[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

[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.]}

[greatrage]

That sounds not good. I'd love to shoot the shit, but... you know. Deadlines.

[hey. Hey. Only PART literal walking starbeast]

Hm? Oh. [Eren carefully takes some of the chain, careful not to pull on the JW-end. Finally, the end. An old radiator. Eren tilts his head. That was... interesting.]

Ok. There's two ways this can work. You can free yourself by figuring out what's keeping you here. Why this thing is weighing you down. What it means to you. Or... I can break it for you. But! [he holds up a finger] That's last resort only, because if I do that? There's a strong chance you'll... uh... vanish. Not move on. Not be free. Just... [he makes an exploding noise with his mouth and a hand gesture to match] ... I've had to do it before. It's not... pretty. And I like you. You seem reasonable. I don't want to rend you out of existence. So please try and do this yourself?

[goldeneyeball]

_{[JW would have swallowed if he'd had a throat. He wasn't aware ghosts could just...go out. Stop existing. Suddenly the chain in his arms doesn't seem so heavy. He doesn't want to go out like a candle! Maybe CSI isn't such a bad show... He starts to fluctuate.]}

I don't--I don't know! I don't have any feelings about radiators! I've never even burned myself on one!

_{[He stares at the rusty old thing as if it's a word in another language. JW slowly sinks down to the floor where he does a pretty good impression of sitting for a ghost and holds his chin in his hands, the chain coiled in his lap.]}

If I were haunting my own home, I wouldn't give a shit. I'd even haunt my mailbox if I could. I worked so hard to get that house. You have a roof, kid?

_{[Sorry, Eren, he still thinks you look kinda homeless.]}

[greatrage]

[yeah... it's not a good thing for ghosts. It's painful. Or, he assumes, from all the screaming. The horrible screaming.]

Well, you've gotta think. I've got the house for a few days. I said it might take that long. This is the hardest part. [Eren also sits down, shrinking the bubble even more so it only encompasses the two of them and the radiator. He pulls out his phone and, in typical teenager fashion, starts texting someone]

Hm? Oh, I live with my mom. I'm texting her now. I stay with my friend Marco a lot, though. But you know, if you can free yourself of this place, you can move on... or I can move you somewhere else. Your own house. Or whatever.

[goldeneyeball]

<sub>[This time he doesn't flinch at the shrinking bubble. He's focused on something else. Eren said that he liked him.]

[That's the first nice thing anyone's said to him in apparently twenty years. He appreciates it. And feels just a little guilty for hissing at him so much. Just a little.]

[But then he whips out some MAGIC FUTURE TECH and JW can't help but be curious. He's seen a phone before, but not one like this. The closer he leans to it, the more the poor phone's battery strains.]</sub>

I'm glad you do. You hang onto that.

_{[With the chain in his lap he holds out a few links of it for the first time and really gets a good look at them. He imagines they're cold to the touch but he can only feel forces for the time being and it's hard to feel anything through the static pop of Eren's own strange energy.]}

That would be incredible--I'd owe you big time. I could go back to doing my job and not have to worry about medical bills...if people could actually see me. I don't know if anybody would believe--

Shirley. Shirley's dead now.

_{[In a sudden flare of anger, he gives the chain a hard yank. The radiator doesn't so much as rattle. First on his knees, then to his feet, he jumps and plants a foot against it--the only object he's been able to interact with as if he were solid besides his chain. He yanks and yanks and yells. The kitchen cabinets the next room over start slamming their doors.]}

WHY IS IT A RADIATOR!?

[greatrage]

[Well, to be fair, no one else who's been here can see him. Not like Eren can. Even among mediums he's a rarity.

Urgggh he needs his battery! He shoos JW away with a flap of his hand]

Don't kill my phone, man. I need it. [thankfully he knows enough to bring his charger. Just in case. He puts his phone back away after letting his mom know this might run long.

He's about to ask how a ghost would do paranormal investigation when he yells about someone named Shirley. He furrows his brows]

Uh. You ok?

[goldeneyeball]

NO! NO, I'M NOT OKAY!

_{[With no fear of throwing his back out (the joys of no longer having a spine) he nearly bends himself over backwards pulling against the chain. The noise in the kitchen does not stop.]}

THIS IS BACKWARDS! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE IN YOUR AWFUL, AWFUL SHOES! THIS ISN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!

_{[Suddenly, there's a terrible clinking sound. JW's chain starts to retract into the radiator, coil after coil. He doesn't notice his shortening leash in his rage.]}

[greatrage]

[Eesh. Touchy. Eren Holds his hands up and backs away a bit. The bubble remains in place, but the still corporeal kid wants to not get crushed by flying radiators, thank.

He watches the chain carefully. Each ghost is different. Each has its own problems holding it back. Their own sort of symbolism. Chains were common. Chains to concepts, places, people...

Chains to radiators?

Not so much]

... Watch it. Your chain is getting yanked.

[regardless of the how it manifested, this was a problem the ghost had to work through themselves]