[But it's supposed to be normal for him. He's experienced memory recall before through his reflection, the pieces of information slotting neatly into the timeline of his day, as if he'd lived both lives simultaneously with very little dissonance.
These memories, however -- they are jammed into place. Crudely so in comparison to what he's used to. The two spans of time don't align at all and thinking about those eleven months feels like unspooling a gnarled tangle of thread. He can't trace his standing here back to the moment he'd been walking before, much less to the abruptly-filled gap of a year.]
It... is jarring. Abrupt. I should be able to -- but they don't fit the way they need to. Sloppy paperwork, really. If it weren't for the skull, this would all be some awful trick. I could play along, maybe... But no. I should be used to this. We have memory spells, I've used my reflection for reconnaissance, but this is... different.
[Jammed in and worst of all, he can remember every feeling, every moment, as clearly as if he really had been living it. Reflections don't have emotions to transfer, and he's never used it for longer than a few days. This -- this...]
...I think it's... too much? [Unsure, even as he says it,] I think, if it had been different, maybe not. But as it stands -- yes. It's too much. So I need a vacation. I need a break. I need to not think about it...
[As if he could possibly put it aside for any length of time...]
no subject
[But it's supposed to be normal for him. He's experienced memory recall before through his reflection, the pieces of information slotting neatly into the timeline of his day, as if he'd lived both lives simultaneously with very little dissonance.
These memories, however -- they are jammed into place. Crudely so in comparison to what he's used to. The two spans of time don't align at all and thinking about those eleven months feels like unspooling a gnarled tangle of thread. He can't trace his standing here back to the moment he'd been walking before, much less to the abruptly-filled gap of a year.]
It... is jarring. Abrupt. I should be able to -- but they don't fit the way they need to. Sloppy paperwork, really. If it weren't for the skull, this would all be some awful trick. I could play along, maybe... But no. I should be used to this. We have memory spells, I've used my reflection for reconnaissance, but this is... different.
[Jammed in and worst of all, he can remember every feeling, every moment, as clearly as if he really had been living it. Reflections don't have emotions to transfer, and he's never used it for longer than a few days. This -- this...]
...I think it's... too much? [Unsure, even as he says it,] I think, if it had been different, maybe not. But as it stands -- yes. It's too much. So I need a vacation. I need a break. I need to not think about it...
[As if he could possibly put it aside for any length of time...]