(no subject)

[doneproperly]

WHO: EVERYONE
WHERE: a park by the beach, Heropa
WHEN: All day Saturday the 31st
WHAT: A big imPort charity fair!
WARNINGS: Everyone's traumatic past and all that entails. No really. Everyone's. Please use your own discretion.

There's an imPort charity fair going on down at a park by the beach in fair Heropa, today! You've probably seen it advertised for a couple of weeks, now. In the newspaper, on the network, flyers on street posts-- so on and so forth. All proceeds go towards the safety net fund for unsettled imPorts! Their aim as stated is to ensure all imPorts who come here-- especially children-- don't feel pressured in to registering just because they're worried they won't be able to get a job or have anywhere to live otherwise. They've been around for a while. Perhaps you've received help from them already, or heard of them in passing.

Perhaps you're just lured by the promise of food and drink.

Or perhaps you'd like to try to try your hand at some of the amateur game stalls set up?

Maybe you were just walking past and came to see what all the commotion was about.

Or maybe you're genuinely interested in the charity and wished to put a donation straight in the box, or wanted to suss out the man in charge. (Mandrake's around, talking to potential donors.)

Maybe you've come because you're interested in the advertisement of the charity's free resume building help and networking services for imPorts.

Or perhaps, like any seasoned imPort, you just don't trust large gatherings of imPorts in one place to not go wrong, and you're here on guard in case the worst should happen.

Whatever the case, the weather is fine and the fair seems to be bustling. Plenty of imPort-sympathetic locals are here as well, mingling and generally having a good time. What are you doing in the crowd?

[You may officially begin your memory sharing shenanigans! As per the OOC post, characters don't have to participate in this log to participate in the plot, but the purpose of the log is to help facilitate as much memory sharing in one place as possible to avoid flooding. Side-effects should wear off on imPorts by Sunday night!]

Comments

[microbrobotics]

[ Free food and drink? Sign Hiro up! Not that he's starving, especially with half the adults in his life shoving food at him and having Shinjiro for a roommate, but there's just something about being able to go out and fill up on junk that's just gloriously appealing. And when he gets here, that actually seems ... like a decent cause? He knows he picked being Registered half because he just didn't want to try finding a place on his own. Now he kind of wishes that he'd sought them out before he made that decision.

He weaves his way through the crowd, dodging around all these taller adults and trying to make it out with his food intact. ]

Sorry - whoops, coming through -

[ If he bumps into you, you might feel a small jolt. Either you get the light hearted and adorable memory (video link) ... or something much, much worse. (Warning for spoilers.) ]

Memory number one!

[bombshelled]

[ Lana's not watching where she's going, concentrating more on tossing caramel popcorn up in the air and catching it in her mouth. (She gets most of the pieces!) So Hiro bumps into her. With a weird, like, static shock. ]

Hiro, hey--

[ Then she's somewhere else. In a garage, with a giant version of Hiro's Baymini robot, wearing some sort of weird outfit. Doing a fist bump.

Then she's back. ]

What the... [ She stares into space for a second, looks up in the sky, then frowns at Hiro. ]

Your fucking vaccine didn't work.

[microbrobotics]

[ That sure was a range of reactions just now. He opens his mouth to apologize for the bump - until she, y'know, tells him that his vaccine didn't work. He can't help but hackle just a little bit at that. ]

What? What do you mean? Did you get struck or something?

[bombshelled]

[ Again looking up into the sky. Huh, no lightning storm clouds. No clouds at all. ]

No, it's just. It's weird. I just got a memory that definitely wasn't mine, but I don't think I'm someone else, so maybe it... half worked?

[microbrobotics]

Not yours? But - you know it wasn't yours, so technically that is the vaccine working. What did you see?

Second. Brothers tbh.

[braided_icarus]

[Of course Ed isn't faring all that much better than Hiro among the crowd. He's grown a fair bit but there are still a lot of others around. Not just the imPorts but others came to check this commotion out as well. So it's hardly a surprise when he ends up bumping into Hiro in all of it.]

Hey, sorr--

[But that's cut short by the jolt. The memory. He can still feel the heat, that terror lingering for a moment afterwards as he shakes his head, raising one hand to his temple.]

What.....? That's--that was.....?

[Tadashi. Hiro's older brother. That was why he closed up about him. What had happened.]

Re: Second. Brothers tbh.

[microbrobotics]

[ Other than that little electric zap, Hiro has no idea that something has happened here. But by now it's happened a couple times, so at least he knows what it means, if not what Ed saw... ]

-- Ed? Sorry, I didn't - what did you see?

[braided_icarus]

I...there was a fire.

[But less controlled and purposeful than the one that he'd made to burn down their house back home. The elder brother running back in. He doubts he needs to be more specific than that for Hiro to guess. Something like that was obviously recent, within the last year or so since he doesn't seem that much older. He swallows, lips pursed for a moment.]

[microbrobotics]

[ There's only one fire that Hiro cares about, so that's all Ed really needs to say. He sucks in a hard breath - considers spitting out a word that would be deeply inappropriate for a Disney protagonist - then bites his lip. He hates talking about this. Tadashi doesn't need to be remembered by going into details with strangers about how he died. But if Ed saw it all, he deserves some explanation. ]

My brother?

no 1! also not sure if riku knows what he looks like

[resipiscent]

[Riku's holding a brown paper bag spotted with grease, the ends of a few french fries sticking out the top, and he's got a covered drink in the other hand. He loses a couple of fries when he bumps into Hiro but he's otherwise intact. But he can't help but stop, stilling at the sudden flash in his memory. A kid, and a robot... the kid teaching him things. He knows that artificial intelligence can be incredibly powerful, and that the kind that learns is the most powerful and convincingly real at all, like the copies of the Twilight Town kids in the virtual reality simulator. But something about that robot is intriguing.]

... Was that... your memory?

nope, I think it's been all text or voice for these two

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro jolts as the shock goes through him. By now Riku's not the first, so he whirls towards him, alarmed and concerned. He's had two different reactions to his memories so far and he's hoping it's the nice one, not the horrible spoiler one... ]

-- What did you see?

heheh. he'll figure it out : )

[resipiscent]

... a robot. Did you make him?

[Kind of a neat robot, too. Though most people don't make them... fat. He's pretty sure most people want their robots to look cool, don't they?]

[microbrobotics]

[ Oh thank god. He relaxes so, so much at that. ]

No, my brother did. I just made the armor for him.

Memory 2!

[attainment]

[He's startled when someone small bumps into him from behind, jostling his armor. The accompanying voice lets him know that it's nothing to feel threatened by, but before Barnaby can finish saying "please be careful", the ensuing jolt sends him back to another place and time.

The roar of flames, ice-cold dread, helpless to stop any of it. It's a memory he's relived hundreds, if not thousands of times before, but this is the first time it's been someone else's.

He's fully aware that this is different, this isn't the fire that set his entire life ablaze over twenty years ago, this didn't happen to him -- and yet when it's over, he instinctively reaches for a nearby chair to steady himself, the color having drained from his face.]

[microbrobotics]

[ Oh no. That's a bad sign. By now, Hiro has had a couple people bump into him, so he knows what the options are. Given that the other is an adorable fistbump ... yeah, it's not heard to figure out which one Barnaby saw just now. He pales a little himself, going over to him. ]

-- Barnaby? Did you just -

[attainment]

[His green eyes are still shining with moisture when Hiro comes into his line of vision.]

What--

[When he hears himself speak, he nearly winces at how uncollected he sounds. Clearing his throat, he tries again -- thankfully, with more success this time.]

What happened? Just now.

[blondtactician]

Ah! [Armin had been in the middle of asking what the non-dairy options are at this ice cream stand when he feels a shock. And then he feels... heat on his face, and loss.

It doesn't really lift when Armin returns to himself.

Why can't I move my legs. Why am I just standing here...

(He remembers that feeling all too clearly.)

Tears are streaming down his face. He gets out of line quickly before he causes a scene, wiping at his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt. Wait, where did that come from? He calls after Hiro who's already disappearing into the crowd.]

Hey...!

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro felt that jolt too, so before he can lose Armin completely, he whirls back around. What the heck? He's never seen Armin in person before, so he's got no idea that this kid in front of him is the same one he made sarcastic comments to on the network. Still, he's obviously in pain about something, and Hiro is a decent enough kid that he's not just gonna run off after that. ]

-- You okay? Did I hit you?

[blondtactician]

You did, but...

[Armin sniffles, composing himself. He thinks he's actually more upset now that he's out of the memory than he was experiencing it, knowing for certain it's someone else's loss. Not that he knows anyone who hasn't lost someone that important. There is still a very real look of sadness and worry on his face.]

I'm Armin. We chatted a little before. You compared me to someone... your brother...?

number one!

[performance]

[ Dick's here for half a dozen different reasons (info gathering, Just In Case superhero contingencies, et cetera), but he can't exactly say that the carnival food isn't one of them. There's not a lot that reminds him of the circus in a good way, but a pink wisp of cotton candy the size of his torso is an exception. He has his hands full with that when Hiro bumps into him. ]

Whoa, sor—

[ —and then he feels a jolt, and he's somewhere else entirely. It only lasts an instant, quick as a flash or a flashback, and then he's blinking at Hiro. ]

What was that?

[microbrobotics]

[ Oh no, not again. By now he's experienced this delightful memory jolt several times already, and it sure seems like people have been getting one or the other ... He whirls back towards Dick, his eyes gone wide and alarmed. ]

-- Did you see something?

[ There was no reflection, so Hiro isn't immediately obvious as being the subject of the memory - but that voice definitely matches. ]

[performance]

Not sure what, but... yeah.

[ His brow furrows. The voice sounds right, so maybe it was... ]

... Do robot fistbumps mean anything to you?

memory two because i'M terrible

[hoboagogo]

Careful, man-

[Really, having no income means he can't exactly be terribly charitable about the funds he has-- but Shinjiro's never minded showing up to these events just to see what's going on, keep an ear to the ground, and pre-emptively be around in case things go to shit, as they tend to do when large amounts of imPorts gather. But now he's just trying to dodge a housemate, barely flinching at the jolt of static-

(because let's face it, living with Akihiko and the guy's turning-into-electricity thing? Shinji ends up like a cat that's been rubbing against the carpet on most days anyway. He's used to the electrical discharges.) What he's not used to is the sudden flood of someone else's mind dumping information and sensations and feelings of losing someone close to a fire hitting entirely too-close to home--

So he withdraws with a step, staggering slightly and staring wildly at Hiro- for once, not able to find the words to respond to this. Did Hiro know he'd just glimpsed the guy's mind? Does he apologize? Or... rather just glance down and away, schooling that troubled expression back into neutrality and pressing his lips together. After a moment he'll just- glance back up, as though to get a read on if Hiro even knew what had transpired.]

(ooc; Feel free to nab one in return if you wish!)

Re: memory two because i'M terrible

[microbrobotics]

[ Sucks having someone you care about die in a fire, huh? At least Akihiko didn't run in afterwards and get himself killed. Normally, Hiro would have been completely unperturbed by the jolt and the bump - it's a crowded fair, after all, and the winter air is kind of prone to static enough as it is. But that's his housemate, and he likes Shinjiro well enough, so seeing that expression on his face is enough to make Hiro pause and reach out. ]

Hey, are you --

[ As soon as he touches Shinjiro's hand, another jolt passes between them. This time it's Hiro's turn to reel back, eyes wide as he finds himself struggling for breath. The memory of that burning pain lingers in his chest, making it suddenly hard to draw in a full breath. More importantly ... that kid. What was his name...? He was sure he knew it in the memory, but here in his own mind he can't seem to grasp it. He knows that look. Felt that same rage in his own heart confronting the man responsible for his brother's death. Seeing it from the other end, though, from Shinjiro's ... He's certain from his fight with Yokai that the man was utterly unrepentant, unlike Shinjiro's offer to be killed, but it still hurts. Suddenly realizing that someone could feel that way about having caused that kind of pain to another kid just like himself. ]

Ah ...

[ He's not crying, but his vision sure is blurry all of a sudden. ]

[hoboagogo]

[There's definitely a tension there- and one that only increases at that second spark between them, making them both hesitant and wordless. His mouth feels dry, almost at a loss-- before he forces himself to let out a breath and shake his head lightly.]

I'm-- yeah.

[It felt like an unbidden memory surging up- fresh and vivid at the time, but the details fading back the more grounded he gets back in reality. He can remember all the events, sure-- but he doesn't feel it quite as intensely as when he'd mentally been there.

This must be how the psychics feel all the time, he figures. Intruding and unsure how to approach it. So he glances down, hands sliding into his pockets.]

Just- saw something weird. ...You okay? [It's unsure, almost apologetic in tone, glancing over Hiro-- and again getting that surge of desperation and loneliness from the memory again, resonating with that shut-away, shoved-down feelings of his own from years past. The faint, glossy edge of his eyes is a bit telling, and he exhales quietly again. Damn it.]