[open] This Fire is outta control; gotta burn this city!

[npc_kun]

Characters: Open
Date/Time: Oct 24-26, anytime
Location: Park & elsewhere (please specify location in comments)
Rating: Varied
Summary: Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here to memorize a great tragedy that befell our sphere one year ago today. With HOT DOGS! A-BOOYA! Who's gonna cut the Fugue cake?! Second Annual Edensphere BBQ is ON!

[ooc

Comments

[live_ringer]

"There's a list, hm?" Gene asked with a smirk. He wasn't about to ask who would be on such a list, and he rather doubted it actually existed in list form. Still, he had to poke at the opening once it presented itself. Things were turning odd enough that he could use the levity.

Said levity died pretty quickly once the others brought up the apron and how it would be related to the food. His old suspicions about it came bubbling up and left a bitter taste in his mouth. "This time last year we didn't have any people-shaped bits of food, no. What we did have was a massive fire. Took out half the damned Sphere."

He shrugged, then crossed his arms. "It could be related, or I could be putting too much thought into it. But this 'Second Annual' business sounds suspect to me."

The frown Gene was wearing furrowed deeper once he remembered another detail. The entry he had transcribed the repeated "Fugue did it" message from... he had all forgotten the content beyond that message until now. "Now that I think of it, not long after I--" Gene paused to cut himself off from saying 'after I came back'. There was no real reason to bring that up. Chances were they'd just make a big deal about it like they did with Fred's deaths. "Not long after, there was an entry that suggested holding a barbecue. It wasn't exactly tactful, and not many took kindly to it."

[man_genius]

Genius blushed. "Theoretical list! In fact it's less a list than a--never mind! Enough about me, back to the creepy food?"

Derrick's stomach growl made Genius smile but it disappeared once Gene started talking.

"Massive fir--The Fire?! You know, capital F Fire? I--we, heard about it but I didn't know--but of course you were around, we just celebrated your goo-day." Genius' hand went over his mouth. "Oh God. Then all this food is...DEAD people?!" Oh God now he really wanted to throw up.

"They taunted you and they're doing it again." Genius cast the entire spread with an suspicious eye. "Or maybe it's a warning? Wait. The food can't be dead people--that sausage had your face on it. ...Right?"

Ah oh. Gene. You have some 'splaining to do.

[bloody_pens]

Derrick very dearly wanted to prod further on who was on Genius' "theorerical" list, but he kept holding himself in. He could sense due to Gene's mood that now was not the time for joking around; as much as Derrick himself liked to use it as a defense mechanism and a way to deal with the weirdness they encountered every day, he had to pick his battles.

He carefully listened to Gene's words, catching on his hesitation. "Not long after you WHAT?" he prodded.

Derrick then glanced at Genius. "I seriously doubt this stuff is made OF people, somehow. I think someone would have noticed a bunch of people being turned into roast chicken and hot dogs."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's just someone with a sick sense of humor."

[live_ringer]

Gene was a little at a loss for how to answer Genius's question. If he said that they had to look at more examples of food to be sure it wasn't all people who had died, it would imply that he had once been dead. But if he outright lied about it then the truth would come to light, quite likely through Bell.

Luckily, Derrick's take on the question freed him up to interpret it in a slightly different way. He too doubted that the food was made of people. So he simply stayed silent in a way that more or less agreed with the other man's sentiment.

However, Derrick was sharper than he had hoped and picked up on his little misstep. ...Hell, it was too much effort to dodge the question. He'd been open about it with others. Granted, the majority of those others were unlikely to care one way or the other about it, so he kept his answer clipped and vague. "Not long after I came back."

Aaaand on to a change of subject. "I suspect you're both right on some level. It might all be one bad joke."

[man_genius]

The food could be a simple psychological trick. An elaborate, cruel trick, although it seemed at odds with the sphere's usual MO. He vividly remembered Qi's explanation of what happened when she tried to host a funeral for the recently dead. A giant fish ate her--literally. So why memorialize people now? Then again, if they had controlled the fire, then they had a purpose for that. Maybe this was tied in into it.

Or maybe it was just a childish prank. A part of him deep down saw the humor in the situation and probably would have laughed if he didn't know how deeply the Fire affected his closest friends.

Affected in more ways than one. Genius hadn't caught Gene's slip but Derrick did and now he was fixated on the other man.

"Wait a minute. Rewind. You came back? Came back as in rehatched?" His eyes narrowed. "Oh my God you died didn't you? You totally died! I really did eat a dead Gene-dog! A...oh god you cook hot dogs in fires don't ya. Jesus."

That was simultaneously funny and incredibly cruel.

"Yeah a joke. Notice how everyone is laughing."

[bloody_pens]

Derrick winced, wishing he hadn't prodded now, especially after Genius quite predictably spazzed about it.

"Settle DOWN, Genius." He considered using his brother's real name to drive it in further, but decided against it. "So you died in the fire... you and how many others? And the Sphere is CELEBRATING THAT? Suppose it could be funny in a schadenfreude sort of way, especially to those of us who weren't here when it happened... and whoever writes those stupid creepy entries certainly loves to mock us."

He looked longingly at his place of food, still hungry but not feeling right about the prospect of eating it.

[live_ringer]

It took some will power not to roll his eyes when Genius went off. He knew his friend was concerned, in his own way. And sure, it was a big deal, but... Gene would rather leave it behind him and move on.

"Could you say it a little louder? I don't think they heard you over at the barbecue pit."

Granted, Genius's volume wasn't really that bad, but Gene was on edge with so many people milling about. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a puff of breath. "But... yeah. That's pretty much it."

Derrick got a grateful look for taking the whole 'death' thing more or less in stride. "Like I said, about half the Sphere from what I heard. Though, I think I was gone for about a week after, so I didn't really hear the exact number as it happened."

Gene caught Derrick's longing look and raised a brow. "You alright?"

[man_genius]

"How can I settle when I have a Gene dog in my stomach!" But he did sit back down on a bench, leaning as far away from the food as possible.

"Sorry--er. I'm sorry about...you know," he mumbled at Gene. Inside he was reeling. He'd never known that Gene had died so his entire world felt like it had gotten a hard shake. Gene was so...Geney! He was self sufficient and not prone to disaster like Fred or Youth, yet here he was on his second life, like some sort of demented video game. The fire must have been more horrifying and more comprehensive than he'd imagined. He was extremely glad to have missed it.

"No. I don't get it." Genius raised up his left hand palm up, like he was weighing something. "Don't remember." He raised his right hand. "Remember. This isn't consistent. Why do everything in your power to stop people from having a normal life, then turn around and memorialize a particular event?"

He had no answer for himself so he looked to the other two eagerly. "Also Derrick, you're not allowed to get the dead. It's for your own good."

Somebody knew his brother far too well.

[bloody_pens]

Derrick pouted briefly at Genius, then to Gene's question he said,

"Well, I'm hungry as hell, but I'm not about to sink my teeth into stuff with peoples' faces on it. Can't just ignore that and let- whoever engineered this think it's funny and that we'll just ignore it. So don't worry, man-twin. I won't touch it."

He blew a breath through his nose, hard, pondering the answer to Genius' question.

"It really doesn't make any sense," he agreed. "Didn't your star-friend's brother write about how he couldn't remember it happening? Why make some people forget and let others remember? Why make it happen in the first place? If the Sphere or whoever or whatever runs it wanted to kill people, why not wipe out EVERYONE?"

He felt himself shudder slightly, and his hand moved into his jacket pocket to touch Nikki's journal. He slid it out and opened it, just to make sure it was still working.

[live_ringer]

Gene pulled a face. Did Genius really have to keep saying Gene-dog? Aside from being a little twisted, it kind of sounded like a terrible nickname. Once the other man said he was sorry about what happened, Gene waved a dismissive hand. He didn't like what happened. Quite the opposite. But it was something he had moved past, to the point where he could almost pretend it didn't happen. It probably helped that he didn't really remember the moment of his death.

"Might make a statement if you cut off the parts with faces in order to eat? ...Of course, decapitated food would look that much more morbid." Okay, so that was... less than helpful. Moving on.

The big questions were the inconsistency of the whole thing. The over arching pattern (or lack thereof) of the memory and lack thereof. "Maybe the object is confusion and the lack of consistency is the point?" Gene shook his head and frowned. He didn't really buy that, not really. "Or... if the motives seem completely different, maybe there's more than force at play?"

Gene rubbed a hand over his forehead and let out a frustrated grunt. In the journals, long ago, mysterious informants had said "Fugue did it". Were they involved in this memorial? Or were they actually trying to pass the blame around before and the memorial was the doing of the Tree? He knew what he suspected, but he wondered if he actually knew anything at all, and the doubt was showing in the lines of his face.

[man_genius]

The disbelieving glare that Genius shot Gene spoke volumes about what he thought about the other man's decapitation plan. Although it was probably a bad thing when a man who worked with brains for a living thought you were being gross.

Genius shot Derrick a puzzled look. "Simon? Oh. Oh God your right, he did say he forgot something big and--wow. I didn't piece that one together till right now. I assume he must have died?" That sounded almost like repression, not forceful loss, but maybe that went hand in hand in this place. He had no answer for his brother's other questions. "Why do they do anything?" He was about to be more flippent when he saw Derrick reach into his pocket and pull out his journal.

Wait no. It was Nikki.

Oh.

"Der." Genius fidgeted on the picnic bench. "I'm sure she's alright." It was an awkward attempt to comfort, but he was an awkward guy. Still he tried to smile convincingly at his brother.

He couldn't dwell on Derrick's discomfort too much. There was still Gene's comments to consider. "Hmmm that is possible. Psychologically throw everyone off, make things so unpredictable that it destroys any will to escape this place. A type of conditioning--not that we're not already mostly there. I mean we're pretty conditioned. You're looking at the poster child for Stokholm Syndrome right here." He was only mostly joking about that one. "But...more than one force...you mean like the rainbow ink people? The same ones who supposedly sent the hourglasses? I don't understand their motive. Freak everyone out and what? How does that make people want to join your cause?"

It was a puzzle to be sure. Although Gene looked even more frustrated than Genius felt. It was probably the memory of dying. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything.

[bloody_pens]

Derrick took his attention off the journal enough to listen to Genius and to wrinkle his nose at Gene's suggestion.

"Yeah, I think I'm just gonna pass on the food altogether. I can still cook for myself, thankfully."

He then shrugged.

"Simon's thing may have had something to do with when he died back in April, too. People forget things when they die sometimes, right? A lot of them seem to be afraid of that having happened when they come back." Derrick couldn't help but remind himself at the back of his mind that he and Genius had been here for quite a long time- almost a year- and had never died themselves. Granted, Derrick had never cared too much to explore this place's mysteries- that was more his brother's department, and he was a little concerned that Genius had yet to be punished in any way for it.

He stared forlornly at Nikki's journal, a sick feeling dropping into his stomach at the thought of what would happened to his family if he died. Genius had taken Youth's death badly enough... he didn't even want to think about what would happen if he, Derrick, were to be the next target. And Promise...

"Haven't really thought much about how this place works or who's behind it," he admitted, forcing himself to shut the journal and tuck it back into his pocket. "Not sure if I even want to start trying. But I get the feeling I'll have to stare it in the eye one way or the other at some point." He bowed his head a little. "... her journal still works. At least she's still here. Somewhere."

[live_ringer]

Genius and Derrick's shared looks of disgust went ignored. Somehow, it was easier to switch into a mode of flippancy than to continue to let himself dwell on the implications of this little stunt.

"I don't really remember the moment when I died. I know someone else who died in the fire had big gaps in their memory. I think it's a common side effect, so it would make sense that Simon has gaps."

The emphasis on the journal confused Gene a bit. He could gather that it belonged to a 'she', and it was obviously a sore point. ...An elevator abductee? Did something happen to Promise? Then again, Derrick seemed buddy-buddy with Nikki, and he Gene had noticed the reaction to her elevator entry that was cut off. Still, he didn't know for sure. Judging by Derrick's expression Gene figured now wasn't the best time to ask for exposition on the subject. So he just looked awkwardly sympathetic in Derrick's general direction before turning his attention to Genius's theories.

"Break our wills through breaking logic? ...Makes about as much sense as anything else." His expression turned sour at the idea that a higher power was actively trying to implement Stockholm Syndrome on them, even if it was meant jokingly. "The rainbow-writers are good candidates. No clue what their angle is, though. Forced dream moments, morbid memorials... they have a thread of being informative, but never pleasant. But it's only two instances, so I don't know if you would call that a pattern."

And if it was a pattern, it wasn't one he wanted to risk unearthing here. After all, the place was open and there were people milling all about that could overhear them.

[man_genius]

"Simon forgets a traumatizing disaster, Gene can't remember the moment he died." Genius' face fell into a thoughtful frown. "How convenient. Remove the most traumatic memories from a person, the type that could possibly cripple said individual." His voice lowered, although that was mostly because he was thinking out loud than any fear of being heard. "Remove that which would prevent the subject from continuing in the experiment."

It was times like this, when Genius went still and spoke without thinking, that his mad scientist side crept out and he almost seemed to be another person.

But he seemed to snap out of it when Derrick spoke again. "Woah woah, man-bro-twin. Nobody is staring anybody in the eye or attracting any more attention. It's bad enough you're a Greeter, lets not borrow any more trouble. Just have faith in Nikki ok?"

Thank God for Derrick. Without him Genius would be lost to the darkness in himself.

He gave Derrick the most encouraging smile he could before he glanced back at Gene. "What two instances? I don't see how anyone's birth dream could be useful honestly. It's just a dream."

Case in point, his own dream was disturbing, painful and still made no sense whatsoever a year later. What use would it have to someone else?

[bloody_pens]

"VERY convenient," Derrick agreed, his expression turning dark. "Maybe it's not so much about traumatizing people as it is making them complacent. Slowly, one by one, they forget everything bad that happens to them. Or they're threatened with bodily harm, or with losing their loves ones. Makes them want to fight that little bit less, so we're kept here. Why? Who the fuck knows? Same goes for why people get each others' dreams. It doesn't make sense, but there you go."

He took a deep breath, then glanced at Gene.

"As long as we're being open and honest here, Nikki and I are from the same place. We were close. Don't know exactly HOW close, but we were."

He held himself back from mentioning the I think she's my wife bit. He still wasn't sure, and he didn't feel right mentioning it to anyone aside from his brother until he WAS.

[live_ringer]

Gene's frown was slowly morphing into a scowl of contempt. It was obvious that they were constantly at the mercy of something else. But having a specific instance pointed out where an outside force was trying to manipulate him into complacency really drove the point home. He liked to think he wasn't getting soft and letting the place take control, but the lack of successful or overt action against these unseen forces clearly showed otherwise. Damn it.

"Almost like one big forcible game of playing House, and we're the dolls being played with." His voice dripped with disgust as he said it.

He hadn't really been expecting Derrick to open up about the journal, but it was sobering. He hadn't heard any updates on Nikki's absence, but he figured it was possible she'd come back quietly. No such luck. He knew how hard it was to lose someone from home, another connection to your past, and it was even tougher when you actually got along with them. He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head.

"Sorry to hear she's not gotten back yet." The sentiment was sincere. Nikki good company and one hell of a shot.

His attention was pulled back to their conspiracy theories by Genius's questions. "Instance one: the hourglasses. They admitted to that much. Instance two: the barbecue." He ticked the two instances off on his fingers, then gestured at the scenery around them. "It may not be useful information, but it's information. Maybe they're trying to connect people by distributing dreams. Maybe they're trying to stir things up by telling those who weren't there about the Fire... I don't know."

Gene pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. The more he talked about the incidents, the less there seemed to be any sort of cohesive picture.