[OPEN MINGLE: SEPT 8-16]

[oneandmikleonly]

[So what are you up to as we pass out of the first hectic week of September and into the second? Calm strolls with alien elephants or fast swims with alien sealife? Flashing your sunglasses at crime scenes? Dreaming and building dreams? Waking and building...buildings? There's always a lot to do here, whether it's formal missions or just shenanigans with friends.

Zenning out is fine too!]

Comments

ota; as always, i will match format

[mistimed]

a: dreamscape;

[Because Horō has so few memories actually at her disposal, the dreamscape has started to pull from thoughts she doesn't remember having. Enjoy your trip to the Sengoku Period, or something like it. It's the aftermath of a serious battle, but closer examination reveals that the conflict was not between humans alone. The air is thick with a purple smog, the sky volcanic red. Huge chunks of the landscape are just...not there.

Horō is half in the scenario, half experience it as if she's just stumbled upon it. She is really, really disoriented. Something about memories she's forgotten and memories she still has conflating is making this a very unstable, very bad-feeling place. It's probably not the first dream area like this she's slipped into since the 4th.]

It fled. [Jury's still out on what 'it' is. All she knows is that it's gone and it's tied to this, and she has a directive to carry out.]

I have to go. [Of course, she doesn't know where to go, and there's no real leaving here, so anyone who encounters her here will find her very determined and very lost, traipsing through a burnt-out landscape.] I must leave!

b: telepathic broadcast;

[Horō's voice is always formal and flat, but this message sounds particularly distant. Whatever resolve she might have experienced in the dreamscape isn't present here. She assumes, unfortunately, that no one will be surprised to hear her thoughts or wonder who she is.]

Everyone, you have all been so very kind. Living here has taught me that it is possible to emerge from any situation with good friends. I decided upon my arrival that it would be boring not to contribute to the wellbeing of this commune.

I fear this mission may soon obfuscate the meaning of my prime directive, but that this discrepancy may better be solved by understanding my past. I believe the answer resides in the dream world that joins our collective subconscious.

There is an emptiness in me whenever I wake that fills with fog.

I apologize for my selfishness. It may distract you from your duties for a short while, but I hope we may accumulate some knowledge that may be of used to us in the interim. I cannot unearth the pieces together. I ask that anyone willing please accompany me in this venture and attempt to join their dreams with my own.

[She pauses, wondering if there's anything else she can add. Ah, yes:]

If you are willing to accompany me, I have been studying some new memes I could teach you in return.

c: wildcard;

[If you don't feel like helping Horō with her social link, she is available for other things in the interim! Whether it be other missions or hunts, she will put her own angst aside in order to get into the ocean.

She also has this lil bean on base with her. It is available for petting and for gathering items.]

b

[splinten]

Are you inviting people to dreamdive into your subconscious with you?

[He thinks that's what he heard. He also is pretty sure she just said she'd pay them in memes.]

[mistimed]

[Her purse is overflowing with valuable memes for reimbursement.]

Is that a strange request? It is possible that, of all the things I have forgotten, I have forgotten how to make sense of these dreams.

[splinten]

It isn't common.

[No one would do that except you, Horo? But Dirk's telepathic voice is just... neutral and calm. As always.]

Find me when you're dreaming and I'll come with you. Or I'll join you if I spot you.

[mistimed]

Oh. How unusual. I would think strength in numbers would prevail. [Maybe she's yet to find something in her dreams so private she wants it hidden. That would be easier to understand.

Dirk's multi-awake state eludes her still, so her thoughts ripple with confusion.]

Where will I be able to find you?

[splinten]

[Okay yeah it might be hard for her to find him.]

I guess it'd be easier for me to find you. Just let me know when you're going to sleep and where your dream projection is showing up.

[mistimed]

[She doesn't know about his dual dreaming destinies, so this sounds like a fascinating talent in and of itself.]

That will not be a problem. I can fall asleep anywhere. Though I would advise against doing so. And sometimes I have stayed awake only to gaze at the ceiling.

Thank you, Dirk. You are always helping, no matter what is happening. I know that you are a truly good person.

[splinten]

[A moment of telepathic silence as he registers his surprise. Because Horo made a comment he'd like to respond to and then she complimented him and that.

That's weird to hear.]

...Don't worry about it. And, uh, let me know if you need something to do other than watch paint be dry. I have a robot that needs rap practice for example.

[mistimed]

[She may say it to nearly everyone she meets, but she also means it, and in the end, the two balance out and don't cheapen it.]

I would be delighted to help. I am always interested in seeing others learn a new skill.

But what is a rap?

b

[oneandmikleonly]

I'd be willing to accompany you. I'm not quite sure I understand the issue, though -- is it that you believe you dream of the past, but forget it on your own upon waking up, so you need a second person to keep a proper record of it?

[mistimed]

Yes. I am unable to explain what my dreams mean, even to myself. I believe I could unlock the secret to my past if only they made sense.

And it is a little lonely to walk through them by myself.

[oneandmikleonly]

Then, whenever you'd want to is fine...um, the memes aren't necessary, though I'd gladly learn them as well?

[maybe they'd be more understandable then, at least]

But mostly, whatever you think would help, if you're having trouble.

[mistimed]

Only if you are interested. It is my understanding that memes are serious business and should not be appropriated inappropriately.

[She certainly has some ideas about the significance of memes.

But as it stands, meme studies must take a backseat to ongoing priorities.]

Have you ever known someone in similar straits?

[oneandmikleonly]

I...did not know that about memes. I thought they were just funny cats and silly music. I'll keep it in mind, though.

[he's serious about that. oh dear.]

And you mean, with memory loss like you're describing? Not really. It sounds...unusual all around.

[he knows of some situations at home that involve amnesia, but they're so weird and specific to Glenwood and seraphim he'd bet money they aren't applicable here.]

[mistimed]

I didn't, either. In fact, memes only came to my attention approximately two months ago. I will not bore you with the details, but I've learned so much about their nuance since then.

[She doesn't have anything to say immediately about the amnesia. Of course, it would be silly if amnesia like this was common.]

I do not need my memories to know what's important to me. However...sometimes, when I am asleep, it feels as if I should be frightened.

[oneandmikleonly]

I wouldn't be bored if you ever wanted to discuss it. They seem like an important part of modern culture.

...I really don't know your circumstances, but it may be that you're repressing something that was frightening, or traumatic to you in some way. That you wish to confront it nontheless is very brave of you.

[mistimed]

That would be quite pointless.

No matter what happened, no matter what it did to me, not remembering it would not erase that it happened. There is no such thing as negation by forgetting. At least, that is what I think.

[...]

Besides, I fell off of a cliff. [She adds that last explanation very matter-of-fact.]

b

[braavado]

I don't think it's selfish to ask for help. [There's a touch of confusion that bleeds into their mental connection, though.]

What's this mission of yours?

[mistimed]

I am a Slayer, a demon who hunts demons. My priority mission is to protect the world from the creatures we call Oni.

However. They do not appear to have yet invaded this planet. I believe deciphering my past is the key to understanding what I must do while I am here.

[braavado]

Can't say I'm really complaining about their absence. I think we have enough to worry about without demons and other things like them showing up.

[A pause, as she mulls over what Horō's told her.]

So you're saying you want someone to share your dreams with, and that might help you understand something that happened to you in your past?

[mistimed]

Yes, the reprieve was unexpected, but I have come to welcome it. I fear a sword left to rust is going to forget its edge.

I believe that is the correct expression. [Her misuse of idioms goes well beyond malapropism, and frequently. It would be more tragic if she seemed to take note of it at all.]

That is precisely my intention. Rather, that it would help me understand anything that happened to me in my past.

[braavado]

[She lets the misuse of the phrase roll right off of her, more preoccupied with Horō's request.]

I guess as long as you're sure you don't mind people poking around your past, I'm willing to help.

[mistimed]

I do not mind. Whatever I uncover, it will not change who I am.

[There's confidence in her thoughts - she sounds determined and optimistic. The past is just the past, but Horō's mind won't give up its burning question: Who am I supposed to be?]

[braavado]

[She's given her blessing already without even hesitating, so all Korra can do is nod.]

Okay. It sounds like you've already made up your mind, so I'm not gonna keep asking you. [Smiling slightly, she adds--] I'm ready whenever you are.

[mistimed]

Before we go, will you share some identifying information with me? I am probably going to need some way to identify you.

A name, brief description, and signature skills will probably suffice for now.