Voices from Heaven (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thespaceopera) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
driftfleet2015-10-20 11:18 am
thespaceopera) wrote in driftfleet2015-10-20 11:18 am
Entry tags:
- !event,
- ahsoka tano,
- coil lenn,
- margaret "peggy" carter,
- nami,
- natasha romanoff,
- nelkeila tarid,
- nyssa al ghul,
- octavia blake,
- one,
- phèdre nó delaunay de montrève,
- r. daneel olivaw,
- rapunzel,
- remy lebeau,
- riku,
- robin redbreast,
- rogue,
- santanico pandemonium,
- shawn hunter,
- sokka,
- stefan salvatore,
- steve rogers (ou),
- steven quartz universe,
- stiles stilinski,
- syeira,
- tadashi hamada,
- tekhetsio,
- the vision,
- vash the stampede,
- vima sunrider,
- wanda maximoff,
- wrath,
- yamanaka ino
...And also these.
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[He shrugs, fiddling more with his uniform. It's a lot stiffer than he remembered...]
The guy's got my name and my face, but he's Stefan Salvatore, right? How could he be me?
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I don't think you should forget him until you know, then.
[Yes, she thinks. It's worth keeping.
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[ > Then we'll keep it.
There're still two more items left - the birth certificate and the flannel shirt. Or, if she's done with 1994...
She can hop to "Salvatore, 1912," or "Salvatore, 2009".]
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Gail, Zach's pregnant girlfriend, laughs at Stefan and asks him to take a photo. Stefan obliges with a smile, waving the Polaroid around once it's been taken.
As Gail satisfies her pregnancy cravings, Stefan's eyes - and yours, by extension - immediately notice the distinct puncture wounds on her arm. Stefan's face grows more serious as he asks, "Hey, what happened to your wrist?"
Confused, Gail looks up at him. "I... don't know."
The tell-tale sign of compulsion: a vampire feeds on a human, then erases all memory by looking into their eyes and ordering them to forget the entire incident. Stefan doesn't feed on humans, so that only leaves one real possibility - and that possibility promised not to feed on people. Especially descendants' pregnant girlfriends.
So Stefan marches over to his brother, ignoring the woman he's talking to. "Damon? What did you do to Gail?"
The other woman blinks back surprise (and her expression sobers up, as she's an off-duty police officer). "Is everything okay?"
Damon sighs. "Looks like the jig is up." He brings the woman closer to him, forcing her to stare deep into his eyes. "Hey, look at me. Go home. Forget you ever met us."
Once that's over and done with, Stefan yanks Damon's arm and drags his brother aside. "How the hell did you feed on Gail? She's on vervain."
Vervain being the one true weakness of vampires like Stefan; even ingesting a molecule of it burns, like a severe allergic reaction (unfortunately, not the kind that can be cured with an epipen).
Damon scoffs, "Yeah, in her COFFEE. I swapped it out last week. Same for Zach."
Stefan's almost pleading, "These people are my friends. Zach is family. They trust me."
"And they'll trust us both! Look, no feeding inside the house, right? Snatch, eat, erase." Damon waves his arms, as if to signify the no-worries philosophy. "It's all completely functional, Stefan. I told you, it's a new start!"
As Damon turns to walk away, satisfied with his explanation, Stefan's had enough of his big brother's shenanigans. Right as Damon's about to walk off unharmed, Stefan reaches out for Damon's neck and - SNAP.
Damon falls to the floor in a heap, and Stefan heaves out a sigh as he stares down at his temporarily out-of-commission big brother.
When the memory fades, the shirt's gone from Alex's hands; this time, Stefan's wearing the shirt, though a pained expression appears on his face as he stares down and smoothes the fabric.
> Is this memory worth keeping?]
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The boy she knows wouldn't do that to anyone, even if they were just going to spring back unharmed. Stef wouldn't... or so she thought. But if he doesn't remember doing it, does that still make it part of who he is and what's a part of his personality? And if he were to forget it forever...
She doesn't want this power, but she's been entrusted with it for the moment. And with a deep breath, she pushes through one shaky thought: Yes. It isn't her right to take away who he used to be. It should be up to him to deal with the memories as he sees fit.]
Why are you letting me do this?
[She lets the question simmer for a second, and then looks up at him, her expression torn.]
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He sighs, folding his arms at the question.]
Take a look around. My room can't possibly hold everything in these boxes and come out okay. It's gonna collapse upon itself.
I'm kind of a pack rat, so I wanna keep everything, but I can't. So... if I can't part with things, I figure, my friends might know which ones're worth keeping.
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[She accepts that answer, for the moment, but she still doesn't like it. Instead of pushing the issue, Alex moves on to the box marked 1912.]
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Here, Alex will find two pristine death certificates:
1) Zachariah Salvatore (cause of death: fatal stab wound) and
2) Mariana Lockwood (cause of death: decapitation & blood loss; cw: body horror; violent death).
She'll also find a folded funeral outfit, complete with tie. There's also an advertisement for a female boxer, Sage, but it's been scribbled on, with pen marks smearing her face. Someone clearly, clearly wants to forget her.]
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You've got some real happy stuff in this one.
[Taking a breath, she reaches in and pulls out the folded jacket.]
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I don't... I don't know what any of that means.
[When she pulls out the jacket, the room fades again, this time to a cemetery. It's 1912, and several distinguished members of Mystic Falls have gathered together to mourn the death of Zach Salvatore. Once the funeral ends, Stefan approaches two young ladies - he still looks younger than Alesci, but his worry and demeanor betray his true age.
One of the women introduces herself as Marianna Lockwood, and the other as Samantha Gilbert. Like Stefan and Zach, they're descended from the families that founded Mystic Falls.
Stefan finally dares to ask, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be inappropriate, but no one seems to be willing to discuss the details of Zachariah's death."
Samantha comes out and says, "He was murdered and he wasn't the first."
Marianna chides, unable to look her best friend in the eye, "Samantha, don't be a gossip."
Samantha gives her friend a good look. "Why not? He should know. He's a founding family like us." As she leaves, she adds, "Be careful Mr. Salvatore. It's not a good time to be a Founder in this town."
After they leave, Stefan turns to look at a nearby grave. Out of nowhere, an all-too familiar voice (though way less confident than Alex has EVER heard it), "Have you been eating the relatives again?"
Stefan turns to face the incoming relative, with a huge, genuine smile, "Damon."
"It's been a long time, brother." This time, it's Damon who doesn't share the sentiment; he turns to look away, keeping his voice as even as possible.
Stefan's smile fades, though only slightly, "It's been almost fifty years. I'm surprised you came."
"And miss the funeral of, what do you call him? Uncle Zachariah?
That even voice, the refusal to keep steady eye contact... Stefan really, really should've known. "I see you're still mad at me."
"Why would I be mad at you, Stefan? You made me become a vampire and now I walk the world alone, drinking other people's blood." That sardonic sense of humor's still there, sure - but it's more muted now, without any of the confidence in Stefan's other memories.
Stefan really, really doesn't want to ask this, but... "Any chance you took it all out on our nephew Zachariah?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you were the one who killed our family, remember? May father rest in peace."
"I'm not like that anymore, Damon."
But Damon's hit a nerve, and he knows it. "Well congratulations, Stefan. But if you'll excuse me, I'd like to live out my eternal existence as far away from you as possible."
Right as Damon turns to leave, Stefan sees that window of opportunity growing smaller and smaller and smaller until--
"Damon, wait. Let's grab a drink, catch up," Stefan's almost pleading now, taking off his hat and bowing his head a little.
There's a moment (a moment where Stefan thinks he's lost Damon forever), and then Damon finally turns around to acknowledge him.
Stefan's smile returns to his face. "I've missed you, brother."
Damon's expression is one of regret - like he knows he shouldn't be doing this, but they're family. They're all the other has left in the world.
"Sure," Damon concedes. "Why not?"
As the memory fades, returning them back to Stefan's bedroom, the first death certificate has disappeared; it's migrated to the desk, where it's kept with other journals and historical-type records. Stefan looks almost thoughtful, though the surprise in his eyes is hard to mistake for anything else.
Like all of the other outfits she's picked thus far, he's wearing it too, and this time, he hasn't even noticed the change in wardrobe.]
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The words ring in her head for several long, empty moments. She wants to stuff everything back in the box and forget that she even opened this one, but then she notices that the certificate has vanished, and her hope fades a little. Turning back towards Stefan, she sees the surprise in his face. This is new to him as well, and she's just drudged it back up.]
... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have picked that one up.
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Salvatore-Father, but still Father. Stefan's eyes grow watery as he steps back from her, struggling to keep down the lump that's starting to form in his throat. He killed Father. No wonder Damon had promised him an "eternity of misery," and no wonder Damon had been at his throat about it for a century and a half.]
N-no, it's important. You--[Deep breath, though his voice's starting to crack.] It's okay. You don't need to apologize.
[It's his voice that speaks to her this time as the question's asked:
> Is this memory worth keeping?]
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Stef...
[His eyes break her heart, and she knows that this won't change her mind about anything. Nothing could, at this point. It's been a hundred years since this memory, and she trusts the man in front of her so fully that she doesn't even know how to tell him. Whatever he did, she can see that he wouldn't ever do it again. And maybe it's stupid of her to rush into conclusions like this, but she's too certain of her feelings to consider anything else.]
Do you want to remember? Do you want to keep this one?
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No, he doesn't, but... Salvatore deserves to remember his life too. (No wonder Elena had sounded so concerned. Had Salvatore told her about all these deaths? The blood that was on Salvatore's hands?) Alesci had yet to take a life, despite being a vampire for two years now. But Alesci wasn't... this guy.
Stefan wobbles a little, leaning on the nearest piece of furniture - the desk - for support. His breath's hitched, as the full weight of the memory sinks in.]
Don't answer that with another question.
[It's a little harsh, especially coming from him, so he wipes at his eyes.] Sorry. It's just... it's not my decision to make. Not in here.
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Okay.
[She takes another step forwards, stopping short of being able to reach out and lay a hand on his shoulder. She can't touch him in here. That's precious between them, and she isn't going to waste it in a dream.]
It hurts, but it's worth it. You're a good person, and you're gonna do the right thing with these memories. You're gonna learn from them. And I know you. I know you'd rather work through the whole ugly thing than feel like there were parts of yourself missing. I don't want to deny you part of your own story.
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I, because in the end, he is both Salvatore and Alesci. Alex may not know it yet, because he can't bring himself to tell her in here - but she's got a damn good point. He IS a good person, and he WILL work through each and every memory in these boxes until he knows who he is.
The Marianna Lockwood death certificate remains, but Stefan takes it into his hand this time and sets it on the desk. With that, the box - and all memories associated with 1912 - drift into the room. The walls grow a little more faded; and there's even a medium-sized table with assorted papers and weapons on it.
Stefan's expression grows more somber and weary, even as he smiles at Alex.]
Thank you. Even if I may not want to remember each and every one of these memories, I should. I'm still Salvatore, right?
Just... older, and hopefully a little wiser than before.
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I'm still waiting for an explanation once we wake up. And then I'm gonna give you the biggest, most embarrassing pep talk of all time, 'kay?
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Hang in there a little longer. I know it doesn't make a lot of sense now, but there's...
[He feels a lump forming in his throat, so he swallows it down.] There's a good reason.
[Only two big Salvatore boxes remain: 1864 and 2009. There are a few others, like Salvatore, 2010 and Salvatore, 2011 but they're smaller, and the 2010 box has faded drops of blood - it's more than a little obvious of what she'll uncover there.]
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Okay, let's do this.
[She sits down firmly in front of the box marked "1864".]
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There's also, strangely enough, an old football near the suit. It looks roughed up, as if it's been used a lot. There's not a lot in the box, and yet, each item feels as if it's got the weight of the world.]