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hadrielmods) wrote in
hadriel_logs2017-06-21 10:38 am
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Entry tags:
- !event,
- alice elliot,
- anne of austria,
- armitage hux,
- bianca,
- bigby wolf,
- calanthe,
- chara,
- cole,
- curufin,
- dr. lance sweets,
- dr. lee rosen,
- duck,
- fingon,
- henry percy,
- ikaruga,
- irisviel von einzbern,
- jack wynand,
- jason todd,
- kanda yu,
- kylo ren,
- maedhros,
- magnus burnsides,
- maketh tua,
- mello,
- merle highchurch,
- nathan drake,
- nick valentine,
- prussia,
- rey,
- richie gecko,
- rydia,
- saber,
- sans,
- seel har parasiel,
- sharon da silva,
- subject delta,
- taako,
- tyki mikk,
- ushahin dreamspinner,
- will graham,
- will solace,
- yehudit/ravine,
- yukari mishakuji
Event Post: Ghosts That We Know
Who: All characters participating in the event
What: The event log for the Ghosts That We Know event
Where: All over the city!
When: June 21st-29th
Warnings: Emotional trauma, ghost murder, long slow deaths
What: The event log for the Ghosts That We Know event
Where: All over the city!
When: June 21st-29th
Warnings: Emotional trauma, ghost murder, long slow deaths
It's been awhile since something really awful happened. Or maybe it hasn't - maybe you had a really awful day just yesterday. Don't worry! Things can always get worse. And they sure will, because when you awaken on June 21st, you'll find yourself haunted.
Maybe it's a relative, someone who raised you and loved you deeply. Maybe it's a friend, someone close to your heart. Maybe it's a former - or current - lover, someone you've given your affection to. Maybe a mentor, a coworker, a person who doesn't even know you love them. Whoever they are, they're someone who matters very much to you - and now you're seeing them where you shouldn't. They're haunting you, taking each step alongside you, and they're exactly like the one you love.
Over time, you'll feel yourself growing weaker as the ghost gains strength. Being able to see your loved ones again is a double-edged sword, because they're sucking the life from you. What are you going to do? Die, so that they can live? Or kill them to preserve your own life? And what do they want you to do?
By the 26th, the ghosts will have taken enough energy from you to be solid. That means you won't be the only one who can interact with them anymore - and maybe your friends here have opinions of their own about what should happen to that ghost draining your life away. But hopefully someone will do something, or else you'll die along with your ghost on the final day of the event.
Hey, didn't we get a few psychologists here in our cave city? Man, you guys are gonna be booked up after this one.► This log covers June 21st-29th.
► Feel free to make your own logs, as well
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► If you can't bring yourself to murder someone you love, no one else is around to lend a hand, and you die - please let us know here.
Zoe Baker | OTA
[By the housing district, a bolt of lightning struck. Proverbially.
And it left Zoe standing, heart stopped and breath gone and a keen ringing in her bones from skull to spine, in front of an aging man.
Well-built. Round glasses, bald head. Yellow shirt. Her first instinct telling her to run with her active mind recognizing, with the resonant, deeply-shaking ringing of a gong.
She backed up.
Her breath started again at a quickening. She starts shaking her head --
And he saw that. Before her own thoughts could transcribe, he took a step closer that pushed her one more step back.
Spoke up in a warm, whispering old voice that sets off flashes of memories in Zoe's head, of outdoor trips, and the other end of the low-lit dinner table, and of cleaning guns and beer bottles on table and countertops. Held a hand out tentavtively.]
Shhh... Sh-sh-shh, Zoe, it's me.
It's your father.
[And her heart... plummeted.
Under the density of the memories, through three years of burning hell
She swallowed. Never took her eyes off him.
Eventually hesitantly, hushed-ly broke out a:]
...Daddy -- ...
[He stopped the approach there. He just... nodded. Somewhat solemnly, with sad eyes and a faint, appreciative smile. Gave it a moment.]
And it's not only me, either.
[He stepped aside, motioning next to and behind him in a movement like a slow-motion shrug.
Everything in Zoe froze once again.
Instant recognition, once and then twice, an icicle in her back -- an older woman with long black hair, red skirt. Looked up and stepped in a little closer herself, hand starting to lift over her chest. Mom. A thin young man in a green hoodie, shoulders slouched but with his head tilted back some as he waited for the geezers to be finished. Lucas.
-- All of them looking just the way they had on that last night, apart from Lucas, who still, apparently, retained some of the premature hair loss that had happened after then.
She didn't... accept it, no, no... She'd started backing up again, you were gone, you were gone, starting at a mumble to herself (only she was there) before rising into a shout as her brain screamed for explanations -- don't do this to me now, for god's sake, it's done...]
No... This isn't happening -- it's her. It's Eveline, i-i-it has -- to be Eveline...!
[But then -- she could feel them where they were standing, now.
Some of the emptiness and quiet in her consciousness was gone.
Hallucinations hadn't done that before, no -- and they had all one-by-one confirmed that they couldn't feel her, either, and so here and now, they were...
They were back.
And now, here she is, a tiny lady in a mutual embrace with a large (and invisible, unbeknownst to her) old man. Mom starting to come in with her arms open to join in, and Zoe's mind thrumming and pulsing in... absence of knowing what to feel.
She still manages something. Something quiet, and...
For the moment, across a burned bridge, just...
Wistful.
Faintly wistful.]
I've missed you guys.
B. June 22nd-25th. ...to the Mountain In the Valley Where We Counted Every Falling Star.
[They are fake.
Not even hallucinations - just fake.
Zoe's convinced they are. She can get a read on them while they're all here. But sometimes? They're not. Usually, Dad is there. Sometimes, it's Dad and Mom. Sometimes Lucas will turn up with one or both of them. Either way, when she can't see them, the connection dies. Sometimes none of them are around at all, and her mind goes quiet in that regard again.
It's the kind of practical pessimism one can take refuge in.
And you know what one nice thing to do when you're in... mmh, Zoe doesn't know if she'd call it a disappointed mood, but a resigned one, then?
Walk an animal.
Zoe happens to have a cat. One of the black, tooth-faced once that she'd initially trapped out of sheer, morbid curiosity.
She's in the park with him, now, watching 'im where she fails to keep him on course at the end of a makeshift leash, when.]
Zoe?
[A -- pause.
Turns to face the direction of a starting-off-light-and-then-resting-down:]
Zoe, my baby...
Mama...?
[And her mom, indeed, it is! On her own. Something politely apologetic about her smile.]
... -- Where's Dad?
[Marguerite laughs, sadly.]
I wouldn't know, sweetie... -- There are times I can't -- [She scrunches her brow, places to fingers to its joining point, speaks with effort, why would this be the case...] -- make head or heels of where those men are -- your father and your big brother, since we've been here with you....
[She says that with a melancholy lightness. Her head falls.
But her eyes fix quickly on the thing at the end of the leash.]
I see you got yourself a kitten, honey.
[Zoe... "mmh"s momentarily to herself, looks down at the face full of teeth that Marguerite can't see at this angle. Just short of dryly stammering out:]
-- His name's Orlando.
[Marguerite smiles brightly. She gives a soft laugh, repeats "Orlando", and then moves in and around Zoe, to get a look at the cat. She... responds to the sight of its face with a small reel back, her teeth slightly showing. And a breath as she... tries to dial on a little not-mean-spirited smile on for her little girl - all in a good, wryly lighthearted spirit!]
Poor little thing -- ... no disrespect to him -- [Or the lass who took him in, by proxy, ha, Zoe, what were ya precious one... Her voice stays soft.] -- but don't the poor thing look like he's come through the depths of Hell...
[And Zoe... briefly laughs at that, in an inward, huff-through-her-nose-first set of sounds, just as wryly amused, as Orlando looks over his shoulder to look at her.
Either she, he, or the intangible ghost lady will notice and react to anyone who happens by at this moment.]
C. June 22nd-25th. Trust Your Intuition, It's Just Like Going Fishin'.
[At this point? Zoe's nerves are frayed. They were frayed by the arrival of her family, and now they're additionally buzzing without them. Maybe in anticipation of the silence breaking when they reappear, maybe out of shock from being slammed with... the lack of being alone again. The quiet breaking and then coming back.
In this particular lull, all she wanted was a freaking smoke break. She leaned herself up against one of the city walls, near the area of the shops. Let her mind unfocus for a bit.
It snapped right back into place when she heard a couple of steps by her - lifted her eyes to the right and away from the tendrils of smoke creeping up from the tip of a cigarette - to rough to be Mom's, too light to be Dad's...
...Lucas is swaggering on up to her. Hands in his pockets, hood up, with a lick of an anti-grin.]
Sooo, Zoe!
[His voice is all grime and drawl and twang. She takes a deep, huffing breath.
Turns her eyes half-way lidded to look blankly out through the smoke. She takes a drag.
And he's looming over her like a bedraggled stork over a circling fish.]
If you wanted to run away so bad, why didn't you haul your ass out to cave-land sooner?
Bet you coulda come here any time!
[A dead, unhappy exhale. Smoke flows out of her mouth. She inhales a little of it back in, blinking.]
Don't gimme that, Lucas. [Watching herself turn the cigarette in her fingers . Don't give him the attention right now...] You and I both know.
[Footsteps again - she actually hopes for Chrissakes that it's Dad this time, but...
Nope!
It's just a passerby. For a moment of spite, she'll try to catch their eye, nod up at them with a smile and a gentle, little-louder-than-usual:]
...Hi!
[ -- And then she sucks in a gasp at a yank on the hair on the back of her head, and with her eyes burrrrning, she takes a swipe at an arm that's already pulled back -- ohh, no, you don't, for god's sakes she has been putting up with your bullshit for too long...
She lunges after Lucas while driving the cigarette like a two-finger dagger. It catches him on the sleeve --
-- and fails to burn, getting her nothing but the crack of a series of static-like giggles starting to shatter open into a wheezy, rising hhhhaaaaaa! and a look on down at her like "are you done?"
She narrows her eyes, Jesus, where did you go so wrong...]
D. June 26th. Network. You Cast Your Line and Hope You Get a Bite.
[A curt audio message. Faintly hoarse. Mostly even, but dragged down by hints of weariness and, well, defeat.]
I'm gonna need a gun.
[In the background is the sound of bickering - between two men, one frantic and heated, and the other one stern -- "I ain't gonna die, I don't wanna die, why do all the rest of us have to go for just -- " "That's enough. Boy, we don't belong here; think of your god-damn sister." A woman starts to join in, harder to hear.]
Where can I get ahold of one?
[Flat.]
D
I don't have one but I know other, painless and effective ways to kill someone if that can help...
no subject
In the background, someone's been smacked. The woman who isn't Zoe screams "JACK!!" as the aforementioned "someone"'s shrieky growling rises and burns itself out.
Hoo, boy... Zoe shuts her eyes a second.]
I would appreciate that -- ...if you'd let me know some.
I need to make it quick.
[Especially considering that whoever goes first, the rest will be right there to see it. Her brother'd probably fine with that, but he is not going last.]
no subject
Most of the options I have are magical, I'm not sure if you're confident with it or not. Others require relative high physical strenght and I don't know how well trained you are. Otherwise if it's what I think you're dealing with... I could help taking care of it by myself, if you still have time.
[It hurts to kill someone you love, Rydia knows that.]
If they were asleep I could suggest other things but- whoever you need to deal with is currently talking in the background, right?
no subject
But the offer.
There's a flutter in her heart in somewhere hollow - it feels... wrong, somehow, but she'll take opportunity -- tentative hope gets its hooves in place and pushes down on the "ideal" setup...]
That's them.
[Quick and affirmative. The bickering's starting to pick up in the background again, three-way but softer.
Zoe's voice picks up a little bit of steam and a quaver -- let's see if we can get can get the ordeal sealed...]
I can't do magic, and strength isn't one of my assets -- ...I might need to take you up on that.
[Either way, there'll be some waiting - she'll take opportunity, and there's no immediate risk; she feels the need to take it quickly not only because she's as worried about her health as Mom and Dad or but because she'd rather not risk Lucas trying anything if he feels threatened for too long.
Her voice creeps into... a dry, dusty sort of warm note. Trying to force in some reassurance. In case either of them needs it.]
My parents will understand.
B
There he sees someone with their pet. A perfectly normal thing to do. Maybe this was what was needed, something grounded that he could make sense of. Unfortunately, his social skills aren't the most well honed, and when he approaches Zoe he states the first thing that comes to mind in a blunt, matter-of-fact tone.]
Your cat looks like shit.
no subject
(Orlando's got his face turned toward Richie, too, otherwise frozen - who can outwardly say looking when who knows if he's got eyes somewhere in or around that hole full of teeth.)
But Zoe -- pffffffff... She laughs again, her head turning down to Orlando and then off to the side at her mother, brow slightly crinkled -- you were saying...? -- and gets an apologetically-amused, lips-closed but understanding smile in response.]
My mother was just agreeing with you!
[She... hopes he knows what she means. Her expectation that no one can see them's been backed well enough by now -- found out that they couldn't hold things, either, when she caught Lucas trying (trying) to swipe her device on Day One.
But she'll not overthink it for right now. Marguerite takes a step back, her hands clasped over the front of her skirt, eyes flicking in a passively-concerned, polite assessment between her daughter and the young man, as Zoe looks back at him and then down at Orlando, smirking in a corner as he wanders between them and around her side, letting the leash follow - you're not gonna slow-tie her legs, fellow...
Off of a soft "hhheh..."]
He acts it sometimes, too. Not anymore than I'd expect from a normal cat, which was a nice surprise -- ...
Then again I hadn't had one before.
no subject
I'm more of a dog person anyway. [One dog. When he was a kid. But it's enough to qualify. He shifts his gaze to the woman who flickers into place. She wears a brown skirt and hangs back, for the moment appearing as if she is only here to observe. He points.]
Is that your mom?
A.
[Ravine possesses none of these things. No bodily form to draw power from, no chemical emotion to feed the gods of this world. So she remains as she has always been -- an observer, keeping her distance. For the most part, she kept silent, deciding not to interfere with the short-lived but heartfelt reunions of past ghosts.
[However, this one in particular piques her curiosity. Instead of just one, three figures have emerged over time.
[Ravine, who has kept her distance on high walls and rooftops, is perched over a lamppost in the housing district where Zoe is greeted by the specters of her parents.]
Interesting. You have more than one.
[Unlike most, Ravine sees through the ghostly veil the gods have lifted, the nature of these phantoms more clear to her than to others upon first impression.]
no subject
Who's there?
[Looks back down at Zoe as she pats him on the chest, holds her hand in place a moment before removing it as she turns to get an angle of view on their watcher.]
It's fine!
[A little roughness in tone, partly to stay just under her dad's level as she takes point and partly out of a still-sticking light unease - anyone can be anywhere and anything out here but are for the most part still people; still, strangers are strangers...
When she asks, it's crisp but clipped.]
More than one what?
[Four sets of pale blue eyes stare up at Ravine in wait for her answer.]
no subject
[No. Let them have their happiness. Far as Ravine is concerned, this may be exactly what some of the people here need.]
You're far from the only family gathering I've seen today.
Agh, sorry this took so long!
Though she balks -- ]
Then...
[She says, falling just short of under her breath, quietly, as her parents look between each other in a private asking of what is it we've done? before each of them shift it in stunned apology toward a respective child. Lucas comes up closer, finally, in slouching, rocking steps by Jack and Zoe, head held up high and look distrustful toward the stranger, and blurts out the kind of question an honest-to-god newbie'd ask:]
The hell is this?
[Jack shoots him a look, Lucas, be polite, but it's tempered by some uncertainty even underneath his usual firm way, and it's not like what's said can be un-said.]