8 ∅ [Text/Action for Ecruteak Inn]

[callbacks]

[TEXT:]

currently taking your hottest exorcism tips
the top five submissions get a prize
the prize is whatever i get out of these boxes of abra jacks and if thats not your idea of a good time im sorry because theyre all i got stashed in this closet atm

if this is punishment for cultural appropriation at the festival im gomen
but can we maybe stop
onegai shimass

[ACTION FOR ECRUTEAK:]

[The great (???) thing about the ghost currently haunting Dave is that, for the most part, it stays out of sight, meaning that with everyone else distracted by their own phantasms, Dave managed to spend the whole day yesterday blatantly not acknowledging it, only twitching at its constant presence at the edge of his awareness. But after no sleep the entire night--negative sleep, probably, it's possible he will never sleep again, fuck every molecule of his being--he's just grabbed some foodstuffs, marched into the inn room closet, and settled in with his eyes shut, hugging the cereal boxes to his chest.

At least he can pretend Bro's not there, in the dark.]

Comments

[Action] OTA w/ a prompt for Dave

[cyan_maid]

[OTA, morning and afternoon]

[Jane didn't scream when she woke up and saw her Dad sitting on the edge of her bed at the inn. She just stared, and he stared back, and he didn't say a word. She was about to send a message to Dirk asking him if this was his idea of a joke, haha, don't tell Jane her Dad is alive, he'll meet up with us while we're sight-seeing like a great big surprise - well, it was his shittiest joke yet, and once she saw him he was going to get such a smack to the face. But then, when she reached out to her Dad, tried to take his hand, hers phased right through.

That was when Jane screamed.

He's still following her around. Everywhere. (At least the Ghost-Dad has the sense to leave her alone in the bathroom? Thank God for small miracles, she could at least fill up the tub and get to know Marnie the Goldeen and pretend he's not there.) And she knows she's not the only one with a ghost, given the distress of her friends, but...it's kind of hard to help people when he's always a yard and half behind you. Still, if you happen to be in the Ecruteak Inn, you'll see her walking around, holding her Audino's hand as she stubbornly tries to shake the ghost off her tail. It's. Not working.]

[Closed to Dave, evening]

[Despite her best efforts, Ghost-Dad is still hanging around, and it's only as it's getting late that she realizes, hey, she hasn't exactly seen one of their number today - namely Dave. She sees he's made a post through his Pokegear, so he's not dead, thank goodness, but...it might be a good idea to check on him. Yeah? No one should be alone with their ghosts right now.

So, she comes to his room at the inn and knocks on the door, holding a paper plate with a sandwich on it. It's all her shaky hands could manage to make. Dinah the Audino is, of course, standing nearby, looking at the ever-present Ghost-Dad with more and more suspicion.]

Dave? Are you in there? It's me, Jane...can I come in?

[Action]

[callbacks]

[Faintly, muffled:]

What? Someone there?

Re: [Action] - Afternoon

[in4apounding]

[It should be pretty clear after a few hours that these ghosts aren't going to be physically shaken.]

[Which doesn't mean Penny hasn't been trying her darnedest to do just that.]

[So like Jane, Penny just... happens to be walking around Ecruteak, holding a worried Vulpix in her arms, followed by a slightly translucent shadow of her own.]

Jane? What's- oh no, you too?

[Action] mornin'

[brocrux]

[ This situation is so fucked.

She didn't need to text Dirk to alert him to the situation after fucking screaming this morning. He keeps checking in on her now. Hovering. The wheels in his head working to try and figure out how to solve this.

Dirk moves to walk in step with her, head tipped towards the spiritual version of Mister Crocker, who honestly looks so similar to Mister Egbert that he's pretty sure they're the exact same person despite being the only one of any relation to their group that was actually birthed. ]

Beside following you around, has he done anything else?

[in4apounding]

Dave

[Dave why does everything happen so much.]

Are you

[Probably not okay.]

Are you safe?

I

don't know how to fix this. I'm sorry.

We were fighting Ghost-types at the festival but

this is different. Really different.

And

I don't want to hurt her again.

[callbacks]

her?


penny??
are you ok

OTA

[harlequinhater]

[When John wakes up and sees his father in his bedroom, he doesn't react at first. There's simply stunned silence as his half-awake brain tries to process what he's seeing. He knows that some of the people who come here are dead, so maybe...

He reaches out to touch his father, but his hand slides through, leaving only a lingering chill. It's then that he stands up, stony-faced, and marches right out the door in his pajamas. All is silent for a moment - but only a moment. Then the floodgates open.]

Whose idea of a joke was this? Do you think it's funny, dredging up dead parental figures? Huh? Well I sure am laughing my ass off here! HA! HA! HA!

[He starts walking down the hall, knocking on doors, trying to find out who is most likely to make a fake hologram of his dead father. He doesn't want to think that any of his friends would have done this to him, but... the alternative of this actually being a ghost is somehow even worse in his mind.]

Come out here you fucking coward! I'll fight you! I don't even need my god tier powers! Or a hammer! I'll beat your stupid shitty ass into the ground and then we'll see who's laughing!!!

all aboard the parental angst train

[cyan_maid]

[What the fuck. What the fuck, who is yelling like that, she can hear them clear into the bathroom, where she's hunkered down with Marnie for a bit, playing in the water with the Goldeen. It's the only place her Ghost-Dad will leave her alone, and frankly, the yelling makes her want to stay in the bathroom even more, but then she hears the knocking on her door and. Well. She can't just ignore it.

Reluctantly, Marnie goes back into her Pokeball and Jane emerges from the bathroom, pointedly not looking at her Ghost-Dad as she passes him and opens her room door. Ghost-Dad has followed, maintaining a respectable distance.]

Do you mind?! I was in the middle of-

[A pause. Registering John. Registering how absolutely steamed he looks.]

...John?

Pain Train has no brakes, choo choo!

[in4apounding]

[So Penny's got her own concerns -currently in the shape of one closet-bound Strider and one ectoplasmic redhead in Greek armor- but John's making himself pretty hard to ignore. Especially considering they're both making their ways through the inn hallways.]

John, what- who are you trying to- ...please don't beat anyone up too badly, I don't think we need any more ghosts right now!

[brocrux]

[ Wow. He's never heard John yell before. Or seem him actually get more than a little annoyed. That sure is something. Disturbing almost. It's like watching an adorable kitten suddenly turn feral and start foaming at the mouth. This might be more disturbing than the ghosts.

Speaking of ghosts, et tu, John? That's two Mister Crockers accounted for. Or Egbert, in this instance. John's handling it the worst outwardly, it seems. This is a bonafide shitfit right here. He didn't know John had it in him. Dirk is standing in the hallway watching the pajama tantrum proceed in awe. John storming down the hall seeking revenge.

It's kind of hot.
Wait. No. Wrong line of thought to have. ]

Dude. Calm the fuck down.

[video]

[thelittlegingerthatcould]

[Hanna isn't an asshole, but really, part of him wants to take this to a a level of humor that most people don't appreciate. He could have, he felt like he should have, but instead?]

Have you tried negotiating? Most ghosts aren't rational, they're like...an embodiment of emotion that was either left behind or last felt, so they're a fucking mess. Think angsty teenager. [That's relatable, right?]

So talk it out, nice and slow and maybe that'll get you somewhere?

[the stubbornest permatext]

[callbacks]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha




no

permatext;

[callbacks]

since the second option makes me throw up in my mouth a lot
how long do you think running its course might take
its already been a day

[text]

[defyingfrigidity]

[If it's possible to sound tired over text, Elsa absolutely would sound so right now. Seeing King Agdar again, after all this time... every anxious feeling, every self-doubt that she thought she had finally beaten back had flared up to the point where she feels like she's going to be sick, and she's now having to fight that old feeling of wanting so desperately to just run. She's able to fight it, but that doesn't mean she's ready to address this. So she's left Agdar to stand silently behind her, face unreadable, while she scans the 'gear for answers.]

These apparitions appeared after a festival dedicated to honoring our ancestors.
I don't think they're angry that we might have done something wrong uring the festival.
But maybe it's still the key to exorcising them?
I don't know how, but
there has to be some sort of answer here.

[... Yeah, sorry this had to be the first time they've talked in a while, Dave. Oops.]

[text]

[callbacks]

aw hell is that what the festival was for
welp
guess that explains like half a thing

Text

[meowbel]

I don't know, maybe we should probably try and make those ghosts happy?

I mean, I really have no idea why they just randomly attacked us but I'm sure we can work things out if we talked to it!

If not, we can always just throw salt at it. Doesn't that always work?

[Granted, she was still feeling rather unhinged after her encounter with the ghosts. But still...she doesn't want to start another fight with some ghosts/demon things again, thank you!]

Text

[callbacks]

if he doesnt appreciate the irony of my locking myself in a closet to get away from him i dont know what else i can do to appease his restless spirit

action; later??

[brocrux]

[ There's a lot to process with everyone having a ghost stalking them. He doesn't have one. He'd be a little disappointed about being left out again if this wasn't some really fucked up shit clearly putting everyone under emotional distress.

The joke is that he was surrounded by ghosts this entire time.

Anyway, he's ...trying. He almost doesn't notice. Almost. He didn't want to say anything. Dave may have being playing it cool in front of them prior to locking himself in a closet (the irony of not coming out of a closet is not lost on him, thank you very much) but there is absolutely no fucking way in all of paradox space that Dirk wasn't catching on that ghost. That one specifically. That barely-noticeable ninja staying just right out of direct line of sight most of the time. He knows enough that he was almost expecting him to be there once he caught on to what was going on.

Dave hiding doesn't make him go away. Him as in him. That's him. God, he hates himself. That self specifically more than others. The one that put someone through hell longer than anyone should have allowed. The ghost hasn't done anything (yet?) and he isn't sure it even can but he's watching it. Carefully. Perhaps he got left out because this one is enough to piss him off and fill him with enough guilt and loathing.

He keeps coming back and sitting outside of the door whenever he's not checking in on the others (JANE). Guarding, maybe. Having a staredown of shades with an apparition. Conversation isn't something he tries to engage since... they're them. He just lets Dave know he's there with a little 'Hey' and then stays silent. ]

Punch me in the face if I ever pop a collar. That's so fucking embarrassing. [ Mostly silent. ]

[callbacks]

[Dave's glad Dirk can't see him, because he flinches at the familiarity of Dirk's voice after a day of waiting for the ghost to actually say something to him. Ugh. Dirk doesn't deserve that.]

I'd offer to let you do it yourself, but, well.

[Incorporeal ghosts don't make for a satisfying face-punching experience.

Speak of the devil, Bro's ghost deigns to appear for real before Dirk, apparently. Hoo...ray? He leans against the wall with his arms crossed, staring at his younger self impassively.

Dave shifts in the closet.]

You don't have to stick around here, you know. He's not doing anything.

[Text]

[hashtagafreakingghost]

I thought there weren't SUPPOSED to be ghosts here
not REAL ghosts
that's what Dirk said

this isn't fair

[Text]

[callbacks]

fuck
did you get one too

text + action (ota)

[quadrangle]

[TEXT | RECIPIENT: Dave Strider]

DAVE YOU ARE NOT LIVING OFF OF ABRA JACKS UNTIL THIS SHITSHOW IS OVER
DO YOU NEED ANYTHING? WATER? FUCK ARE YOU SERIOUSLY GOING TO STAY IN THERE THE WHOLE TIME BECAUSE, OK I'M NOT SURE I CAN FAULT YOU BUT THIS ISN'T FUCKING HEALTHY.
YOU NEED TO BE AROUND PEOPLE, DAVE. LIVING, BREATHING PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT INCORPOREAL SHITMIMES WITH NO CONCEPT OF PERSONAL SPACE AND/OR NOT ACTING LIKE FUCKING STALKERS.
SAY YOU AT LEAST HAVE YOUR POKÉMON WITH YOU. DAVE?


[ACTION | Open to All]

[As critical as he is of Dave's chosen coping method, Karkat isn't doing any better with his own. He has actually left his room (and the ghost in it, he really fucking hopes), but he's wearing a track in the hallway carpet with all the pacing he's doing up and down it.

The destruction of Ecruteak Inn's lovely carpet isn't limited to just outside his and Dave's rooms, though; anyone and everyone he's made the acquaintance of may just see him stalking past or hear a knock at their door and find a fretful Karkat waiting on the other side, his weight shifting restlessly from strut pod to strut pod. Or. Foot to foot. Whatever.]

Hey. How are you holding up?

[Ignore the fact that he's invariably clutching a ruffled-looking Sharru to his chest while Zaniah hovers protectively nearby, apparently keeping watch. Clearly fighting ghost with ghost type is the only rational response here.

... and, if the person he's visiting is really unlucky, they may just catch a glimpse of a very peculiarly dressed troll lurking around the corner.]

let's get some unlucky action going on in here

[cyan_maid]

[Jane opens the door when Karkat answers. Dinah's been at her side this whole time, glaring back at the ghost with all of her willpower - inexhaustible, this one. If Karkat looks, he can clearly see Ghost-Dad about four and a half feet behind them, actually waving at him like he's being welcoming. Hello there young man, how are you doing on this fine day.]

Hi. I'm...[Jane looks back at Ghost-Dad.] I'm holding up.

[When she turns back, about to ask if Karkat is alright, she spots something just edging around the corner. Something large, and purple, and well-equipped to boast.

Has Karkat ever seen someone turn the color of milk before, because Jane has just paled like she's seen LOCAH yawning up to swallow her back into the game again. BACKING UP, BACKING UP, Ghost-Dad backs up accordingly and Dinah squeaks in shock.]

Sweet Jesus Christ, what in the fuck?!?!

[Text]

[crouching_sin]

No idea.

Mine needs to leave. Now.

[Text]

[callbacks]

demon summonology doesnt tell you how to unsummon ghosts?

[Text]

[charcoalfeather]

[If you can believe it, hearing Dave complaining about the ghosts brings some semblance of calm. Dave is okay. That probably means Karkat is okay too, and everyone else. she hopes. Goodness, she hopes.]

Dave
is this a normal thing
do ghosts come back around here

[Text]

[callbacks]

apparently???????
idk rakka this is my first time dealing with the appearance of ghosts outside designated ghostly abodes here or elsewhere
generally my impression was that when this place wants to see dead people it turns them back into alive people for the most part

Text

[usedgravity]

[Ochako's a little worried, but also thinking "omg why is his japanese horrible in random places"]

ummm have you tried talking to it? maybe it has unfinished business??

Text

[callbacks]

[He's sumimasen, Ochako.]

cant it finish it elsewhere
im on vacation
this is strictly a no business zone