interstellar5555 | ☆TRACK IX: LIKE A GHOST

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☆TRACK IX: LIKE A GHOST

Who: Everyone!
What: The ghosts are back, and they've brought you some FEELS.
When: April 18th-21st.
Where: Predominantly outside of the label HQ walls. Occasionally inside, too.
Warnings: The usual.

“'Cause the world might do me in.
It's alright 'cause I'm with friends.
Guess I'm giving up again...
It doesn't matter.”

☆LIKE A GHOST

The spirits that have walked the halls of the label towers for months now have returned once again - and while the last time they appeared they were pleading for your help, this time they are here to offer their aid in return. All four ghosts will be trying to find all musicians and rescuers aligned to their spiritual emotion in order to bestow some sweet spectral gifts open them. Some of you may have met them already, some of you may have not. While in the past their identities were a mystery, in their last encounter with the labels it was shown that they are in fact the spirits of the late Crescendolls, a former Virgo band that claims to have been murdered by Lesedi Santiago.

Though most will still be unaware of this, they may have a chance to ask questions today. These are the four naked alien spirits who will be visiting, and the emotion they align to:

► Duty: Brave, dedicated, and willful, Arpegius is the lead guitarist and the sort of guy who will fight you or for you for all the right reasons. He's street smart enough to know how to choose his battles.

► Passion: Young, boisterous, and a little bit crass, Baryl is the drummer of the band and as compassionate as he is rowdy when he slows down enough to be.

► Hope: Inspired, intelligent, and chill, Octave is the keyboardist and lead singer. He's the most mature of the group and was also the oldest - before they all died, anyway. Still, he manages to be proactive about his ghostly status.

► Love: Quiet, mysterious, and surprisingly capable of being a badass, Stella is the basist of the group. From the outside she may appear to be almost stereotypically demure, but there is an emotional strength inside that not many get to see.

☆THE GIFTS

They will not be able to spend much time with each person, nor will they be inclined to go near the HQs if they can avoid it. But they will be able to communicate with each person briefly if they share an alignment, in order to give them one of the following gift, of which every character in the game may pick one.

► Knowledge: You can ask your ghost a question about the in-game situation (they don't know anything about your home life so don't ask them about that) and they'll answer with any information they've gathered as an invisible ghost witness or go seek it out for you.

► Strength: The ghost will leave part of their power with you, in the form of a burst of spiritual strength you can access at a moment of your choice. Generally speaking this will manifest in a manner similar to an "adrenaline rush" or "last effort" energy boost where your character's physical strength or abilities increase 50% - 100% for a short period of time. The more powerful the boost the shorter time it will last. It works even better if, at the moment of its triggering, you are deeply in tune with the emotion you and the ghost represents.

► Healing: Your ghost will attempt to heal you physically or emotionally - this isn't the best for severe physical wounds, but it is very good for unlocking mental blocks or helping you get past trauma in order to pursue the greater good. This can be used for a large memory regain or to sooth any kind of mental trauma that is holding your character back. Effectiveness varies from person to person, but the treatment will be focused around enhancing the emotional alignment shared between the ghost and you. EDIT: Healing can be given to someone else immediately, but can't be stored like Strength and Protection can, unless you work out something specific with your ghost.

► Protection: Much like the strength boon, this is a power left with you by the ghost that can be triggered at a future moment. Instead of enhancing your abilities however, it will act as a physical or mental defense against one potentially deadly assault. This gift can also be transferred to another person at the recipient's request.

The ghosts will be you their magic ghost dust, promise that they will be watching and protecting you where they can, and then be on their way. However, those who helped rescue them during the In Reaching Out plot will get something a little bit extra. (IE, those who participated in the Ghost Quest plot.) They'll both get their immediate pick of one of the above boons as well as:

► Spirit Summon: Your aligned spirit will give each Ghost Quest participant the ability to summon them for direct aid on one occasion, in the form of a small ectoplasmic token. Their arrival can be used for anything they are capable of pulling off with their ghost magics that they don't find morally objectionable. Basically, a ghost will appear and help you out when you need it. Choose wisely.

Along with all these gifts, each ghost will be bolstering the emotional aspect you share. Love alignment people will feel strengthened by the power of their love, Hopes will feel increasingly hopeful and capable, and etc. This is not something that will make them behave destructively - it is a positive blessing speaking to the strongest sides of their patron emotion.

Keep in mind that these spirits do have wills of their own, and being rude or dismissive towards them will result in them passing you by. Boons will only go towards those that seem like they will be using them for good intent.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: During and after this event, musicians will be able to regain memories of their capture as well the occasional flash of their initial programming!

“Had me feeling like a ghost,
And that's what I hate the most.
Guess I'm giving up again...
This time I might just disappear.”

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Rarity tries to smile and almost makes it. She's grateful for Agent 3's friendship - she's enthusiastic and sweet, and it's nice to talk to someone about something that isn't how difficult it must be for Rarity to be kidnapped and half-brainwashed and on the run, which is a lot of what people seem to want to talk about even though Rarity decidedly does not. "I think I'm set for now, but thank you."

Rarity jumps, nearly dropping her teacup. Where had Papyrus even been? How had she not noticed him when she came in?

Admittedly, she had been distracted, and Papyrus does have a habit of appearing out of seemingly nowhere, even in an apartment that is far too small for the number of people currently living in it. "I- yes?"

Admittedly, jumping in surprise when a skeleton pops up beside you is a fair response. They are, loath as Papyrus might be to admit it, a little frightening looking. But surely there's nothing too alarming about mundane things like getting dustbunnies out from under the sofa.

He's a big enough skeleton to let her surprise go without comment, and he stands up against the side of the couch. "That sounds really handy! Like telekinesis. You could be a superhero. Perched on rooftops, silhouetted against the city skyline, cape billowing behind..."

Somebody reads too many comic books. And would probably be willing to wear spandex. Outside, even.

It's less the skeleton bit - she is friends with Sans, after all - and more the surprise bit. Still, she settles in and manages a very small but genuine smile. Papyrus reminds her of Spike - or what she can remember of Spike - in some ways: friendly, enthusiastic, occasionally tries just a bit too hard, and genuine throughout it all. "Actually, I do believe I've done that once." She frowns a bit, pulling at the vague memory. "We were...inside a comic book, somehow. Magic, I believe." It's an odd memory, and not entirely there, but it counts for something, does it not?

He didn't greet her with a suplex or anything, it can't be that surprising, can it? Papyrus might be desensitized to surprises. It comes from living with Sans "woopie cushions" the Skeleton his whole life.

"Oh my god? Instead of passively reading the story... you experienced it... first hand?" He gapes, delighted by the prospect. "I wish there were book monsters who could do that back home! It'd be even better than television..." Better than most shows, at least. There was one channel that even the most immersive of comic books couldn't top.

A suplex is not how you greet a lady! What kind of manners are those?

"I suppose? I'm afraid I don't really remember the details, though I will let you know if they come back to me."

The manners of career soldiers and those who aspire to join the guard. Not that they can't mind themselves around ladies and gentlemen, but... Well, it's an affectionate kind of violence.

"Oh, right, that 'brainwashing'... Hmm." Gaps in memory make conversations a little more difficult. Maybe they could just sidestep it, and talk about something else, like Papyrus' life. Or... someone the two of them have in common? Painful as it is to think about Sans while he's missing. "It's a promise!"

[ Yeah. He probably hear his liver's pleas to put it out of it's misery. But Xanxus is having none of that. He's totally going to get himself pickled today. He won't die of old age because he'll be preserved in alcohol from the inside out. ]

[ Despite how done he is, Squalo is getting a kick from him. Just boot to the shin because he's pissed and he can. ]

Understatement. Most fucked up waste of my damn time yet.

[ No, he's not going to tell Squalo that some ghost came and bestowed protection upon him from Squalo. Because damn it, he can protect himself! Maybe. Kind of. Not really, but whatever. ]

Almost makes me wish I hadn't quit. Least then I could get stoned and not give a flying fuck. But that's not happening. That shitty for you too?

[ Please keep away from open fire. Oh wait. Does that mean he's just gonna spontaneously bust into flame one day when he gets angry? ]

[ He'll get an angry sound for that. ]

-- Vooi!

[ And too bad, because he's totally gonna ask. Maybe. ]

I'm not too hot for ghosts. [ Mostly because imagine the army that would come after him if ghosts were a thing. He scrunches his nose a bit. ] Rebound sucks. There're other things you can do to a similar effect. Speed, violence, whatever. [ He just might let you drive that bike of his. :/ ]

[ Probably, but he's probably immune to his own Flames. It's just other assholes (and shonen protags) he has to worry about. ]

Definitely hate their guts. Most worthless fucks. Should have just stayed dead. Lot of help they are. [ Yeah. There would be ghost lines all the way around the corner waiting to haunt them. ] And it blows hard. Super hard and not in a good way. That shit was great for calming my ass down.

[ Look who used heroin as replacement for his regular dosages of Calm the Fuck Down Flames. Without it, he's quickly going back to his volatile old ways. ]

And right now I fucking need it because I hate wasting my damn time on worthless shit. And I hate even more than I'm probably going to break a promise...

[ yep, the one thing he can't stand. ]

[ Small miracles. ]

Did... any of them mention me? [ Hahaha. ]

[ He might have Calm the Fuck Down Flames back soon enough, but in the meantime, he'll have to make due with what he's got. ]

[ Meanwhile, Squalo is really getting the feeling that he's supposed to be great for calming Xanxus' ass down, though it's still a bit unclear. He remembers blue flames. He's noticed how his friends seem to like holding onto him... but nothing manifests in his hand, ever, no matter how hard he tries to focus. Not like Xanxus' flame at all. ]

[ Something's missing. He frowns. ]

What kind of promise?

[ Twitch ]

Yeah. One of them did. The more useful one. The other one, that one can fuck right off.

[ He might just shatter the glass in his hand because he's just really pissed that he got nothing but worthless answers. ]

After Predator...I made a promise to Luci. I swore to her that I wouldn't do anything stupid or reckless without telling her. So that she could talk me out of it. I sort of made the same promise to Yuffie too. But...I'm probably going to go do something really really fucking dumb. Something that will ruin the band.

[ Oh. Good. Guess he won't be ratting them out to Lesedi, then. If they can protect him when Squalo is not able to, he's ready to sign off his soul for it. ]

[ Whoa, dude, calm down. Would violent banging help any? ]

Voooi, stop right there. What kind of dumb, and why can't you tell her about it first?

It's about this so called world tour. That bitch is planning something. Harvesting power and shit from us and from all the vanished fuckers. I'm thinking of leaving the band. Ditching the Carnies and going to where our daughter is. Maybe trying to find where they're keeping their living batteries and getting them the fuck out.

[ Specially that last one because yeah...he remembers what it's like to be trapped and unable to get out... though honest he has no idea how to go about any of that other than the leaving part. ]

She's probably tell me no. Because I'd want to take her and Yuffie with me. We're...we're a family, Squalo, and I'm not going to leave them behind to be fucked over by that bitch.

...so it's true, then. She's kept them.

[ He had his suspicions, but this is hard to take in, anyway. Mei's too good to be anyone's soylent green, damn it. ]

[ Well then, he'll just share the bit that the annoying tall guy gave him. ]

You do realize you're only with them because you'd been kidnapped from your real family.

Yeah. The dead fuck told me they imprison them somewhere. She probably does some weird shit to them first, but she's using their souls for...something. Only useful thing that fuck told me really. That and shit is going down during that fucking tour of theirs.

[ A frown because like hell he would let himself be kidnapped, but honestly, he sort of already knew in a way. ]

....I know. I broke Omerta and told Luci I was Mafia once. I remember that much. I'm mafia and I'm going to be the Don of Dons. But I'm also part of the Carnival and I can't just abandon them.

...shit. That can't go on.

[ What exactly they can do about it he's not sure yet, but --

[ Wait. Waaaait. ]

[ His mildly bored expression shifts into a wide-eyed one and he stares at Xanxus for a few moments. ]

Mafia?

[ If -- if he's in the mafia, then -- ]

[ According to unhelpful ghosts, the answer is: I don't know. Just...beat them? Well, they could always try and sabotage the tour or something. He's trying to think of ways to stop the tour... ]

Yeah. The mob. Organized crime. You remember all that fun shit I told you. About killing some fucks. Mafia business. And me, one day, I'm going to lead the entire Family. I'll sit on this kick ass throne and wear this awesome ring and I'll pretty much control most of the crime world. And you're my number 2... I think...

[ Yeah, he's sort of still figuring out where Squalo plays in all that. ] And I guess when I die, our kids will inherit the throne. At least our little girl will. The boy...those fuckers have this thing about blood or something. Though I'm going to fix that stupid bylaw.

[ Though Xanxus feels super weird saying that stuff because there's still that lingering brainwashing that says he's in a punk band and that he wasn't any of that. It's probably all just a hallucination after too many drugs and a Godfather marathon. ]

Yeah, but I didn't think it was the mob. Shit. It makes so much more sense now.

[ And he's totally remembering other things now. Claiming the Independent Assassination Squad Varia as his own, and passing it along to someone who he thought was the better boss out of them two. A set of rings, one of them on his own hand. Setting up a battle to become the guardians of Vongola... ]

[ Frankly, the news that he may or may not be Xanxus' second is one of the least shocking discoveries here. ]

[ But then that next part enrages him more than it should. ]

How fucking bullshit is that? My son will make his own legacy no matter what blood runs in him!

[ Ah look at that Bel, mom believes in you so much. ]

"Hey there."

There's another moment in silence, like he doesn't want to interrupt the serenity of the moment. Then he finally lets it break, rubbing at his neck and smiling.

"I uh, I got your gift."

Greg's smile turns just a bit wolfish, even as his cheeks tinge with pink. "I'll make it as good a show as I can." He is an entertainer, after all.

It feels good, to tease like that. The feeling of dread hanging over them is still there, but muted. They'd made promises to count on each other in the past, yet his faith had been faltering. This gift let her light reach him again.

I'm sorry Dear. The flower shop people say the delivery should arrive tonight around six.

[ He excuses himself for an evening stroll when the time comes and he shows up at the doorstep of Thistle Do Nicely right on the hour. ]

She brightens immediately at that, like water hit with a sudden shaft of light.

"You did?"

He's smiling. That means he likes it, right?

Right?

He nods, grinning wider at her clear hope.

"I really appreciate it. We haven't... talking's been hard." Greg bites at his lip. "It means a lot."

"J brought some pastries and stuff too if you're hungry." 3 decides to have one herself, a banana nut muffin. She takes a seat on the couch and holds out a magazine she checked out from the library. It's fashion magazine that talks about the upcoming summer trends. "Wanna go hat shopping with me later?"

Given that summer is coming, 3 can't really go around with her overly large, slouchy knit cap without drawing attention. But she still needs to hide her tentacles some how. (Thankfully headphones never go out of season and pointed ears won't have to be explained.)

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☆TRACK IX: LIKE A GHOST

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