bakerstreet | SHARING IS CARING

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SHARING IS CARING

MEMORY SHARE MEME

That says memory share, not memeory share. Anyway, the gist is this: characters get a chance to share memories with another one. It can either be voluntary or involuntary (on both characters' parts. maybe discuss nonconsensual telepathy and shit ooc first). Mind melds, pensieves, jamjar situations forcing it on everyone, whatever. Sometimes you experience the memory like it's happening to you or sometimes you experience it as though spectating it. Sometimes you get to choose which memory and sometimes you don't. It all depends. Maybe it changes your relationship forever, maybe it catches you out in a lie. In any case, now you know something about each other you probably won't ever forget.

• Top level your character. Include any details you might think are relevant, like what memory they would be sharing. Or don't, we're not the cops.
• Reply to other people's top levels!
• Have fun!

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[When time resumes, he no longer feels Jotaro at his side. He hates not throwing himself in and trying to instinctively protect him, but he knows he has to be patient. So, instead, Adrian stays where he is, regrettably watching.

Following isn't an issue, but he takes no real joy from it. Instead, he's trailing, trying to pick up some way that either Olrox or his Stand reveal themselves. He thinks to how Jotaro had Star punch the environment, how it rippled, how it woke him enough to reconnect with Jotaro.

He slams his foot down onto the pavement as he follows, hitting hard enough that in a normal situation it would cause the stone to break -- instead, the surroundings do send a wave out.

His eyes search the area for any other clues, and he sees it, how the ripples affect everything but himself and Jotaro--

and one other figure he can see that's camoflauged itself into the environment. That Stand, Mind in a Box, who seems to meld back into the illusion as soon as Adrian notices him.]

There you are.

[Spotting the hidden Stand seems to provoke a sudden wave of alarm from his foe, startled by its discovery and suddenly provoked into retaliation because of it. It quickly becomes clear that Olrox believes Jotaro is the best available weakness to exploit, because suddenly the surrounding environment seems to blur and accelerate, cycling through imagery like a recording set to fast-forward — evidently, rushing forward toward something.

The chase plays out to its end at the body of Joseph Joestar, to the draining of his blood, to the ensuing madness of a now-strengthened Dio. Jotaro's remark about having his ribs broken quickly becomes to light when the prolonged capability of The World is revealed, extending his power over stopped time beyond five seconds. As he hangs trapped in midair, Jotaro's body takes blow after blow rained down by The World's fists; the sound of bones breaking is audible, even from the ground, and perhaps that's amplified by Mind in a Box, as well.

He breaks a billboard sign with his body as he's hurled back through it. He smashes through brick and skids to a halt on a bridge over the water. And now, here, things slow back to their normal pace — the portion of the memoryscape that Mind in a Box hurried them forward to see, when time stops one final time, and Dio begins to gloat, counting off the seconds.

But there's one small, almost imperceptible alteration made to this memory, separate from the original events it draws upon. In this repetition of events, Jotaro's expression is one of abject terror, frozen in time — because, trapped inside his counterpart and forced to replay this to its natural finish, he already knows what's about to happen, and exactly when, and how close it's drawing near to the sound of Dio's mocking voice.

Six. Seven.

A shadow falls over his body, and from above, Dio reappears, crowing triumph as he seeks to bring a road roller crashing down on his pinned prey from above.]

[The sudden shift of time speeding up to a different moment of Jotaro's memories disorientates Adrian, his eyes trying to follow along, but even with his own enhanced speed Mind in a Box skips ahead enough that he can't quite keep up.

To his horror, he can hear so crisply how Jotaro is harmed. The shatter of bones, how he's beaten. He tenses, his fangs clenched, and his extends his fingernails into pointed claws.

He can't help himself. He watches how Jotaro is in peril, and he wants to do something--]

Jotaro!

[No. No, Jotaro told him he has to stop him. Even if everything in him screams to protect Jotaro, he has to focus. With a snarl, he punches into the ground, fierce and furious.

The ripple happens again, and he sees the Stand once more. Roaring, Adrian launches himself at Mind in a Box, his claws grabbing for the first thing he can; he snags an arm, tearing it off of the Stand.]

[I can feel what Star feels, Jotaro told him once, and the same holds true for all Stand users, including Olrox; damaging his Stand will transfer back the damage onto the user as well, and it shows in the way the Egyptian night seems to quake and refract when Mind in a Box has its arm ripped clear off its body by Adrian's vampiric strength. For an instant, it flickers and flashes, letting the barest glimpse of the park afterimage through before the illusion falls again; with it comes a distinct howl of pain, punctuated by precisely the sort of inhuman snarl that only a vampire could make.

Across the bridge, the road roller never stops its descent. The frenzy of Star Platinum's fists is visible from below, matched in kind by that of The World from above, but soon enough the machine lies flat against the ground and Dio remains atop it, gloating and crowing his victory.

I guess I should find Jotaro's body and drink his blood — if there's even any left to take!

But after it, on the heels of it, comes a more incredulous bit of commentary that doesn't belong to this moment — you wretch! why didn't you leap to his rescue?! your pet mortal, don't you realize he's dead now, because of you?!]

[Everything in him has to believe that Jotaro is alive and safe, that this is all but a memory, even if he wants nothing more than to turn and find him and protect him. Instead, Adrian's fangs are bared and he hisses.]

Did you really think you'd be able to trap me in your pathetic illusions?!

[Adrian charges forward, ready to tear Mind in a Box in half, but he stops abruptly. His eyes widen, and he makes a choking noise.

The illusion starts to melt away, reality revealing itself: Mind in a Box and Olrox both missing an arm, but the vampire has impaled Adrian through the throat with the strange arrow he'd had brought with him.]

[He's just barely managed to work himself free from the rubble of the road roller when the shapes and hues of Cairo start to run like a watercolor left out in the rain, replaced by the far more benign surroundings of the park — and the three familiar shapes close at hand, Olrox and his Stand and —

And Adrian, pierced through the throat by a vampire, choking and struggling from the head and shaft jammed in, and it doesn't matter that Olrox isn't Dio and an arrow isn't a knife, because in the end it's the same thing and the same trauma and he's still disoriented enough from the lingering effects of Mind in a Box that he's not really rational enough to fight it.

No one could stay calm after seeing something like that, after all.

But he's not the one at a disadvantage this time. He could stop time and seize the advantage. Olrox wouldn't be able to do anything against his attack, not with time frozen. He can hold it for at least two or three seconds; it's more than enough.]

Star Platinum!

[It's immediate. Time stops. The drip of blood stops. The screaming stops. Everything stops, and one second passes. He throws himself at Olrox, and two seconds pass. He winds up to swing, with blood and fire and rage channeled into the devastating arm of his Star Platinum —

And if he kills Olrox in stopped time, he thinks abruptly as recognition seems to stop his heart, then he really will become Dio Brando.

It's enough of a horror that the last of his chance slips through his fingers, and his period of stopped time draws to an ineffectual end, leaving him shaking as everything resumes.]

[Olrox twists the arrow before brutally tearing it out, and he stares at Jotaro coldly. Both of you, foolish. Don't worry -- I'll put you back right where I left you, mortal. Mind in a Box!

There are red streams of light emerging from Adrian's neck, something that Olrox is quick to miss as he's making an attempt to confront and trap Jotaro once again. Adrian lets out a furious snarl, his eyes turning into their bloodied color.

Another Stand appears, burying his claws through Mind in a Box's back and out the chest. Olrox howls in pain, the same bloodied hole appearing on him.]

Didn't I tell you before? I'll remove your fucking head from your shoulders, Olrox. And when the sun rises, there will be nothing but dust on the ground, and no one will give a damn that you're gone.

[The same new Stand moves in one swift, decisive move, slicing off Mind in a Box's head, the same fate befalling Olrox. As Mind in a Box fades away, the vampire's body collapses onto the ground.

Adrian coughs and places a hand over his throat as the flesh continues to mend. The new Stand can be dealt with later; he's more concerned about Jotaro right at the moment.]

Jotaro? Are you all right?

...Uh.

[He says, eloquently, as his attention rapid-fires from the corpse of what used to be a vampire now headless on the ground, to the hole in Adrian's throat, to the sudden appearance of a new Stand in their midst, to the fallen Stand arrow, and back again. It's — a lot to take in, to say the least. Adrian is healing, though, which is...something. The vampire is dead, which is something.

Numb, and dazed, and largely at a loss, he glances down at the corpse of Olrox before nudging it with his toe, and says: ]

...Yare yare. You might've been a centuries-old vampire, but it was still a hundred years too early for you.

[alucard i'm sorry you're in love with a dumbass]

That was pretty cool of you, Adrian.

[It's moments like these that Adrian can almost barely handle how much Jotaro thinks he's cool and how much he's kind of a gigantic dork, but he's just going to let that go for the sake of Love and how intensely angry he'd just been at Olrox a second ago.

Though he is, perhaps, a bit flattered by that last comment.]

I don't... quite understand what happened.

[Adrian looks at the new Stand. It had lashed out when Adrian wanted to, had acted when he wanted to.]

Is that mine?

It moved when you told it to move. And it came out after he stabbed you with that thing.

[Which is an entirely different concern, actually, and a pressing one at that. At his thought, Star Platinum drifts over to retrieve the arrow, peering at it before picking it up by the shaft.]

It went straight through your throat. Maybe he was trying to rip your head off.

I wouldn't be surprised. But why would it create a Stand by just stabbing me with it? It couldn't be that simple.

[Adrian approaches Star, tilting his head and looking at the arrow. Over his shoulder peeking is the new Stand, canting its head as Adrian might have as a wolf.]

So this can't be a normal arrow by any means. Obvious as that may seem. Where did he obtain such a thing?

[He holds out his hand.] May I study it?

...Huh. Yeah, that's definitely yours, there's no doubt about it.

[And maybe that's a smarter division of labor, anyway — let Adrian, the centuries-old vampire, look at the dusty artifact that's probably old as balls, which frees up Jotaro to investigate the new Stand, which he's arguably the resident expert in anyway.

Star drifts over, gingerly carrying the arrow with him, and offers it out with the arrowhead pointed carefully away from Adrian, apparently unwilling to take any more reckless chances after he'd been struck with it once already.]

Go ahead. It's okay if I touch your Stand?

You would know better than I would about that.

[The arrow is carefully taken. Adrian frowns, tilting his head a bit as he looks it over.]

What a strange artifact. I wonder if something would help me better study it in my father's castle, were I to ever return to it.

[The question catches him off guard. He shouldn't be surprised at Jotaro's interest.]

Yes. You may.

If you think that's what we need to do, we can go find the castle. I know people who can help with that. Getting us there, and whatever.

[Something stills him, though, drawing his attention away from the new Stand in their midst, and he glances over at Adrian slowly.]

...If you're going, I'm going with you.

[Adrian's musings had all been in the singular, after all. "Help me"; "were I ever".

But with that thought voiced, he turns his attention back to Adrian's Stand, fingers stroking lightly down the unbloodied parts of its claws before moving over to the armor plating that covers its chest. It looks like a warrior, he muses. A wolf in deadly armor. It's fitting, probably; Adrian's soul made manifest, his fighting spirit, is a beautiful and deadly thing.]

It might be time. Especially if there are more who have their twisted sense of justice and revenge. I'm also concerned on how I was found. No one should know where I am.

[Adrian pauses, looking at Jotaro and, evidently, his Stand. It's like how he said, how he can feel through it, how Jotaro touches him-- them.]

I won't... tell you not to follow. But I am admittedly afraid for you as well.

I know you're strong, but I'm not overjoyed at dragging you into my centuries old problems.

...I guess this probably wasn't the way you would've wanted me to find out. About your dad.

[Even as he says it, his hand slides up to rest lightly over the Stand's heart — a deliberate echo of something Adrian himself has done to him before, in his tender and comforting moments.]

That's what you were thinking of, when you said you were the last one left. Right?

...No.

[Through his Stand, he feels the contact. The warmth of Jotaro's hand over his beating heart, the comfort of it.]

Something like that.

My mother. She died unjustly, burned at the stake after being falsely accused of being a witch. My father went mad with grief, and I had to stop him from wiping out humanity.

It's not that I wouldn't have told you, but I saw your own pain. I wanted to make sure I was there for you, however you needed me. I've had centuries to move on. You've hardly had any time at all.

...Not just the bastards who did it. Everyone?

[Because he can't deny that there's something to be said for vengeance against the perpetrators, in a situation like that. Burning a defenseless woman at the stake on the basis of lies and false accusations...yeah, he's always drawn a line at people like that, who step on people who are weaker than them for their own gain.

But evidently it hadn't stopped at just those responsible. The king of vampires — the real king of vampires, not just the arrogant braggart self-styled one — had gone out of his mind, and decided to write a death sentence for everyone —

Or at least for himself. History's longest suicide note.]

...Do you really think that's what he was hoping for? That you would stop him?

Anyone who mattered.

The last two people I loved died almost 500 years ago, some decades after I killed my father and my mother was executed. After that, I ensured that my father's court no longer existed, and hid the castle away from anyone desiring its powers and knowledge. Even before that when we charged through Father's court, we killed most of his generals the first time. There were others who would eventually be dealt with.

My only other constant companion cannot even commit his attentions to me. But he has already done much for me as it is. So everyone, yes.

[Adrian closes his eyes, and his Stand seems to vanish away for now.]

I think there is a part of him that hoped for it, one way or another. Either I would succeed and put him out of his misery, or he would have died eventually anyway without sustenance if he succeeded even if that would have been a longer, far more miserable death.

That's a shitty thing to put on your shoulders. Making you stop him, or die trying.

[He glances back at Adrian, watching the Stand disappear from among them, and once it's gone he turns back to face him properly and uncertainly opens his arms in quiet invitation.]

Come here.

It was that, or allow him to kill all of humanity. There wasn't much choice.

[Though Adrian does truly love Jotaro, he doesn't make for the demand of physical comfort or even expect it.

So he does deeply appreciate it when Jotaro offers his arms out as he does. Adrian approaches, burying his face into Jotaro's neck, sliding his arms around him.]

I'm sorry.

What have you got to be sorry for? Well, I guess this date you tried to put together did get kind of ruined. But you can make that up to me.

[He gathers him in, wrapping protective arms around him and letting him curl in close as much as he likes. He winds up with an accidental mouthful of Adrian's hair when he turns and tries to nuzzle against his head, but that's all right, too. It's worth it just to be holding him, anchored with him, feeling him breathing and knowing that their quiet time together has returned, now that the imminent threat has passed.]

If it still fucks you up, those memories, you don't have to pretend like you're fine with it. Especially not for my sake.

I feel like I have a lot to be sorrowful for, unfortunately. This evening, what you witnessed, what you ended up involved in.

[Jotaro's warmth is enough to ground him, and Adrian closes his eyes for a moment, content in whatever affections that he'll provide. It's enough to settle him for the moment.]

I can't imagine anyone is perfectly fine after they kill their own father. But I have had the advantage of centuries to process what has happened.

I think a lot of people aren't fine even after they just kill anybody. I don't think that's something you're supposed to be fine with.

[With one arm still securely around him, he works the other up Adrian's back and buries it in his hair, tugging just enough that he can feel the tension in the strands — a comforting, pacifying sort of gesture.]

And...I think we both saw things the other guy didn't really want us to see. I think that was the point. Of the attack, I mean.

Mm. You're right.

[Slowly, he sighs at the hand in his hair, the way Jotaro tugs it just right. It does help him settle a bit of his weight against him, he cheek resting against his shoulder.]

Would you really go with me? To the castle. That's all the way in Romania.

SHARING IS CARING

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