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piper90npcs ([personal profile] piper90npcs) wrote in [community profile] 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.]]
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[personal profile] credit_not_blame 2020-12-15 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Neither of the two acknowledge Jack, but it's possible that they're just too absorbed in their discussion. Possible, but not probable, however agitated the guy is getting on the topic.

"A 'frame up' job is one thing, but he's got a bone saw in there, among other things. He's going to cut her body up into pieces!"

"...Yes? Because human authorities would be confused by the claw marks?" The girl glances toward the door thoughtfully. "It's a shame we didn't have any of this asshole's DNA to put between her teeth and under her nails, I think people should know that she died fighting."

The guy groans and presses the heels of of his hands against his eyes, falling backward to lay fully on the ground. "Aren't you here to offer me emotional support?" he complains. She snorts and rolls over to rest her weight on her elbows and look at him.

"I," she says loftily, "am here to chronicle the end of Stacia Highstorm's story. I will use your monkey mourning to enhance the tale, and everyone will agree that it is well-told and honors her in the telling." She considers him thoughtfully for a moment. He hasn't taken his hands off of his eyes. "You're upset. More than usual. Can you put it in words, or do I need to sit on you until some of the sad comes out first?"

He makes a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob and rolls over onto his stomach, burying his face in his arms. She pushes herself up and clambers awkwardly on top of him, using her own body like a weighted blanket.