PHASE I [ 9 00 ] The peace of the morning in the Residential District shatters just as the wall caves through. It’s a small segment of wall -- no more than five feet across at most. And yet the crash and groan of the metal being stretched is ominously accompanied by the distinct piercing screech of metal and another sound. A raucous noise, a combination of ungodly wailing and sharp, victorious laughter spills forth from the hole left in the wall as a myriad of ghosts and spirits erupt from the newly created exit. Characters with any type of spiritual sense will find themselves nearly overwhelmed by the amount of negative ghostly energy that suddenly floods Cerealia and characters with no sense of preservation will find any attempt to enter the hole blocked by the fiercest of ghosts, met with deadly force if they try to pass, as the ghosts won’t hesitate to do things such as reach straight into your body to try to stop your heart.
These ghosts are out for blood, and they don’t seem to stop no matter how you try to talk to them -- they just hiss out, over and over again, “Murderersmurderersmurderers.”
From there, the ghosts move on. Their true target, after all, is CERES… but to them, there’s no difference between the character players and CERES. They’ll go for whoever gets in their way, phasing through walls and becoming tangible long enough to reach for characters before fading away again. Characters with special abilities will find themselves in a similar state. Their abilities may increase and decrease in power sporadically, or be completely gone. They may attempt to cast a spell only to find that the wrong spell is cast instead, or an attempt at healing may end up a more dangerous spell. Be careful with your own magical skills!
Those with items or powers specifically intended to ward off spirits will still fulfill their intended purposes when used – unless malicious spiritual energy gets to them first.
PHASE II [ 1400 ] It seems the ghosts have more tricks up their sleeves. It seems that a not-so-friendly ghost has decided to play a game with you. It doesn't matter where you are, or what you're doing, because a moment later a voice calls out -- Hey. Can you see me? -- and once you turn your head, you’ll come face to face with a surprise.
Who is it in this world (or your world, or any world) that you have managed to disappoint the most? A family member? A friend? Yourself? They face you now, eyes full of sadness, and they say, “I need you to do something for me.” Without another word, they’ll turn away and begin to walk. Your vision grows foggy, focused solely on the need to do whatever this person wants – they need you, after all. Your legs move to follow them, unless you manage to somehow resist.
But you apparently don’t seem to notice that you’re the only one who can see this person – or that they’re leading you stray toward that monorail track with the sound of the train coming closer, or that busy intersection, or right off the sky bridge.
PHASE III [ 600 ] Other ghosts don’t feel like borrowing faces in order to inflict damage. No, they’ll inflict their damage on a far more personal level. They manifest suddenly and without warning – then all it takes is a simple touch. A ghostly hand reaches out to you and it feels like the cold wraps around your heart, and your vision skews, and then... they leave just as suddenly as they came.
Those who have been around for awhile may very well recognize the ghosts, at that.
But the damage has already been done. Depending on a character’s assigned sense, they will feel one of the following changes:
Sight: Hopefully you aren’t in the habit of bending the truth. Dead men tell no tales, they say. But what happens to a living person unable to tell lies? Any attempt at telling any lie or falsehood will cause the character to feel as though their throat has closed off, and they can do nothing more than choke.
Smell: The cold passes, but in some way that it never really leaves. And then everything seems perfectly normal. Nothing has changed, right? You're fine -- except that in a short period of time with how crazy things are, it becomes apparent that you're unable to feel pain. The damage to your body is the same as ever, but dangerously, you can't feel a thing.
Taste: It would appear as though the ghosts have a sense of humor. From those who rest in eternal slumber, try a few days of being unable to sleep. Everything seems fine at first... but slowly but surely, that lack of sleep will start to take its toll.
Hearing: Most others would feel relief once the ghosts left, finally a moment of peace. But you? You don’t feel anything – nothing kind, anyway. Rather, you have been left unable to feel joy. Everything seems either bleak or as though it simply has no emotional impact at all.
Touch: How many deaths have been caused in the name of heroics? Apparently in an attempt to keep future casualties down (or perhaps for their own laughter), the ghosts have left you unable to be brave. Suddenly, a situation you'd face fearlessly is one that has sent you running, panic sharp in your chest.
These effects will last throughout the event, if a character is caught by them.
PHASE IV [ 1000 ] While chaos erupts throughout the city, some of the more misguided ghosts (but still bloodthirsty, so very bloodthirsty) just happened to run into the wrong part of town and don’t know how to give a proper scaring. One ghost seems to think that it was a great idea to possess a masseusebot from the Spa. You’re grabbed suddenly! You fight for your life but can’t seem to get yourself out of its metal grip! With expert precision that only a robot can mange, it finds your pressure points – and releases all that tension from this Incredibly Bad Day. The ghost inside the robot is confused, distressed -- why is this human suddenly so relaxed? It only wants to murder. But the only illegal thing happening here is how good this massage makes you feel.
Maybe later you’ll walk down the street and get stopped by the ghost that possessed a balloon dispenser. Perhaps a ghost has possessed the friendly McCERES mascot, and is now handing out coupons with murderous intent. And of course, there are always the hug bots...
Look, they tried really hard, okay.
Of course... they might end up possessing technology a little closer to home as well, at which point it's not so funny.
BONUS [ xxxx ] Hopefully you have friends who have ghost-fighting skills. Or ghost-taming skills. Or ghost-bellydancing skills, who knows, we won't judge them if you don't. But what of those poor people who come from worlds where the supernatural is some weird television show?
Worry not, poor souls, for CERES is here to provide! Some time after the ruckus begins, characters will find what looks to be a hand-held vacuum cleaner situated innocuously in their rooms (only one per person, you greedy gus). The logo on the side will helpfully inform you that this is of CERES make, because the paper pamphlet beside your new device? Well, it's more like a picture book. Observe Stick-Man Sully as he uses his vacuum cleaner to capture ghosts! Learn from his stellar example! Do not stick the hose in your mouth or attempt to give the vacuum CPR, there's a big X over that picture. Also of the one where Stick-Man Sully sets his captive ghosts free once more, we don't want that, do we?
Your new ghost vacuum should prove effective against any ghastly ghoul that shoots your way, but beware! Should you capture a ghost and not turn in your vacuum to CERES for weekly ghost disposal, your ghost will serenade you in the wee hours of the morning with its song of choice. If you capture a whole horde of ghosts, well, congratulations. You have a boy band living in your vacuum.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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Leon is distracted by Kashuu's warning anyway.]
... That's ridiculous. What do they even gain from this?
[Leon... doesn't like it at all, but it's only shown by the way his hands clench into fists, tensely.]
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But he shakes his head in a sort of "haha your guess is as good as mine buddy" gesture, lips pressing into a thin line.]
No one really knows. I mean, there are some guesses we could make, but... That's probably not a smart thing to do until we know for sure, yeah? Or at least until we have a better idea of what's going on here.
[That seems a safer bet, anyway, but Kashuu is also well aware of the fact that no bet here is entirely safe.]
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Leon doesn't say that, though, even if it's tempting. Instead, he sighs.]
Yes, we should handle this situation first. It is growing out of hand already.
[...]
It is irritating.
[clearly why he wants to take care of it.]
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That's for sure. It's like they're making up for lost time or something... [They get spirited away into the jungle for ages and then have to deal with ALL THIS NONSENSE... Even though he supposes the ghosts are the cause of this part, but hey! They wouldn't be around if CERES didn't murder them!]
—Hey, d'you guys have anything to keep you protected?
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...Chal's artes are more than enough to handle ghosts like this.
[So... it's fine, this is fine.]
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All right... Just be careful, okay? Both of you. These guys can be pretty nasty. [...] Actually--
[Give him a second!! He rummages around in his pocket and, if Leon's doofy outfit has any pockets of its own, he'll shove something down into it. If not, he'll just grab Leon's hand and slap said item down right in his palm. It appears to be a piece of folded paper...]
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But while he probably has some doofy pockets somewhere, they're sure hard to find with his doofy outfit, so into his hand it goes.
He blinks down at it, brow furrowing more in confusion than anything.]
...What is this?
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But Kashuu will very matter-of-factly explain!]
It's a protective charm! Not a super strong one so you still have to be really careful, but it'll help keep some of these things away.
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For a long moment, Leon stares down at it, utterly flummoxed. Why would Kashuu give him something like this? There are ghosts around them all over the place, actively so, and Leon did say that he could handle himself. Shouldn't Kashuu keep something like this for himself?
Leon doesn't need this.]
I don't want your handouts or your concern. Keep it to yourself.
[But... he's not giving it back. Somehow, he doesn't actually want to give it back. This was--well, it was a gift, wasn't it? Kashuu... was it out of concern?
... In fact, Leon doesn't want to give it up at all, even if he's not really sure what to make of this.]
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Nope! It's yours now, so take good care of it, okay? If you do, then it'll take good care of you too. [Even if this charm isn't alive or anything...]
Keep an eye out for any spirits that look different from the rest of these guys, though. Those are definitely gonna be too strong for this charm.
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(But... it's a gift. How often does he really receive gifts?)
Leon's expression is flat and his tone is flat as well, because he's trying really hard to not let any sort of pleased note creep into it (though it's debatable how successful he is).]
... Fine. I imagine you are the sort to harass me until I accept it, either way.
[So he'll take it to save himself that trouble. Clearly.]
As for the rest, I've already told you that I can take care of myself. I don't want your worry, so save it for someone who does.
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But he does indeed hear a little trace of that note Leon is trying to keep hidden, and that's good enough for him, honestly. He's an easy sword to please...]
Harass is a super rude way to say it. [NOT UNTRUE, THOUGH. He doesn't really bother denying that.]
Anyway! Even talented people can run into weird situations and trouble, especially when spirits are involved. That's just the way it is. [He'd know, being a spirit and all!!] But the rest of these guys are pretty easy to deal with. ...The ones who're possessing robots, anyway.
[The ones leading people off of the sky bridge and into traffic, on the other hand...]
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Yeah.
He's going to go ahead and just. Tuck that charm away and focus on what Kashuu is saying instead, that's safe.]
I'm...aware of the others.
[Unfortunately. He's had a personal run-in, from the grimace on his face.]
I can deal with them, so... go find some of your companions to fuss over. [Don't you have friends, you seem like the sort of person who would have a lot of friends.]
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But he'll glance over toward Leon at that, and since he can put one and one together here, he doesn't say anything. There's just a look of sympathy. He hasn't run into any this time, but he understands that the other ghosts can be hellish in their pursuit of citizens. As for that last part:]
I'll join them for a sortie if I run into any. [But apparently he's planning on sticking around Leon for now! Probably to the surprise of no one...!] I won't slow you down or anything, so it'll be fine. It's better to deal with some of these things in pairs, anyway.
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Leon appreciates the fact that Kashuu doesn't bring it up, at least; he definitely doesn't want to talk about it. Instead, he focuses on the rest of the conversation. Which...is kind of baffling, but at least somewhat easier to deal with.
Maybe.]
I don't need your help.
[OKAY, GOD]
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[BLUNTLY and yet somehow he says it in a way that makes it clear he's not trying to be insulting or offensive...]
It just makes things easier! And company's not bad to have. [Except he can already hear the tsuntsun rebuttal, so he quickly adds:] It's not gonna kill you, anyway. Promise.
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