Network | Video | OTA

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

Who: John Sheppard
Username: Pegasus
Warnings: Loss of name/identity, mild body horror

[Sheppard’s on screen looking uncharacteristically panicked. He looks like he’s been through some things, or maybe he just hasn’t been sleeping well. Dark circles are under his eyes. For a second it almost looks like he has sharp canines, and sometimes his unshaven face looks a little feline or a little feral but it’s probably just a trick of the light because he looks perfectly normal when you look again. It’s fine. He’s fine. They’re all fine here.]

I think there’s something wrong with me.

I have a first name, right? I’m not just Sheppard but that’s…

…I have a first name, right?

Comments

Text UN Soldier

[worthallthis]

[Sigh.]

you used to

now you do not probably because the faerie asked you to give them your name and you did

better pick a new one or get used to calling yourself sheppard sorry :(

for anybody else going to talk to them do not give them your real name unless they ask really specifically not for you to give it to them

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

[The horror of it all dawns on him.]

What?! No, that…

[He remembers that, remembers giving…something, was it a name, it was his name, right?

It’s difficult to think of it, around it, like every time he should be thinking of his name it slips through his fingers.]

You mean Steve? I remember…I think I did!

[He still has no idea that ‘Steve’ was just the name that Milo had given him and that it had been stolen, too.]

This doesn’t make any sense, how can someone just take a damn name?!

[worthallthis]

[Winter is briefly furious and glad this is in text so Sheppard can't see it. The stupid faerie is using that name??]

because of magic

also steve was not their name before

they took it from rogers

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

Sometimes I hate magic. This is a really uncool use of it.

You mean that Steve’s not their…you mean they’re probably using my name out there too?!

Dammit, this isn’t good, I promised them a favor.

[He thought you were cool, “Steve.” Now he’s worried he owes a faerie a favor and there goes his soul or something.]

[worthallthis]

they might be yeah

i hate magic pretty much all the time

[He says, to the guy who apparently went and got changed into a cat thing. Winter is not particularly impressed.]

be very careful what you agree to with the favor cuz specific wording is very important

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

Uh.

I was very unspecific when I offered.

Like it was a favor for anything.

I literally said they could have help, for whatever they wanted, no questions asked.

[Hahaha he is so screwed. He rubs his face.]

Okay. Maybe if they ask for something I can weasel my way out.

[worthallthis]

you already agreed to do something just make sure you know exactly what the favor is before you agree again

they might not be malicious its just how the faerie are i think

[Look Winter is going off of childhood memories which have been wiped god knows how many times. And his own interaction with them. Maybe he should read up on them or something...]

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

So taking my name wasn't malicious.

[There's a beat.]

I dunno, it just seems kinda malicious to me...

[worthallthis]

said might not be not definitely isnt

i just dont know

but faerie are not human and dont think like humans

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

I've dealt with a lot of malevolent aliens in my time, I get what that can be like...

Why do they even need a name, anyway? What's it for? I need to read up on faerie stuff...I'm more of a sci-fi guy, myself.

[worthallthis]

i dont know my memory of this stuff is very hazy and stuff online is very confusing

im usually more of a sci fi guy too i dont even know why i know this

un: rainey.day | video

[rainestorms]

[To see a friend in distress is certainly a thing that would catch Raine's attention, even in their current state. But... for some reason, they can't remember. The shape it took and how the words even sounded are missing from their mind.

They rub their jaw. Maybe they're just tired? Sheppard is a name of his, after all.]

I honestly.. I'm not sure. I thought I knew.

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

It’s like it should be there, but it isn’t. I looked at my name written on my ID, but…

[He shows it on the screen. It’s literally there, on his State of Massachusetts ID, but it’s like he can’t comprehend it, as if his mind slips every time his eyes focus on where his first name should be. He just sees the word Sheppard.]

[rainestorms]

[Raine leaned closer to their screen. I they tried to squint at the name.]

..Hmm. I can't read it either.

They sit back and think. Raine's quiet for a while, their mind looped through everything that had happened to them recently.]

Have you done or seen or heard anything or... anybody unusual as of late? I know the ADI has constant weird things, but anything... Abnormal..?

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

Yeah, one thing. I spoke with Steve, I thought maybe they were an Avatar at first but I think…this might have something to do with that. I remember…maybe saying it, then? Cause I don’t think I told them my name was Sheppard.

[He studies his ID, baffled.]

There’s no way, I had to have had one…

[rainestorms]

Who's.. Who's Steve?

[There was a face associated with that name. But oddly enough, it's been scratched out of their memory. Just like Shepard's name.]

They're an Avatar..?

[Uh Oh.]

Where did you talk to them? What did they look like?

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

This person I ran into, they were...well, they were on top of this empty warehouse, the ones that used to be used by Oculus, and there were all these flowers and plants everywhere. They're the ones who were making the glamours for ADI. They were pretty, kind of delicate features...I don't know if they were an Avatar or not, but--

[rainestorms]

[Raine is quiet for a while. It's clear something other than the fact that John's name is now missing troubles them about this, though what exactly troubles them is not.]

That's not good.

[They grew quiet again, and sighed.]

I don't know if there's a way to fix this. They're not just an avatar. They do play by rules, but they're fae. They play by their. Rules.

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

[There's a pause before John answers again, too.]

Not good at all.

You really think so? Cause I'd really like my name back.

What kind of rules?

[failedpromise]

Well this is a new one.

(Cortana hopes that's a trick of the light and he didn't do something especially stupid. Again.

Though apparently he may have done that anyway.)

Any idea what happened?

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

[It's fine. Probably nothing to worry about.]

Winter just told me a faerie stole my name.

[He rubs the side of his temple.]

Because apparently that can happen here.

[failedpromise]

(Faerie? Oh, Great!)

Let me guess: strange person sitting in a field of flowers that shouldn't exist?

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

Yeah, exactly.

[A beat.]

Did you see them, too?

[failedpromise]

Unfortunately, yes. Really glad I only gave them the name I took from my mother.

[video] un: cupkate

[bossyboiler]

What did you do?

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

Winter told me a faerie stole my name, because I told them my name. Cause that can just happen here.

[His voice is very dry, but he's hiding how horrified and upset he really is.]

Should I pick a new name? Maybe I can just call myself Bob... [He is not, going to call himself Bob.]

[bossyboiler]

That sounds insane. You're name is... [ Slim Shady. ] This is silly. I know you're name. It's... [ Why doesn't she know this? ] Well fuck me. I don't know what your first name is.

You're not a Bob.

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

I can't believe this is happening.

[It's just so weird, even other people don't know his name now? He specifically remembers Kate saying his name before but it's just...a blank there, his mind slipping between moments. It's the strangest feeling and it's honestly terrifying.]

You know what, you're right. Bob sucks. Maybe Kenny? Todd? Michael?

[bossyboiler]

[ Best be believing you're in a horror story, Sheppard. You're in one. ]

Would you like me to get a book of baby names and start reading off suggestions?

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

[RIP and RIP his name]

You think you can do better than Kenny, Todd, or Michael?

[bossyboiler]

Oh my God. They just killed Kenny.

[ferriswheelsandfootball]

So no to Kenny, then. Or I could find an orange hoodie…

Guess I’m gonna have to be called Sheppard, not like I’m not used to it.