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goneawayworld2020-12-01 08:29 pm
piper90npcs) wrote in goneawayworld2020-12-01 08:29 pm
HERE, HAVE SOME SPIRIT
Who: Three Ghosts and the little New Hires
What: Sharing the Christmas Spirit
Where: Good question
When: Post-Rose Tattoo
Warnings/Notes: Possible violence, angst, likely visions of death.
Are you sleeping?
Maybe. Maybe not. It's hard to tell. This could be another ARE, after all. What you can tell is that the halls are filled with mist, the smell of pine, and the sound of jingling bells off in the distance.
And then comes the wailing.
Tearing past you, screaming like a damned soul, skeletal figures flood through the halls. Some of them wear business suits, weighed down by chains crafted from ledgers and money boxes. Some of them are soldiers, bound by their own twisted weapons. Police, politicians, no one seems spared. Someone whispers, warning you, begging you to pay heed. For you will be visited by three ghosts who are on an errand of great import.
And then something charges with a howl and all goes white. Slowly, the light dims, and the mass of spectral entities is gone. Instead there stands a figure, or maybe two or three of them. For each person, it's different, as they'll have different messages and purposes for each.
One is neither male nor female, the only certain features being a well-muscled, well proportioned body, wearing a white tunic and a beautiful belt of pearl. Its hair is long, white, as if ancient, but no matter how its face changes, there's no sign of age upon it. There seems to be an aura of white flame around its head and, in a voice that belies nothing but charitable warmth, introduces itself as the Ghost of Christmas Past. It will show scenes of someone's past, offering enlightening details with little judgment.
The middle one is a large man on a veritable throne of food, tantalizing and delicious, wearing a fur-lined red robe and a crown of holly upon his head. The Ghost of Christmas Present is a big man, with brown hair, and a booming, jovial voice that can turn blisteringly harsh and back in a single sentence. He'll show what the character was doing immediately prior to their arrival upon the rig. Perhaps what they're doing right now. But he'll also be content to walk either the character's home world or this Gone Away World, viewing the sights and people enjoying Christmas with the character.
And the final one, a phantom in a dark, green robe, green smoke billowing around it. Its skin is pale, pulled gauntly around whatever body part it exposes. The gaze underneath the hood is as cold as the grave, and it would be wise not to try to match that for too long. It remains utterly silent, simply guiding its guest through the Christmases Yet To Come with a pointed finger. It will show how a character dies and how they'll be remembered by others after. It acts cold and merciless, but this very visit is a mission of mercy, one it silently prays will succeed.
The surprise, though, is that they aren't showing the character that history. Instead, they'll be guiding their guest through someone else's life. Maybe just a fraction of it, maybe a full span. But when it's all over, it's as if no time has passed. In fact, no. The characters are returned to an hour before the ghosts visited them.
[[Remember, this isn't your typical memshare. The ghosts are NPCs, but they'll be controlled by the players. They will not show characters their own histories, presents, or futures, only those of different people. They can show the same scenes to different people or different scenes to different people. One person might not even see all three of the Ghosts.]]
What: Sharing the Christmas Spirit
Where: Good question
When: Post-Rose Tattoo
Warnings/Notes: Possible violence, angst, likely visions of death.
Are you sleeping?
Maybe. Maybe not. It's hard to tell. This could be another ARE, after all. What you can tell is that the halls are filled with mist, the smell of pine, and the sound of jingling bells off in the distance.
And then comes the wailing.
Tearing past you, screaming like a damned soul, skeletal figures flood through the halls. Some of them wear business suits, weighed down by chains crafted from ledgers and money boxes. Some of them are soldiers, bound by their own twisted weapons. Police, politicians, no one seems spared. Someone whispers, warning you, begging you to pay heed. For you will be visited by three ghosts who are on an errand of great import.
And then something charges with a howl and all goes white. Slowly, the light dims, and the mass of spectral entities is gone. Instead there stands a figure, or maybe two or three of them. For each person, it's different, as they'll have different messages and purposes for each.
One is neither male nor female, the only certain features being a well-muscled, well proportioned body, wearing a white tunic and a beautiful belt of pearl. Its hair is long, white, as if ancient, but no matter how its face changes, there's no sign of age upon it. There seems to be an aura of white flame around its head and, in a voice that belies nothing but charitable warmth, introduces itself as the Ghost of Christmas Past. It will show scenes of someone's past, offering enlightening details with little judgment.
The middle one is a large man on a veritable throne of food, tantalizing and delicious, wearing a fur-lined red robe and a crown of holly upon his head. The Ghost of Christmas Present is a big man, with brown hair, and a booming, jovial voice that can turn blisteringly harsh and back in a single sentence. He'll show what the character was doing immediately prior to their arrival upon the rig. Perhaps what they're doing right now. But he'll also be content to walk either the character's home world or this Gone Away World, viewing the sights and people enjoying Christmas with the character.
And the final one, a phantom in a dark, green robe, green smoke billowing around it. Its skin is pale, pulled gauntly around whatever body part it exposes. The gaze underneath the hood is as cold as the grave, and it would be wise not to try to match that for too long. It remains utterly silent, simply guiding its guest through the Christmases Yet To Come with a pointed finger. It will show how a character dies and how they'll be remembered by others after. It acts cold and merciless, but this very visit is a mission of mercy, one it silently prays will succeed.
The surprise, though, is that they aren't showing the character that history. Instead, they'll be guiding their guest through someone else's life. Maybe just a fraction of it, maybe a full span. But when it's all over, it's as if no time has passed. In fact, no. The characters are returned to an hour before the ghosts visited them.
[[Remember, this isn't your typical memshare. The ghosts are NPCs, but they'll be controlled by the players. They will not show characters their own histories, presents, or futures, only those of different people. They can show the same scenes to different people or different scenes to different people. One person might not even see all three of the Ghosts.]]
Michael Burnham
PAST
Michael balls her hands into fists and bunches her coverlet under her chin, still staring into space.
"Michael is okay with this, for the most part, though there's something about the day being here that makes her miss her parents. You shall see."
Just then Michael arises, exits her room for breakfast, going down to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Michael," Amanda says. "Would you like something hot?"
Michael responds by breaking into tears.
no subject
He hates this, hates being in people's memories like this, because he hated it when they were in his.
He watches the Black girl on the bed with sympathy, her expression so full of catatonia and her body language so withdrawn, so vulnerable, so clearly anxious. Michael. His sympathy only increases when she responds to a gesture of kindness with a sudden onslaught of tears.
"Bereaved?" he asks the Ghost, hearing foster father and making guesses. He was nearly placed in foster, but for the kindness of a judge who didn't want to split all his siblings apart and the mercy of an older sister barely at the age of majority. "Recently, I reckon?"
no subject
Meanwhile, Amanda immediately goes to Michael, giving her a warm embrace.
"Michael," Amanda says, her voice soft. "I'm here for you. Would you like to go read, instead?"
Michael tries to stifle her tears well enough to speak, but cannot.
no subject
He looks to the ghost. "Were her caretakers good to her, after this? Did she stay with them long?"
no subject
Michael is grown, and is packing her clothes in a case. Amanda stands by, talking to her.
"This is such a good opportunity for you," she says. "Starfleet is a good environment for learning, for knowledge."
Michael doesn't react outwardly besides quirking an eyebrow slightly, continuing to pack.
no subject
He folds his arms, observing what happens, wondering if he's about to see Starfleet - if, hell, he's about to see space in any capacity beyond what he sees in the movies.
no subject
"Michael always intended to join the Vulcan Expeditionary Group," the Ghost explains. "They denied her application, or so she believes."
As if to head off questions, the Ghost moves to another scene. This time, it's Michael confronting Sarek, her foster father, years later.
"You chose Spock over me, didn't you? You were forced into that decision, why not just tell me the truth?" Michael asks him.
Sarek is calm when he replies, but it seems almost to be a facade. "Spock went against my wishes, and joined Starfleet over the Vulcan Expeditionary Group. The choice I made merited nothing. What would be gained by telling you that?"
"Instead, you made me believe I failed you. You manipulated me. Do you have any idea what living with that lie did to me?"
"I did not. But I do now."
no subject
Dan watches this fight take place, and he can't help but think of his own foster daughter, of the transparency they had in their relationship before she died, and he can't understand-
-no, he can understand why Sarek would withhold information like that. Dan withholds information all the time. He would have withheld information in a heartbeat if he thought it would have protected his kid. Even if that ran the risk of hurting them a little less, some other way.
He can see both the good intentions and the devastation here in this scene. The worst part of lying to someone is when you get caught.
no subject
"Oh?" the Ghost asks, turning to look at Dan. "Sarek seems rather selfish, do you not think?"
Another scene change takes place in the background. It's Michael, with Amanda and Spock—Amanda and Sarek's son, and Michael's foster brother. Spock, trembling and mumbling to himself, works on a carving in the cave wall, a series of numbers.
"Mother, we have to get him to a hospital," Michael says.
Amanda balks. "You're not taking him anywhere."
Michael looks at her in disbelief. "Mother, if he were a full-blooded Vulcan these emotions would have driven him insane by now. You cannot keep him here."
"Spock came to me for help. And I will never turn him in. And under Federation law I don't have to."
"Please," Michael begs. "Please don't do this."
Amanda speaks with conviction. "As the wife of the Vulcan ambassador I have the legal authority to invoke diplomatic immunity in order to shield my son from extradition."
"Unless," says Sarek, stepping up behind them, "the Vulcan ambassador objects."
Both women turn to look at him.
no subject
This world Michael came from is so different than the one Dan knows; Dan's done his best to avoid politics wherever he can. Contracting with The Shield is something he does with as much arms' distance as he can, because he refuses to let someone else's rules or policies stop him from doing what he wants.
But he can follow along well-enough to what's happening, and that's why he's watching as the women turn to confirm a decision everyone seems to already know Sarek is about to make. Has made.
eliding this a little since it's been a while
Dan's right—and the Ghost shows him what came next, as Spock is turned into the authorities and brought in for questioning.
But then, what came even afterwards, as Michael is informed in secret that they intend to kill Spock. She breaks him out of the compound, stealing a shuttle to bring him to the coordinates his madness had conjured up.
It would appear Sarek did the wrong thing.
no subject
He could spend a long time here, getting to know the intricacies of Michael's life, the import of these different authorities and their reach. He firmly believes that a person could spend their entire lifetime learning about another person, and never have even nearly a comprehensive portrait.
But it also feels wrong, to be such a voyeur. He wraps his arms around himself. "Can't trust no authority."
no subject
The Ghost seems to understand. The visions pass; the sleeping form of modern-day Michael is the only thing left to see.
"She has been through much that might have broken someone with less mental fortitude," the Ghost says. "She considers the authorities in Starfleet to be trustworthy, but...sometimes even your idols will fail."