[CLOSED] waking up waking up

[openhanded]

WHO: Sorey and a small group of ghostbusters
WHERE: The city graveyard
WHEN: Saturday, September 23rd
WHAT: Let's see what trouble we can get into at the graveyard!
WARNINGS: None yet, but please let me know if I need to warn for something.


A. before the journey

[Sorey texts everyone ahead of time and has them meet him at the graveyard before sunset. He's hoping there isn't something terrible waiting for them-- not like hearing that man screaming in the burning school last time-- but whatever happens, he's ready for it. He's brought his ceremonial sword and keeps it sheathed by his side.

It's a crisp autumn evening. With the turn of the solstice, it seems Mother Nature has finally received the memo and become cooler at night. The weather-washed gravestones rise behind him, looming and dark.

When everyone is gathered around the entrance, he faces them with a smile.]

Hey, thanks for coming! Sorry about the short notice. Like last time, I didn't want to advertise where we were going. [Just because Dante isn't going to bother them again doesn't mean someone else won't.] Technically we're trespassing, so I wanted to remind everyone of a few rules: stay together, stay quiet, and be courteous. The ghosts have proven that they're more receptive to people who aren't aggressive toward them or others.

Also, we're much less likely to get in trouble if we leave things the way we found them. Even if you don't believe in ghosts or you can't see them, this is still sacred ground to the dead and their families, and we should respect that. So no stepping on graves, and no messing with the markers.

We'll go when everyone's ready.

B. the passing of the shades

[The first noticeable thing is that the graves have been disturbed recently. Quite a few have fresh soil on them or cracked headstones. A few more even have holes. Did someone try to dig them up, though? Or did they try to dig out?

As they pass through the rows upon rows of Recollé's deceased, glimpses of ghosts can be seen moving past them. They take no interest in the visitors, instead moving toward one direction. As they pass the mausoleum (locked, and too small to really attract any interest) it becomes clearer: the ghosts are gathering in the center of the cemetery.

There are no other clues to be found here, so the group moves on.]

C. are you spooped out yet

[The group moves closer. At first it seems like the spirits are congregating around an empty expanse of earth. There's nothing special about it, nothing that stands out at all-- but then the temperature drops sharply, enough to chill everyone to the bone regardless of what they're wearing. The atmosphere itself is foreboding and dangerous.

Several ghosts pop up around the group, circling them and boxing them in. They take a special interest in Toushiro due to what happened to him last month. They are reluctant to answer questions; they would rather impart a warning:

There's something bigger and more permanent coming for you and the city. The veil is still unstable. Only the right hands can fix things.

Everyone immediately falls unconscious. It's instant and painless.

However, they all wake up in a pile together. Checking their watches and phones reveals that they've been passed out for almost two hours. Night has settled in, smattering stars across the sky. The ghosts they saw are gone, leaving the cemetery empty and at peace.

And beside them
lies
a shovel.]

[ooc: Feel free to make your own toplevels this time. If you would rather avoid threadjacking, please mark for that. And if you have any questions please feel free to PM me or PP me at fonfabre. Happy ghost hunting!

The next signup will be open to the game at large. I'm alternating for my own sanity.]

Comments

[openhanded]

[I. the gathering]
[Sorey is nervous again, but he tries to keep it under wraps. He's excited to see if he can talk to the spirits again and glean some information, but he's worried (and rightly so) about the welfare of his group. He's thankful that they number less than twenty this time, but he thinks he should appoint someone else to help lead the other half of the group next time. But who would he set to the task?

It's something to consider later. For now, he's everywhere at once, making sure that people have something to wear in case it gets cold, and water, and protein bars-- he's kinda overdoing it. But if there's a somewhat-illegal field trip going on, at least everyone is in safe hands.]

Ah, right! I have these. [He sets out a bag of assorted flashlights for people to peruse. All of them are battery-powered and obviously from the bargain bin, but they'll work.] You should grab a flashlight if you don't already have one. I have water and trail mix in my backpack if anyone needs a pick-me-up.

I imagine some of you have questions. I'll do my best to answer them.

[II A. SPOOKY SCARY SKELETONS]
[Sorey is on edge when they're surrounded. This reminds him of being in the woods with Pen's group, curled up beside the campfire, as the muttering of the ghosts drowned out the noise of the crickets... Thankfully there's nothing like that this time, but they're still obstinate and it feels decidedly unfriendly. He doesn't sheathe his sword but he holds his arms out to protect just about anyone short and possibly student-shaped. He's kind of tall, you can hide behind him if you want.]

[II B. and we just woke up hungover]
[Sorey groans as he lays on the ground, legs and arms akimbo. The first thing he notices is that it's much, much darker than when they went in. The second thing he notices is that there's someone's foot shoved against his face.]

Ugh... Is everyone okay?

[He can't get up like this.]

Roll call!

[III. wildcard]
[Make something up!]

II B

[fashioneebo]

[Fortunately (???), Mikleo finds himself sprawled across Sorey's back. On the other hand, he can feel his legs being crushed by someone else's weight. He's not sure if this is better or worse than the last time they visited a haunted place in Recolle.]

I'm here...and I think I'm fine. Nothing feels broken, at least.

[Give him a second to wiggle his legs free before he struggles to stand up. He might be pushing on Sorey's back with his hands to help with this. Sorry, future husband!]

[openhanded]

Thank goodness.

[He makes a deflated noise when Mikleo uses him to help stand up. THIS IS FINE EVERYTHING IS FINE. He works on extricating himself afterward, sitting up and glancing around.]

Are they gone?

II B

[destiny_key]

[Oh, whoops! Looks like that's Sora's foot...

He wakes up not long after Sorey and immediately removes it back to his own person. Luckily, there's no one on top of him.]

Ack, sorry!

[Sora sits up to rub at his eyes tiredly and look around.]

What...?

[openhanded]

[Sorey carefully separates himself from the pile of bodies, making sure not to push anyone or step on anyone. It's harder than it sounds.]

Did we... pass out? All the ghosts are gone.

[He glances at his phone.]

... Oh, geez. We've been out here for hours.

Are you hurt at all?

II B

[redarm]

[Whatever poor soul that's on top of Noah is going to quickly get knocked off as Noah starts pulling himself out of the pile]

What the fuck....?

[openhanded]

[Sorey wriggles out and sits up a bit, glancing around.]

We were listening to the ghosts and then... I don't remember anything. Do you?

II B

[feistytrader]

[Silver doesn't make a particularly big deal out of announcing his conscious presence, instead deciding to simply hold up a hand. I mean, it is role call.]

Present.

[What the hell even happened? ...Maybe it's best to lay down for a little longer. Sneasel raises a paw in stupid role call solidarity.]

II B 30 minutes late with cold starbucks

[sivard]

[Zaveid sits up, wincing a little.]

I think I'm okay.

What the heck happened?

[destiny_key]

[I. 2 SPOOPY]

[This isn't Sora's first ghost hunt, thankfully, so he knows the procedure. Looking around, there's some new faces and some familiar ones, but they all look determined to be here and do what they can. Sora just hopes this adventure goes better than the last one.

Minako isn't here this time, but she packed his bag for him, and he has just about everything in there from flashlights to trail mix. She was pretty thorough about making sure her cousin was safe. Just in case, Sora also summons the Keyblade to his hand, intent on not letting it go. He'll talk to just about anyone as they walk.]

Um, at least it's nice out today, huh? Hehe...

[II. 4 ME]

[This is, again, not Sora's first ghost hunt, but it's probably the most exciting. The ghosts circle around them, their aura heavy and tangible even to someone who can't normally see them, and it's a little frightening. Still, Sora holds the Keyblade out in front of himself, even if there's a good chance it won't do anything to a ghost. And that's only a little terrifying.

He'll move in front of anyone who needs protection, not backing down even when his hands shake from how hard he's gripping his weapon.]

[III. WILDCARD]

[Come at me!]

I!

[redarm]

[Normally Noah is the sullen type, and he's seemed even more sullen than normal today since he's not super thrilled on being a ghost trip with a certain someone-- but that someone is not Sora, and the keyblade catches his eye enough that his curiosity wins out over his desire to avoid social interaction.

So very politely he'll point right at it]

What's that?

[destiny_key]

Huh?

[Sora looks down to where Noah is pointing, then realizes, oh yeah. Having a giant key for a weapon is probably super weird. He's suddenly kinda jealous of all the people who don't look nearly as ridiculous as him.]

Oh, it's the weapon Retrospec sent me. A Keyblade.

[keystaff]

A:

T-trespassing?

[Maybe that should have been.....obvious to most that were curious enough to come along. Sakura hadn't actually thought of that at first though. But even she can figure it probably should have been pretty evident in hindsight. Still, she doesn't back out, trying to keep quiet and not interrupt as Sorey continues. She nods as he continues, listening to the instructions.]

Alright...that sounds simple enough. [She wouldn't want anyone messing with her father's grave. So. Yeah, makes sense to leave things as they are.]

B:

Oh no.....So others have been here?

[She asks, noting the evidently disturbed graves fairly quickly. Her lips purse as she notes the graves, the dirt. Unsure if she wants to hope it is the ghosts, the spirits, or if it was someone or someones just messing with the place for some reason.

But then she thinks she sees something out the corner of her eye, starting and pointing.]

There! What was that?

C:

[She shivers, hugging herself as best she can while still holding to the torch as the temperature drops. She doesn't have a weapon or anything remotely resembling one, mostly because she figures that it'd be useless against ghosts anyway and also because she doesn't own any. That too. As if her brother would allow it.

She shifts, stepping back as the spirits seem to circle around them, possibly backing into someone and tripping in the process. Her green eyes widen briefly at the warning, but quickly fall shut again as she passes out, hitting the ground.

When she wakes, it's with a confused groan, a hand to her head as she shifts, making to sit up and look around.]

What.....just happened?

b

[mercurio]

--you're seeing them too?

[prompto is a lot more freaked out by the fact that she's pointing at seemingly nothing. he thought he was the only one seeing things coming and going]

Okay. Maybe we're just psyching ourselves out? That must be it!

[keystaff]

I...I thought I saw something?

[But well. It isn't like she regularly sees spirits. Ghosts. Whatever people want to call them, so. She's not actually entirely sure. Maybe he's right and she is just imagining it because they expect to find something? Whatever they call that sort of scenario? She gives a shrug, unsure on trying to follow the movement she thought she saw or not.]

c

[openhanded]

[As the youngest member of their group, Sakura's well-being is essentially Sorey's responsibility. When he's disentangled himself from other people he goes to help her, offering his hands for her to take. His expression is concerned but calm, his voice gentle.]

Sakura. Are you hurt? [He has Hello Kitty bandaids if anyone needs them. don't judge]

[keystaff]

[Well. She hadn't been lying when she had told her brother she was out with 'friends' exactly. She at least knows Prompto. So she doesn't feel....er, as bad on sneaking out like this as she could. She just hadn't necessarily intended it to end up this late. She notes the darkness and bites her lip before turning to Sorey, looking up at him and taking the offered hand.]

N-no. I don't think so.

[Maybe grazes from when she fell down, but she trips up often enough for that to not be a concern. She's enough of a klutz that her brother probably wouldn't even question it.]

OTA, feel free to threadjack, etc

[mercurio]

A. GATHERING

Yeah, agreed. Graveyard's are not a party zone.

[autumn is fast approaching and so prompto thought ahead and is wearing a jacket, long trousers, and boots. he's also brought with him a backpack, topped with his camera and other recording devices he already had at his disposition; night vision is the most he could do at this point, but there's a camera for that, and another with a pretty strong flash for normal pictures.]

I brought two cameras and some portable battery chargers. Everything's been charged to the max before coming here, but we've all seen enough Ghost Adventures to know what might happen...

[he glances about at the group] Anyone want to take a camera? We could probably do with recording stuff on our phones, too.

[it's not science unless you don't write down the evidence, and to do that you need to record the evidence!]

B. PASSING OF SHADES

[the flash of his camera is, admittedly, fucking terrifying when it's completely dark. he doesn't want to see if he's capturing anything yet]

--i-is anyone else seeing that...?

[he's shaking. help]

[redarm]

[Noah's been notably steering as clear as possible from Prompto the entire trip so far. He wasn't great at the cold shoulder, but he sure was giving his best shot.

Except you know, when your life suddenly steps into horror film realm, it's easy to forget. He speaks to the voice he hears behind him without thinking. ]

You mean the ghosts or the disturbed graves...?

B.

[storytelleroftime]

"That was a ghost. Don't worry about them, they won't do anything unless you mess with them."

[Maggie sounds calm, almost scarily so. Most people would be scared, intimidated, as they rightfully should be, when it came to ghosts. Not so with her. She knew that the stereotypical image of a vengeful spirit wasn't entirely accurate. They had their own feelings, goals, motivations, and they were just as capable of being helpful as they were of being harmful. And sure, ghosts could do really horrible things to you, like punishing you for trying an earnest sacrifice, but ultimately, she doesn't feel in that much danger, so long as she doesn't troll the ghosts. Even though that would be fine, she doesn't really wanna end up with some undead curse put upon her.

[Well, unless their presence here meant was something that would offend the ghosts, then they were kind of screwed.]

[storytelleroftime]

I. And to those who die please try to understand

[As she walks through the graveyard with a casual strut unfitting for the location and the circumstances, she's wearing a smile. In fact, you can spot her casually trying to strike up conversation with the ghosts, only to be ignored. The anxiety felt by others is clearly not rubbing off on her. But just because she's not on edge doesn't mean she isn't being observant about everything, however.

[The graves being disturbed is what catches her attention the most, even more than the ghosts themselves. Ghosts are a natural aspect of a graveyard, graves being messed with is not. Of course, with no evidence as to who or why... she's just going to have to figure it all out on her own. Somehow. For now, she's just walking after the spirits, eyes glancing around occasionally but for the most part she seems lost off in space somewhere.]

II. That for those who die we tried the best we can

[It's not panic or fear Magilou feels when she wakes up. Or rather, she feels them but there is an emotion that she is feeling more strongly. An emotion that makes her reach into her jacket pocket. What she pulls out if a small notebook, which in it there is only a single passage. A passage recorded from memory in August the moment she got home. A passage about four failsafes in Recolle.

[She turns the page to the next one, and she rights down the words of the ghosts, underlining certain parts. "There's something bigger and more permanent coming for you and the city." "the veil" "still unstable", "the right hands". What she thinks is most important. She'll take notes on it later, try and figure out its meaning. But she stands up after this, making her way away from the pile as she quietly stuffs the book back into her pocket.

[And then she laughs.]

"That was amazing! Way more fun than I thought getting mobbed by ghosts would be."

[Never change, Maggie.]

[adoringpast]

a. hey there demons, it's me. ya boy

[ the last time sena was here was with a group of randos doing all sorts of shit in the crypts in order to fix unreality. he can't believe he's back here again, but since he had some background going here in the past he might as well take up the offer of ghosthunting yet again. even if he still doesn't believe in ghosts.

anyways, you'll find him checking out every grave, wiping off dirt with his gloved hands because he's that prepared. you can also hear him muttering under his breath while he's investigating the mausoleums with: ]

Mahoney, Mahoney... Where is it? Is it possible to get back down there...

c. come and harm me (i would later regret that command)

[ ok. so. ghosts definitely do exist. sena can't believe it myself but there really is no time for disbelief, is there? while the ghosts aren't being too responsive to their asks, sena can't help but throw this one out instead. ]

Are you the ghosts from the other worlds that died as well? Blink once if yes, twice if no. Can't be that hard for you guys to understand simple instructions, right?

[ why is he being fussy even to ghosts... anyways he blacks out like all the rest and comes with two hours later, staring at the expanse of the night sky above them. he doesn't... feel like getting up anytime soon, since he's actually rather mesmerized with the stars up there. feel free to join him for a little stargazing if you wish, but be careful: he might bite. ]

[toushiro]

B. passing of the shades
Not again.

[ toushiro has his head in his hands and shakes his head at the sight of the graves. that's...a strange thing to say, isn't it? whatever the case is, he looks more agitated than worried, and it's not until he sees a glimpse of a ghost when his eyes widen.

that goes away quickly, though. he sighs, looking too tired and for his age. ]

I don't suppose there's still time to back out now, is there?

C. spoopy shiro
[ it's clear that the ghosts are surrounding toushiro, and he looks uncomfortable. extremely uncomfortable. he's looking at the ghosts, more annoyed than frightened, and he shoves his hands in his pockets in annoyance. ]

Go away!

[ they're not listening, though. did you really think that was going to work, shiro? help drag him out of it or encourage him to talk to them? ]

c

[feistytrader]

[...There are ghosts circling around his little bro, and they need to leave him the hell alone. Silver heads over to Toushiro and pulls him closer on instinct; his buddy Sneasel is hovering next to the both of them protectively.]

Looks like you've got yourself a fanclub.

[He tries to keep it light, to break up the tension, but his expression is still sort of stern. ...Or as stern as it can be, with whatever the hell is on his face.]

b

[openhanded]

[Sorey hears that. Everyone's feeling a bit on edge right now, but Sorey turns and greets Toushiro with a faint smile.]

If you're scared, you can stay close to me.