[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]

[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]

[goldeneyeball]

<sub>[When Eren backs away, JW grins momentarily. That's right, mortal, you should be afraid! HE'S JAMES THE GREAT AND TERRIB--wait what now?]

[The rattling grows louder and by the time JW looks down, he's got about four feet left to his chain. He can feel it tugging back.]

[Okay. New plan. Time to cry like a baby.]</sub>

I'm sorry! I'm sorry I yelled at you--and attacked that guy. And broke the television. Televisions. I really hate CSI! You don't understand how bad it is! HE ALWAYS WATCHED THE SAME TWO EPISODES. DAY AND NIGHT! I'll be a good ghost, I'll even wash the dishes when they aren't home!

[greatrage]

[Great. Now he's just babbling. About televisions and CSI and what even. Eren squints]

Woah. James. Calm down. Ok? Breathe. Go through the motions of breathing. Count to ten. You're gonna have to explain this one to me.

[goldeneyeball]

_{[Having run out of ideas, JW takes Eren's advice. He crouches atop the radiator, the chain clutched tight in his hands, and he counts. He counts to ten. He counts to twenty. He counts to fifty. And as he counts, the comically short chain starts making sense. He can't even stand up now.]}

I don't want to leave.

_{[Why else would he have hidden until the sage came out? He was a professional. He should have met Eren at the door with his bags packed.]}

this shippy icons conveys the proper warmness probably idk

[greatrage]

[.... ah.

He thought it might be something like that.

The smile Eren offers is surprisingly warm, sympathetic]

Are you frightened?

[goldeneyeball]

_{[JW instantly goes on the defensive, taking Eren's smile as some sort of insult, but even JW can't lie to himself for this long. His shoulders slouch again.]}

You said it yourself. I could just disappear. Here I was worried about Hell, but now I think going out like a candle might be worse.

[greatrage]

You could. But you're a pretty tough spirit... [Eren gets up and then leans on the radiator, touching the chain carefully] I said that if I broke this, you'd probably disappear. But if you break it? That's totally different, man. If you free yourself of this earthly tether, you can go on to the next thing. ... Sorry, even I don't know what that is. But I hear it's peaceful. [he kicks at the ground a bit] Or you could choose to stick around. But you'd need to find some other tether...

[goldeneyeball]

<sub>[He's still staring at the chain. Peaceful, huh?]

[Peaceful doesn't sound so bad. But neither does having a choice. For twenty years, he's thought the chain in his hands has been the only thing between him and Hell. His brows furrow at the thought. It can't really be that simple, can it? It would explain why he's overlooked it for so long.]</sub>

I think I'd like that.

<sub>[There is a single, sharp, metallic sound not unlike a bell ringing as the link nearest to JW's hand snaps clear in two. He shouts and drifts upwards like a party balloon before he manages to level himself. Everything in the house seems to sag and sigh as the ghost's emotional tie to it is severed.]

[The clatter of a cabinet door hitting tile echoes from the other room.]</sub>

[greatrage]

[Ping. What a pleasant sound. The sound of freedom. Ghosts were just people, after all. And people often got so focused on things that they overlooked the most simple solutions. The house creaks and settles, freed of its burden as well. Phew. Good.

... except for that cabinet. Oh well. Not his problem]

See? You were worried for nothing.

[goldeneyeball]

<sub>[James's face is a perfect painting of surprise as he watches the broken end of his tether waft below him, almost like seaweed in a gentle current. A few feet still remain attached to his body but those links aren't nearly as heavy as they used to be. A splayed hand covers his face and then he starts to laugh.]

[He was! He was so worried about nothing! The kid in the hideous sneakers is right! He's absolutely right! JW laughs and laughs at himself. He's never felt so light. He's-- wups.]

[JW disappears through the ceiling. For a moment it seems like he really has moved on until his head reappears from the rafters.]</sub>

I can't-- I can't thank you enough! God, I don't even know your name...

[greatrage]

Eren. Eren Jaeger.

[he can't help but smile at his reaction. The heavy presence in the house was lifted and everything just seemed lighter. Easier to breathe. He waves a dismissive hand]

Don't mention it. It's just my job. But I can't deny that a successful cleansing doesn't just make my day. [he picks his backpack up and heads back to the kitchen to collect his candles and such] What are you going to do now? There should be a light somewhere, if you want to head to that. I can't actually see those; only the spirit it's meant for can see it.