(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

[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?

[lethechained]

[ The smile - no matter how small it might be - seems to take Naminé aback. In spite of that, she finds herself curling the corners of her mouth in return, briefly but so thoroughly without conscious thought that it can only be sincere. ]

Oh, [ she says, sounding relieved - then gives another, more concerned, ] -- Oh. [ as the implications catch up with her. Her mouth works itself into an uncertain little purse, as if she wants to ask, yet knows better. (Later, perhaps.) Presently she gives careful nod, still studying the other girl for any sign that Ellie might rethink the matter. ]

If that's your decision.

[ Naminé's head turns slightly to follow as the other girl steps out of the way, the blonde's gaze lingering long enough for her to offer a, ]

Thank you. I'm very grateful. [ Although she hesitates at the claim that everything will be fine, she knows enough to recognize when someone's trying to put on a brave face. The least she can do is make it easy for Ellie, isn't it? So Naminé gives another shallow nod and a deliberately calm, ] Okay.

[ Her eyes, however, are tellingly quick to shift. Body twisting slightly, she casts a look down at her ghostly charge, which is still quietly weeping into Naminé's skirt. She murmurs a soft, ]

Come along, [ before starting off toward the house, slowly so as to afford the other girl the opportunity to keep pace. Although Naminé eyes lift for a moment to take in the details of the house as they draw nearer to it, it's not long before she's angling another glance back at Ellie. ]

You said that there wasn't anyone else inside, right? [ That was certainly how it sounded, based on Ellie's reaction to the unexpected company. ]

[backpacking]

[ Ellie finds herself wondering how old this girl is, as Naminé passes her and they enter the house together. She seems physically around Ellie's own age, but her manner is...somehow both younger and older at the same time. Weird. ]

- Huh? [ She blinks, thought interrupted. ] Oh - yeah, nobody that I saw. Or heard. [ Though she didn't exactly do a full sweep of every nook and cranny. ] Someone definitely lived here, but it doesn't...seem like they've been here recently.

[ Or, they aren't here now. She tilts her head, studying their surroundings as they enter the house, pausing just within the door. ]

I mean...it's like the rest of the town, right? Seems abandoned, but not old or falling apart. Most of the time. [ There are some exceptions.

Ellie pauses, then glances furtively at Naminé. ]

I don't know what kinda place you're from, but...back home, for me? It's like this, but all the empty buildings and houses and stuff are totally picked clean. This place is more like...the people who lived here just vanished, all at once. Does...that make any sense?

[lethechained]

[ The blonde takes a cursory glance of the house's front room as she opens the door, naturally cautious despite the appearance that they're alone here. Given the sudden rash of ghosts, it wouldn't be overly surprising if one had wandered in during the brief intervening time after Ellie stepped outside. Finding none, however, Naminé is quick to move out of the way so that the other girl can enter as well. Nodding, ]

I couldn't say how long it's been, but... they've been gone for at least a little while now. This place looks just the same as it did when I first saw it, and that was right after the barrier expanded.

[ But it doesn't feel that way, does it? There's this sensation instead that any moment now, the house's owners will come home. (Although perhaps that's just her natural inclination to feel as though she's intruding.) Privately, it makes Naminé nervous - yet no matter how much she'd like to get this investigation over with quickly, she comes to a stop when she senses Ellie has paused. Turning to face her again, ]

Yes - you're right. Whatever happened to that place, it seems to have happened here, too. Maybe even at the same time.

[ Conscious of Ellie's hesitation, Naminé angles her head slightly, curiously, only for it to straighten again when the other girl says what's on her mind. A tiny frown tugs at the Nobody's lips. ]

It makes sense. [ The confirmation is firm with a gentle sort of understanding, despite how Naminé's mouth continues to work itself into a concerned little shape. ] So much has been left behind, and there are a few places that even look like someone's been caring for them recently. It's... eerie.

[ Although her agreement has been registered, Naminé loiters a moment, herself. Her reluctance to pry doesn't hold her back for long, since the opportunity has presented itself. ]

But if it's like this in your world -- do you mean it's like this everywhere?

[ Empty, that is, since the fact that these places haven't been as thoroughly scavenges has already been established. ]

[backpacking]

Yeah. [ A cursory response to all that the other girl has said, but Ellie is falling further and further into her own thoughts. Her own world is like this in some ways, but without the feeling - eerie - that Naminé describes. Sure, it's dangerous and vicious, but definitely different from the odd emptiness of this place.

Did the Technicians live here? Or did they just get rid of all the people who did?

She's chewing on her lip when Naminé questions her about her world, and Ellie bobs her head in a distracted nod. ]

Yeah, pretty much. Not actually everywhere, since there're QZs and towns and stuff, but most places are abandoned. [ Scavenged, war-torn, bombed, or overrun by Infected. ] But none of 'em really feel like this. Like the people were just here. Back home, you know nobody's been around for a long time.

[ Unless they'd been squatting, which isn't the same thing. ]

I guess where you're from is...not? Like this? [ AKA, more normal, and not-apocalyptic, maybe?

As they chat, Ellie starts to wander around the ground floor, eyes and ears sharp for anyone - or anything - that might be in here with them... ]

[lethechained]

[ As someone accustomed to getting lost in their own contemplations, Naminé can recognize it easily enough in another person. Whether or not some added information will come out of those considerations the girl couldn't guess, but she's patient; she holds her tongue until Ellie speaks again, keeping an ear turned her way in the meantime.

The end result, however, seems to visibly trouble Naminé. There are more questions that pop up, ones that lurk around in her expression - but for all that she could ask them, what she says instead is, ]

That sounds... lonely.

[ Naminé trails after Ellie; the room the blonde's looking for is one she knows precisely how to locate, but investigating the ground floor first is a reasonable precaution. Occasionally she peeks at the ghost boy still lingering behind her, looking for any change in his demeanor, but he remains a disappointingly even level of distraught. ]

No, [ she answers immediately, without having to think on the question when it comes. ] Not at all. Most of the places I know of are full of people.

[ Except the odd world like the Castle Oblivion or The Keyblade Graveyard, hardly worth counting. Even Radiant Garden is doing better these days. Perhaps, she reasons, there are just some less fortunate planets out there that are stuck in the stage between living and empty. ]

There are a few abandoned areas, but... nowhere that felt like this, and nowhere that sounds like what you're describing. [ And although she fears she won't like the answer, Naminé still inquires with a knitted brow, ] What-- happened to your home, to make it that way?

[backpacking]

[ Lonely. It's true, but it's also a softer world, one that doesn't quite cut to the core of the problems of her own world. Ellie considers it, nodding faintly, but there isn't any sort of deeper sadness in her expression at the idea. Lonely...is a luxury. One they can't really afford. ]

Infected. [ She replies simply, rubbing at her nose with the back of her hand. ] There was this, um...fungus, and if you breathe in the spores, or...get hurt by someone who's Infected, then...you turn. Into a kind of...monster. Thing.

[ This is how she's explained it, the few times it's come up. Ellie seems more uncomfortable than anything, because...the truth is, she's a little jealous of how many people here come from worlds much better off, and some even with shit like magic and other elements that make her think of returning home with a hollow dread. ]

So, that started years and years ago, and now they're all over the place. And some of the people - the normal ones - are assholes, so you have to worry about them, too.

[ "Assholes" is perfect too generous a word for people like David and some of the other hunters, but.

Ellie hovers by the base of the stairs, stopping her exploration to glance back at Naminé. ]

Ready?

[lethechained]

[ The word is her own, it's true. Loneliness has been so ever-present in Naminé's life that it even now remains a fundamental part of how she comprehends the experiences of others. Infections, however, are a different matter. At first she listens in silence to the explanation, but her quiet horror gradually grows as more of the situation comes into focus. By the end her eyes are round, mouth downturned with open concern. ]

Something like that can spread so easily...? [ Which makes sense, really, if it apparently destroyed that much of civilization. At this point, Naminé's more surprised that anyone's still alive after years of that. ] Was there really no way to stop it before it went on for so long? No medicine, or healing spells?

[ Expression perplexed though it is, she does spare the attention to nod affirmatively at Ellie's question. Shifting so as to be properly angled to follow the other girl up the stairs once she starts, Naminé appears bemused about this whole 'fungal apocalypse' business. ]

There are creatures that are able to turn other people into monsters where I come from, too. But if that were as simple as being injured, or even breathing the air, I'm not sure that anything would be left by now.

[backpacking]

[ "Was there really no way to stop it?" Ellie swallows, hairs prickling at the back of her neck. ]

Yeah, you...breathe it in, so. [ Spreads pretty easy. ] They haven't been able to figure out a vaccine yet, and it's been a long time, so it doesn't look good.

[ Visions of St. Mary's come to her, of course, unbidden. Ellie strong-arms them from her mind for now, focusing on the task at hand.

"Healing spells elicits a chuckle, though. ]

And, uh - we don't have any magic where I'm from. [ But every other freakin' world seems to.

The bit about monsters has her frown...out of curiosity, more than anything. ]

Yeah? What're they called? [ Every world has its nightmares. At least that part is consistent. ]

[lethechained]

[ Naminé's already troubled expression sinks further at Ellie's verdict, even though it had sounded like it would be the most probable answer. ]

That's... [ Terrible, she could say, and it would be both true and not true enough. But Naminé holds the word back; why say it when Ellie must know as much already? No need to rub salt in the wound. Instead, after a brief deliberation, there comes a late, quiet, ] ... I'm sorry.

[ Face still somber, Naminé lifts her head slightly with open curiosity at that other comment. (No magic? None at all?) She lets it pass for the moment, though, in favor of her own explanation; she's got a responsibility to clarify, after all, since Ellie's been kind enough to share already. ]

Heartless. They don't spread like a disease, exactly - but their single-minded purpose is to steal the hearts of others. When they do that, that person's heart is taken over by darkness, and becomes a new Heartless. [ Grimly, ] If they're allowed to do as they please, they can even destroy worlds entirely.