interstellar5555 | ☆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.”

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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!"

"Of course." Comic book adventures aren't the only memory the brainwashing took, and she's having a hard time with what she just reclaimed. But maybe...

She looks up at Papyrus, troubled and trying not to show too much of it. "Can I...talk with you for a bit?" She's going to have a terrible time talking about Sweetie Belle, and she knows it; she might as well talk with someone who would understand the other side of the situation. (With Papyrus insisting Sans is his older brother and Sans never mentioning Papyrus, it's not difficult to guess what happened there.)

That's a strange question to ask. "Are we... not talking now?" He has to ask, before he realizes what she likely means. "About... something painful, and difficult?"

Yeah... yeah. Interacting with family, when they don't remember you, is painful. And it's likely just as painful, in different ways, to be the person who know they should remember but can't. Hard enough for friends, but for people with so few loved ones, to lose the only ones they have...

Well. Papyrus isn't in any rush to befriend the music labels.

"Yes." Well, she's opened the floodgates; there's no going back now. She takes a deep breath and clutches her teacup tightly in her hands. "I have a little sister," she starts, and those words are difficult enough. "Her name is Sweetie Belle, and..." Her voice is shaking. "I didn't remember her until just a few minutes ago." Rarity isn't looking at Papyrus anymore; instead, she's staring into her teacup as though it contains the answers to her problems.

She doesn't know where to go from here.

Papyrus doesn't quite gasp, but he inhales sharply. "That's like Sans, he couldn't remember me... At all. Even when I went to check on him..."

The polite pleasantries had been better than the interrogation or the panic before Sans left, but not by much. And the complete lack of recognition... Really, Papyrus is a pretty memorable sort of person. Loud and active and pushy. For Sans to remember nothing, even when faced with his (disguised) brother...

He brightens "But you just remembered her! Even after everything they did to make you forget. So, you're getting better. And you'll keep getting better!"

It's so, so easy to get lost in Papyrus' optimism, even though Rarity is beginning to suspect he's not always grounded in reality. It's a bit like talking to Pinkie Pie sometimes.

"But that was with help," she replies, still looking at her tea. "I'm not certain it will be quite that easy going forward."

There's a lot of reasons why Sans and Papyrus are fairly complementary brothers, and Papyrus' boundless optimism is one of them.

"Well, maybe not," he admits. "But every little bit is a little bit more! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised."

☆TRACK IX: LIKE A GHOST

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