pumpkinhollow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pumpkinhollow) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
ph_logs2024-09-06 05:56 pm
pumpkinhollow) wrote in ph_logs2024-09-06 05:56 pm
September Mini - Ghost of the Past
The Visitor's Center
Just where the sands of Tawny Beach begin to fade into soil, grass, and cobbled roads, there is a new building. Much like the House of Cards, it seems to have appeared from nowhere overnight. A large and round structure of tastefully stacked stone, it seems to fit perfectly in between the town and the marina, with an exterior door facing each side and at both entrances. It reads, "VISITOR'S CENTER," in bold letters.
In mailboxes throughout town, there are flyers, advertising "offworlder visitation" running from September 6th to 19th. "Make appointment today!" it advertises cheerfully.
Regardless of which side you enter, the same receptionist sits at the desk on either side--- a pretty-faced young man with braided black hair, wearing dozens of pieces of delicate golden jewelry. He is working hard on some sort of paperwork or taking some phone call when you come in, but he quickly sets it aside to welcome you. "Hello! Welcome to the visitor's center! Would you like to make an appointment?"
Your host artfully dances around questions regarding the place, its abrupt construction, its purpose, and what your appointment actually entails, assuring you it's "self-explanatory." He'll gladly inform you that "people you know" are here for a visit, but won't say who or why or for how long. But you'll sign up for your appointment anyway, for one reason or another. Perhaps you don't even really know.
At the time of your appointment, you are sat down in a tasteful meeting space of your choosing (the options are listed below) and your guest is brought in. But it is not who you expect. In fact, in all likelihood, you do not know this person at all. But don't worry, they've been briefed, and they'll pass the information along to you if asked.
You see, you are not here to meet someone from your own past, at least not at first---- you're here to meet someone close to one of your friends or neighbors. And they're here to speak about that person to you.
Take as long as you need. The Visitor's Center does not close.
In mailboxes throughout town, there are flyers, advertising "offworlder visitation" running from September 6th to 19th. "Make appointment today!" it advertises cheerfully.
Regardless of which side you enter, the same receptionist sits at the desk on either side--- a pretty-faced young man with braided black hair, wearing dozens of pieces of delicate golden jewelry. He is working hard on some sort of paperwork or taking some phone call when you come in, but he quickly sets it aside to welcome you. "Hello! Welcome to the visitor's center! Would you like to make an appointment?"
Your host artfully dances around questions regarding the place, its abrupt construction, its purpose, and what your appointment actually entails, assuring you it's "self-explanatory." He'll gladly inform you that "people you know" are here for a visit, but won't say who or why or for how long. But you'll sign up for your appointment anyway, for one reason or another. Perhaps you don't even really know.
At the time of your appointment, you are sat down in a tasteful meeting space of your choosing (the options are listed below) and your guest is brought in. But it is not who you expect. In fact, in all likelihood, you do not know this person at all. But don't worry, they've been briefed, and they'll pass the information along to you if asked.
You see, you are not here to meet someone from your own past, at least not at first---- you're here to meet someone close to one of your friends or neighbors. And they're here to speak about that person to you.
Take as long as you need. The Visitor's Center does not close.
How It Works
Visitors.
Each offworlder on the island can have up to 2 "ghosts of their past." This is not meant to be literal, as these so-called ghosts will generally be no more dead than any other offworlder. Your ghost can be anyone who "haunts" you in some way, which can mean whatever makes sense to you. It does not necessarily need to be someone with a negative opinion of you--- it can be someone who loves you very much! This person can be from any point in your timeline, including after the incident that brought you to Pumpkin Hollow. It can also be a past version of yourself. Regardless, your own visitor is not actually the person you are here to meet. Your visitor will be meeting with one of your friends or loved ones from the island, and you will be meeting with someone else's "ghost."
When speaking to a "ghost", you will notice a few things about them. The first is that they do have a sense of where they are and what they're doing---- they know that they're here temporarily, and that they've been asked to speak about or on behalf of someone they know. They're aware of who the person is that they've come to speak about as well, and they seem to have all of their memories intact aside from being a little fuzzy on the actual process of getting here. The second is that in most cases, they seem to have regular needs like any living person. The upper floors of the visitor's center have hostel-like sleeping areas, bathrooms, a cafe, everything a person might need. The third is that they seem to be weirdly forthcoming when asked questions. Perhaps you're not familiar enough with the individual to notice such things at first, but it becomes evident that they're pretty open about the person they're there to speak about even when they don't seem to want to be.
Want to speak to your own visitor? That can be arranged--- but your ghost must speak to someone else first. But not to worry, there's plenty of time. (Despite the IC dates, OOCly this can be backtagged as long as desired!)
Each offworlder on the island can have up to 2 "ghosts of their past." This is not meant to be literal, as these so-called ghosts will generally be no more dead than any other offworlder. Your ghost can be anyone who "haunts" you in some way, which can mean whatever makes sense to you. It does not necessarily need to be someone with a negative opinion of you--- it can be someone who loves you very much! This person can be from any point in your timeline, including after the incident that brought you to Pumpkin Hollow. It can also be a past version of yourself. Regardless, your own visitor is not actually the person you are here to meet. Your visitor will be meeting with one of your friends or loved ones from the island, and you will be meeting with someone else's "ghost."
When speaking to a "ghost", you will notice a few things about them. The first is that they do have a sense of where they are and what they're doing---- they know that they're here temporarily, and that they've been asked to speak about or on behalf of someone they know. They're aware of who the person is that they've come to speak about as well, and they seem to have all of their memories intact aside from being a little fuzzy on the actual process of getting here. The second is that in most cases, they seem to have regular needs like any living person. The upper floors of the visitor's center have hostel-like sleeping areas, bathrooms, a cafe, everything a person might need. The third is that they seem to be weirdly forthcoming when asked questions. Perhaps you're not familiar enough with the individual to notice such things at first, but it becomes evident that they're pretty open about the person they're there to speak about even when they don't seem to want to be.
Want to speak to your own visitor? That can be arranged--- but your ghost must speak to someone else first. But not to worry, there's plenty of time. (Despite the IC dates, OOCly this can be backtagged as long as desired!)
Locations.
There are plenty of places to meet with visitors within the Visitor's Center. If you'd prefer a more public meeting space, some lounge areas have been set up on the beach, or the cafe or recreation area within the center are all available. The beach meeting spaces consist of clusters of folding beach chairs or picnic blankets, and while swimming season is largely over, the view from the beach continues to be stunning this month. The cafe is a quaint bistro on the rooftop of the center with a round serving station in the middle and outdoor tables around the outer walls, which feels both spacious and intimate at the same time somehow. And the recreation room is an interior space on the second floor full of spaces for communal games, some of which are too modern to be there. (Not electronics, but definitely Cards Against Humanity.)
If you'd prefer a more private space, there are a number of tasteful meeting rooms, including those with tables as if for a more formal meeting or those with couches or chairs. One of the latter sort even has a fireplace!
However, visitors are not able to go further afield than the beach. If they attempt to go into town, their feet will plant themselves firmly to the ground outside. They will not be able to be pushed or lifted to get around this, and anyone who attempts to force it will be summarily accosted by the staff and their appointment will end immediately. They may not be eligible for another.
There are plenty of places to meet with visitors within the Visitor's Center. If you'd prefer a more public meeting space, some lounge areas have been set up on the beach, or the cafe or recreation area within the center are all available. The beach meeting spaces consist of clusters of folding beach chairs or picnic blankets, and while swimming season is largely over, the view from the beach continues to be stunning this month. The cafe is a quaint bistro on the rooftop of the center with a round serving station in the middle and outdoor tables around the outer walls, which feels both spacious and intimate at the same time somehow. And the recreation room is an interior space on the second floor full of spaces for communal games, some of which are too modern to be there. (Not electronics, but definitely Cards Against Humanity.)
If you'd prefer a more private space, there are a number of tasteful meeting rooms, including those with tables as if for a more formal meeting or those with couches or chairs. One of the latter sort even has a fireplace!
However, visitors are not able to go further afield than the beach. If they attempt to go into town, their feet will plant themselves firmly to the ground outside. They will not be able to be pushed or lifted to get around this, and anyone who attempts to force it will be summarily accosted by the staff and their appointment will end immediately. They may not be eligible for another.
Rules.
As far as OOC rules go, there are a few perks and limitations worth knowing. Any "ghosts" that you write are eligible for AC bonuses for the characters they are attached to. If you are writing a ghost for another player's character, you may decide where the AC bonus goes, but please make a note on your activity check indicating what you're doing. You may write your ghost from your existing journal (with or without a unique icon for that ghost, just as long as you make it clear), or create an independent journal for the character. As mentioned before, you can absolutely play a ghost for someone else. If you would like to have a non-member friend drop by to play your ghost, you may absolutely do so if you clear it with a mod, preferably by having said friend send the mod journal a PM. Be aware that if you recruit an outside player to write a ghost for you, you are responsible for their behavior, and any AC-length threads on their end will not be eligible for transfer because that will just kill Drake probably.
Characters appearing from Ghosts of the Past can also appear in the Villain's Lounge or be apped in later as permanent characters (but not both, as the two are mutually exclusive) and will have some unique lore from entering the game this way!
Ghosts are not capable of lying and will generally feel more compelled to be forthcoming when speaking to anyone OTHER than the person they're here to represent. However, they cannot be forced to meet with anyone they do not want to see or to answer questions they adamantly do not wish to answer. The compulsions are relatively subtle. They also do not have to volunteer information they weren't asked for if they don't want to. None of these compulsions are present if they speak to the person they are there to see. Their memories are generally accurate to whatever point you bring them from, meaning that they can be whatever you want.
If you're visiting with your own ghost, please be aware that threads between two characters played by the same person are never eligible for AC and this is still the case in this instance.
As far as OOC rules go, there are a few perks and limitations worth knowing. Any "ghosts" that you write are eligible for AC bonuses for the characters they are attached to. If you are writing a ghost for another player's character, you may decide where the AC bonus goes, but please make a note on your activity check indicating what you're doing. You may write your ghost from your existing journal (with or without a unique icon for that ghost, just as long as you make it clear), or create an independent journal for the character. As mentioned before, you can absolutely play a ghost for someone else. If you would like to have a non-member friend drop by to play your ghost, you may absolutely do so if you clear it with a mod, preferably by having said friend send the mod journal a PM. Be aware that if you recruit an outside player to write a ghost for you, you are responsible for their behavior, and any AC-length threads on their end will not be eligible for transfer because that will just kill Drake probably.
Characters appearing from Ghosts of the Past can also appear in the Villain's Lounge or be apped in later as permanent characters (but not both, as the two are mutually exclusive) and will have some unique lore from entering the game this way!
Ghosts are not capable of lying and will generally feel more compelled to be forthcoming when speaking to anyone OTHER than the person they're here to represent. However, they cannot be forced to meet with anyone they do not want to see or to answer questions they adamantly do not wish to answer. The compulsions are relatively subtle. They also do not have to volunteer information they weren't asked for if they don't want to. None of these compulsions are present if they speak to the person they are there to see. Their memories are generally accurate to whatever point you bring them from, meaning that they can be whatever you want.
If you're visiting with your own ghost, please be aware that threads between two characters played by the same person are never eligible for AC and this is still the case in this instance.
Staff.
Last but not least, there's a chance that you may encounter the staff of the Visitor's Center around. There are two men and two women--- Daanon, Caspian, Reyelle, and Nephera, respectively. Those here in February may recognize them from Merrymeet. They look fairly normal, generally appearing as humans (or an elf, in Nephera's case), but in reality they are the members of the Court of Betrayal. Whenever they speak about their "Manager," they are referring to Eligos. However, this is not immediately obvious, especially to those not familiar with these particular demons. If you know, you know! [ I will be keeping my demon thread load super light, so please feel free to handwave interactions with them as you see fit! If you want a demon thread, please reach out to me for plotting. -Rose ]
Last but not least, there's a chance that you may encounter the staff of the Visitor's Center around. There are two men and two women--- Daanon, Caspian, Reyelle, and Nephera, respectively. Those here in February may recognize them from Merrymeet. They look fairly normal, generally appearing as humans (or an elf, in Nephera's case), but in reality they are the members of the Court of Betrayal. Whenever they speak about their "Manager," they are referring to Eligos. However, this is not immediately obvious, especially to those not familiar with these particular demons. If you know, you know! [ I will be keeping my demon thread load super light, so please feel free to handwave interactions with them as you see fit! If you want a demon thread, please reach out to me for plotting. -Rose ]
CODE BY MARWOOD
no subject
"Lady Ophelia, there's no need to be distressed," River half-wheezes. "Through hard work and effort you too might rise to the worthy station of whoredom. I'm certain it's more valuable work than you're currently doing."
no subject
"It is Lord Ophelia," she says, abruptly standing to her full height which wouldn't be very impressive if not for the extra inches added by the heels.
"What I am doing is bringing order to the world. He could have been at my side for it but, instead, he chooses to fuck around with mortals. When I told him he should try playing with his food this isn't what I meant."
no subject
- her free hand swipes the top of the cane, staining it in blood -
And River slams it against the ground. In an instant her blood boils away to ash, and she is not laughing any more. The shadows of the room darken, rippling through the air like water. "Kneel," the elf commands, in a voice as cold as ice, and her command is not interested in Ophelia's consent.
This is the power she had told Erik of that first day on the beach, the ultimate threat River commands against the living dead, the threat that hangs over their relationship and which is held at bay only by the warmth of their trust and love.
Ophelia will receive no fraction of that grace.
no subject
Her face is no longer even passingly beautiful, but rather a grotesque mask of snarling teeth and monstrous eyes glaring out from a hood of yellow hair. She tries with all her strength to lift herself from her knees but she cannot.
"How dare you use your foul magic on me!?"
no subject
cw: slavery, drugs, abuse, allusions to incest, murder/death
[But to spare this poor writer her fingers, we are going into paraphrase mode.]
She speaks of her great nameless lord, the one who will restore vampires to their rightful place at the top of the world. Gone would be the Accords, and if all goes to plan, even Mother, the first and most powerful of all vampires, will be wiped out with it along with each and every sympathizer to humans. (Eshe's name appears among them.) Mother is to be replaced with Ophelia's glorious Lord, humans will be made into the chattel they deserve to be, and the world will belong to the superior might of vampires.
A plan has been in motion for decades, centuries even. The nameless lord sought to separate Mother's blood from his own so she could no longer control him. In the process, a new substance was born: Rapture. When consumed by a human, it bestows supernatural gifts on them for a short while, making them into a Medium. It's an extremely addictive substance that can also be used to negate the powers in someone who is already a Medium. It's risky, however, because there is the possibility that using the substance can instantly kill a mortal. And in that case, one in every ten mortals that dies of Rapture overdose becomes a ghoul.
Ghouls are the most dangerous beings to both humans and vampires. They are undead, but they have no mental faculties beyond a prey drive. They eat, they consume, they swarm. Their teeth and claws contain magic that makes it so even a vampire cannot fully heal a wound caused by one. Even if the flesh mends, there will always be pain. They are so feared that the human supernatural force, IOPSA, spends most of its resources hunting down shipments of Rapture being sold on the black market in an attempt to keep an outbreak from happening. Which, she adds, is very annoying since she is the one in charge of those shipments.
It goes deeper than that, however. She is actively building an army of ghouls for her master. She has been amassing this hoard for centuries, hiding them in blocked-off sections of the catacombs beneath Paris. The time has come to begin building that army on U.S. soil. Erik's sister, Lillith, was working with Ophelia behind Erik's back. They were planning a coup to take Erik's territory from him because the caves that stretch deep underground in the Ozarks would make the perfect staging ground for creating that new army. But then that bastard, Max, had to go and kill Lillith before they could enact their plan. And, for that, he will be severely punished.
Here, her face splits into a wicked grin and she slows, seeming to take particular pleasure in this part, "I stole Erik's precious Pet, Max, right out from under his nose. He'll be turned, and then he'll be imprisoned and left to starve for all eternity until he begs for death loud enough that I may finally grant it to him. That is, unless Erik agrees to let me use his land to store my unnamed goods without complaint. Those goods will, of course, be Rapture and its byproduct, but he won't know that." Except, now he will. That spoils her mood immediately.
Just when she thinks she's said all there is to say, her mind dredges up one last bit of truth to fulfill River's last request decisively. "Erik doesn't know that I was invited by his vampire Sire into his life for the express purpose of wooing him to our cause. His sister too. Lillith took to it much better than he did. HMPH," she pouts childishly, "I thought, after slaying Erik's master, he might finally come around but he was just so stubborn. And weak. Even after I took him away to Paris with me, he was too resistant. I thought for sure that offering to make our happy little three-some, he, his sister, and I, into a proper ménage à trois might cure it but, alas, it only seemed to offend him more. Seems he is just, pathetically, only attracted to you stinking mortals."
no subject
"The thing about raising up false gods is they don't get a lot of time to practice being divine," River tells Ophelia. "The ones I'm friends with have had a lot of time to get good at it, and their hearts are open with true compassion. So here's what's going to happen. When I leave this room, you will run to the beach by the most direct route possible, with all of your might. Once there, you will rapidly bury yourself as deeply as you can without triggering the barrier that keeps you in this visitor's center, and then collapse the tunnel, again with all of your might and cunning. And while you are busy returning to the earth, I will tell Erik everything you have told me, and together we will bring it to the Mothers, who are kind, just, and compassionate. Erik won't even need to return home to see you undone. You're finished."
The elf wipes a line of pink drool from the corner of her mouth, turns calmly -
- and sprints for her fucking life back towards town. Sorry to everyone incidentally in her way, she's got places to be and a sending stone message to send.
|Erik love border of the Visitor's Center right now severe blood loss no questions answers later love you see you soon fucking bye!|
River only releases her spell when she leaps across the boundary of the visitor's barrier, and then she collapses to her knees, pale and shaking and fucking victorious.
no subject
***
Erik, meanwhile, feels as if all the blood has drained from his body too as he hears River's call. She was supposed to be talking to someone from his past, what the fuck happened?
"Coming," is all he says before he races out the door of his home at full speed.
He reaches the border of the visitor center and scoops her into his arms in a matter of minutes. Questions later, she said, but there's one that needs answering now. "Am I taking you to the clinic or the forge?"
no subject
She buries her head in his shoulder, and he can feel her smile against it. "...Heyyy. Is she any good at unburying herself, ya think?"
no subject
His mind races, trying to guess what could have happened, what could have been said, and what River might have done. It was something big, apparently.
"Blood loss is not one of the things a vampire is good at reversing," he sounds almost frantic now. The clinic, it is. He starts off in that direction, but slower so he doesn't cause her to pass out from the sudden change in pressure.
His hand cups the back of her head where she leans into him. She's smiling. He has to take that as a good sign. But fear still grips him like an icy hand around his balls.
"I... wouldn't know. Did you... bury her?"
no subject
no subject
"River, I could marry you and feed you our wedding cake in bed just for this," he says, hugging her tighter.
In the back of his mind worry lingers. He knew Ophelia was scheming something. The update he received from Josiah after succeeding through the House of Cards already warned him she was going to blackmail him. But... for River to be this confident, it has to be more. Something bigger was going on. He burns to know, but it will keep. River's safety is more important to him than anything, but especially more important than Ophelia. She can't touch him here. Not anymore.
"Shall I ask Max to bring a slice of something for you in the mean time?"
no subject
Which is about the last of the words she has in her, at the moment. She's a cooperative patient at the clinic, and easily accepts being carried back to Erik's home. The first cake just does not survive, there are crumbs fucking everywhere, absolute destruction.
And then River is out like a light, sleeping off her triumph.
* * * *
Hours later, well after dark, River stirs groggily. She makes wordless noises of 'yes' or 'no' until there's food and juice in her, gathers her thoughts, and spills everything: the encounter with Ophelia, the spell she cast - one which would work, just fine, on Erik - and the plans and secrets of the Lord of Paris.
"...So the way I figure it, we tell the Mothers everything. They won't let this stand. We get - oof, still dizzy - we get the chance to take any needed action on this end and take her down." She reaches out with a warm hand to cup Erik's cheek. Her voice softens. "And...you won't have to go back. You can stay here, with me. We'll. Figure our shit out, one way or the other, about the lifespan thing, but we'll be here. We'll be home."
no subject
It makes him an anxious mess while he watches her demolish one of those cakes at his kitchen table. He passes it off as worry over her condition, and over what Ophelia has said or done. That isn't a lie, it just isn't the whole truth.
When she stirs from her sleep, late in the evening, he stirs along with her--only just now becoming aware that he may have spent this entire time staring at a wall without realizing it. He scurries around bringing her more juice and snacks, pretending he's not about to bubble over and pop at any second like a shaken champaign bottle.
That sensation only escalates as she tells him everything she learned. It's so much worse than he imagined. Ghouls. Fucking ghouls. He knew she was insane but this is... unfathomable. She was using him for this? She and his sister... did either of them ever love him? Was he only ever a tool? Did any of it matter?
Distantly, alarm bells ring in his mind about the spell River used. She could do the same to him. He'd be helpless to stop her. But, she didn't, she never has, and he trusts, more than anything else, that she never will unless there is a very, very good reason. Ironic. Ophelia would have done anything to control him, but now his heart belongs to the one who could but never will.
He's trembling by the time her hand finds his cheek. His fingers lace with hers right there over his face. There's so much he wants to say, but his mind is far too scattered. So, he hones in on the one thing he knows for certain. "Home is where you are, River."
no subject
She sets her forehead against Erik's. "How did you get involved with her anyway? No judgement...I just wanna know."
no subject
"I would sooner let you die than turn you into a vampire against your consent." He will never let what happened to him happen to another.
"The vampire master that turned me brought her into my life. He was reclusive, so I had hardly met any other vampires until then. He said he'd hired her to become my teacher because he was tired of handling me himself. All this time later, I've realized that was only a ruse. I was set up. She always intended to seduce me. I was just too hopelessly naive to realize it."
no subject
no subject
"Thank you, River. I can think of no better revenge than what you've done already. Now she knows, once and for all, that I do not belong to her."
no subject
no subject
Wrap?
yeah! End~