hadriel_logs | Event Post: Ghosts That We Know

Entry tags:

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

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.

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A. 21st - 25th pawn shop

Looks like you're doing well for yourself, brother.

[Upon hearing the voice he wasn't sure he ever would again, Richie is jolted into a frozen stance. The ghost of Seth has caught him in the middle of an ordinary day of restocking shelves. He doesn't turn around. Instead, he clenches the delicate ~~cheesy as hell~~ figurine of an angel in his hands in an attempt to ground himself. Long fingers curl tighter and tighter until the porcelain splits, cutting into Richie hands before falling to the floor.]

This isn't how it works. People arrive every month on the dot. [Richie takes in a breath, closing his hands into fists and allowing the shards to dig themselves further into his hands.]

Don't know what to tell you. [Seth circles around Richie to stand in front of his brother, stubbornly displaying that he is indeed real.] Other than you should pick that shit up, 'cause I sure as hell ain't gonna clean up your mess.

B. 26th - 29th outside the house

[Seth is solid now. The hug between them feels so familiar, comforting even. Yet when Seth pulls away Richie doubles over, placing his hands on his knees to help himself stand.]

What, you allergic to me now?

Come on man, you know that's not it.

[Richie pulls himself up to his full height, slowly. This wasn't right. Seth's always been selfish, but he'd never intentionally hurt Richie to help himself. Yet the longer he stayed, the weaker Richie became, now draining even more from him through touch.]

But you gotta go.

Richard. Don't be stupid.

[Richie's throat closes as he reaches for his knife. He can't breathe, and he almost doesn't want to so he doesn't have to make the choice.]

Get the fuck out of here, Seth.

[Richie's voice is quiet, and a clear threat. Yet he doesn't move forward, doesn't move at all. For now he's rooted in place facing a solid shadow of his brother, not wanting to force what happens next.]

[ part of Cashmere's grand tour of Hadriel includes the pawn shop. why the pawn shop? mostly because Cashmere wants to show Gloss who her cave nemesis is. Richie isn't terrible, but life is just so much more interesting when you have your own personal antagonist. ]

See? What did I say? [ Cashmere crosses her arms around her chest and smirks at the semi-solid Gloss. ]

Hi Richie. How are things? I hope we're not interrupting anything important.

Couldn't you have picked a better time? [The answer is obviously no, and Richie knows that, but he has splinters in his hands and broken merchandise on the floor. Cashmere is obviously the person to blame. He scowls in her direction, picking the fragments out of his hands.]

Just catching up with my brother. [Though he can't see the person beside her, he puts two and two together from how she says "we."] I assume you're doing the same. This space is for business only.

[ she pouts at Richie, mock sympathy for his hand. ]

We're potential customers. Isn't that business?

[ Cash looks to where she imagines that Richie's brother might be. ] Is your brother cute? [ the way she looks pleased it's obvious Gloss has said something to more or less encourage her. ] I bet he's really good looking.

It's only business if you buy something.

[Richie ignores her question. He doesn't want to think of Seth like that and definitely doesn't want his brother hooking up with Cashmere of all people.

His face then contorts and he shoots a disgusted look beside him.]

No, shut up, you're not talking to her.

How can I buy something if I don't look first? Gloss has only been here a few days. Maybe there's something he needs.

[ oh, what's this? is there an opportunity to annoy Richie and also boost her own ego? what could be better?

she tosses her hair back over one shoulder. ]

He can talk to me, if he wants. He's welcome to visit me, too. You know I've been lonely recently. Some of my friends aren't here anymore and I'm by myself in that big house. You can talk to my brother if you want.

Hey.

[Nate looks worse for wear for a number of reasons, even if he's going to power through it to keep from sinking into that ever-familiar pit of despair. His voice sounds scratchy and he looks like he emotionally went two rounds with a semi and lost, but he's intact, if only just.

Get the fuck out of here, Seth.

There's a family resemblance and Nate knows that if Sam had been here, he wouldn't have been able to go through with this shit alone in the same way he wasn't capable of doing it with Elena. That woman with the white hair had practically dragged him through the truth, heels digging into the earth all the way. She exists off of you.

When he and Elena had climbed up to the rooftop of a building to wait out the rest of it, she made the decision for him.

Nate gives a nod toward "Seth," his mouth a line of grim determination.]

This guy botherin' you?

[When Nate approaches Richie almost feels as if he's in the middle of a role reversal. He's heard Seth use that line on plenty of girls before, and usually with pretty obvious intentions. But this isn't Freaky Friday and this sure as hell isn't his brother.]

Yeah. [The word comes out forceful, yet Richie still feels sick to his stomach after he says it. He can't blame Seth for wanting to live, their survival instincts were trained into them from birth.

But this isn't Seth.

Richie is forced to tell himself what he knows is the truth again and again. This isn't Seth, This isn't Seth.. Yet he's still not sure how much he believes it. He's thankful a friend has arrived, even if that friend was making boneheaded decisions of his own.]

I have to kill him.

[Instantly Richie wants to take the words back. He swallows, curling and uncurling his fingers around the knife as he glances to Nate for guidance.]

[At least Richie's realized it, has it drawn in the sand for him as plain as day, has accepted. Nate hadn't had the luxury, and instead reached out to give Elena a hand up and her fingers locked around his and he caught half of her smile before she let go and-]

Everybody's got problems.

[Nate says to no one in particular, catching the hungry gleam in Seth's eyes. He wants to live, he does, but he can't. Richie looks like shit and just as lost as Nate was after Sam slipped out of his grasp the first time around.

They're not real, he has to remind himself, feeling his stomach roll over the same way it did just hours earlier. They're not real.

Then why do they feel real?]

Put your knife away.

[Richie doesn't do as he's told. He keeps the knife in hand, but now waits to use it. In making that choice he looks less sick, as he at least doesn't have to make his confrontation now.]

Why?

[As he's trying to understand Nate's angle, Seth looks across the lawn at the two other men.]

Hey, who's your friend? Let's just forget this whole thing happened and I'll buy us all a round.

[In that moment Seth puts on his most charming face, opening his arms wide like the life of the party.]

[Unsurprisingly, Richie doesn't let go of the fragment of power he has left in an otherwise futile situation. Nate doesn't blame him - he'd do the same thing if someone else decided to feed him advice, legitimate or not. But he also hasn't told Nate to fuck off, so he figures his help is still welcome.

If not welcome, then necessary.

Nate doesn't know Seth and doesn't trust anyone who comes from a family of thieves not to be carrying something - he'd know. Swallowing nausea that he knows is going to plague him for weeks, if not months, he reaches for the Beretta in his shoulder holster, comforted by the cool weight in his hand.]

You don't bring a knife to a gunfight.

Huh. You came prepared, compadre.

[When Seth speaks it's lazy, almost sing song, as if he were taking his time playing a game. He withdraws his own heavy revolver and aims it squarely at Nate's chest.]

Looks like we've got ourselves a showdown at the OK Corral.

Jesus, Seth, don't!

[Richie rushes toward his brother just as Seth fires the shot. Seth swerves and Richie misses his tackle, but the goal has been accomplished. Seth fires wildly to the side and away from Nate as he is knocked off balance. Richie continues his run forward, shortening his steps to skid to a halt as he is now further away from the both of them.

With Richie out of the way Seth quickly readies his next shot.]

["Being prepared" isn't so much Nate's strong suit as it is "being able to quickly, expediently improvise," and as soon as he sees the six-shooter he realizes that he's probably going to have to take a graze or two. Nate swings to one side out of reflex and while the shot goes wide the sound itself punches something familiar inside of him.

Seth has five rounds. Nate has fifteen. He squeezes the trigger before he even has time to think, reacting purely on adrenaline as it pumps life back into his weary heart and he pumps half a clip into Seth's chest.]

Sorry, pal.

[He grits, relieved to see red seeping through the guy's white dress shirt instead of the dark gray color of a Kevlar vest.

Guess this town ain't big enough for the two of us.]

[By the time Richie turns around he knows it's too late. He sprints as Seth falls and Richie drops to his knees. Grabbing Seth from behind, he hauls his brother's body up to rest against his chest. With Seth's back against Richie's front Richie wraps his arms around his brother, dropping his forehead to the nearest shoulder. Though he clutches Seth hard Richie doesn't feel a sadness, and he's angry at himself for not having the reaction he feels like he should. Instead an emptiness spreads through him from the inside out. He feels as if any second he'll sink into the ground and take this shadow with him.]

You need to go. [Richie looks to Nate, his eyes and voice distant.] I can meet you later but --

[The ghost vanishes, floating into nothingness and leaving Richie on the the ground.]

Just go.

[There's a crippling sort of emptiness that seizes his insides when he sees Richie dive for his older brother and Nate knows the feeling, remembers it like an old wound being torn open even if he knows the ending isn't so grisly. Hollow. A desolate cave. The cold.

We gotta move!

No, no, he's still down there-

No, he's gone! C'mon, the boat's just beyond the wall!

No. No, I can't. I can't- I can't leave him behind-

Nate. Your brother is dead. Either come with me, or join him.

He holsters his gun slowly, fingers slipping away from the heat of the grip as he takes one step back, then another. Giving him space, leaving.]

I'm sorry.

Edited 2017-07-13 21:57 (UTC)

[Ushahin has had two ghosts following him around, his mother and his cousin. It's the latter that has followed him into the pawn shop. Tanaros immediately starts looking at all the odd little nick-nacks. When he spots Richie, he turns back to Ushahin.]

This is the one? [Ushahin nods. Clearly, he's been talking about people he's met here to his family.] Once again, Dreamer, I must question your taste in companions here. What is he, one of your madlings?

[Ushahin laughs, a sound that has become rarer and rarer these days.] That is an impolite thing to say. I have told you this one has power.

[Richie is glad to see Ushahin. Though his mentor has been confusing on more than one occasion, he is a welcome sight during this time. Richie's own mind has been swimming, and the familiar face draws him back to the present.

Though Richie can't see the other being, he knows Ushahin has brought someone with him. If he focuses, he can make sense of an outline, which is enough to at least look in the right direction. He touches a cloth to his hands to help clot the cuts as he addresses the new arrivals.]

Hey, man. Who's your company?

My cousin Tanaros.

[He removes a small rhios, a stone carved by the Fjeltroll of his home, out of his pocket. It is made of while stone and has three busts. The first on the left is a man of twenty-eight, with long hair, lines around his mouth, and a hard, brutal expression in his eyes. The second in the middle is Ushahin himself, broken features rendered starkly in the white stone, the fractured gaze from his eyes looking dreamy and far-away. The third on the right is a bit older than the other two, a fat man with a long beard, his eyes looking shrewd as if seeking out a good bargain. Ushahin hands it over to Richie, tapping the far left figure with a long figure.

Tanaros looks Richie over with an appraising gaze, sizing the other man up. He nods in a brisk manner after a moment.]

He'll do.

[That's as close to approval as he's likely to get.]

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Event Post: Ghosts That We Know

Richie Gecko | ota

25th

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The 29th is a good day to Not Die

No Dying, Nate :|

like 007 they can Die Another Day

but not their ghosts weh

shrugemoji.jpg

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23rd

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