October Event: Feeling Like a Ghost (Part I)

[lifeaftr_mods]

OCTOBER EVENT: FEELING LIKE A GHOST

Who: Anyone and everyone
What: Your past returns to haunt you
When: October 10th and onward
Where: All over!
Warnings: Character death, as well as potential for discussion of trauma and suicide ideation - please mark as you go!

Try and Hear Me, Then I'm Done

You can find most of the information you need in the OOC info post! In the meantime, feel free to use this log as a catch-all for the duration of the event. While this log will focus on the past portion, you're free to use it for the future portion. As always, you can also make your own logs if that's your preference! Come the 21st, however, we'll likely get an additional log up for those who want to play around with their future echoes as well. Remember also that the present portion will be played out in Mu, during this month's Storytelling.

Remember to let us know if your character dies during this event. Bear in mind, however: death penalties will NOT be reduced for this event.

Event Timeline

[ ♆ ] October 10th: The ghosts of the past appear.
[ ♆ ] October 20th: The warped Storytelling occurs, the Storyteller returns, and those who have died are revived.
[ ♆ ] October 21st: Future echoes replace the ghosts of the past.
[ ♆ ] October 25th: With equilibrium restored, all visions vanish, and life returns to how it was.

---

LOGS ● OOC ● STORIES ● MAIN NAVIGATION

( CODED BY BOOTYCALL )

Comments

yasha (ota)

[barberian]

01: i'm drawn in, etched into this (oct 10)

(First, it starts with visions.

This is not anything out of the ordinary for Yasha. A monsoon coalesces in her mind's eye and in the night, her God comes to her, and he speaks. What the Stormlord says is exactly what he said to her– what feels like so long ago now, when she fell asleep by the campfire after being on watch. His voice sounds like rolling thunder. It is a comfort.

You walk the right path. Be strong. Don't forget who you were... and decide who you will become.

Lightning sears across the backs of her eyes, and she wakes up with a start, feeling displaced. His giant hand is still in the room with her, palm up, waiting expectantly. Yasha pushes her bed covers aside and tries to walk toward it, but it curls in upon itself, makes a fist, and vanishes.

She can't shake the feeling that it had been gesturing to her to come.

So she's at the beaches, bare feet in the stand, staring out at the horizon over the ocean. The weather is calm. If a storm were to start, she would see it on the horizon. If he were to extend his hand to her again, surely, she would see it here. She has a tense, restless air about her.)

02: it's part of me, it’s under my skin (oct 16)

(Now, the visions are getting worse. They don't just happen at night any more. The sound of rolling thunder is a comfort still but also has her on edge, poised, constantly listening for a soft rumble from the sky. Meanwhile the Stormlord follows her about and hangs on the edge of her sight, beckons to her with both hands, trying to get her to follow.

She would do anything for him. He knows this.

You walk the right path, he coaxes, and, Come along, Yasha. It's time to go. It's time to go.)

But... Molly is here, (she says. It's the first time she has spoken back to him aloud. He hasn't ever offered her much chance to before. She usually follows his direction in silence. But now he comes to her as if in supplication; the wind cards thick fingers through her hair, and Yasha feels tired and world-weary, longing for escape. His insistence is intoxicating, and she has always been devout.

It's time to go. You must come alone. I know the way; I will show you.

It's how she ends up at sea again, standing with her feet at the edge of the surf. There's only one way off of an island, right? The water is so dark and deep and though she knows how to swim she is not so sure, but the hands of the Stormlord move, as if to part the waves. Yasha hesitates... before she dutifully follows, striding forwards, into the sea.)

02

[devilstongue]

[ Jester keeps crying and pleading with him and it's getting almost impossible to ignore, even if he knows her words are fake. It's easier to concentrate on his friends instead, trying to help Nott and bickering with Beau so she can tune out Keg for a while.

Even the tried-and-true method of getting shitfaced in the face of problems was too risky right now... and so was leaving your friends for even a moment, apparently.

Nott they could tie to a tree. Yasha would have broken every tree on the island.

The sight of his best friend walking into the ocean creates an almost feral horror in him and Molly rushes after her as fast as he can, screaming her name. ]

YASHA!

[ Please stop. Please look at him. ]

[barberian]

(She does stop, up to her hips in the water. For a moment she stares out at the ocean, watching the Stormlord beckon to her insistently from across the waves... and then she looks back, over her shoulder. Molly is there, yelling to her, shouting her name.

Yasha doesn't move. Molly has always let her come and go as she pleased, but this time is very different. He's almost desperate. He, of all people, should know that she always comes back.)

I have to go, (she says, but she sounds uncertain. She turns toward him properly.) It's... time for me to leave.

[devilstongue]

[ Molly doesn't even hesitate to run into the water after her, straight out and winding his arms around her waist. He's shaking, and it has nothing to do with how cold the water is. ]

Yasha, please. I have... I have never asked where you go, I've never asked you not to go. Please.

[ He reaches up to cup her face with wet hands. ]

This isn't real, Yasha. We all have people we care about telling us to come to them. Jester begs me all the time. Nott... Nott nearly killed herself.

[ Something in the tiefling's voice cracks, and he leans his head to her chest. ]

This is just going to drown you. How would you come back to me from the bottom of the sea?

[barberian]

(This is very true.

Yasha pauses in the middle of going to gently but firmly remove Molly's arms from her waist; he does it for her, pressing his wet palms against her cheeks, making her look at him properly. She doesn't need to see the Stormlord in order to know he is still waiting behind her. She can feel his accusatory stare prickling on the back of her neck, and she feels ashamed.)

What do you mean it isn't real?

(It doesn't make any sense. She's silent for a moment as his ear presses to her chest. Perhaps he can hear the internal war within her as she struggles to make sense of what is happening. Molly is right. Following the Stormlord to the sea will drown her, eventually, but...)

He wouldn't hurt me. (Would he? Her voice is small, and lost. The water is so cold; she shivers, hesitating.) I... don't know what to do.

[devilstongue]

This place, it's...

[ Fuck, he doesn't even know what's going on, so how could he explain it? All Molly knows is that this isn't right, the people they see are not the people they care about. Yasha's faith is her own and Molly respects it greatly - but he will personally drag himself to whatever celestial realm the Stormlord resides in and kick his ass if he drowns his best friend.

Not like this. Not when their heads are not in the right place. ]

Come back with me, Yasha. If it is real, then you'll just be a little delayed. If you go and it's not real, then you're on the bottom of the sea where you can't do shit for him anyway.

[ Molly eases his fingers into the fur on her shoulders to hold on. ]

Blame me, if you need to. Let him be mad with me but come back before you make a mistake.

[barberian]

(This is very good logic. It's much better logic than 'local god has one weird trick... when he beckons you to follow him into the sea, you won't believe what happens next'. Yasha sighs, and her shoulders feel heavy. It has nothing to do with Molly anchoring himself to her there, but more to do with the disappointment of the Stormlord, heavy and awful at the nape of her neck. Her skin is prickling in soft goose flesh.)

Okay. (She says it quietly, then clears her throat, says it again,) okay. Okay, I'll- I can stay. I'll stay.

(Yasha won't admit it, but something tight and awful loosens once she makes that admission. Perhaps somewhere deep down she'd known this wasn't a good idea. Who is she to say no to the Stormlord, though? At least Molly knows how to do it.

She glances back over her shoulder. He is gone. She doesn't know how to feel about that.

Molly might have to coax her to start moving again. For now, she's just standing in the surf, at a loss for what to do next. She hasn't ever stopped leaving before.)

[devilstongue]

[ Mollymauk relaxes just a bit when she agrees to stay, but he's not letting go of her. He never wants to let go of her again, because fuck. Why is this happening to his people? Don't they have enough shit to deal with already? ]

Come on, Yash. Come home, I'll braid your hair.

[ Molly gently pulls at her shoulder fur, trying to gently steer her towards land. One step at a time, if he needs to. No more sea. No more people wanting their death.

(No more Jester crying and pleading on the shore, so damn difficult to ignore that it hurt.)

Nobody died here. He'd fucking make sure of that if it so killed him again. ]

We all just need to rest.

[barberian]

(That sounds nice.

Yasha is still tense and almost unhappy, up to her waist in the water: she feels like she just made a rather large decision, and still isn't sure if she decided correctly or not. But Mollymauk tugs the fur at her shoulders and that simply guidance helps her to start moving again. She starts to wade back out of the water.

Nott had been seeing Caleb, she remembers. Seeing him when he wasn't there. So perhaps it's true. Are they all seeing these illusions?)

Who... are you seeing?

1!

[deathfindsaway]

[She's not the only one seeing gods. Kravitz is done up again in the suit he arrived in, the Raven Queen at his side, even if she is only here for him. It's no matter. She is so, so happy he is alright and he feels lighter in turn. Soon, this nightmare will be over. He just needs to notify the Storyteller of his departure, along with anyone he should take with him, and he'll be on his way.

He's heading to their temple when he passes her, looking very seriously to the water, and it gives him pause. He remembers seeing her, a few days ago- she was interesting. But now she looks expectant, and he can't help but be curious.

Gesturing a moment to his Lady to let her know where he's going, he walks close, clearing his throat before he speaks as not to startle her again.]

Are you looking for something?

[barberian]

(Oh, it's the very fancy man again.

Yasha glances back over her shoulder at him and her gaze briefly flickers back out to open sea before as if she's afraid of missing something. How much does this person need to know about her? He had been pleasant enough at their first meeting, but... well, she does not advertise her god in the same way that Jester does. Not even a little bit. She keeps the Stormlord mostly to herself.

Her eyes flick to the surf for a second time.)

... Yes. A sign.

(How cryptic. She frowns, trying to think of how to word this.)

Sometimes I have visions. They have been persistent, lately.

[deathfindsaway]

[He's even fancier, now. Usually around the islands he still dresses well- even at his minimum he's got a t shirt and jeans, sewn himself to make sure they fit him properly. Thankfully the Storyteller saw fit to grant a request for more common clothes. But today he's back in his full Raven Queen regalia, tailored suit and button up shirt, the black material almost seeming etched with feathers. Small ravens dot his buttons, feathers tied into his hair and cufflinks with a matching elegant RQ script. It's a uniform, down to the last detail.

Because of that, he's making sure he doesn't quite go in the water in this. It's distressingly hard to keep it nice out here in the wilderness anyway, but he can't not look exactly as his Lady expects him. What a crime that would be.]

Visions? Of what?

[She keeps looking out towards the horizon. He can't help but wonder what she could find from the landscape, or if it's something bigger than that.]

Are they... prophetic? Something to keep you safe?

[barberian]

(In contrast, Yasha's feet are wet. She has no qualms with getting into the ocean; she even has a look about her like she's tensed, ready to charge into the surf. All the Stormlord needs to do is say the word.)

Of somebody important, (she says easily, as she stares at the water. Perhaps it isn't so hard to talk about after all... at least, not with her back to Kravitz. Still, she doesn't seem inclined to go into specifics.)

Usually, they guide me. Let me know I am on the right path. (She must not be, this time. Yasha knew that she had made a mistake letting herself become trapped upon these islands. Clearly she is meant to be back where she came from, following the Stormlord's path for her again as before.

She sighs.) I... don't think I fully understand, this time.

[deathfindsaway]

[Hmm, that sounds... almost familiar. People looking for signs of something forgotten, eyes on the skies and wondering when they may find something to show them the way. He furrows his brow a bit, thinking he's assuming too much. It would be easier to simply ask.]

Is this... a friend, of some sort? Someone you have made a contract with, or... something bigger?

[Could be a warlock, could be something more mundane.]

If it uhm, helps in any way, it's difficult to make contact outside of these islands. It's only today anyone has seemed to be able to do so- perhaps that's why it isn't as clear as it typically is.

[barberian]

Bigger. (It's easier to talk like this actually, to just answer questions as they're tossed at her.) A god. My god.

(They've talked about gods here before and Kravitz did not have an abnormal reaction to the concept at the time so Yasha is just assuming he's down with this kind of chat.)

Maybe... (So outside contact with the world is usually impossible, huh. That only makes her want to get off of the shores and into the sea even more. She feels so cut off from the Stormlord, from where ever she's supposed to be right now. And the others. She misses them too.) Why today, then?

[deathfindsaway]

[A god. My god.

Well, then.

Kravitz feels his lips part sightly as she asks her questions, tilting his head as his eyes drift back to the Raven Queen not far behind, spending some time errantly playing with a local bird. She seems content enough for the moment, and he's suddenly incredibly invested in this conversation they've begun to have.]

To be honest... I am not sure. But you're not alone in that. I too have finally had my Lady find me, after many months of being trapped here and cut off from her.

[He grips his hand into a fist and then out, traveling from looking at her out to the horizon where Yasha's gaze fell.]

I was afraid my Goddess could not reach me here, I-- was told we were cut off. But I am relieved to see her again, that she was looking for me.

[barberian]

(Yes, there was no way she wasn't going to notice the way his attention slides off of her and onto something unseen in the distance, slightly behind them. Yasha looks too, but she cannot see anything. Perhaps his deity chooses to remain unseen to all but himself. A shame; Yasha would have liked to have seen her, even if only for curiousity's sake.)

Sometimes it is months, before I hear anything more.

(The Stormlord has no clear timetable. He has shown himself to her now more than ever, though it does not strike Yasha as strange just yet.)

Who is your Lady?

2!

[lesbeau]

[Man, this sucks so goddamn hard.

She knows it's fake. It looks real, sounds real, feels real, but it has to be. Everyone's talking about seeing people only they can see, and she knows from Nott this is getting damn dangerous. Part of her feels like this is some sort of joke, that everyone out here is having a severely emotional crisis and she just has a ghostly memory of her last flame trying to seduce her into death, but maybe that's just as far as she goes. Maybe she should be thankful it's not something worse. Beau can think of plenty of people she'd rather not see.

Maybe that's the point. Maybe this place was just really reaching for someone who actually wanted to see her. Figures.

Keeping up with Nott has been a constant maitnence, and thankfully Molly has his head about him, so the rest of this has just been riding it out. Yasha has been helpful, so Beau figured there was nothing to be worried about. Or well, she hoped there wasn't-- Yasha wasn't an issue that could be fixed by tying her to a tree. Yasha would take words, and convincing, and it's difficult for Beau to say something real and meaningful on a regular day, let alone one where she has a dwarf smoking like a chimney at her back and demanding her attention. She's heading to the beach just to find a single goddamn quiet moment, maybe use the crashing of the waves to drown Keg out, when she sees Yasha.

And in the few seconds where she realizes Yasha is going out, not just standing, she drops her shoulders for a second and mutters 'goddamnit' before running to where she is, parallel to her on the shore.]

Yasha! Hey! Where're you goin'? Do you know how to swim?

[Please just be going for a swim. Fully clothed. A fully clothed swim.

(Actually, if she does know how to swim, Beau would prefer it wasn't fully clothed, but that's neither here nor there.)]

[barberian]

(Pretty cold day for a fully clothed swim! Yasha pauses amongst the waves with a slight sigh, her jaw clenching. Beau is... difficult. She is both insistent and genuine, and finds little ways to sneak in underneath of Yasha's indifferent front, hook her fingers in. It amuses Yasha. She isn't entirely sure why she goes through all of the trouble, but it's certainly nice to get the... attention? Whatever it is. She's fun to be around.

What's difficult about it is knowing that she has to leave.)

I'm leaving, (she calls. She doesn't look back when she says it. Lately, Beau and a handful of the others make faces like they are disappointed at her leaving, and it makes her feel strange to see them.) I've... been having visions, I have to– the Stormlord would like me to go, now.

(She's already up to her thighs in the water; she starts to wade out again, stepping out to her waist in the surf.) And I do know how to swim, thank you Beau.

[lesbeau]

[Beau's good at getting under people's skin. It's a special talent that makes the vast majority of those who know her hate her goddamn guts. Because Beau just doesn't invade, she demands. She asks questions, she collects information, she makes herself important. She becomes someone who must be dealt with. Someone who must be handled.

It doesn't lend well to friendships. Somehow, Yasha still pauses. At least even a roadblock can give pause.]

Are you-- shit, you're seeing your god??

[Fuuuuuck this is gonna be so much harder and sound so much worse.]

Look, Yasha, tons of people have been seeing stuff this week. You saw Nott, right? Getting worked up over fake Caleb? How do you know it's the real deal?

[She knows Yasha's smart. She can figure this one out. Either that, or things are gonna have to get violent, and that'll be bad for all parties.]

[barberian]

(She stops again, listening. This is a good sign, even if it doesn't really look like it, that she's taking the time to listen to what Beau says instead of simply walking away from her. After what they've all been through, she owes Beau that much.

And what Beau is telling her isn't exactly ringing false. Yasha had been there to see Nott talking seemingly to herself, convinced that Caleb had come to try and bring her back home with him. She'd helped to keep her from hurting herself in the attempt, too. They all had. The Stormlord had been appearing on the edges of her vision even then, but she hadn't mentioned it.)

... It's different.

(Is it?

She sighs, and closes her eyes, tries to think. It's different because of course the others can't see the Stormlord... but he has been appearing very frequently as of late. It's outside of visions, now. During calm weather, now.)

I... I think. (Her voice is soft. She sounds lost.)

[lesbeau]

[Beau has absolutely no idea if this is working. She's not responding like most people do, but-- well, Beau's talked to a lot of people. Convinced a lot more. There's tons of tense moments like this where she can't promise what she's doing is the right action, but that doesn't mean she won't try.]

Yasha, it's... it's different. I mean, it's-- I know I can't prove if you're seeing stuff or not, but everybody's seeing things they're not sure of right now.

[She steps into the waves, letting the surf hit her ankles and holds out her hand.]

We can talk about this a little more. If you come back.

[barberian]

(If she goes back...

She's not supposed to stay, she's supposed to go. She's never ignored this call before. Yasha's not entirely sure what will happen if she doesn't go, if she purposefully takes herself off of the Stormlord's path. Will... would he abandon her? She just doesn't know what to do. It takes a very long, agonising moment for her to turn around to look at Beau properly. She's in the surf now, her hand outstretched. Yasha hesitates, but then she finds herself taking one step and then another, out of the water and toward her.

She reaches out, and takes her hand.)

... Okay.

[lesbeau]

[She kind of doesn't expect this to work. It's not like she can claim to know Yasha, as if she can really claim to know any of them, but Yasha most of all. She's dipped in and out from them, always keeping to the sidelines, always waiting for one of these signs. Maybe it didn't work out when they got kidnapped, but-- she knows she's watching the horizon more than she's ever watching Beau. Beau couldn't ask for it to be any different anyway. As much as she'd love Yasha to take notice, that's-- a pipedream. A desire fueled by a physical attraction and nothing more.

But when Yasha starts to move, their fingers brushing together, everything in the world starts to shift. Beau feels her heartbeat skip and stutter, her stomach tightening as her head feels light. For a moment, everything is silent. There's no waves or gods or distance, only Yasha in her hand and the look that they share.

She pulls herself out of it, of course, to grip Yasha's hand in hers and pull her back towards the shoreline, trying to recover from the force of the moment.]

Hey, it's... it's okay, alright? We can stay here or just, uh... find somewhere else. If it'd make you feel better.

[barberian]

(Maybe it's because Beau reminds her of Molly a little, just in that moment where she stood patiently and held out a hand to her, waiting. Something in the gesture and the feeling behind it makes Yasha want not to disappoint; she takes Beau's hand, and Beau simply stares at her in return. Yasha does not look over her shoulder, even though it feels like the ocean is trying to suck her back out into it.

This moment lasts only seconds, and then Beau is moving again, pulling her by the hand from the waves. Yasha lets her, goes willingly from the surf and shivers when the cool air hits her wet legs. When her feet find the shore and sand again, she glances back habitually, before she can stop herself.

The Stormlord is gone. She has no idea what that means.)

... Somewhere else, (she says after a beat. Her chest feels tight. Though she feels nervous, she does not yet feel abandoned... so there's that? But it would be nice to get away from the water before she loses what little control she has left and charges right back in.)

I want to go somewhere I haven't been before. (It will be a good distraction.)