MINI EVENT: GHOST RESCUE

[sticksandbonesmods]

A HEARTBEAT BENEATH THE STAIRS

As the season turns, and blood sinks into the ground of the Grove, as monsters with your face haunt the halls, waiting to pounce, something else is creeping into light. Distantly one might see a light in the forest at night, and the next it comes closer. And closer. Until in the treeline you can see it: a pitch black manor that looks as if it’s covered in ash. The trees act as its gates, rebuffing anyone who tries to investigate, and the air smells like rot. Something watches in the windows, but vanishes when you blink.

… But not even this dark manor can stand in the way of one very angry grandfather skeleton, who will, eventually, rattle his teeth and bones in a rallying cry and urge others to follow him, sword in hand. It’s time to storm the castle, and Mr. Bone-Jangles has had enough.

The air within the manor is frigid and biting, and the inside itself is as decrepit as you may expect. Lights and candles can light the way… but only for a few minutes. The wood creaks as if the building is breathing slowly, and sometimes you here a loud thum-thump, as if its unseen heart beats while you explore.

For an already imposing building, inside seems even larger and there’s almost no end in sight as it feels like the halls wind on forever and more and more rooms, from libraries to studies to bedrooms to- … is this room dedicated to WWE Wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? … Needless to say, there’s a lot to work through, but Bone-Jangles urges you onward.

Wisps of color drift through. Are they your friends? Or something else?

A NIGHTMARE ON YOUR LIPS

And to those who have been locked away for days, perhaps weeks, nothing in this house feels real. Is it a dream? Is it a nightmare? The mere mention of a potential addition from your lips manifests another new room within the manor, but you cannot touch anything. Light hurts and makes you dizzy, while the night is painfully cold. How long has it been? How long will it be?

The burst of life is- new. Exciting. Distantly, you know these people, but the urges of death are whimsical and cruel. Part of you wants to guide them to the attic, where your souls are chained in full to a portrait of you. Break those portraits, and you're free, coming back to life outside, which is what you want, isn't it? Another part of you wants to chase them out, how dare they intrude upon your afterlife? Another yet thinks it’s time to play, but no longer remembers what ‘play’ is- so surely they can dodge the plates and books, right? Right!



And another yet wants the intruders dead. And if not by your hands, then by the demons guarding this world alongside you.

(CODE)

Comments

QUESTIONS

[sticksandbonesmods]

[theuniverseleads]

[Loop hasn't been dealing with the past two weeks well, but when presented an opportunity to storm a House for vengeance? Blind it, they're in.

They still have no idea what to expect from this, but maybe killing something here will get rid of the copies?? Who fucking cares. They have a knife and they know how to use it! They're mad and upset, and if anything so much as bumps into them they are not above destroying furniture for no reason!

Violent star here to fuck shit up!!!!!! Where my ghosts at!!!!!!!]

[alphacraft]

[ It isn't exactly a color that drifts through, but a wisp of light grey. It just follows them at first. It's been such a long time since she came to this place, and Odile is a little confused. She knows that this star is of interest, but she can't quite put her finger on why. ]

[magicalsplashflare]

[ On the one hand, boo, violence! On the other, Mamika has the weird urge to just... cause problems! It's very unlike her, but what if... what if ringing the phone a little, as a treat? What if... taking the flowers out of the vases and throwing them at Loop??? What if making the paintings float around Loop ominously, for fun?!

Mamika might not be the best chaos ghost, actually- ]

[ghostharasser]

[He sees you with a knife. Are you coming to knife him Loop???? He's not going to let that happen again! He flings a whole ass table against the wall right behind you.]


[He's there at the end of the hall before he disappears into a room.]

[sticksandbonesmods]

At some point they walk into a room and it's







Empty.

Or, not exactly, empty, but... it feels like they're walking through a ash and white forest, without a speck of color anywhere. Maybe it's comforting in it's familiarity.

Roll a d20.

[thebladebringstheflame]

[Flamebringer shows up to the rescue looking more pissed than he and his resting bitch face usually look... but at least Mr. Bone-Jangles is even more? Pissed off than he is??

Honsestly, most of his "pissed off" energy is slightly waylaid by the fact he has to face his demons, aka he has to confront the amount of times he has completely fucked up who's fake and who's real. So.

He will be trying to gun it after the skeleton and get to the bottom of this, and if any ghosts that are fucking pissed at him want to beat his ass weeeeell he deserves it—]

[magicalsplashflare]

[ Mamika isn't mad at you, Flamebringer. Honest. She just can't help but feel like she has to mess with him a little bit. It's why he'll have doors slammed immediately behind him, and tables and pots and vases and paintings tipped over to either block his path or fall on his head. ]

[sesa]

[Mamika isn't mad at Flamebringer, but Sesa is. Sorry Flamebringer, but...you killed him! That's a little bit different than not clocking a Doppelganger in time. Sesa, granted, also has...a LOT to be pissed off right now, so he is more than a vengeful ghost at present. This is not how he'd normally be acting, but...

How good IS Flamebringer at dodging, exactly? Can he dodge a couple of steak knives from a kitchen table hurtling at him at high speeds because uh-]

[sticksandbonesmods]

Oh, foolish one. This isn't the place for the living, didn't you know? You'll learn the hard way.

Which is to say, it's already cold in the mansion... but now? Now frost creeps across the glass and wood, even up Flamebringer's legs.

Why are you here?

[leggierissimo]

[ Joshua isn't here to save anyone in particular. No, Joshua is here to watch the fun go down. A mysteriously-appearing old mansion in the forest that smells vaguely like rotting things? Exciting! Count him in, he's down for shenanigans. Sure, he'll help out if it's really necessary, but consider him an observer for the time being.

A very opinionated observer, at that. Upon opening a door into what appears to be a dining room, he briefly looks very pleasantly surprised at... the thick layer of dust and cobwebs coating everything. The table is long and the chair backs are tall and plates of long-rotted food line the table surface. It's like something out of a horror movie. ]

Wow. Someone really did their homework on atmosphere.





[ Otherwise, Joshua is following behind others. He may not be a true ghost haunting the setting, but wouldn't it be fun to play along? If things are moving on their own, well, he certainly doesn't have anything to do with that. Things have been moving on their own off and on, haven't they? And he doesn't have anything to do with the sensation of a hand on your shoulder, either. Are you feeling okay? Maybe you should sit down. ]

[soundsurfing]

[ And following behind Josh is one (1) werewolf. In human form cause good lord, he needs a break from dog brain so badly.

Though even his human nose is offended by the smell of dust and decay in the mansion, wrinkling up as he looks around. ]

Man, more an' more this place reminds me of Foggy's Bullshit. Fog, monsters, haunted houses. Walking skeleton man isn't anythin' new either, but at least this dude is friendly.

[ A big sigh and he puts his hands on his hips, tilting his head to look up. ]

So... what we s'posed to do here?

[sticksandbonesmods]

Mischief is cute... in this demon's charges, anyways. Right now it feels more like an insult... which is why when Joshua goes through the next door, he'll find himself alone, in a completely different room.

The walls are covered in large claw marks. The light is a dim red. He can feel something's breath hot on his back, but nothing is there.





And then claws swipe at him from the side. Roll a d20 to dodge!

Ghost Mingle time

[ghostharasser]

[October 4th (and onwards)]

[It happened so suddenly, Dipper barely had the chance to process it. One minute he was suddenly very aware he was in danger, and then the next he was looking "Siffin" in the eye while he had a knife plunged in his chest, back against the door.]

[Dipper's died before, but not quite like this. Not so suddenly without any time to move, or make a choice or to fight. Truly, there was a child-like fear and helplessness that clung to him even as he found himself waking up ....wait. Where is he? He doesn't recognize this weird place ....does he?]

Hello?

[He tries to push open a door and just phases right through it. Floating off the ground he groans in annoyance.]

Come on, really?


[Silly Time. October 15th (and onwards)]

[Dipper has been in this house for what feels like years. Weeks even. As time started to drag on, the edges of his consciousness has gotten more and more gray. His memories more hazy, and all he has to hold onto are the emotions that filter in, which he grabs like a life line. It's the closest to feeling anything he can get. Anger, despair, regret- he lets it just take over, possessing him like some emotional demon until it runs it's course and he's left feeling empty cold again.]

[When the doors open and the people come through, something wild rises up in him. Finally something has changed, something to stir him out of the nothingness of this place.]

[He'll appear briefly on the foyer stairs hoping to lure someone away.]

10-4!

[alphacraft]

Ah. Hello.

[ Odile is floating idly through a massive library on the other side of the door. She can't pick up any of them, but she can occupy herself reading the titles. She's been here two days and she is bored. ]

We met at the town meeting. Dipper, wasn't it?

[ He's so young. ]

october 4th

[start_again]

[Siffrin doesn't know how long he's been here. There's this constant foggy-headedness, hard to focus or remember anything. It's a familiar state, sorta. It reminds Siffrin all too much of years spent simply drifting along with no ties to anything or anything.

The drifting is a little more literal now, maybe.

Anyway, he glances up as a figure topples straight through the door, eyebrows knitting together as recognition sets in.]

Oh, stars.

[It's even harder to remember things than normal, but he knows a child being here in this state implies bad things.]

10-15

[jouvente]

[ Well, it's one way to try and lure someone away but - the sight of someone familiar, even if he feels like.. he probably doesn't deserve to be the one.

Still, he can't exactly ignore it either. So, after a moment, he'll head towards the foyer stairs to try and follow after the brief shape of Dipper.

What kinda adventure we going on, Ghost Boy. ]

10/15

[ephemeralflow]

[She saw that. Just for an instant, but she saw it. Timekeeper had already been peeling away from the group on her own, so she'll gladly take the chance to slip off and follow what she thinks she saw - if it's a trap, she honestly doesn't care.

Up these stairs, hmm? She flips one of the Embroider halves off her back, perching on it to zoom up the stairs by way of floating above them, glancing sharply about for any more glimpses of Dipper.]

October 15th!

[charlastan]

[It's been a long two weeks. Dipper not only didn't immediately come back from the dead, but he didn't even leave a squid body behind. For a little bit he was just gone, and his uncles were distraught. Worse, the culprit got away and if they know what's good for them they'll stay gone, but that doesn't mean Stan isn't wishing he could have wrung their neck himself.

So when Bonejangles drums up his army, Stan's more than happy to storm the manor. The Dipper hand of Ford's watch has been pointing over there for a little bit now, so it's about time they got to actually do something about it.

Candles blowing out and lights extinguishing mean nothing to Stan - he's walking the halls with one of his hands lit up in electric blue flame like a lantern.]

Dipper? Diiiiipper!

[He pauses for a reply, but nothing comes immediately. Great. He rolls his eyes and cups his free hand to the side of his mouth, to yell louder.]

...I don't have any of Ford's dumb ghost hunting stuff, so we're gonna have to do this the hard way! Where are you?!

10-4

[magicalsplashflare]

[ Get ghost-hugged Dipper. Basically the moment Dipper gets up, there's local pink teen on him for a hug. She's... rattled, too, really, but... it's not like this is the first time she died. At least this one was fast. ]

Dipple! [ Close enough- ] Are you okay?? I mean- I know we're not, but- I'm sorry.

[quirkynote]

[Mr. Bone-Jangles has already won A.B.A.'s loyalty through chocolate and smooth jazz, so there's zero hesitation when she follows his war cry. Does she even know why he's doing this? Does she have any real reason to be here?? Probably not, she just wants to join in.

It's when she sees their destination that she begins to freeze up.

Oh.

Spooky mansion.

That's a little too close to home. ...More like incredibly too close to home, it's just like Frasco. But...it's...fine! The door has been properly powered through, so she doesn't have to worry about getting locked inside. .........Right?

Right?

A.B.A. stalks the mansion completely on edge at all times, springing at every little creak and thump like a startled animal. She hates this. She hates reliving the past, she hates how she has to check every door to make sure it's not locked, she hates GHOSTS. There isn't even a need to have a spirit throw anything at her, she does a fantastic job of freaking out all on her own.]

AWAY FIENDS!! ALL OF YOU!! S-STAY BACK!! [Do you like that? Do you like that horrible screeching from down the hall?] J-JUST GO AWAY!! PARACELSUS-! DEAR, SAVE ME!!

[When she isn't scampering up and down the halls shrieking to herself, A.B.A. will eventually find the iconic armor display all scary mansions seem to have. The best thing about suits of armor? They all seem to have axes. It may just be decoration, so it's not exactly sharp, but that won't stop her from yanking one for herself. It's not like she ever used an axe properly to begin with, so long as its heavy, that's all that matters.

Fear now turns into a seething rage. After a few nice, loud test slams, she swings it over her shoulder. Okay. She is now ready to be a proper (???) exploring buddy.]

[sticksandbonesmods]

A.B.A. gets the feeling, during her panic, that something is watching her.

Mocking her.




She sees a shadow gleefully munching on popcorn out of the corner of her eye, but it's gone just as quickly.

[start_again]

[This haunting isn't as overt as others. There aren't any spooky noises or objects being thrown around or anything like that. It's just the house and the quiet, room after room and hallways after hallway stretching on and on.

And then as you're moving through yet another hall, there's a pale, cloaked shape simply standing at the end of it, facing away.]

[jouvente]

[ Somehow, someway, the quiet might even be worse. Quiet means nothing to focus his attention on, silence means being left alone with his thoughts and.. Change, has he really done his best to avoid doing that. Just wandering, searching, looking for anything.

But it happens in the corner of his eyes at first, before he's whipping back to look and ]

--Sif??? [ His steps pick up, quickly moving over to the pale, cloaked shape. It has to be them, it has to be. And maybe that's wishful thinking. ]

[ephemeralflow]

[Timekeeper has calmed down a little since the fourth.

.......Okay, that's underselling it. She is at least not straight up murderously angry anymore, but she is most certainly here - with both halves of the Embroider now back in her possession, albeit not yet reaffixed to each other. They float crossed behind her back as she follows the others into the mansion, almost immediately breaking off on her own to snoop wherever her instincts take her. There's one last key to this puzzle, one last piece to this game that might bring the real versions of everyone back, and she refuses to leave until she finds it.

Well, until she figures out getting Dipper back, at least. Maybe also Siffrin. Her focus is still as laser-targeted as ever, after all.

She quickly finds herself in front of a large, fancy staircase leading up to the next floor - and nearby, a stairwell leading down in a spiral into murky cellar depths. The old furniture scattered about is dusty and covered with cloths so worn they look like little more than layers of cobweb. Maybe some of them are.]

Hm, up or down. Always the question, isn't it? And equally unsettling at that. [As if she's not already moving towards that dark spiral staircase down. Her voice is a little bitter still, her ever-present smile small and tight.]

[alphacraft]

[ There is a massive library in the mansion, with shelves stretching six stories up and aisles stretching the length of a train. If that's not tempting enough, there are tables littered here and there for your studies, stocked with paper, pens, and pencils, equipped with lamps. Every one of them is flickering.

Ghosts will find Odile here at pretty much all times, scanning titles of books she can't pull out to read.

Any living person who enters will find a thick leather book dropping on them from above: The Riddles of The Exeter Book.

Are you ready to play? ]

[ephemeralflow]

[The book comes very close to slamming into Timekeeper's head - but time freezes before it can, just long enough for her to reach up and pluck it from the air instead. She tilts it, brushing some dust off the cover to read the title.]

Ah, a book of riddles? Any good ones, I wonder?

[She'll start to thumb through the book, her gloved hands delicate and deft with the pages. Honestly? She could use the mental stimulation, and in a place like this, there must surely be a reason this book attacked her.]