what you want, much less what I want? My beloved Psyche risked everything in the name of Love. It was the only way to atone for her lack of faith. And you—what have you risked in my name?

[ for those who haven't guessed at the speaker yet, it's cupid. god of love. and nico glares, snarling at the unseen god. ]

I’ve been to Tartarus and back. You don’t scare me.

I scare you very, very much. Face me. Be honest.

[ next to nico, the blond pulls himself up. but as he does, the ground shifts. the grass at his feet begins shriveling up and dying. the stones at their feet crack, as if something is trying to work its way to the surface. ]

Give us Diocletian’s scepter. We don’t have time for games.

Games?

[ something slams into nico, and he hits a nearby crumbling wall. ]

Love is no game! It is no flowery softness! It is hard work—a quest that never ends. It demands everything from you—especially the truth. Only then does it yield rewards.

[ next to nico, the blond stands, glancing over at his shaken companion. ]

Nico, what does this guy want from you?

Tell him, Nico di Angelo. Tell him you are a coward, afraid of yourself and your feelings. Tell him the real reason you ran from Camp Half-Blood, and why you are always alone.

[ screaming suddenly, nico lashes out. skeletons erupt from the ground and crawl to the surface. many are dressed in either togas or roman armor. ]

Will you hide among the dead, as you always do?

[ waves of darkness roll off nico, slamming into his companion and making the area around them colder. the skeletons grip hold of something invisible and begin grappling with it. ]

I left camp because of love. Annabeth, she—

Still hiding. You do not have the strength.

[ one of the skeletons is smashed to pieces. the boy next to nico makes placating gestures. ]

It's okay, Nico. I understand.

No! [ nico's face is awash with misery and pain. ] You don't! There's no way you can understand.

And so you run away again. From your friends, from yourself.

[ nico trembles and the skeletons go back to grappling with cupid. the undead have cupid pinned, but the god merely laughs. ]

I don't have any friends! I left Camp Halfblood because I don't belong! I'll never belong!

Leave him along, Cupid. This isn't...

[ shaking harder, on the verge of tears, nico looks up at his companion, a mask of pain and suffering covering his features. ]

I- I wasn't in love with Annabeth.

[ the blond boy merely gives nico a sympathetic look, understanding shining in his bright, blue eyes. ]

That’s why you didn’t want to be around her. Especially why you didn’t want to be around... him. It makes total sense.

[ all the tension, the fight, everything seems to melt out of nico. the darkness fades, the roman soldiers crumble to dust, and nico holds himself as if that's the only way he can find solace. ]

I hated myself. I hated Percy Jackson...

[ his voice is like shattered glass and a tear rolls down his cheek. that's when the memory fades. ]

[pillz]

So.

[kavinsky appears out of nowhere, because he's a vampire and he can do that now. move faster than the human eye can see. blink and you miss it; he'll be gone from one spot and sitting in a new one, like he hadn't even bothered to cross the space in between. it's a little bit showing off, and a little bit boredom. he's allergic to sunlight these days, so when he came to the temple last night, he knew he'd be stuck in here right through the day, with nothing but his dreaming pills and whoever else happened to be in here to keep company.

one of those people happens to be nico. plus sexy new haircut. and minus, or plus, or less-than-or-equal to, the rather mortifying memory he just shared across the internet.

so k shows up like peter pan. sitting on top of some dark, dormant stone sci-fi tech, swinging his feet, staring, his narrow face inscrutable.]

You had ass anxiety too. How come people are always getting in my shit for that and not yours?

[deathkid]

[ the rapid appearance of kavinsky takes nico by surprise. normally he's the one popping up suddenly, startling people as he silently steps out of the shadows. nico attributes it to the new powers kavinsky presumably has and leaves at that. rather, he's over it now, over the reveal of his coming out, and there's a fatigue in him, making him sigh with it as he shoves his hands in his pockets and stares at his feet. ]

Maybe because I'm over it now. I don't know. It took a long time for me to be comfortable with being... what I am. Not just gay, but also the son of Hades. I honestly thought people would hate me if they knew because I grew up at a time when people got killed for being different.

[ he pauses, looking up at kavinsky. he hadn't been aware that that kavinsky struggled with the same kind of issue and it makes him realize there's a lot about kavinsky that he still doesn't know. ]

It's okay, you know. Being gay, being different. Jason, the blond guy, he made me realize that. Him and Will. It's the same for you, too. It's something I've had to learn with time, but we deserve to be happy.

[pillz]

I know being gay is fine, Jesus fuck, [kavinsky says, too quickly, too loudly for it to be anything but defensive. somewhere deep down inside, he still holds onto that. struggles with it. while loudly pretending not to. at least these days he can say stuff like,] Besides, I'm not fucking gay. I'm bisexual.

[it is

quite possibly, the first time he's ever used the b-word in reference to himself. ever. small, painful, fumbling baby steps are one joseph kavinsky. he folds his arms over his chest, slouching slightly, refocusing on the death god again. his hackles smooth down the next instant. even though he can exude garbage out of his mouth over absolutely anything, with absolutely no cause at all, the fact is, his garbage isn't actually as important as nico's share just now. he's a dick, but even a dick can tell.] They couldn'tve killed you anyway, [he points out.] You would have got 'em with zombies. Just humans, right?

[deathkid]

[ that reaction prompts nico to hold up his hands in what he hopes is a placating manner. he can't help but think that kavinsky still has issues with it ( or in his case, being bisexual ) if he reacts like that. but he doesn't push the issue, not wanting to ruin the camaraderie they've been experiencing the past few days. ]

I know you know. What I'm saying is that I didn't know. And it took me a while to realize it.

[ he presses his lips together a little before continuing ]

I can't just kill whoever doesn't like me. For one thing, that would be a lot of people, and for another, I don't like killing unless I have to.

[pillz]

[nico is entirely right of course !! kavinsky will never run out of issues. or if he does, it won't be anytime in the next discernible future. why be over your issues when you can carry them about, forever, and periodically fall into a pit of misery that nonetheless completely exculpates you from actual responsibility.

but it's fine right now, mostly because nico's story is actually somewhat more interesting than kavinsky's own angst, even to joseph "obnoxious" kavinsky himself. he looks at the older boy a little curiously.]

So you were just gonna take it? [he asks.] Forever? [a beat. he thinks of what he remembers of nico and his temper, his intolerance for disrespect. lbr, kavinsky has encountered nico's intolerance of disrespect quite a lot in the past, what with being so hugely disrespectful himself.] Bullshit.

[deathkid]

[ kavinsky calls him out so succinctly and nico can't disagree with him. yes, eventually, he would've accepted himself, come to terms with who and what he is. but nico has always been the kind of person to prefer doing things on his own terms, in his own time. ]

I would've come out eventually. It would've taken time, but I would've realized people accept gays in this day and age. I would've learned to accept myself. But I wanted to do it at my own pace. Figure things out on my own so I could stand on my own two feet without having to say some asshole god made me admit it.

[ looking up at kavinsky, his brows furrow and his hands ball into fists at his sides. ]

I should've been able to do it myself. Not because Cupid gets off on forcing people to do things they're not ready to do.

[pillz]

Yeah, [kavinsky agrees, after a long moment. it takes him that long mostly because he actually tries to understand before he claims that he does. and maybe he'll never really get it. homophobia was bad in his time, and he was one prime example of how even the lgbtq people tended to internalize shit, spew hate, get recruited right into the enemy. but it was different then, and he didn't have vicious little gods to struggle with.]

Yeah, that was bullshit. 'Specially since cunty Cupid didn't have to worry about that shit himself, right? He doesn't have to live around people or go to fucking high school.

[high school was bullshit. kavinsky thinks so. he shifts his jaws, a fang peeking out from over his bottom lip.] You get him back? [he asks, finally.] Did you fuck up Cupid for what he did?

[deathkid]

[ a huffed laugh escapes nico and it lacks humor. when he looks back over at kavinsky, it's with a haunted look. normal oil-slick eyes look more like cracked glass and when his gaze shifts away again, he begins fiddling with the silver skull ring on his forefinger. beneath him, the floor trembles a little. ]

Get back at a god? You're kidding, right? You saw what happened. The most I could do was hold him in place for a while.

[ his lips twist in a mild sneer, but it's not directed towards the other boy. ]

Granted, I was weakened at the time. Maybe if I ever had to face him again... But it doesn't matter now. I got what I wanted from him.

[pillz]

[kavinsky finally decides to come a little nearer to the demigod. blink, and you miss it. one point he's gargoyling up in the shadowy recesses of the ceiling, the next, he's arrived catlike at the other boy's side, his hollow eyes hooded, head slightly canted.]

What did you get from him?

[he's genuinely curious. partly because he's concerned and rooting for nico in this tale !! and partly, admittedly, because he's just a big ol' creep. as for the gods comment, there's nearly no reaction at all from kavinsky— as far as he's concerned, nico is one himself.]

[deathkid]

[ the motion might have startled him if he wasn't so used to pulling of stunts like that himself, but he does quirk a brow as kavinsky climbs around. it seems a bit like showing off and nico shakes his head before leaning against the nearest surface. ]

A scepter. One that enhanced my powers, allowed me to summon hoards of undead. It was something I really needed at the time because I'd just come from being held captive and was pretty weak.

[ which probably says a lot about his strength, given nico had been able to restrain a god even when he wasn't at his full power. but nico doesn't call attention to that fact. instead, he flicks the other boy's shoulder and smirks darkly. ]

It allowed me to turn the tide in a battle against primordial gods and monsters.

[pillz]

[kavinsky comes nearer still, a couple of steps. he reaches over to touch nico on the tummy, the curl of his knuckles, chugging in a teasing, friendly way, gentler than he usually is with the death god.] You should smile when you win, [he says.] You know that right. Extra half of an inch on your jack-o'-lantern face for each god and monster. [then his hand goes up to bump nico's chin.]

Glad he didn't manage to fuck everything up, [he says.] When you think about that shit now, it still piss you off? Like, get under your skin and shit. You feel the sparks creeping up to light the fuse on your tampon? [there's laughter around his eyes, but he's genuinely curious.] Or you put it out in the universe-- [he nods his head back at the memory share chamber.] 'Cause you didn't give so much of a fuck anymore?