[MEME] OH NO A GHOST

[wolfintheattic]

OKAY LET'S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS.
I wanna play a ghost. Below are some prompts.
I'm not super picky about setting or 'verse.

A- Your character is a paranormal investigator, an obnoxious tv show host, or is otherwise exploring an area that is said to be haunted for whatever reason. Maybe it's a dare.

B- My character's ghost just SHOWS UP in your character's home. Did your character buy some haunted shit off ebay? Maybe my character died nearby or was summoned via Ouija board by some stupid teenagers at that party you hosted last month. Either way, you got yourself a haunted house now. Congrats.

C- Your character is also a ghost. Maybe they died together. Maybe my character is new to this whole being dead thing and yours shows them the ghostly ropes. Maybe it's the other way around. Either way, ghost adventures are had. _{Not currently looking for new PLSs with this plot!}

D- Your character is a necromancer-type-person and has summoned mine's spirit to do their bidding.

E- Your character is an exorcist and is here to shoo mine out of their current haunt or otherwise help them move on.

F- Our characters are friends. Mine died and has returned to hang out/help/finish some business with yours.

G- Your character moves into the house mine is currently haunting. EXCUSE U.

H- POSSESSION. It happened somehow.

IF A CHARACTER YOU WANT TO MEET IS MISSING, LET ME KNOW.

Comments

[goldeneyeball]

_{[The kid's tone just makes the elk head shake more.]}

I've TRIED!

_{[The hangers pull free and the elk head crashes down onto a few shards from a vase JW broke the previous week. He cringes at the sound, which in turn makes a photo in the room behind him fall crooked. With an exasperated growl, he drifts from his corner and creeps along the wall, never letting the intruder leave his sight.]}

[greatrage]

[he barely flinches as the elk head falls. Good riddance to that ugly thing]

Geez, you're a strong one. You should be able to break out of here all by yourself. Whatever... tell me how it manifests. As in, what's keeping you here?

[goldeneyeball]

<sub>[If Eren didn't look like such a little pun, JW probably wouldn't have had the fuel to manifest his voice as strongly as he is. The boy's blase tone is just making it worse. He's so mad. He's so mad he...can't remember WHY he's mad. The picture finally falls in the other room and the noise makes him jump.]

[The spoop is spooping himself. It's an echo chamber of awful in this house.]</sub>

I can't...

_{[He huffs. If he'd had any blood or even a face, it would have been flushing red from embarrassment.]}

I can't...I can't find it.

[greatrage]

Hm.

[he stands up again. You're not going to give him better information? Maybe he's way blinder than he looks]

One second.

[he pulls a necklace out of his shirt; a crystal. Nothing special about it, except that it vibrates with the same frequency as his power. He holds it up and it glows the same neon red as his eyes.

And then his aura expands to cover the whole house. Floor to ceiling, wall to wall, every piece of furniture and decoration in the house. Like a layer of weird ectoplasmic pepto bismol. It's bright, but not blinding. It brings Eren into focus... and JW as well. As if he were a solid person again, crouched in that corner. Eren himself doesn't look any different... but something sure feels different about him. Something other dimensional, like he might turn into something completely indescribable, something that shouldn't be, if you looked away]

Now we can look for it.

[goldeneyeball]

<sub>[When the crystal appears, he tenses up again, his invisible hackles standing on end. What is that? He's never seen anything like that and he doesn't like it! He throws his arms up to defend himself when the pink film covers the room. When he isn't unwound at his very core he opens one eye and then the other.]

[The color...is familiar. It reminds him of being younger and wearing his purple glasses--something that makes his fury fizzle for a moment. He slowly unfolds from his crouch, a tall, tall and gaunt man with a long nose and baggy clothes.]

[There were many things that could have killed him. An illness, malnutrition...or the gaping hole in his chest. A long, winding chain seems to be jutting right out of the cavity and snaking its way through the house--his tether.]

[JW stares down at it with a surprised, almost stupid expression.]</sub>

I think...I found it.

[greatrage]

So that's what you look like.

[Eren licks his fingers and extinguishes the candles and sage. Even the smoke they give off is that strange not-pink. Seeing so much of it, it's clear it's... nothing that can be explained. It just is. The closest it is is "pink". Pure energy. Purple. Sunsets. Sunrises. Space.

Eren takes a notebook out of his backpack. In it are photo copies of various newspaper articles, taped to the pages. Notes scribbled alongside.]

So... judging by that extra hole you've got... That makes you James Walter. Deceased... some time ago. Gunshot wound to the chest. Perp was never found. [he closes the notebook] Sound like you?

[goldeneyeball]

<sub>[JW has a very short, fuming session that makes the framed photos on the nearby dresser vibrate. Why couldn't he have been that well put together when he was on the job? HUFF.]

[However, hearing his own name aloud again after...how long has it been? It's so surreal. He knows he's a ghost, he's been practicing throwing shit around and leaving nasty scratches down his landlord's arms for months...but still somehow, hearing that he was dead--killed--comes as a shock. He feels like he's been shot in the chest all over again and his shoulders fall.]

[JW gives the chain a forlorn little tug. Everything in the room wrenches violently six inches to the left and James screams. Okay, no touching the chain. Understood.]</sub>

That's...me.

_{[He wheezes, eyes tearing up from the pain--or at least they appear to be tearing up. He has no tear ducts.]}

If I'm in this douchebag's house, he's gotta be the killer...right?

[greatrage]

[Eren lets him have his little temper tantrum, watching the guy carefully. You weren't this put together because you were a human, broski]

The dead lose track of time. It's been something like 20 years, man. This house has had... [he checks his notebook again] Four or five owners since then. Don't get too upset though. It's very common for people in... uh... your... situation to have time dilation issues. Either feels too short, too long... [he waves a hand] I'm not here to solve your murder. I'm here to make sure you get where you're supposed to be. They're probably dead anyhow. C'mon.

[he starts walking along the chain, tracing it back to its origins]

[goldeneyeball]

_{[James gapes like a fish before he finds his voice again.]}

What--no it's not! It can't have been that long!

_{[He knows it's true. He's said the same exact words to ghosts before and he hates it! HE HATES IT! The China cabinet in the hallway Eren follows the chain down suddenly falls forward. JW rushes after him, both desperate for information and enraged by the boy's near clinical attitude. He didn't even get to see his flowers! This is BULLSHIT!]}

This isn't right! This can't be how it is, you're wrong!

[greatrage]

[UURRGGhhhhhhhh. Goddammit, Why do they always do this. WHY.

The cabinet falls and he groans. Using his powers he lifts it back up, but there's no saving the china inside]

It's been that long, no I'm not wrong, I'm sorry it sucks, life isn't fair, death isn't either.

[as much as he tries to keep that blasé attitude going, he can't help but feel bad for these kinds of spirits. Taken violently, too soon. Truth be told, he's an extremely empathetic kid. But he can't let his emotions get the better of him, or else this whole pink house of cards comes down]

.... I'm sorry, I really am. But I am trying to help you.

[goldeneyeball]

_{[When Eren shows off his own ability besides covering everything in psychadelic see-through goo, JW freezes. He hovers in the hallway with a brilliant expression on his face.]}

How did you...

_{[Right. His mystery chain. He dropped back to Earth and trotted after Eren. It felt nice to be able to see his feet, to 'walk' after another person again. He almost felt like A People. JW tried to behave himself and let himself be helped. He didn't really want to be here...but he was also scared of where he might be going. He wasn't exactly popular.]}

I just don't understand...who would shoot me? I'm wonderful and everyone loves me!

[greatrage]

I'm an aetheric manipulator. Since I've expanded my aura to cover the whole house, I can move stuff. [he demonstrates by picking up a small side table] I guess it's cool... it's pretty tiring though, so I'd rather not do it.

[he keeps following the chain along the ground, listening to the ghost and thinking]

I don't know... you said this wasn't your house, right? Why were you here, then? Do you remember?

[goldeneyeball]

Ae ther tic...?

<sub>[Isn't that a kind of shoe old people wear?]

[The chain goes and goes, wrapping around furniture and sometimes double in and out of rooms. Everywhere the lanky spirit has been, his chain trails.]</sub>

Of course I do! I mean...I think I do. God knows if it's still there.

_{[He feels of his face, unable to discern anything. Was he missing an eye? Had Deuteronomy moved on without him?]}

It's called Hawksaw. Little nowhere town, blink when you drive through and you'll miss it.

[greatrage]

[yeah he figures the explanation is going to be lost on this one so he's just gonna let him think about orthotics.

Wow this is a torturous chain. Welp, gotta do what you gotta do. He keeps following it... except when it just goes into a room, loops around, and comes back out. That's just a waste of time]

Never heard of it, man. But that doesn't mean anything. So what were you doing here?

[goldeneyeball]

_{[Speaking of shoes, JW has finally gotten a good look at Eren's. They looked pretty rough. In fact, all of Eren looks pretty rough.]}

I don't remember...I just. Woke up here, pissed as hell understandably, and I haven't been able to find the door. The place is huge.

_{[It's a one-story house.]}

Don't even know the guy that lives here. I was sure he had something to do with it...

_{[JW folds his arms. The guy had those scratches coming anyway! He wasn't strong enough to destroy the TV yet and there was only so much CSI a man could take. The ghost drifts ahead to cut Eren off, his faded legs hovering a good foot above the carpet.]}

Say, ah, you mentioned gettin' paid to run me off...what's the business pay these days? When I was playing exterminator I could squeeze out at least seventy bucks a call.

[greatrage]

[not rough. Comfortable. There was a difference!

(No there wasn't)

He frowns]

Well, that's typical, too... thought we might get lucky on this one. [... yeah uh. Sure is huge. Not. He doesn't correct him though. Ghosts had weird perceptions of everything. Time, space, memory, events, order... All of it. Souls didn't do so well without their anchors.

He does correct him this time.]

Lived here. The couple that lives here now bought the house at auction for a cheap cheap price. They're just innocent bystanders here.

[ah... wait, what?]

You... were an investigator? No shit?

[goldeneyeball]

Wh--what! UUUUUGH!

_{[He drags his nails down his face, disturbing the aura film covering it for a moment and leaving horrible-looking gashes. They quickly fix themselves. The light bulb overhead explodes, raining glass down upon them both. Or through them in JW's case.]}

This is worse than being high, I can't keep track of ANYTHING. God damn it.

_{[He drifts away from Eren until he finds a window. Sure enough there is a SOLD sign at the end of the driveway. His presence makes the glass damp and foggy. In fact, the walls around him are slowly becoming covered in condensation as his mood continues to sink.]}

This is the stupidest thing that's ever happened to me...and yeah. Though I wasn't so much an investigator as just...a guy who could see ghosts with--hey! You can see me though. How's my eye?

_{[He points to his left one which, save for an old, healed scar curving away from it, seems normal.]}

[greatrage]

[nnnrgh. Eren covers his head with his hands, then shakes off the little bits of glass. This guy had some serious firepower that he has no idea how to control. Great.[

Try not to get frustrated, you're breaking everything. I mean, I don't care, it's not my house. But come on. If you were in the business, you should know. Which is... totally weird, by the way. I don't think I've ever worked with the ghost of an investigator. Pretty ironic. I wonder if you were doing an investigation here.

[not that he would know. JW is so overwhelming that any other spirits that might be here are getting totally drowned out. He'd have to check it out again after this guy was gone. Oh, wait, what?]

Oh uh... there's like.... a scar? [he points to the same location under his own eye] But it looks fine otherwise. The only damage you seem to have is the uh... you know. Shotgun mess.

[goldeneyeball]

Just a scar?

_{[He rubs his face again, still unable to really get any info from it. The walls and ceiling continue to drip. After all the inter-dimensional business he's been through, it's no surprise he's a particularly powerful (if clueless) entity.]}

I guess that's why I haven't been able to see myself in...twenty years.

_{[The words feel like ice in the pit of his stomach--or would if he still had one.]}

I used to have a curse on me. Let me see ghosts 'n shit like that. It was good for business.

[greatrage]

A curse to see ghosts? I'm so sorry.

[because they're fucking. Everywhere. Crying for attention. Confused. Scared. Angry. And like stray kittens, you just can't save them all.]

At least it was limited to your corporeal form. And not... hnn...

[pardon him for a moment. He leans against the wall. The coating on the everything flickers a little] I'm gonna.... I have to shrink the area of effect. So stay close to me. [the aura becomes solid again, but shrinks, like a bubble around the two of them about twelve feet in diameter] Alright... that'll work. But we need to pick up the pace.

[goldeneyeball]

<sub>[Try having hallucinations and the ability to see the dead. Shit was confusing and exhausting.]

[JW tenses up when their personal bubble shrinks. His whole image distorts. What WAS this kid?]</sub>

Sorry...this is a lot to take in. The chain, right.

_{[He carefully grabs up his chain, being sure not to tug on his chest again, and starts looping it around one arm.]}

You might be onto something though...shit, maybe I was killed by a ghost. What if I'm haunting a ghost.

[greatrage]

[... Well yeah, that WOULD make things difficult. Damn man. You're better off dead.

He's just a kid, man. Nothing weird here. Nope.]

It's fine.

[Eren shakes his head]

I've never heard of a ghost killing someone. Demons, yeah. Normal human ghosts? I mean, I guess a strong enough presence could manipulate a gun. But if there were something like that here, I'd have felt it by now. You're blocking out a lot, but not that much.

[goldeneyeball]

_{[JW's eyes flick back to the cabinet that he knocked over. He's got a sinking feeling in the pit of his not-stomach that he could very well off someone by accident. It just makes the walls ooze more.]}

Never...? How long have you been in this business?

_{[A thought comes to him and he speeds up again, coming around in front of Eren and barring his way.]}

Hey, uh...what else do you know about. Uh. Me? Who found me? Where was I found? I got nothin' here, kid!

[greatrage]

[for whatever it's worth, Eren seems more relaxed now. The clinical affect he had going on has diminished a bit. Maybe because he's in the presence of another professional?]

Since I was... 12? So... 5 years. Not that long.

[Eren frowns when JW blocks him off. He could just walk through him, no problem, but--] The cops, I guess? I'm sorry. I don't actually have your police file. I don't get access to that kind of stuff. All I know is that you're a murder victim

[goldeneyeball]

_{[SKEPTICAL SNORT.]}

Then you aint seen nothin' yet. I've seen shit that'll make your toenails grow backwards.

_{[He said to a literal walking starbeast from the furthest reaches of man's sanity and the universe. The ceiling drips and he lets Eren pass.]}

Oh...ugh. This is getting heavy. A little help here?

_{[He stoops from the weight of the vibrant pink chain. Luckily their journey comes to an end when the chain reveals its origin to be an oldfashioned radiator of all things. It's wrapped around it a dozen times over and looks impossibly long, yet manages to keep JW leashed within the walls by the inch.]}