... i'm haunted by the lives that i have loved ...

[openhanded]

Surei Doushi 6/20 near Apprassage

Hi everyone. a lot has happened in the past few months and Retrospec seems to be pulling in more and more people. we don't have all the answers yet and it's pretty scary at times... to make things even weirder, there are multiple people who have encountered spirits in the woods like myself call them ghosts or specters -- whatever they are, they used to live here and they're agitated about something. I don't know what that is but I want to find out I'll be exploring a different area rumored to have spirits and other weird things happening there. someone suggested we work together so I'm opening this up to everyone. if you want to come, let me know and I'll give you the details privately. bring a flashlight and a camera if you have one. if we do run into them, the shades respond best to people who are friendly and polite. be courteous to your elders and all that's about it. if we find anything I'll be sure to let everyone know.

[ooc: ooc signups + a teeny bit more plot info is here! Please make sure to take a look!]

Comments

[openhanded]

the pact let her share her power with me.
she couldn't act directly to help because it's too dangerous
so in exchange for letting me use her power, she could take shelter inside my soul.
others like her could make pacts too, and I'd be able to use their powers as well
but it all begins and ends with her.

[truedetective]

So you're saying that your power was less to do the exorcism, and more to... share the powers of others?
Why did she need you, then?

[It comes off a little harsher than she means to.]

[openhanded]

[She might've hit a nerve, but Sorey's not oversensitive. Or at least he's good at pretending.]

I was the only one who could see her and make the pact.
I have no doubt that if someone else could see spirits the way I could, they'd be more qualified.
but there was no one else.

[truedetective]

So she wasn't human, but a spirit?
I feel like you should have led with that information.

[openhanded]

oh.
you're right, sorry!
if it helps, she looked just like you and me.
that's the kind of spirits I knew before, I guess.

[truedetective]

But she wasn't a ghost. She was just a spirit that looked like a human. Correct? [Ghosts. Don't. Real.]

[openhanded]

yeah.
in that world, a lot of things people call ghosts are just nature spirits and monsters.
normal humans can't see them clearly, if at all.
they just see the effects on the world
and that's why they're called ghosts sometimes

the spirits in the woods aren't like that though.
I don't know what else they could be, but they're not seraphim.

[truedetective]

Ah. Then this was a question of semantics. Ghosts, as in spirits of the dead, don't exist. But we can't rule out the existence of other things.

[openhanded]

I don't have complete memories of my other life yet
maybe I did run into a ghost and I don't remember

we'll just have to disagree on the spirits in the woods I guess.
they seemed like ghosts to me
half-transparent, hard to communicate with, and easily swayed by others' emotions
also oddly-dressed
they might not be lost souls, but I think they're definitely related to real people who lived here