(event) GHOSTS & HOSTS

[vestigemods]

GHOSTS & HOSTS

SEPTEMBER 22ND - 28TH

► WAS THERE ONE YOU SAW TOO CLEARLY? DID THEY FEEL TOO REAL TO YOU?

To some, the newfound territory within the containment zone is a blessing. Others, perhaps, worry that it may be a curse in disguise. The only way to find out which is true is, of course, to explore it for yourselves. But while the nature of the miles of new frontier remains ambiguous so far, one thing has quickly become apparent: You weren't the first to find it.

While every ounce of rationality (and all five or more of your senses) may tell you as you step into town or explore the farm's shady orchard that you're alone in this place, not a day has gone by since the barrier expanded that you haven't at some point felt a prickle along the back of your neck, or a subconscious tension inching through your body. Not a day has gone by that you haven't felt inexplicably watched.

Perhaps you told someone. Perhaps you kept it to yourself, for fear of sounding crazy. Either way, your suspicion is soundly validated on September 22nd as spirits begin to manifest all through the containment zone. Some are overtly hostile, utilizing their newfound traction on this mortal plane to wreak some form of harm. Others at first seem benign, but you'll quickly learn that no spirit here is truly harmless.

DID YOU TOUCH THEM, DID YOU HOLD THEM? DID THEY FOLLOW YOU TO TOWN?

You'll also learn quickly that very little that you do can stop them. Fists and blades sail through their intangible forms as if through fog, and unless you're actively working toward gaining them that which they seek (and even still then, sometimes), words do little against them either. So what can you do? Good news, research nerds: The answer lies in a book. A very familiar book, to those who were here when they and others rotted away or turned to glass. A copy appeared on the coffee-table of each cabin that month, and regardless of where it has gone or what has been done with it since, it does so again now with a formerly-blank space now filled in. The diagrams, it seems, depict what seems to be a spirit giving his heart to what seems to be a ramshackle beast. Below it, a figure seems to be waving an iron object through a spirit - insight on how to disperse one, even if not to kill it entirely.

But what are these ramshackle beasts they depict? The answer lies amongst the trees, stone-still and watchful. You may not even realize once you've spotted one - it hardly registers as a creature, a feral patchwork of skeleton and loose fur and misshapen flesh, limbs too long or too gangly, posture far too still to be canny. Very few still have eyes in the holes of their skeletal faces, yet there's no mistaking the way they watch you. It isn't predatory, for these aren't predators, but it's vigilant and unafraid.

It makes no move to attack. Instead, it offers acknowledgment - perhaps a less derelict creature might have offered a bow of its head, but all the beast can offer is a twitch-tilt of its skeletal head, a shift of weight from one forelimb to another. And from here, you may very well seal your fate. Should you choose to walk away, a halcyon truce falls between you and the beast, and it makes no move to threaten or hinder you as you make your way off through the trees. Should you try to approach or so much as flinch in the direction of your weapon, however, and the best is upon you in seconds, far more strong and fast and sharp than such a dilapidated creature has any right to be.

THEY WERE KIDS THAT I ONCE KNEW, NOW THEY'RE ALL DEAD HEARTS TO YOU

Whether you fall prey to your better nature and strive to help each damaged soul find peace or risk life and limb to carve out the beating heart within each beast, the war against the spirits is not an easy one, and few escape it mentally and physically unscathed. It lasts for nearly a week, at which point you may very well have begun to feel hopeless, wounded and sleepless and unable to see any end to it all.

And yet an end does come. As September 28th approaches sunset, the spirits have begun to retreat. Even those who have one of the living in their clutches may stop abruptly, appear to draw in a bracing breath, then turn and step into nothingness, fading from sight right before your eyes. What has drawn or sent them away, and where have they gone? These are questions for another day. For now, take a moment to bask in the first time you've felt truly alone and unwatched in weeks as, deep within the woods, an array of beasts clamber serenely back into the muck from which they emerged.

You've done it. Or... at least somebody has.

► MOD NOTES

• This is a catch-all log for top-levels pertaining to September's Ghosts & Hosts event. Go ahead and utilize vestigenet for any event-related network posts you'd like to make.
  
• This event takes place between the IC dates September 22nd and September 28th.
  
• All event information can be found on the Ghosts & Hosts Infopost! The logs are largely flavor-text to supplement the information offered in the infopost.
  
• Feel free to use my Example Spirits list to inspire your own ideas, or even steal spirits wholesale from that list if you'd like! You're also welcome to bring me a theme or desired effect/ability for the spirit and have me brainstorm up a spirit idea for you.
  
• Please take care to label your top-levels with identifying information like the IC date and location, so that others can see at a glance if their character can hop in!
  
• Also make sure to label content warnings for any troubling subject matter in the backgrounds or present behaviors of spirits you create. Possible CWs coming to mind are for self-harm or suicide, excessive/vivid gore, any sort of abuse, or animal harm/death - but even if I haven't listed it, if it feels like it might need it then slap one on there anyway!
  
• Any questions can be directed to this top-level or, for a quicker response, to Trace on discord/plurk.

Comments

ellie ; ota

[backpacking]

001. foodland

Hell yeah. [ Anyone in the grocery store today will see a teenager whose arms are very overloaded with packaged goods. At the moment, she's stretching up to try and nab some cookies that are just out of her reach, and though she manages to snag them, some of her other picks spill to the ground.

Ellie peers at them with an unimpressed frown, heaving a dramatic sigh before leaning over to recollect. ]

Wish there was something to keep all this stuff in. [ Mumble mumble. All the same, it's an absolute thrill for a child of the post-apocalyptic world to come across such a well-stocked place, and she seems to be generally in high spirits as she picks a slew of groceries and other goods, occasionally sending them across the floor as she becomes more and more inundated. ]

...Oh, shit. [ The section with medicine and other first-aid products stops her in her tracks. This is...the really good stuff, and, out of habit, she glances around to make sure someone isn't trying to catch her off-guard before moving forward to inspect the supplies.

It's...weird, right? That all this stuff is just sitting around. Like they're the first group to ever live here. Except for the fact that the rest of the city (?) is pretty dilapidated... ]


002. "family farm"

Hey - come here. I'm not gonna hurt you.

[ Horses! Feeling more at peace and - frankly, at home - than she had since her arrival, Ellie reaches out a hand to one of the horses she'd come across while exploring the farmland. They're clearly skittish, though, and gallop out of her grasp to peer suspiciously at her from afar.

Sigh. She offers them a wave - a goodbye, for now - before continuing on her way. Maybe she could recruit some other people who might be able to help round up the animals, and any others that might appear. They'd definitely be useful in trying to get a sense of the full scale of the land.

It isn't long before she approaches the farmhouse, entering with her bow drawn and her breath silenced. This...is much more what she's used to. Clearly once lived-in and since abandoned, the house has all the usual trappings of a place from her own world that hasn't been lived in in decades. She half-expects to find Infected inside, or at least someone squatting in the place who'll try and stab her.

She doesn't find either of those things. Unsettled all the same, Ellie comes across a bedroom that'd clearly belonged to a child and steps inside to investigate. It's...about what she'd expected, and without anything worth taking, though when she picks up one of the drawings that depicts a terrifying hand scooping up what looks like this same farmhouse, she pauses. ]

Freaky. [ Enough of that! Setting the paper back down and trying to put it from her mind, she quickly heads back out and into the fields, casting the house only a somewhat-wary look over her shoulder as she goes... ]


003. ghosts

[ She's in the woods when she hears the voice. It's just audible enough, but her ears prick at the sound of her own name: a faint, luring "Ellie..."

She swallows, standing stock-still. It isn't a voice she recognizes, and not even one she can really attribute any identifying features to. If pressed, she'd have to admit that something about the voice that makes it impossible for her to determine its gender, age, or even location. The sound is just a soft call for her alone, and she feels...almost like she's melting on the spot, relaxing against her will.

Fuck. She thinks, vaguely, as her mouth goes somewhat slack. The disembodied voice calls again, and her legs begin to carry her into the forest, in a direction unintended. The twigs and leaves crunch underfoot, but nothing seems to break the charm, and Ellie herself is only half-able to generate any internal resistance to it.

What the fuck?! There's no visible danger - yet - and she can't see the person, or - thing that owns this creepy voice, but the fact remains that she's slowly being forced to move farther into the woods.

Fortunately, if she regains her independence, she's armed (as she always is). For now, it's really all she can do to step with slightly more vigor onto the wooded ground in the hopes that someone nearby will hear the sound and investigate... ]

003

[battlepriest]

[ Someone does hear the sound, and while investigation may not be his first thought, he's at least happy enough to go and see whoever he's sharing a day in the forest with. Other people are still kind of a novelty for him here. ]

Hello?

[ A broad call, just so whoever it is with the heavy feet doesn't get spooked, or assume he's trying to sneak up on them. He shoulders the pail he'd been collecting berries in, starting gamely toward the sound. And — a girl comes into sight as he steps past a thicket, one apparently with a destination in mind and no need to sneak there. He offers a wave. ]

Hey! You don't happen to know the berries around here, do you?

[backpacking]

[ The voice cuts through the fog with surprising effect, and Ellie slows to a halt, shaking the haze from her mind. ]

Thank fuck. [ She mutters. Then, she turns in the direction of the stranger holding the pail and crosses her arms. ]

Hey. [ There's a deep inhale, then an exhale. ] I...don't know anything about the berries, but...did you...hear anything, just now? Or...see anything weird?

[ How can she possibly begin to explain what had been happening to her? ]

foodland --

[mannerless]

( the glance around, to her credit, does catch wei wuxian heading down the aisle in her direction - though seeing as she seems a bit jumpy, he raises both hands (one holding a flute and a half-full plastic grocery bag, the other holding what seems like more plastic bags) in a gesture of nonthreat. )

Ah - sorry, sorry, I was just in the next aisle and I heard you say something about 'something to keep all this in', so I thought you might want these. ( the hands lower now, though the one with the plastic bags is offered out in her direction. there are three or four of them, and he'll even jingle his own bag a little in case she hasn't seen one before (he sure hadn't, so one can't assume!). )

[backpacking]

...Oh. [ She relaxes, even cracking a smile as she accepts the bags. ] Thanks.

[ Sorry - old habits, and all that. Ellie begins unloading her arm's worth of goods into the bag before glancing curiously upward again. ]

I've never really seen a store like this. [ She explains, heaving the now-full bag over an arm. ] Do they have those here, too?

[ Ellie indicates the flute by jerking her elbow up in its direction. ]

[mannerless]

( he glances down at the flute in question, then lets out a sheepish little laugh, shifting the bag into his other hand and lifting the instrument to scratch at his neck a little with the tip. )

Ah, no, no such luck I suppose. This one's come all the way from my home. ( or from a location somewhere not far from it, not that the semantics make much difference. ) Do you play?

[backpacking]

Oh. Yeah, kinda like how my backpack and stuff came through with me.

[ Luckily. She'd be much less well-off without her weapons in a place like this... ]

No way. [ Ellie replies, amused. ] I don't play anything. I guess you do, though? Unless it's, uh - got sentimental value, or something.

[mannerless]

( wei wuxian gives the flute an offhanded little twirl between his fingers. ) A little of both, I suppose. ( if by 'sentimental value' we mean 'it's the tool with which he controls the resentful spirits of the dead when such a thing becomes necessary'.

a glance is cast toward the shelf she hovers in front of, considering. ) If you're savvy enough to put use to any of that, you're doing much better than I am. I know bandaging and I know that the clear little liquids clean wounds. ( that's it. two things, on the entirety of that shelf. )

[backpacking]

Well, maybe we should get people together for a, uh...training? Or something like that. So we all have information on how to use the stuff that's here.

[ She could share her (somewhat impressive) survival tips, and others would be able to do the same. If they're all from such diverse worlds and experiences, it'd probably benefit all of them to have a kind of information swap. ]

Any idea how many are here, total? I've talked to some people, but...seems like new faces come through over the phone all the time.

1!

[toosmall]

[Vivi has really only been in the city since arriving and Foodland seemed like as good a place as any to go. Food and land in the same word? So that meant there would be all sorts of food! He could get behind this.

Wandering the aisles felt like walking through a very tall labyrinth at times being so small, but there was so much to see! Most of the foods here weren't anything he knew or understood, but they were so neat looking in all their packaging. He's pushing up on tip toes to reach for something on a upper shelf when he hears someone else a few isles down and shifts over to peek around the end of the one he's in.

Trying to be quiet he'll sneak over to the aisle he hears someone in and peers down. Oh! It's just a young girl... she doesn't seem dangerous or scary at all! Vivi considers saying hello, but wonders if he'd be scary to her. His awkward clumsiness decides for him as he accidentally knocks a bottle of something onto the floor.]

Oh no-!

[Just gonna squat down and hide at the end of the aisle, because he's very much not conspicuous at all.]

[backpacking]

[ Ellie is definitely a little startled at the sound, and then...at the creature, trying to hide from her. Fortunately, though her initial reaction is to stiffen and reach for her weapon, she doesn't continue with quite as much suspicion as she observes more of the...strange situation. ]

Uh - hey? [ She sets down all of her stuff (gingerly, so as not to break the glass stuff) and waves tentatively from where she stands. ] Did you drop this?

[ And she approach the fallen bottle, miraculously not shattered, and offer it to the...little guy where he's crouching a distance away. ]

I'm not gonna hurt you. [ Probably, unless he's more dangerous than he seems. ]

[toosmall]

[It's a relief when it seems like while he's startled her, he hasn't scared her. In fact she'll come over to him and everything. Vivi peers up from under his hat, glowing yellow eyes blinking up at the young girl.]

O-Oh, thank you.

[Even though he hadn't been looking at that bottle he takes it, holding it awkwardly in his gloved hands.]

I didn't realize anyone else was in here... this place is so huge.

[backpacking]

No problem. [ What a weird little dude. ] And - I know, right? It's super-freakin' big. Which is great, 'cause it also seems to be full of stuff.

[ In a way she isn't used to, but is currently very grateful for. Ellie glances around the store, letting out an impressed, approving whistle before turning back to Vivi, expression bright. ]

Find anything cool yet?

[toosmall]

[He is a weird little dude, but he's okay with that. Weird can be good! Weird is just different and he's learned the being different isn't always a bad thing.]

There's so much food here or I think it's food... everything is packaged up so fancy.

[He's not used to that, where he's from most foods are sold fresh at stalls. When she asks if he's found anything cool yet he'll look at the bottle she'd given him and he'll blink a bit owlishly as he tries to read the words on it.]

Uhh... is um, iso... propyl alcohol cool?

[Rubbing alcohol. Very cool. So fun.]

[backpacking]

[ As someone who is one-of-a-kind, herself, Ellie can appreciate the fact that...this is a person (creature?) the likes of which she's never met before. As a lover of comics and other media, she's delighted at the possibilities.

One thing at a time, Ellie. ]

I'm not really used to a lot of this stuff, either. It's kinda awesome that it's all just sitting around.

[ At his question, she cracks a smile and scoffs a little, amused. ]

Uh...sorta? It's good for injuries and stuff. Definitely don't try and drink it, or anything. [ Oh, God. Little guy, tell her you didn't try to drink it already. ]

[toosmall]

[It's a good thing she tells him not to drink it. Anything in a bottle back home good for injuries was ingested by drinking so...]

Huh? If you don't drink it how does it help your wounds?

[You mean it's not a magic elixir?]

[backpacking]

Well, you usually put some on a cloth or something and use it to clean the wound. So, it's less like something that helps from the inside out. Mostly, it prevents infection.

[ Crucially: that's a lowercase "i" in "infection." ]

Glad I caught you before you tried it out, though. That stuff probably would've made you really sick. [ Or worse... ]

I'm Ellie, by the way.

002.

[lethechained]

[ The path to the farmhouse is not one Naminé often has cause to tread. Truthfully, she's spent a lot of today uncomfortably aware of how much walking it takes to get anywhere in the containment zone - but her search isn't over and therefore neither is the unpleasant feeling of her sandals tugging against her feet. Eyes raised, she spends much of the trip peering at the structure ahead of her, and yet it still gives her quite a start when the door of the house opens just as she was about to approach it.

Giving a soft, 'oh,' the blonde makes an abrupt stop. While up 'til now she's had no negative experiences with the other captives in this place, she still wears a visibly hesitant expression as she examines Ellie, bow and all.

Of course, that might have to do with Naminé's company. The little figure trying unsuccessfully to hide behind her slim legs is certainly a bit alarming, considering that it's transparent and its ghostliness is likely difficult to dispute. How the other girl will react to the child-like spirit Naminé isn't sure, but after a beat of surprised silence the Nobody attempts to pre-empt any such reaction with a, ]

Hello...!

[ Lips pressing into a hesitant line, she tries not to shift her weight too obviously, but - she knows without looking that there's just about no way that ghost kid isn't as obvious as a sore thumb. ]

[backpacking]

[ Ellie's a little surprised when she runs into someone else out here, and she instinctively goes for the bow...but relaxes, seeing what looks like a girl her age. A girl who seems, honestly, pretty gentle, and probably not a threat.

Probably, but not definitely. As a little threat herself, Ellie knows better. ]

...Hey. [ She begins, eyes drifting from the stranger's face to the obvious something hiding behind her. That sight has Elle's hair stand on end, and her hand drifts again to the bow, albeit slowly. ]

You, uh... Don't freak out. There's something right behind you.

[lethechained]

[ The blonde doesn't cut a very intimidating figure, that much is for certain. She's too short, too skinny, too delicate, and the mere suggestion that she could do anyone any harm is preposterous, to look at her. But she's equally disinclined to write off another person almost as unassuming as she is, for much the same reason as Ellie - although of course there is also the factor of that bow. No matter what else she might look like, Ellie doesn't seem to be an amateur.

Naminé's eyes flick down toward the weapon as the other girl's hand shifts, making no secret about the fact that she's noticed. The Nobody hesitates, lips parting; how can she explain this to best lessen any alarm? ]

Yes-- [ she starts, careful not to let her indecision delay her very long, ] I know. He's... been with me for some time, now.

[ And judging by the little fists holding tight to the hem of Naminé's skirt, the ghost has no intention of wandering off. The spirit sniffles and fusses quietly, the sound of it soft and pathetic but thoroughly unnatural. It's an altogether disconcerting entity, yet the girl it's clinging to seems to be endeavoring to sound calm about it, and she's not far off of succeeding. The tremor in her voice is small enough that it could very well be because she's worried what Ellie might do. Naminé's eyes come up, cautious and searching as she waits for the other girl's reaction. ]

I think - he's just lost.

[backpacking]

[ It's clear enough that this young stranger is more worried about Ellie than about the creature behind her, so Ellie lowers the bow a bit: confused, but pacified. At least for now, things...maybe aren't as dire as they appear.

Maybe. ]

...Any idea what he's looking for? [ If he's lost? Or - if this really is some kid of ghost - is it just that he can't 'find the light,' or whatever?

She shifts, visibly uncomfortable, but not quite trigger-happy. ]

I'm Ellie. [ She says finally, meeting Naminé's gaze for a moment before her eyes flit back to the child. ] I haven't seen anybody else around this...farm area, yet.

[lethechained]

[ The downward trajectory of Ellie's bow, no matter how limited it might be, seems to visibly ease some of the tension in Naminé's shoulders. Concern on the other girl's part isn't really unwarranted, and Naminé can't blame her for not taking to the situation immediately. The blonde isn't even sure herself whether or not she's made the right choice allowing her ghostly companion to tag along, but she never has been any good at leaving unfortunate souls to their fates and this time is no exception. ]

I believe he's looking for his mother. [ There's just a hint of gratitude in her tone, and it can really only be for Ellie's cooperation, because the words themselves don't suggest it on their own. ] It seems like they've been apart for quite a while.

[ Although the child doesn't seem particularly inclined to speak on his own behalf. It could be that he's just shy around strangers, given how he's still trying to hide his face... Naminé, however, accepts the introduction with a slight softening of her expression. ]

It's nice to meet you, Ellie. My name is Naminé. [ Her voice is sincere, although her polite smile is fleeting after Ellie's other words. There's no surprise in the blonde's expression, even if there is a touch of disappointment. With a tiny shake of her head, she folds her hands together, fingers lacing. ] There may not be very many reasons for most of us to visit this place. I usually don't, but...

[ Her eyes drift a moment toward the house, though it's brief. She's still cautious, it seems, in case Ellie might change her mind. ]

... Have you seen the drawings? The ones that look like a child made them...? I was hoping that maybe, since a family might have lived here...

[ That it might have been the right family, or that is to say the one she's trying to reunite at the moment. ]

[backpacking]

[ This is all way out of Ellie's purview, she thinks. Ghosts and haunted farms (?) and whatever else is going on in this town is still somehow a far cry from the usual zombie apocalypse. It's why she looks definitively on edge as the conversation continues, as Naminé details her assumptions about this 'child' that's currently hiding behind the other girl.

If this thing turns malicious, will there be anything that Ellie (and her bow) can do? ]

- Huh? [ She's shaken from her musings by the questions, and blinks in silence before nodding her affirmation. ] Yeah, uh - I did. Pretty creepy. [ But, she supposes, it fits the whole theme. ] Think it's possible that he...?

[ That the ghost boy made them? She swallows, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up at the thought. ]

...Do, um... Do you want me to go up with you to see if he reacts at all?

[ Damn. This is becoming a lot more nerve-wracking than she'd have guessed when she first found the farm... ]

[lethechained]

[ For all that Naminé makes a habit of trying to guide the lost, even she feels substantially out of her own depth in this instance. Living people are one matter, but a ghost... There's so much uncertainty about how it might behave, and it's all she can do not to look as uncomfortable about the situation as Ellie does. ]

I don't know. [ Naminé's answer to the trailing question arrives quickly, although the amount of air behind her response suggests this whole venture wasn't her first choice for courses of action. ] I'm not certain that he could answer that question anymore, either. He's--...

[ Perhaps the particulars aren't worth getting into; it'd only mean more explaining. After a brief pause, Naminé amends to a grim, ]

That is, it seemed like an important place to look. Just in case.

[ Her features are held tense with the effort not to let her worries show overmuch, but Ellie's offer seems to genuinely surprise Naminé, softening her brow in shock. 'What?' she says quietly, letting it out with a breath before she can help herself, and after that it's apparent that she's struggling with her own thoughts. Gratitude shines through the hesitation in her eyes, yet so does concern. ]

I'd really-- [ 'feel better not going alone,' she almost says, but she can't say that, can she? She oughtn't use words like feel. Still, the sentiment is there, and soon it becomes a guiltily admitted, ] ... appreciate it. Normally I'd say that we might be safer together, but--

[ Faltering, she wrestles with her conscience. It's not fair to bring trouble on some unfortunate passerby, is it? And yet her hands are trembling faintly now as they hold tightly together, because the longer this errand takes the more afraid she is that it might go amiss in some terrible way. Bowing her head slightly, regretfully, ]

Even so, I won't ask you to do that. It should be your choice, since... anything could happen.

[backpacking]

[ This girl seems really hesitant to ask for company, which...strangely makes Ellie relax a little. She offers Naminé a little smile and bobs her head in a nod, shifting her weight where she stands. ]

No problem. I've seen a lot of scary stuff, so I might be able to help. [ Not ghosts, of course, but Infected. And regular ol' people who meant her harm. ] ...Shaaaall we go?

[ Better to downplay it a little, too. The house had been creepy, but she isn't afraid of a potential haunting. Instead, she stands aside and tries to project a lighter air, gesturing to the house so that Naminé can indicate that she's ready to proceed, or else prep a bit more. ]

You shouldn't have to deal with this alone, so...yeah. Happy to help. And it'll be totally fine. Okay?