Memory Sharicus - Oh No, not again!

[heromedal]

About 8 am on July 15th, Rex does something stupid in his usual genius way. It was meant to be a small, simple test run of a method to scan a person and instantly gain all the data he needed to produce a Phantom.

The small field the spell was meant to spread just kept growing, until popping like a bubble with the most counterintuitive sound of all- two seconds of white noise, sounding as if it was coming from inches away. Not everyone heard it. But everyone who did...

It's a painless process, almost ticklish and instantaneous as numerous coloured orbs fly out from their chest, taking wild curving trajectories that launch them all over the academy and some of Soleil, coming to a sudden stop and hovering silently for just a few seconds.

That's when they start to slowly float towards the nearest possible recipient of the memory they contain, accelerating as they get closer as if thought and mind have a unique sort of magnetism.

It's sort of beautiful to see, really, not that Rex will notice because 60% of his mind is consumed with fear he will get into trouble and the Phantom project will be compromised. On the other hand, the Phantom project could provide the perfect scapegoat. So about six hours after the initial event, he released his latest creation- the Phantom mischief-maker, Waggery!

What a disaster.

(( ooc: The planning post is here! Be careful to warn for the nastier memories! If you already have memories planned to share, feel free to write them as a top level or just put up your character and link to the planning/make it a free for all. There'll be a post below for Waggery shenanigans and random NPC memories up for grabs. ))

Comments

[spelleton]

I ask things when I can't otherwise divine them myself, you know. That is the purpose of questions, as far as I'm aware.

[ Ekkehardt just tilts his head to the side, red slits in the darkness of his mask's eyeslots flicking towards Rex for a moment. It doesn't seem to bother him that he's being called annoying. ]

No, I don't know what memory of mine you received - other than a traumatic one, most likely.

I received one of yours. [ He might as well be honest about it. ] It wasn't what I'd call happy by any means, but it does explain some things.

[heromedal]

[ Rex doesn’t say a word. He just pulls his zip up higher, all the way to his nose. That is a very vague statement that could very easily mean he’s seen Rex popping a man’s arms from their sockets and choking him with them.

He just stares with one eye from the corner of his vision, waiting. Ready to leap right off this roof if he needs to. ]

[spelleton]

Don't act so defensive. I'm not here to judge you.

It was about Helen. [ He's not going to say much more than that about the memory's contents. Rex has always been clever. He's sure he can work it out. ]

Did you ever go back there?

[ He's not quite to the point where he'll just say 'question me all you like', because he doesn't know what Rex wants. But Rex is free to evade the question entirely if he desires, to fire back with something else. ]

[heromedal]

[ His fingers grip the ledge a little tighter before he answers. ]

How about we discuss the details of the death of your family instead?

[ It’s meant to be facetious. He can’t imagine anyone ever wanting to think about these things, let alone talk about them. There is no way that can make it better. ]

[spelleton]

[ For him, they're old memories. Their pain is rounded off by time and distance, and all the things that have happened since then. ]

So that was what you saw, did you?

Well, I don't remember much of it. [ He's looking into the distance, not at Rex. His tone is mild and thoughtful. ] Mostly the dying - that part I was clear on. Anything I didn't understand then, about where my family had gone, was explained to me.

It was part of a civil war. What would count as a small skirmish, between branch families. Vying for power, trying to eliminate potential rivals...all the terrible things mages do to one another.

[ He shrugs, as if to say 'what can you do?' It's in the past now. ]

[heromedal]

[ Rex holds a blink for a few seconds when Ekkehardt actually talks about it. Rex really should stop asking things of him that he'll provide. He wants to ask how Ekke got to the point where he can stand to talk about it. But that involves examining himself too much, about how and why he can't. ]

...What was the point?

[ He knows the ultimate answer is 'there wasn't', and his tone makes it clear he knows, but... There had to be a justification, no matter how flimsy. ]

[spelleton]

Oh, it was a pre-emptive strike. They thought my family could be a problem, so they decided to act early before it ever got to would be a problem.

[ He shrugs. ]

Mass slaughter based on paranoia, a hunch that maybe something might be a threat. That's all.

[ He says it like it's the most ordinary thing in the world. He just seems tired. ]

[heromedal]

[ Rex genuinely briefly considers that bringing up paranoia is some sort of attempt at a subtle dig towards him, wary as he is of the idea that Ekkehardt is actively attempting to prove Rex is not the worst person alive.

Which makes him wonder if he's actually paranoid, concludes he's (probably) not but on reflection, it's only 40% likely to be meant to influence him so makes the conscious decision to feel guilty about suspecting it.

This all takes place in two seconds of thought.

What takes a lot more mental effort is his decision to gently put a hand on Ekkehardt's shoulder and take a leaf from his book- ]

I'm sorry.

[ and then he pushes him off the roof ]

[spelleton]

[ he would not be super startled if that happened at this point

He seems a little surprised, a little off-balance - awkward, mostly. He lets Rex see it; he's earned that much. ]

...Thank you.

[ It's not something he'd normally say. It's someone else's condolences, for a time long gone. But Rex is making an effort; it's only right to show him that that effort is rewarded, in some small way. ]

...It's been a long time, so you don't need to feel too sorry for me. [ His tone is reflective, with just a touch of distance; like he's talking about someone else. ] I remember more about their deaths than their lives, which doesn't seem particularly fair, but that's how it is.

[ He sits forward a little, pulling a leg up to his chest, letting the other one hang off the roof's edge. ]

Full of endings, whether you want them to happen or not.

[heromedal]

Memories matter more than time.

[ Rex can't even imagine an amount of time it would take to be far enough from his past. The heat death of the universe would come sooner.

Besides all that, memories were always what Helen thought was important. It's what she lived for, it's what drove her to do anything- to make memories of bright days. That's been passed to Rex, but he clings to the dark like she did the light and carries his misery with him. ]

And endings. Deaths... matter more than lives, sometimes. They last longer, at least.

[spelleton]

Death certainly matters. But mattering more than lives, I don't think so.

[ Rex wears his misery like a shield, wields it like a weapon. The same way Helen wore her victories, the memories of what she treasured most, as proudly as she bore her name and sword and everything else.

No matter how much Rex believes otherwise, he's still his mother's son, inexorably so. ]

You've never gone back there, then. [ It's a guess. But considering how hard Rex avoided the question, he thinks that he has a fairly good chance of getting it correct. ]

[heromedal]

[ It's not quite a wince, but he certainly turns away when the topic turns back to him and his life again. It's inevitable, it seems. But he can hardly refuse now. ]

Never.

[ Clearly not nearly as ready or willing to discuss anything related to the day everything went wrong, the day he started the descent into who he is today, he leaves it entirely at that. Tensing his entire body to keep any unintentional body language showing anything. Staring straight ahead. ]

[spelleton]

[ He glances over at him, remaining silent for a long moment. The way he tenses to keep from showing anything that could be used against him tells him all he needs to know of that. ]

I was thinking.

I doubt she was ever buried. It doesn't seem right not to lay her to rest, after all her work. I'd like to do that much for her. [ Especially considering everything he's missed, his absence between then and now. ]

If I did do that...would you like to accompany me? [ He's fairly certain he could probably find out her resting place, with enough scouting. But that would take a great deal of time and effort, time he might not have. ] I don't intend to touch her belongings - just give her a proper burial. You might have more interest in those things than I do.

[heromedal]

[ Rex takes a breath to sulkily ask if after that they can shove Ekkehardt back into that closet. But he knows it would be cruel to say and contrary to some evidence, Rex is starting to appreciate, at least a little, that Ekkehardt means what he says. He doesn't entirely believe he cares about him, because Rex finds the concept alien at this point. A round idea trying to pass into a square mind. But he can believe, without a doubt, that he would want to pay his respects to Helen. ]

You'll never find it alone, so I suppose if you're going, I must come with you.

[ There. Rex can make it a favour to Ekkehardt rather than from him. That's a very Helen move as well. Rex may be an amoral mess with no self-worth, but there's a certain pride that refuses to bend. ]

And... our house was nearby. We can stop there. For convenience.

[ The fact she had a house was something Helen kept to herself, due to that pride. She lived everywhere and only had it for Rex's sake. Of course. Not because sometimes she could barely stand up and needed a long rest. ]