[One moment, you're thinking about a burger. You're thinking about a greasy-ass, melty warm burger and the next minute you're suddenly looking at someone who's definitely the man standing next to you and yet not. The barrier's up and closing around them as the earmuffs crumble in Chuuya's hand, leaving Junpei to yell in surprise as he tries to bail and fails at doing so. As Junpei finds himself stopping and watching this pan out, he immediately picks up on the tension and the anger and the ferocious nature radiating from Chuuya himself.
What he says, of course, startles him but the memory plays on. The gravity manipulation is something else and he can almost feel his own weight and tie to the earth giving away as he's immersed in this vision.
When it's over, of course, Chuuya looks away while Junpei outright stares. That was...what the fuck was that?]
-look, there's a lot I haven't said about my ability, can we not just leave it at that?
[but it's quiet, like he knows that it's not really an option after junpei's seen something like that, heard what he said about himself, so he just shakes his head and shoves at the barrier, which holds steady.]
I mean we could, but that's apparently not an option. [He lightly punches the barrier. This isn't the first time this has happened today, probably, what the fuck are timelines, but...he's always hoping for another answer.]
...to tell you the truth I never put that much thought into it. I kinda just figured it was a thing that happens in other universes. [" I've never thought of any situation as terrible... because I'm not human." That's...terrifying, but how do you ask...]
Your control's actually really impressive. [Let's go the other way with this then.]
I mean, I guess? [He argues for the sake of arguing, but the barrier won't take his sass for much longer because without warning Chuuya finds himself immersed in something a little fucked up. And even though he's very clearly dead at some point, somehow, his memory picks up a young woman's words. "You're horrible, Junpei."]
[Oh. Haha. So that happens and the barrier breaks, leaving Junpei to reach out and feel the open space again before slipping his hands into the pockets of his jacket.]
Spacetime Human Internal Fluctuating Transfer. Or, easier, SHIFTing. It...lets us jump timelines, leaving behind other versions of ourselves and trading places. Our consciousness stays the same and we keep all of our memories, but we just jump to another history.
...no. We just learned like a few hours before we got stuck here. [Haha.] But SHIFTers have access to this thing called the Morphogenetic Field. Carlos tapped into that for the first time a few hours before we came here, but I tapped in last year.
SHIFTing was the only way to get us out of the Decision Game alive. We just didn't know it right away until Carlos figured it out.
Well we died in a couple of them first, but yes? [Wow this is. Awkward to explain. Haha.] It was just when we were locked in the bomb shelter and had no other option. The thing with SHIFTing is that you can't do it unless you can access the field and also...y'know, you're in immediate, fatal danger. Like dying. We didn't always have another choice if we wanted to survive.
[that makes a little more sense, and he's generally used to Weird Shit, although this is still a lot-- it's more powerful than the abilities he knows of.]
Must be nice to be able to get out of situations like that.
[On the one hand, yeah. He loves being alive. On the other hand...he shrugs and just starts walking again, expecting Chuuya to follow.]
We didn't have that option in the Nonary Game. And even though it was an option in the Decision Game it's not really something we can use over and over again. In order to SHIFT, you also have to pick a timeline where there's a living body. And you still remember how you died in the last one anyway. Sometimes your memories don't sync up with the people around you, and it takes some juggling to figure things out. Sometimes things happen in one timeline that couldn't have happened in the next, but you're stuck thinking about it anyway.
But...Carlos says our last SHIFT got us out of the building and into the desert. So that counts for something, I guess.
So if I'm following this, you still... have to have some version of yourself left who didn't fuck up, and then if you die again, some version that both didn't fuck up before and didn't die where you did? Or some version that just went off doing something else completely.
[he follows easily enough, because after that, he does think he'd rather not hang around the same spot. what if it happens again?]
Yeah, something like that. Let's say...let's say there's a coin toss. In one timeline, there's a me that won and got to leave without playing the Decision Game at all. In another timeline, there's a me who lost, who had to play the game and got killed. But there's a third me who lost the coin toss but knew I was gonna die and had to SHIFT. I could switch with the me who won the coin toss, but not the me who died in another room in the game.
Like I said, the other thing needed to SHIFT is access to the Morphogentic Field, which is an invisible space that's used as a way to pass information between living things. Think of telepathy as a basic form of using the field.
People who can tap in are called espers. They can do things like send mental messages to each other, or alter the consciousness of another person. Stronger espers have the ability to see across multiple timelines and universes. They can see different outcomes and different memories of their other selves...which is how SHIFTers know what timelines they can jump to.
[he's not really sure what else he can even say to that-- seeing other timelines and messing with people's consciousness? any single person being able to do all that...
[a pause, before he huffs out a breath and continues.]
I don't have any memory of the first seven years of my life, so-- I wasn't sure where I came from, and the rumors back then... they thought something my ability did was the work of a god, the first time it got unleashed. Can't really say that I blame them, considering it wiped out part of the city. I knew it was me, but I didn't realize I wasn't just-- some incarnation of that. A container for it.
...you've always been able to use your ability then is what you're saying. That's kind of a lot of power for a kid. [Seven years gone.] Did you ever get the real answers?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
doublesmall) wrote2019-10-14 10:08 am
no subject
What he says, of course, startles him but the memory plays on. The gravity manipulation is something else and he can almost feel his own weight and tie to the earth giving away as he's immersed in this vision.
When it's over, of course, Chuuya looks away while Junpei outright stares. That was...what the fuck was that?]
...what the fuck? [MAY AS WELL VOICE THAT.]
no subject
[but it's quiet, like he knows that it's not really an option after junpei's seen something like that, heard what he said about himself, so he just shakes his head and shoves at the barrier, which holds steady.]
no subject
...to tell you the truth I never put that much thought into it. I kinda just figured it was a thing that happens in other universes. [" I've never thought of any situation as terrible... because I'm not human." That's...terrifying, but how do you ask...]
Your control's actually really impressive. [Let's go the other way with this then.]
no subject
[not that he dislikes the compliment, he's still just... thrown, to be outed like that, arms folded over his chest.
hit me with that memory and they can just both be like 'ah fuck' it's fine they're fine? they're. fine.]
no subject
no subject
[that's the FIRST thing out of his mouth as he whirls on junpei, the memory and barrier breaking and leaving them free to move.]
What kind of harebrained fucking plan--
no subject
Relax. It worked the way it was supposed to work. [He's blasé about it now, but there was definitely a moment where he wondered if it was all worth it. Sometimes you just die a lot and deal.]
no subject
[thank god he has this to interrogate junpei about, he'd be suffering if it were just him who had a memory exposed.]
Wait, that's what you meant about- having died before.
no subject
That's what I meant. And that wasn't the only time. [...] Carlos never told you what we are, did he?
no subject
no subject
no subject
[he murmurs that to himself, shaking his head.]
So is that-- something you've always had, or what? Usually people don't share the same ability, where I'm from.
no subject
SHIFTing was the only way to get us out of the Decision Game alive. We just didn't know it right away until Carlos figured it out.
no subject
[he's still kind of working this whole thing out, because it's... it's a lot.]
no subject
no subject
[that makes a little more sense, and he's generally used to Weird Shit, although this is still a lot-- it's more powerful than the abilities he knows of.]
Must be nice to be able to get out of situations like that.
no subject
We didn't have that option in the Nonary Game. And even though it was an option in the Decision Game it's not really something we can use over and over again. In order to SHIFT, you also have to pick a timeline where there's a living body. And you still remember how you died in the last one anyway. Sometimes your memories don't sync up with the people around you, and it takes some juggling to figure things out. Sometimes things happen in one timeline that couldn't have happened in the next, but you're stuck thinking about it anyway.
But...Carlos says our last SHIFT got us out of the building and into the desert. So that counts for something, I guess.
no subject
[he follows easily enough, because after that, he does think he'd rather not hang around the same spot. what if it happens again?]
no subject
Like I said, the other thing needed to SHIFT is access to the Morphogentic Field, which is an invisible space that's used as a way to pass information between living things. Think of telepathy as a basic form of using the field.
People who can tap in are called espers. They can do things like send mental messages to each other, or alter the consciousness of another person. Stronger espers have the ability to see across multiple timelines and universes. They can see different outcomes and different memories of their other selves...which is how SHIFTers know what timelines they can jump to.
no subject
[he's not really sure what else he can even say to that-- seeing other timelines and messing with people's consciousness? any single person being able to do all that...
it'd be extremely complicated, it sounds like.]
no subject
no subject
[he exhales a sigh, reaching up to adjust his hat.]
...I didn't know everything at the time, so that might have been a little misleading. What do you want to know?
no subject
Can we start with what you meant about not being human?
no subject
[a pause, before he huffs out a breath and continues.]
I don't have any memory of the first seven years of my life, so-- I wasn't sure where I came from, and the rumors back then... they thought something my ability did was the work of a god, the first time it got unleashed. Can't really say that I blame them, considering it wiped out part of the city. I knew it was me, but I didn't realize I wasn't just-- some incarnation of that. A container for it.
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)