garregmach | (no subject)

A mist settles in over the monastery.

Is it morning? Night? Who can say? Today, the day feels endless. The sun is nowhere to be seen — or had it been at all? Instead, a curious green glow engulfs Garreg Mach, like an eternal twilight settling in. Time seems to be paused almost, though the wildlife in and around the area continues to act as though nothing is wrong. As though this is perfectly normal. As though it is natural for the skies to be dark, with not a single star in sight, and for the sun to be forgotten in the mist that lingers. The paths are at least lit by small orbs of light, fireflies flitting about.

However, should one come into contact with one of those fireflies, a memory of the past will be projected for all in the close vicinity to see. Joyous occasions, tragic events — they don't seem to discern one way or another. Perhaps it would be best to watch your step for now, though.

Of course, after lingering for about a day, the strange ambience will fade into what appears to be a normal night at Garreg Mach. It's as if nothing had happened at all. Did it? Or was it all simply a shared hallucination?

[ ● MEMSHARE POST. Coming into contact with the fireflies will share a memory of your character's with those around them. You can top-level with a memory to start out or have people tag you and determine it then, whatever. I don't make the rules (except I do and I say yolo). Have fun with it!
● Open posts like this one are flipping to a two week schedule instead of a weekly one.
● Because of the above, the last bit is there for people who'd maybe like to play out aftermath threads later on but don't want to wait for a new post or make a new one.
● Settings have been slightly updated. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[I know you got something already planned. Just slap it here.]

[Dimitri has firmly decided he would prefer to avoid these fireflies by this point. He's gotten better at dodging them, but when he spots Edelgard in the greenhouse, he predictably gets distracted looking her way as she works, letting one bump right into him.

As soon as he sees what memory it is, he ducks around a corner, hoping she doesn't look toward the sound it makes as it plays out right there in the doorway.

--

It's outside the manor where Edelgard lived during her stay in Fhirdiad. Dimitri lingers on one side of the iron fence, looking like someone just told him the world ended.

"Why can't you come out?" he asks, looking at her with sad puppy eyes, so sincerely distressed that it's honestly a little embarrassing.

"I don't know where uncle hid the key," she answers, looking toward the ground.

Apparently, Dimitri doesn't consider that to be a problem. He brightens immediately. "So you just can't get out," he says. Edelgard confirms with a nod, and that's all Dimitri needs to grab on to those iron bars and start to pull.

"What are you —"

He doesn't answer, huffing lightly with exertion for a moment. Just like that, the bars warp, submitting to his strength and pulling apart enough for her to escape. Dimitri extends his hand, grinning.

"There! Come on, El! It's too nice for you to be locked up today."]

Oh... looks like I must have bumped one. Ah— Is that what his face looked like?

[So soft, and cute. Almost like a girl's. The young boy she knew was so vibrant, and full of life. It's understandable why she didn't make a connection to him, and Dimitri at the academy. A then young man who had to force himself to remember what a smile looked like. To pretend to be human.

Edelgard steps around the blond child who looks so distraught despite being the one outside the fence. His monstrous strength surprises her a great deal, which gets gears turning at the back of her head, but ultimately...

She kneels. Edelgard places herself next to the boy with the outstretched hand, whose name and face she had forgotten, and hugs his image. Her arms cut through it. The projection shimmering as if it were a picture displayed upon mist, and she disrupted it briefly only for it to come back as the parts interrupted by her fall back into place again. Edelgard is left hugging herself. Clinging to the memory of that sweet child who gave her the courage she needed to reinvent herself. To cast away the meek girl who followed her uncles orders and be reborn as someone who would cut their own path.]

[Dimitri remains hidden around the corner as she emerges, unable to see her interacting with the memory. But he hears the fondness in her voice, and it fills him with a bittersweet longing. What if she did manage to remember his face, like he remembered hers? Would it all have played out differently? Would she have reached out to him for help with an open hand instead of a fist? As much as it hurts, he would like to think so.

Once he hears her walk back into the greenhouse, he quietly slips away.]