(no subject)

[all_onis_are_true]

[ACTION; HIROSHI AND PALOM'S ROOM, MIDNIGHT]

*He starts awake. He's gotten familiar enough with his method of remembering things at this point to figure out that the dream he just had was a memory. And again, it makes no sense.

He walks out of his room, and looks briefly into Palom's. No sense bothering the poor kid about it. He's pretty sure he wouldn't fully understand anyway. And he doesn't want the kid thinking more about the unfairness and horror of the universe than he strictly needs to. But he needs to talk to SOMEONE.

So he walks out into the hallway. Carefully and quietly walking along, he eventually locates the right room, and knocks on the door. He just hopes Gordon isn't too put out by this.*

[ACTION; THE NEXT DAY]

*Mind, the lack of sleep does kinda get to him. So forgive him if you seem him nodding off while working for Rudy, or in the library, or at lunch, or...

Yeah, he's not so good at the sleep deprivation thing.*

((3% on the totality of Ao Oni 2.0-4.0.))

Comments

[trustycrowbar]

[It takes a few knocks, but eventually Gordon tugs the door open, blinking dazedly, with blue t-shirt and green sleep pants hanging off him haphazardly. His hair is a mess; even moreso than usual, stuck together with bits of... is that marshmallow?]

[It even takes him a full second to realize it's Hiroshi, and that the look on his face said that he had to talk.]

Nngh, hey kid. [Voice gravelly from sleep. He waves him inside.] C'mon in. 'Salright, Booster isn't here. You need to talk about somethin'?

[all_onis_are_true]

Sorry to wake you up, sir. I just... uh, is that marshmallow?

[trustycrowbar]

'S a long story. [He says, tugging absently at a few strands.] Let's just say that mission at the joker's hideout got a little... out of hand. Glasses are still soaking in fact.

[Huh. That's why he isn't wearing them. He's able to navigate his own apartment just fine with the perpetual fog of astigmatism, however, and waves Hiroshi to the couch.]

[all_onis_are_true]

I... don't think I want to know.

*He wanders over to the couch.*

Anyway, as I was saying, I'm sorry to wake you up, but I needed to talk to someone about this. I... had another memory tonight.

[trustycrowbar]

You're sure it was an actual memory this time?

[He drops himself onto the couch next to him.]

[all_onis_are_true]

I remember it too distinctly to be anything otherwise. But it's contradictory again.

They all died. But they died... different.

[trustycrowbar]

[So one where they lived, two where they died...]

All to the oni?

[all_onis_are_true]

Yeah. I saw one of them for certain, too. The blue thing it...

*He swallows.*

It bit his head right off. Just like that. I...

*He holds himself, shaking.*

I'm insane, aren't I sir? I can't even get my events straight.

[trustycrowbar]

--hey...

[The words are quieter than he would have figured them to be, and he leans over and rests a hand on the boy's shoulder.]

Easy... You're okay. You're just a little confused. We need to figure out which one of those memories are real, 's all.

[He glances over and notices the black rectangle of the television and haphazardly-kept game system in front of them.]

...wait a minute...

[all_onis_are_true]

Ugh. Maybe none of them are real. Maybe I did something really bad and just wrote over all of it with these stupid memories. It'd make a lot more sense.

[trustycrowbar]

...Or maybe they're all valid.

[all_onis_are_true]

...Huh?

[trustycrowbar]

Bear with me a moment-- [Suddenly more awake, he swings himself over the back of the couch and heads for the whiteboard near his desk.]

You ever hear of Schrodinger's Cat? Example of causal duality and perception of events? Cat's both alive and dead, that stuff?

[all_onis_are_true]

Yeah, I think so. But what does that have to do with anything?

[trustycrowbar]

Here.

[He grabs a marker, fumbles it, draws a single horizontal line that branches into two.]

Say you're standing outside that mansion. You have a choice, you can decide to go in, or you don't. Those open up more choices, which lead to more possible outcomes.

[He draws more branches at the end of those, until a thick cluster of lines appear on the opposite end.]

D'you see the connection yet?

[all_onis_are_true]

I... guess? But it doesn't make any sense. Theoretically, each of those branches should be completely cut off from each other, right? No one person on one branch should be able to recall all the branches.

[trustycrowbar]

That's the thing! [He gestures minutely, his tone picking up momentum.]

Right now you're not IN one of those branches! There must be something going on here that has to do with your presence here in Sirocco, that makes you an outside observer on your own worlds' causality. To you the cat's both alive and dead, so to speak, every path you could have taken is valid so naturally you're remembering all of them!

[all_onis_are_true]

What? But that's... I get what you're saying, but why would that even happen? And... why me? Why not anybody else?

[trustycrowbar]

Well... I dunno. Maybe it has something to do with your world and the way it works.

Yeah. I admit it; it's not exactly verifiable but I really think that we're all from different worlds. We kind of have to be, and maybe there's a level of interconnectedness in yours that I don't know about. Hell... maybe you go through all of those possibilities yourself. With all the temporal crap that Dave accomplishes, it's not out of the question...

[all_onis_are_true]

Does that... mean I might remember more versions? I'm not sure I could take having to see new versions of the same things over and over...

[trustycrowbar]

I know... I know, kid.

[Especially when it's new versions of his friends dead or in peril. God, what a thing to subject a fifteen-year-old to. He caps the marker and lopes back to the couch, scrubbing a hand over his hair a little awkwardly.]

...Someone told me here once, that you may not like all the memories you get back but without them there's always going to be a part of you that's missing. [He drops back onto the couch again.] And remember you've got people here for you. Van Richden and myself, the guys at the Labs, pretty much everyone.

...Just remember; anyone calls you crazy, they're going to have me to answer to.

[all_onis_are_true]

I guess. But... well, I hope you guys understand if I let others have a few more anemoi for a while. I'm not... really in a hurry to see how many different "paths" I've apparently got locked away in my head.

[trustycrowbar]

That's just fine, Hiroshi. I've been in that sort of position myself. After that mission, and the Advisor... well, let's just say I'm not in a hurry to find out what else I brought with me here.

[nomen_est_numen]

Yes, but what are the odds he'll zone out while walking down the street.

He just might hear a voice shout, "Hiroshi! Watch out for that--"

[all_onis_are_true]

*Tree.*

*WHOMP*

*Down he goes.*

[nomen_est_numen]

"..."

Facewing.

He walks over to Hiroshi and looks down at him.

"Are you all right?"

[all_onis_are_true]

wATcH oUt fOR oNI-hIMe...

*Give him a sec, he's still out of it.*

[nomen_est_numen]

He holds out a foot to help Hiroshi back to his feet. "Oni-whatnow?"

[all_onis_are_true]

Why are we talking about Onis again? Oooh, my head...

[nomen_est_numen]

"You said, 'watch out for oni-hime.'"

Pulling Hiroshi to his feet might involve a little wing-flapping, but he'll do his best to get the lad upright.

[all_onis_are_true]

I... honestly don't remember saying anything like that. Ugh, sorry, I guess I haven't been getting enough sleep.

[nomen_est_numen]

There's a good reason Gordon calls him Featherduster... y'know... besides the overabundance of plumage. He uses his wing feathers to excellent effect in dusting Hiroshi down. Poor kid.

"Good grief. What's wrong--memories?" A legitimate guess in a place like this.

[all_onis_are_true]

Um, yeah. They seem to come in my dreams a lot. How'd you guess?

[nomen_est_numen]

He shrugs an avian shrug. "It seemed a sensible conclusion when rather a lot of people here can regain random memories at any time. They can be very unsettling."

[all_onis_are_true]

Yeah...

*He looks a little uncomfortable, as if he really doesn't wanna go into too much detail.*

Anyway, I couldn't really go back to sleep after the last one, so I guess it kinda messed me up today.

[nomen_est_numen]

Shen is not going to pry. Hiroshi's memories have sounded worrying enough without him asking for details. He nods. "I can understand how it would do that." He pats Hiroshi's shoulder. "Still, do be careful, hmm?"

He'd offer Hiroshi a drink, but he's heard about this drinking age thing....

[gandere]

[ Lunch huh? Rin's just going to watch him struggle to stay awake all while sipping her tea. ]

Come on... just fall face first into your plate. [ Muttering to herself, but it just might be distinct enough to be heard in the public place. ] Just a little bit more.

[all_onis_are_true]

*He doesn't state outright he heard that -- but he does push his food away for a bit. Thanks for the warning.*

[gandere]

Aw, that's no fun. [ A pout. ] You know they have these things called energy drinks.

[all_onis_are_true]

I just need more sleep, is all. Some sleeping pills or something.

*Or something to get memories to stop coming to him while he's freaking asleep.*

[gandere]

You know, I was told there are ways you can tire yourself out before bed... [ She can't help but smirk. ] Want to hear about them?

[all_onis_are_true]

I think that depends on what you mean, though I'm trying to avoid the sinking feeling I know already. It's not really a matter of not being tired anyway.

[gandere]

Geez, you're no fun to tease when you're like this.

What is it then?

Action

[alittleblackmagic]

[Palom, when asleep, is almost angelic. ...Almost. Until he sneezes and shoots a random icicle, anyway.]

Re: Action

[all_onis_are_true]

*Thaaaaaat was a little too close to a sensitive area. Note to self, close Palom's door for him in the future.*

[alittleblackmagic]

[Palom sits up a little and sniffs. Maybe Hiroshi should abscond.]

[all_onis_are_true]

*Absconding is done! Yikes.*

[action]

[shineslightintodarkness]

Are you all right, Hiroshi? You seem out of it...

[Rudolph gently touches the teen's shoulder when he realized Hiroshi hadn't answered a question he posed earlier]

Re: [action]

[all_onis_are_true]

*Hiroshi jumps.*

O-oh, sir! Sorry, just... didn't get a lot of sleep last night, is all.