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whitepolaris · 10 months ago

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Southern Vermont College

by Scott A. Johnson

Every school has its legends, and most have their share of ghosts. But few are a steeped in tragedy, intrigue, and mystery as Southern Vermont College, in Bennington. Though the names of the key players are revered and their histories well known, the ends of their lives left questions-and in some cases, hard feelings-behind. Despite, or perhaps because of, the passage of years, the stories persist and grow, constantly giving students something new to talk about. And the stories at Southern Vermont begin with a very rich man named Edward Everett.

Edward Everett's career began inauspiciously as a salesman of jars for his stepfather, the man who invented the Lightning jar-a canning jar designed to be easier and quicker to open than a Mason jar. He turned his years of experience into innovation and money, becoming the first man to discover oil and gas in Ohio. Everett's wealth was estimated at nearly $50 million, which made him one of the wealthiest men in the world.

In 1910, Everett purchased a five-hundred-acre parcel of land southwest of Bennington, Vermont, and with his wife Amy built what was to be their dream house. Construction began in 1911 and continued for three years, with materials imported from Italy, England, and even Cuba. The couple had three daughters and lived happily. Then tragedy struck: Amy died, reputedly by drowning in the upper pond near the mansion.

Everett married again, this time to a woman thirty years his junior. Her name was Grace, and Everett's daughters took an immediately dislike to their father's new wife. After Grace bore Everett two more daughters, the older girls' hatred intensified, leading to considerable family friction.

In 1929, Everett died, leaving behind a huge fortune. Hostilities between the children of Amy and their stepmother, Grace, led to a bitter struggle for the inheritance-a battle soon rendered moot by the stock market crash of 1929, which quickly drained Everett's accounts. Grace Everett continued to live in the house for nearly thirty years, then sold it to the Order of The Holly Cross for use as a seminary in 1952.

For twenty years, the estate was used as a home for those seeking spiritual enlightenment and piety. Then in 1974, the property was traded with St. Joseph College, which blossomed into Southern Vermont College.

A Quartet of Ghosts

The ghost stories at Southern Vermont, told by students and employees alike, center around the main house and grounds, giving the stately old Everett mansion a slightly darker cast once night falls. Many of the spirits who haunt the campus have yet to be identified, but four apparitions date from the site's early days.

The Black-Hooded Monk. The most common sighting harkens to the days of the seminary, Though this specter's face is never seen, he is recognized by his black hood. The so-called Black-Hooded Monk is accepted by the students and whispered about to those who haven't seen him. Yet.

Edward and Grace Everett. Also seen in the mansion are a man and a woman identified as Edward and his second wife, Grace. While the reasons behind their presence are unknown, certain assumptions can be made. Perhaps Grace roams the hallways of her previous home because she loved the place so much. Edward may wander the halls in despair over the family unrest surrounding his lost fortune. Whatever the reason, they persist in making themselves known, albeit infrequently.

Amy Everett. Though the story of her death by drowning in the upper pond has never been verified, several people have supposedly seen Amy Everett near her watery grave. She is sometimes described as a woman in white, other times as a shadowy in the moonlight. Some accounts place her alone at the site, while others see a ghostly child as well. No one knows whether Amy died accidentally or as the result of foul play, but if numerous reports of sightings are to be believed she still walks her beloved estate.

Supporting Players

Inside the mansion, the third floor seems to be the center of activity. Phenomena in the Abbey room are common, with some claiming the room to be virtually alive with energy. The room, which now serves as a classroom, was once part of the servants' quarters in which a maid supposedly hanged herself. Other reports speak of smoke or fog in the hallways, as well as lights that go on and off in locked rooms, doors that unlock themselves, and windows found open after previous security sweeps.

The old carriage house, now housing classrooms, is also the scene of curious activity. It's been reported that doors and windows lock themselves form the inside and that computers power themselves off and on at will.

The ghosts who reside on the beautiful hilltop campus of Southern Vermont College hold to no schedule. The best way to see them is to enroll in a class or two. Barring that, campus tours can be arranged. Just take care to pay the proper respect. You never know who, or what, might be escorting you.

#type read #weird ghosts

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latenightcinephile · 2 years ago

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Film #728: ‘Fanny and Alexander’, dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1982.

It's not often I have to start one of these analyses by looking at the question 'What is cinema?' but Ingmar Bergman's filmography is so dense and wide-ranging that it was bound to happen sooner or later. His 1982 magnum opus Fanny and Alexander was originally imagined as a television miniseries and produced in a five-hour version, which was cut down to 188 minutes for a cinematic release. The longer miniseries was released subsequently. According to the book, the version under discussion is the 188-minute cinematic cut, although reading up about the film there are some details from the five-hour version that I think are particularly illuminating. It's arguable that referring to these details (from an extended cut I haven't seen, no less!) is like citing page numbers from Tolkien when talking about Peter Jackson's Hobbit films, but this is my blog, so I'm not going to wade into the reeds on this one.

Anyway, the reason the provenance of Fanny and Alexander feels a little more relevant is because Scandinavia has a rich history of crossover between film and television, with some of its most prominent directors working in television drama production as well as releasing feature films. With the rise of streaming services and prestige television this distinction is a little less important, but to the best of my knowledge Martin Scorsese has never directed an episode of Masterpiece Theater, which is the best analogy I could come up with. Bergman is a director who has clearly given deep thought to the differences between structuring, themes and acting for television and feature film, and the end result is that the three-hour cinematic release feels like three one-hour episodes chained together. The same characters, and an ongoing narrative, but strikingly different themes and tones across each of them.

The first hour introduces our protagonist, Alexander (Bertil Guve), a boy with a feverish imagination. In the first few moments of the film we already see through his eyes a statue moving, and we can get an instant sense of his creativity, but also some of the emotional myopia specific to children - Alexander is withdrawn and distant when he pleases and recklessly dishonest when he pleases, and is constantly blindsided by how others react to his behaviour. This first 'episode' takes place on a busy Christmas Eve as the entire Ekdahl clan gathers at the home of the grandmother Helena (Gunn Wållgren, in her final performance). Helena acts as the emotional centre of the family for the majority of the film, and right from the beginning we often see the other family members considering their own actions in relation to what Helena would think. Some of these characters are drawn in great detail to prepare us for their appearances later: the romance between the married Gustav Adolf (Jarl Kulle) and the family's maid, Maj (Pernilla August) is an ongoing plot, for example. Other characters are carefully drawn, such as Carl, the philosopher, who hates himself for hating his wife, and who only seems happy entertaining the children with his performative farting - but Carl only appears in this section of the film. Bergman is drawing a rich cast of characters that give the world a feeling of population; an intricate web of relationships. Alexander's father, Oscar (Allan Edwall) gives a rousing Christmas speech to the employees at the theatre he operates, focusing on the differences between the 'little world' of the playhouse and the 'bigger world' outside. He observes that the theatre sometimes succeeds at reflecting the real world, but that the theatre is also an opportunity to escape those real cares - a theme that will be repeated at the end of the film.

Our second episode shifts the focus a little smaller, to the relationship between Alexander and his immediate family. Oscar dies of a stroke while rehearsing the role of the Ghost in Hamlet, and his mother Emelie (Ewa Fröling) is immediately wooed by the local bishop, Edvard (Jan Malmsjö). Emelie immediately learns she has made a mistake when Edvard is strict and controlling towards her and the children, demanding they rid themselves of their possessions and limit their contact with her family. Seemingly out of a mix of retaliation and grief, Alexander's lies and fantasies become more outlandish, culminating in his telling Edvard's maid that he saw the ghosts of Edvard's former wife and children, who announced that Edvard was responsible for their deaths. The maid immediately tells Edvard who, while Emelie is away secretly visiting her family, punishes Alexander and confines him to the attic. Emelie seeks help from her family, and salvation comes in the form of Isak Jacobi, a local pawnbroker and old flame of Helena. Isak smuggles the children out of the house while Emelie, who is now pregnant with Edvard's child, remains.

The focus is narrowed once more in the third episode, which almost exclusively revolves around Alexander's stay with Isak and his nephews. One is a master puppeteer and the other is a mysterious invalid who seems to have the ability to control the minds and actions of others (I say 'seems' because the film is quite deliberately vague on this point - a decision I'll come back to later). The two nephews either cajole or enable Alexander to bring about the death of the bishop, partially in conjunction with Emelie's decision to heavily sedate her husband so she can leave. The death of the bishop means that Alexander, Fanny and their mother can return to their extended family once more, and the film ends at a lunch celebrating a double christening: Maj's child with Gustav Adolf, and Emelie's child with the deceased Edvard. Gustav Adolf gives a speech which is quite similar to Oscar's in the first hour of the film, extolling the importance of actors in distracting us from life's problems.

The fact that the film opens and closes with similar speeches about the role of theatre in life is telling, because Fanny and Alexander feels like a drawing-room theatre trilogy. Many of the films on the list have drawn their similarities to theatre in an explicit way (think of The Golden Coach, which uses a theatre as a framing device, or Diva, which begins and ends with diegetic opera performances on a stage), but Bergman is working on a slightly more implicit and thematic level. His film is full of literal actors and literal performances, sure, but he also encourages us to think about life through the lens of these performances, rather than just the performances per se. Here's an example: Oscar's death happens during a rehearsal of Hamlet, in which Oscar is playing the role of the ghost of Hamlet's father. Alexander is in the audience for this rehearsal, and witnesses his father's collapse. The rest of this act plays with the tropes of Hamlet. Alexander is haunted, but not by the ghost of his father (the person who sees Oscar's ghost in this act is Helena). Rather, Bergman uses the trope of 'a ghost attesting to a wrongful death' - Alexander claims to see ghosts who accuse the bishop. A hasty marriage following the death of the protagonist's father is also central to this act, but the causality of it is out of kilter with the narrative being put right in the foreground. Either Bergman, or Alexander, or maybe both, is trying to make life make sense by recycling parts of Shakespeare's play, but none of the pieces quite fit together. At the end of the film, the bishop has been killed, but unlike Hamlet, Alexander stays alive, and the implication instead is that he will forever be haunted by the bishop.

But why should he be? I think it's pretty illuminating from a thematic point of view that at no stage do we really get confirmation of whether the ghosts that Alexander sees are real (at least in this version - in the five-hour version we apparently see the ghosts too, but I can't determine whether we see them in real-time or if they're only show through the frame of a story Alexander tells). The behaviour of the bishop in response to Alexander's accusations is interesting, because Jan Malmsjö plays his role with the menace that makes you believe he could be capable of such a thing. One of three possibilities is true: that the bishop killed his wife and children and the ghosts are real, that the bishop didn't and the ghosts are fictions dreamed up by Alexander, or that Alexander imagines the ghosts and yet has lucked into revealing the truth about the bishop. Bergman doesn't come down strongly on this question, and even the reveal at the end that the bishop's ghost now haunts Alexander doesn't help matters one way or the other. All of these explanations are plausible - either the result of a legitimate haunting or the fevered imagination of a guilt-ridden child. The same questions arise again when the bishop dies. At least according to what the film tells us is true, the following happens: the bishop's bedridden aunt draws a kerosene lamp closer to her, it topples and sets her alight, and then she fatally injures the heavily-sedated bishop in her attempts to get help. It appears, according to the narrative, that the aunt pulls the lamp closer under the influence of either the puppeteer, who is seen drawing a light closer directly juxtaposed with the aunt doing the same, or under the influence of the other nephew, guiding Alexander to unleash his most destructive psychic impulses. Again, though, both these supernatural explanations are in conflict with the natural explanation.

Whichever of the explanations for these events Bergman wants us to believe is true, it is apparent that these imaginative explanations aren't a lot of help to Alexander: most of the time, in fact, they make things worse. It ultimately doesn't matter too much whether Alexander sees real ghosts or simply imagines them, whether he says so out of childishness or malice: his punishment for claiming to see them is real either way. If Alexander believes himself to be enacting a skewed version of Hamlet's story, the lessons of the play don't benefit him at all. At the end of the film, with the bishop dead (and his death shown in excruciating detail in a flashback), the stories that Bergman uses to try and make sense of the world are shown to be of little help. That brings us back to the speeches that Oscar and Gustav Adolf give, with Gustav Adolf in particular imploring the family, "Don't be sad, dear splendid artists - actors and actresses, we need you all the same. You are there to provide us with supernatural shudders... or even better, our mundane amusements."

What this speech doesn't tell us art and theatre can do is solve problems. It tells us stories of power and the supernatural, but Bergman's film is refreshingly pragmatic when it tells us that art is not powerful or supernatural in itself. It is fiction, and even when it is telling us that amazing things are possible, that doesn't make the amazing things the story depicts any more real than if it said they were impossible.

Fanny and Alexander does seem to have one moment that displays an outright impossible thing. When Isak smuggles the children out of Edvard's house, he hides them in a chest he has offered to purchase from the bishop. He sneaks them into the chest and covers them with a small cloth - clearly too small to adequately hide them. The bishop catches on to Isak's plot, and throws the chest open, but does not see the children inside. He runs upstairs to try and locate them, while Isak falls to his knees and screams in frantic, rageful prayer. Upstairs, Edvard finds the children lying on the floor, still and rigid, but Emilie screams at Edvard not to touch them, and Edvard obeys. The children, apparently still in the chest, are meanwhile snuck out of the house. What on earth are we to make of this? The film doesn't otherwise give us any reason to believe in the power of God, either from a Christian or Judaic perspective (and it's very difficult to tell if Bergman is drawing on particular strands of Jewish mysticism or just general Semitic stereotypes). I've been influenced here by another blog, Seeing Things Secondhand, whose author is, I believe, an English teacher in the States. Writing about Bergman's work as a whole, he says "God has been uncaring (The Seventh Seal), impotent (The Virgin Spring), terrifying (Through a Glass Darkly), missing (The Silence). Here he is a puppet of man." Isak, and the nephews, Aron and Ismael, evoke God's power to their own ends, and it is always imbued with a hint of menace. After all, if you have access to this type of power, what wouldn't you use it for?

The power Isak and his nephews wield might be real, it might be explained away by a complicated chain of causes, but either way it's not something that the Ekdahl clan has access to. What they have is far more toothless but it is also not tinged with threat at every turn. Isak in particular, straddling the world of the Ekdahls and the world of mysticism, seems like a genial old man who should not be pushed to extremes. In comparison, the rest of the family, as turbulent as their lives are, seem ever-gentle. And that's okay. Their job in the theatre isn't to solve problems, but just to tell us stories.

Fanny and Alexander raises constant interesting questions, then, but the story that it tells across its epic runtime floats, barely tethered, above them. Rick Moody, writing for Criterion and wondering about how autobiographical the film is, suggests that the solution to a film like this is just "to realize that it is the interrogatives of which life is composed. Maybe Fanny and Alexander is simply an autobiographical yarn as Alexander would tell it, so that Bergman and Alexander now appear to us to be one and the same narrator of the tale. Maybe Alexander is Bergman refracted, in this instance in the convex mirror of art, where strange happenstances are routine and tidy answers are hard to come by. Or maybe Bergman is somehow Alexander’s own dream, from which the boy has yet to wake."

That wording resonates with the final scene of the film, in which Emelie presents Helena with the script for the next play the theatre intends to present, August Strindberg's A Dream Play. Sitting down with Alexander resting his head on her knee, Helena begins to read: "Anything can happen. Anything is possible and likely. Time and space do not exist..." It's an oddly comforting conclusion, freeing the characters and the audience from the expectation that anything must be explained. All that needs to happen is for us to watch and to narrate, and life will go on in that gentle way.

#1001 movies #ingmar bergman #Fanny and Alexander #epic

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gally-hin-phantom · 4 years ago

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Revamp of my Film Noir Au, now named Mafia Au

Danny lives a double-life, but this time is an hitman instead of a superhero, and all ghosts (minus Clockwork) are his targets/victims

Because like you know I love Aus where Danny isn’t playing nice 😈

xxx

Additional Arts with Jazz/Vlad/Dani and Au Information below the “Keep Reading”

(Triggers Warning: mention of violence and death)

——————————————————————— Name: Daniel James Fenton Nickname: Danny Occupation: Part Time Nasty Burger employee / Pro Hitman Age: 23 Codename: Phantom Kill Count: ??? Personal Gun: Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm Abilities: Smart, good liar, social skills, self-defense, guns skills, knife skills, first aid, parkour

History:

Daniel Fenton is the youngest son of Maddie and Jack Fenton. His parents died when he was still in middle school, leaving him alone with his hospitalized older sister Jazz Fenton and a lot of debts.

In high school, he started to steal money to keep his parents’ house and pay for Jazz’s hospitalization.

One day, without noticing he was stealing drug dealers, he accidentally got caught in a shoot-out. After the slaughter, hidden behind a bin, he met “The Master of Time” a professional hitman. At first the hitman wanted to kill him in order to erased any witness but Danny begged him to spare his life and to teach him assassination instead. Confused but intrigued by so much will, and after serious warnings the hitman accepted Danny as his apprentice. One year after, Danny got his first mission and target, an ex-policeman by the name of Percival Walker.

In the beginning Danny only wanted to target dubious people, but after being call « monster » by one of his victim, and then killing the innocent witness Dorathea Legrand, he stopped caring and started to accept missions with innocents and even children.

Each mission usually brought him between 15’000$ and 30’000$, after the intermediate commission he stored the rest on 5 separate bank accounts with different names, and lied to Jazz about his current job, saying that their parents left them a lot of insurance money.

He approximately killed 3-6 persons a year but hadn’t killed anyone in the last year and started to run out of money. In April, he gladly accepted his next mission, a wealthy businessman in the name of Vladimir Masters.

Morals:

Danny is now ok to kill people, after all animals kill to eat, humans also kill animals for food. Receiving money to kill somebody isn’t so different from receiving money to butcher a cow for steak. After long conversations with his vegan friend Sam, he concluded that animals' lives don’t worth less than human lives. Moreover humans kill other humans, for oils or other horrible beliefs (racism, homophobia etc…). At least he does it to help his sister and not twisted pleasure. Like he says “He didn’t have a choice and can’t go back.”

Danny used to but doesn't have regrets anymore, “What's done is done” and what he earns help him to keep Fenton Works and Jazz alive by moving her to a better hospital.

He doesn’t have guilt either, the one to blame is the person who asks him to kill. The one to blame is the person who wants to kill, not the knife. Like a knife he is only a ‘tool’.

Even if he never sees a ghost he believes in a sort of afterlife, and isn’t scared of death. He only hopes to survive long enough until Jazz fully heals.

Memorable Kills:

Mission 1: Jailbreak Target name: Percival Walker Occupation: Prison Guardian, ex-policeman Cause of Death: Shooted in the head

Mission 2: Djinn Target name: ? Occupation: Secret mistress of a wealthy businessman Cause of Death: Stabbed in the throat Notes: Commissioned by the businessman’s jealous wife.

Mission ?: Specter Target name: ? Occupation: Teen therapist/counselor Cause of Death: Shouted several time all over her body Notes: Called Danny « freak » and « monster » right before death.

Mission ?: Plague Target name: Aragon Legrand Occupation: Heir of a powerful wealthy family Cause of Death: Shouted in the head Notes: Dorathea Legrand, Aragon’s sister, unexpectedly intervened during the mission, trying to protect her brother. She was also killed to avoid witnesses.

Mission ?: Lullaby Target: Ember McLain Occupation: Diva Cause of Death: Burned alive in her house, to make it look like an accident

Mission ?: BlueBlood Target name: ? Occupation: Rich Young Heir of a wealthy family Cause of Death: Suffocated in his sleep Notes: Youngest target, he was only 8

Mission ?: Snow Target name: ? Occupation: Journalist & Books Critic Cause of Death: Shouted in the head

xoxoxoxo

Name: Jasmine Panthea Fenton Occupation: Hospitalized civilian Age: 24 Nickname (by Danny): Jazz, and sometimes before her hospitalization Panny

History:

Hospitalized for a long time her health seems to deteriorate with each passing day, though moving to a better hospital seems to have stabilized her a bit.

Danny is making sure to visit her at least twice a week to keep her company and brought her plenty of books he lends from the library (even if she doesn’t always have the strength to read its, she is happy to have Danny to keep her company).

Though weaker, Jazz is intelligent and doesn’t believe one second the “insurance money” excuse, but she lets Danny has his secrets anyway until the day he decides to tell her everything. Little she suspects her baby brother, who smells like fried food and cheap burgers, has his hands covered with blood.

xoxoxoxo

Name: Unknown but his Initials are C.W. Occupation: Retired Hitman, intermediate Age: ??? Codename: Master of Time Nickname (by Danny): ClockWork Kill Count: ???

History:

After teaching everything he knows to Danny, he got shot in the knee and forced to retire. He now uses his old connections to act as an intermediate to find him missions.

Clockwork knows Danny only kill to help his sister and is actually very protective of him. He tries to help him and keep him as far as he can from too dangerous missions, even if Phantom’s skills and abilities to kill fast without letting traces are highly sought-after, resulting in more dangerous missions and famous targets.

xoxoxoxo

Mission ?: Plasmius Target name: Vladimir Mikhailovich Masters Occupation: One of the wealthiest businessman of the world Nickname (by Danny): Fruitloop Age: 49 Note: The bounty for his head would be able to finish paying Danny’s debts

History:

Vlad has a lot of enemies. He is a billionaire and is always on the right side of the law but also do a lot of devious stuffs in the shadows (child labor, ecologic disasters etc…). For humanity's sake, he is literally better dead.

Danny tracked Vlad for months before having the chance to point a gun on the almost untouchable man.

xoxoxoxo

Name: Danielle Masters Dead Name: Kim S. Occupation: Vlad’s personal bodyguard, keeps an eye on her master’s security 24/7 Age: 22 Nickname (by Danny): Elle Kill Count: ??? Personal weapons: Glock 26 and several knives hidden in her boots and jacket Abilities: Smart, good liar and actress, high class social skills, self-defense, guns skills, knife skills, first aid, parkour, high education, bilingual

History:

Vlad found her during one of his visits in a warzone country. In one rare act of kindness (?), he took her with him, raised her and paid for her « training ».

While acting as Vlad’s clingy and annoying daughter, she is in fact his close bodyguard. Dani is very devoted and would give her life for her « father » without an once of hesitation.

She usually wears a long jacket to hide her small thought muscular build and wears cloths comfy enough to run and jump.

#danny phantom #danny fenton #clockwork #jazz fenton #vlad masters #dani phantom #maddie the cat #gally draws #mafia au #lost time #or au where halfas have a double life #yes lost time :3 because I like this dynamic #danny is a good boy who don’t have luck #i kinda want to add more art to this au but it won’t really help me improve :(#and imma tired #wanted to redesign clockwork for a long time now #but I make an human design instead oof #ragequitting the art because it’s take me too long and i’m too tired to do more

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apenapaperandadoofus · 4 years ago

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Can you write something in which the RFA learns about Jumin's mother, it just irks me that they don't realize the damage they unintentionally perpetuated with the way they treat him. Specially Zen, I'm sure they'll be baffled if they just knew...

YES this one is amazing actually, I'd love for them to understand him better bc they do treat my man poorly :'(

RFA finding out about Jumin's mother (mentions of emotional abuse)

After a year of being together, you and Jumin decided to move out of the penthouse and go and live at his old childhood home. You were a bit nervous about the whole change, but Jumin assured you that it was all going to be alright.

You fell in love with the house as soon as you saw it, and that night as you laid in your bedroom with Jumin, you talked about the place, and about your future.

"This is the place I'd want to raise our children." He murmured against your skin that night, and you smiled as you imagined the happy future that would await the two of you.

A few weeks later, after the two of you had gotten everything ready, you decided to do a housewarming party, and so, you invited the whole RFA.

You handed out appetisers with Jaehee by your side, as Jumin and V chatted, probably catching up after a while of not seeing each other. Yoosung was talking with Saeran, while Zen was dramatically moaning in the corner as Saeyoung played with Elly and tried to get her as close as Zen as possible.

After you were done eating, Yoosung stood up from the sofa. "Oh! Hey guys, you haven't even done a house tour yet, that's the most important thing!"

Jumin looked at Yoosung. "Hmm... a house tour? I don't see why not. Are you alright with it love?" He asked you and you nodded, standing up from your spot and grabbing Jaehee's hand.

"I'm actually pretty excited to show you all around! C'mon!" You said as you led everyone out of the living room and showed them around the rooms.

Everytime you showed the group a new room, Yoosung would let out a gasp and moan about how lucky the two of you were to have such a giant house, while Zen would scoff and say, "why do you even have these many rooms? I bet you don't even use them all."

Eventually you all made it up to the third floor, where you showed them your room and the guest rooms. As you explained to Jaehee and V what you wanted to do with one of the rooms (you wanted to build your own office and were asking for their input on the decorations) Yoosung found a room at the top of some small stairs and slowly opened it.

"Woah what's this!?" He asked as he went inside, with Zen following behind him.

"Oi, trust fund kid, why is there a room full of creepy toys?" Zen said, and then Saeyoung whistled as he looked around.

"You know this looks as if it was from those creepy horror movies where the kid dies in here or something and becomes a ghost to haunt everyone! Saeran look at these toys!"

The younger twin only rolled his eyes but did agree that it was a pretty creepy place.

You had never really seen the room before, so you were really confused too. You looked at Jumin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Jumin, did you know this was here?" You asked, and he nodded.

You exchanged a look with V, since it was pretty clear Jumin was feeling a bit uncomfortable. You cleared your throat trying to get the other guy's attention.

"Hey everyone, why don't we go downstairs now? I think lunch is ready."

Yoosung popped his head out from the room, an elephant plush on his hand. "Awww but I was actually having fun! Besides, Jumin hasn't even explained why you have this place.... wait." He looked you up and down and let out a small scream. "MC DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE PREGNANT!? SINCE WHEN, AND SO EARLY!? YOU TWO AREN'T EVEN MARRIED, I MEAN CONGRATS BU-"

Zen immediately walked out of the room and gaped at you, then he glared at Jumin.

"No way, YOU GOT MC PREGNANT? DUDE WHAT THE HELL ISN'T SHE A BIT TOO YOUNG TO-"

"OH MY GOD CAN I NAME THE BABY?!" Saeyoung screamed from behind and you sighed. Jaehee, thankfully cleared her throat and quieted the guys down.

"Why don't we listen to what MC wants to say instead of coming up with random conclusions? And Saeyoung, stop touching the toys, please we don't know if they hold a special meaning to Jumin."

You gave her a grateful smile and then looked at Jumin. "Well, I don't exactly know what this place is, but I am definetly not pregnant! We aren't ready for that yet haha. Anyways, maybe Jumin doesn't really want to talk about this place, so why don't we go back down?"

The boys let out a disappointed sigh but started leaving the room in a single line, and you were about to nag them when you felt a hand on your shoulder. You turned around and saw Jumin, who was giving you a small smile.

"It's alright love, thank you. I think I can tell them...after all they're my friends and I trust them."

Saeyoung let out a whoop and held a small duck finger puppet he had found inside.

"Yes! I can't wait to listen to what crazy things Jumin used to do as a child, I mean, this used to be your play room right?? What I don't get though is why it's in an actual basement, and the reason it feels so gloomy...you didn't murder someone in here did you!?"

"Saeyoung please." V spoke up from behind him and looked towards Jumin's direction, a worried expression on his face. "Jumin, you don't have to tell them, why don't we go and eat?"

Jumin shook his head and smiled at his friend. "It's fine. Like I said before, the RFA is a group I whole heatedly trust, and I'm alright with telling them. They did ask after all."

"What's the big deal?" Zen grunted. "This was probably just a room where he would play. That's all. Although I have to admit I'm surprised you even have a whole toy room for yourself. I didn't think you were one to play with toys."

Jumin smiled, although you could see that it was a sort of sad, forced sort of smile.

"You're correct, I wasn't the sort of kid that used to play with toys. Instead, I loved to read and investigate about things that intrigued me. I also enjoyed studying."

Zen scoffed. "Of course, so you had a whole room full of toys that you never used. Seriously, do you rich people care that little about everyone else? There must've been plenty of kids without any toys at home that would've killed for a room like this."

"Zen." You glared at him and he stopped, a guilty look appearing briefly on his face.

"I'm just saying..."

"Love, it's fine. He's right in a way." Jumin said. "These toys were a sort of...present from my mother. She didn't like that I wasn't like other kids, that I didn't really play with toys. So she decided to buy a bunch of them and give them to me, to see if I would finally play with them. I didn't really find them interesting though, so that only made her more exasperated in a way. To this day I don't really understand what would make her so angry but it did. She ended up filling the basement with toys and then she would lock me up in here for hours to try and get me to play with them."

You felt your eyes widen, and everyone in the RFA stood in silence as they listened to Jumin who was saying all of this in a really nonchalant way.

"Jumin...I didn't know. For how long would she lock you up?" You asked, and Jumin shrugged.

"Sometimes it'd be between four hours, if not more. One time she locked me for 15 hours straight."

"That's horrible!" You gasped. And Jumin caressed your cheek. "Jumin I'm, I'm so sorry. We shouldn't have...I'm sorry." You buried your face in his chest and hugged him tight.

"It's alright love, it's all in the past now. And I don't mind sharing it with the RFA. They're my friends and it's fine if they know. Now, why don't we go and eat? I'm sure you're all starving."

The whole group was suddenly startled by Jumin's sudden mood change but they nodded, unable to really say anything. You decided to leave downstairs first with V.

Yoosung quickly put the toy back in the room and shyly glanced up at Jumin, a guilty look on his face. "I'm...I'm sorry Jumin. We really shouldn't have been so nosy."

"Yeah... Yoosung's right." Saeyoung said from beside him, his tone serious. Jumin noticed that Saeyoung had a dark expression on his face, just like Saeran, as if they were suddenly remembering something. Saeyoung looked at Jumin and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for joking about it. I'm sure it was hard...especially to tell us. Sorry for making you remember that...that horrible thing your mother used to do...no one should ever go through that."

Jumin smiled at his friend. "Like I said, it's alright. You all didn't know, and I trust you enough to tell you. I don't mind that you asked at all."

Yoosung and Saeyoung nodded, and gave Jumin encouraging smiles before following you downstairs. As Jaehee passed by she nodded at Jumin and looked as if she wanted to say something, but instead, she reluctantly grabbed his hand and squeezed.

Jumin felt himself taken aback for a bit, after all Jaehee had never really touched him like that before, and the only times she did, it was because they were shaking hands as boss and employee.

But this time, it was different. Jaehee was now touching him as a friend. Jumin felt his heart warm, happy at the thought of Jaehee seeing him as a friend and treating him as one.

She quickly let go and walked downstairs followed by Saeran who gave Jumin a nod.

Jumin looked back at the room and was about to close the door, when he noticed Zen standing stiffly behind him.

"Zen?" He asked, and the young actor only huffed, his face suddenly becoming red.

"Uhm. I...listen. This is the only time I'm saying this, and I'm not going to repeat myself alright? So pay attention. I'm...I'm sorry about the whole basement thing. Uhm, like Seven said, we shouldn't have tried to pry into your business like that."

Jumin felt the corners of his mouth twitch, but he tried his best to keep a serious expression. "Thank you Zen. To be frank, I'm surprised that you're actually apologizing for this, it wasn't really your fault."

Zen huffed. "Idiot, I'm apologizing because I made fun of the situation without knowing anything about it. And...I mean...I am also apologizing because I might've been too harsh in you all this time. Don't get me wrong, I still think you're a brat that has always had a silver spoon on his mouth, but I guess I never thought you might've dealt with some... pretty heavy stuff too." He blushed and tried to look anywhere that wasn't Jumin, who didn't know if he should laugh or just look at Zen in surprise.

"...I probably shouldn't be saying this but, I'm glad you told us. At least now I know that you're human like the rest of us and not a robot." Zen tried to joke, and Jumin smiled.

"I certainly am not, but I'm glad that your opinion towards me has changed. I still find it strange though that you would think I'm a robot, after all, currently it isn't possible to actually make a full functioning machine that behaves like a human. Actually if there was one then I'd like to know, maybe having a robot working on C&R would help us raise stocks even more than usual, I have to ask assistant Kang to-"

"Alright shut up, I get it, I get it. Anyway we should go downstairs, the rest are probably waiting for us to start lunch."

Zen quickly walked down but before he could completely leave Jumin grabbed his arm, making Zen freeze and glare at him.

"What?" He said.

Jumin chuckled. "Nothing. I'm just glad we got to understand each other better today."

Zen scoffed. "I...yeah whatever. And I mean...like I said I'm glad you told me. I know what it's like to...to have a parent force their ideas on you. I just want you to know that I understand. I-I mean, I still despise you but...listen next time just tell us something like that, don't keep it inside. You're...you're our friend after all and we do worry."

Jumin couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face, and Zen coverrd his mouth with the back of his hand. "Yeah, yeah laugh all you want. Just don't tell anyone else that I told you this or I swear I'll never speak to you again."

Jumin chuckled. "Alright I won't."

"Good." Zen started going down the stairs.

"Hey Zen." Jumin said, making Zen sigh and look back at him with an eyebrow raised.

"You're a good friend. Thank you."

Zen felt himself blush once again and he quickly mumbled a 'you're welcome', then he quickly went downstairs.

Jumin locked the basement doors and went to the living room, where the RFA was talking. He smiled as he saw his group of friends joking around and teasing each other.

Thankfully the mood became lighter during lunch, and Jumin enjoyed talking with his friends. He was happy to be in a room full of people that he cared about deeply, and he felt even happier when you reached for his hand under the table and gave him a big smile.

The RFA behaved differently towards Jimin from that day on. It wasn't a bad different, but instead they started treating him like an actual person, that could have feelings and could joke around. From that day on Zen, Jumin and the twins definetly became closer, and even if Zen didn't want to admit it, he had really become fond of Jumin.

Eventually, you wanted to know what to do with the room, and Jumin decided to turn it into a nursery for your future kids.

"Jumin I...are you sure?" You asked him, and he nodded.

"I don't want to pass by that place and only remember the bad things. This time I want to make good memories in there, with you, and with our future family. I promise that I will try my best for all of you."

You smiled and kissed his nose. "Thank you Jumin. I'm sure that you'll be a great father, and I can't wait to start that new phase with you. Of course we have to get married first."

He chuckled and nuzzled your nose. "Yes, and I can't wait for the day where I get to call you my wife. I love you MC."

"I love you too Jumin."

#mystic messenger #jumin han #saeyoung choi #mysme #yoosung kim #jaehee kang #jihyun mysme #saeran choi #choi bois #mysme zen

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delightfully-deranged-dagur · 3 years ago

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In your Monster High Reimagined series, how are ghosts born? Can ghosts reproduce or are ghost children adopted by other ghosts because in your version the ghost kids were actually real people who were murdered?

I have some questions for Spectra: 1. Why and how did you die? 2. Why did you transfer to Monster High? 3. Do you miss Kyomi? 4. Why did you decide to do a gossip channel?

So, there's 2 ways ghosts can be born.

They either die. (Spectra, Johnny, Vandala, Porter, Kiyomi, River) or they're born to ghost parents. Or just 1 ghost parent and 1 merman parent. (Sirena)

And every ghost that died had a life before dying.

Vandala lived during the age of Pirates. Her crew betrayed her and made her walk the plank.

Porter lived during the 70s. Cops shot him. He was just doing some graffiti on an abandoned building.

Kiyomi lived during the early 2000s. She had a stalker. One day she was home alone and he came to see her. The fire was an accident.

River lived during the middle ages. She was unwanted by her parents and took her own life. She was adopted by a Grim Reaper.

Johnny lived during the 50s. He had a secret. And some bad friends that found out. After a few weeks of "abuse" he tried to fight back but was murdered.

And Spectra, well she'll tell you herself.

Spectra : Well it's about time I got some asks. And to answer your last question first, I love gossip. Simple as that. Unfortunately that's also kinda the reason I'm dead.

So my dad's boss, horrible man, exploiting his employees, harassing the women that worked for him, well he also had a "side business" involving children. You can read the full details on the Ghostly Gossip. Though I warn you, it's a sensitive topic.

So I found out, and I told my parents, we were planning on exposing him but I wasn't careful enough when I was snooping. He send someone after us to silence us.

Well, on the bright side, I still have my parents with me in the afterlife!

My parents decided to transfer me shortly after Principal Revenant got really extreme in her punishments. I do miss Kiyomi and I hope to see her again sometime soon.

Btw, if you ever want some good gossip about the other students, I'd be happy to give you some ;)

#asks #monster high reimagined #monster high #spectra vondergeist

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only-here-for-jatp · 4 years ago

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Build-a-Band Pt 6 Sir Reginald II

It’s another Build-a-Band chapter!!! This time from Julie’s POV as she watches her adorable himbos make Build-a-Bears

She makes Reggie (Spoilers I know, but to be fair- he’s the only one left!)

If I’m really good, and y’all are really excited, I’ll try to get the last part done tonight! It feels weird to wrap this up. Feels like I’ve been working on it forever.

Anyway, you can read it on Ao3 here

And also below! ~1800 words

Julie knew long before Reggie headed home that all the boys would be back, sooner rather than later, which is why she checked her schedule. Luckily, she was opening the next morning and everything would be quiet. Not to mention, she’d already gotten her first couple of paychecks so hopefully she could pay for everything that was about to happen. She knew her father would help since he loved to dote on his adopted ghost boys, but it was also kind of nice to be able to do this for them.

She’d gotten home to find Alex stubbornly refusing to let go of Alexander, Luke whining that he wanted one, and Reggie filled with so much pride and warmth that she could swore he was glowing. By the time she’d left for bed that night, all plans finalized, the boys had been snuggled up in their own bed. Alex in the middle holding tightly to Alexander, sandwiched between the two other boys. She chuckled as she headed out knowing she might need a lot of sleep and energy for her three tag-alongs the next day.

It’s why when she arrived before the boys the next morning, she took a minute to breathe everything in. She kind of liked the mall when everything was quiet and peaceful. The lights were mostly dimmed and the only sounds were the distant hiss of coffee machines and the soft whispers of the few other employees, not willing to break the silence just yet.

The store itself appeared kind of magical with colors and life bleeding through everything. Even though the store wasn’t truly alive yet. She liked being the first one in and getting to set everything up. She could organize the pre-made bears in the window into cute scenes, place out the small props that existed around the store. She tried for something new every time, some small little spin that would put an extra bright smile onto the child that noticed.

It was as she was setting up that she walked past a bin that made her stop. Long before Reggie had insisted on joining her she’d been imagining which bears she’d pick out for everyone. She’d found a bear for Flynn and Carrie and Luke and Alex, but Reggie had been stumping her for a couple of weeks. Until of course, she walked past this particular bin this morning.

She wasn’t sure how she’d missed it before. The bear was soft and black with wide eyes and a small smile. It was soft and the fur had a slight curve to it. She let her fingers drift across the Midnight Moon Bear and knew that this would be the one. No sooner had she finished the thought when she heard the tell-tale signs of poofing ghosts.

She turned around with a smile catching the first glimpses on Alex and Luke. They both stared wide-eyed and open mouthed, although Alex caught himself pretty quick transforming into a look of mild interest. She could still see the sparkle in his eyes though as he started wandering towards the shelves. Reggie just kept nodding the quintessential “AM I RIGHT???” look plastered across his face.

Julie nearly died of laughter once Luke found the puppies and zoomed around the store with Reggie. She took glee in the opportunity to tease Luke about his height. Even with Alex quiet unawareness of what was going on around him, she could spot the joy he was trying to hide.

The store may be no longer be quiet and peaceful, but she had to admit, she liked it filled with life more. It wasn’t the thrill on being on stage in front of screaming fans, but it was the little moments of connection as a child watched a shell of fabric come to life. It was the awe in their eyes as they oh so carefully picked out a heart and gave it warmth and joy and love. Her favorite though was when she stuffed the new toy and she was one-on-one with a child and they kept glancing into her eyes and back to the ever growing stuffie. For just a moment, she knew that child believed in magic and life and love so strongly that it could change the world.

Now here she was getting to watch those emotions dance across her boys’ faces. The boys had so many characteristics which defined them. They were dead, and a band, and family. They suffered through childhoods, that while Julie didn’t know all the details, she knew forced them to grow up fast. Forced them to take care of themselves when the people who should’ve failed.

So, she took a moment to breathe and watch as her boys were able to be just that. Boys. Children. Teenagers. Dorks who just wanted something soft.

After she watched all three of the boys pick up their piece, she grabbed what would soon become Sir Reginald II and led them over to the stuffing machine. She went through the basic instructions, knowing the boys were barely paying attention before guiding them over to the hearts.

She smiled at their enthusiasm and teased Reggie as he looked at every single heart in all of the boxes. Luke was also digging, but it seemed to be more purposeful while Alex picked through the hearts carefully taking his time to find the right one. Julie, on the other hand, knew exactly which heart she wanted. She’d picked it out the day before when Reggie was here and slipped it behind the counter. Out of all the hearts she’d ever seen in the box, it was by far the biggest. Nearly twice as big as the next closest size and a vibrant red. Reggie’s heart was so large, she knew Sir Reginald II needed one to match.

It didn’t particularly surprise her when Reggie asked her to “do the magic” and she struggled to contain her laughter when he managed to drag his friends into a group beg. Julie never intended to say no, but watching the boys plead with her was admittedly adorable. So she led them through it, warming up the heart, jumping with the heart, and her personal favorite- the wish.

When she’d done the heart for Alexander the day before, she’d wished for Alex to know that he was family. He was just as important and valued by her as any of the other boys. Reggie was rapidly taking on a big brother role, and although she tried to be exasperated about it, she couldn’t be more thrilled. Luke was… something. Some days he felt like her other half. Alex though, Alex was everything that kept her calm and steady and grounded. She hoped she knew how much he meant to her.

For Reggie’s bear she’d thought long and hard about what the whispered wish would be. In the end, she thought about everything she loved about Reggie.

Sir Reginald II please take care of Reggie. Sometimes he doesn’t realize how important he is. He’s the glue that holds us all together and keeps us going when everything seems bleak. He is so loved and so valuable. Please remind him of that when everything seems hard.

Alex brought William the Sk8 Bear up first and he seemed to bounce a little as he came to life. The shriek though when Alex caught sight of the skateboard accessories would forever be her favorite.

Reggie came up to him next and whispered to her. I made a wish, but I wondered if you wanted to leave one for Luke too. Her eyes widened as a blush covered her cheeks, but she agreed. Quietly she sang to the heart.

We say we're friends, we play pretend. You're more to me, we're everything Our voices rise and soar so high. We come to life when we're, In perfect harmony

She kept glancing over to Luke, ensuring he wasn’t paying attention, but thankfully he was also absorbed in his bear. Reggie jittered with excitement next to her, ready for the bear to be made, already planning in his head exactly how to accessorize Lukas.

Luke slowly approached her, ready to make Jules a true stuffie. She couldn’t help but give him a look. Was this really the one he picked for her? She loved it, but she had to laugh at the slightly awkward eyeliner they’d put on this bear. Her gasp resounded though as she caught a glimpse of the heart in his hand.

It was a vibrant purple and whatever second guessing she did about his knowledge of her faded as she saw the most beautiful heart. It was her favorite shade of purple and she squeezed it tight, once again feeling a blush crawling up her cheeks.

Once she’d stuffed Jules the Bear, it was a lot easier to see where he was going with this. His smile at the sight filled her with a small light and she passed him the bear while he flounced off to find her the perfect outfit.

Quickly she got to work on Sir Reginald II already knowing that among the clothing and accessories lived a white tank top, black jeans, a leather jacket, and a red stuffed bass guitar.

There was something steady about stuffing the bears. There was a little foot press like on a sewing machine or piano. In a way, it almost felt like she was making music as she brought Sir Reginald to life. The machine would wheeze as the stuffing flowed through the nozzle to the bear and it would make soft whump noises as it filled in all the spaces. Carefully she laced up the back and flipped the bear over. If she didn’t stare too deeply or too hard she could almost see the twinkle in its eye and the smirk on his face.

Looking up, she caught a glimpse of the boys rushing around and finding all the perfect pieces. Dressing the bears, laughing, and teasing each other. Every now and again someone would pick up an article of something ridiculous and hold it up, asking if it was what each other was looking for.

She loved them, but they certainly were high energy and she took a deep breath before rejoining the fray. Luke had Lukas grasped tightly, eyes a little watery while he batted away Alex’s hands who appeared to be trying to snatch Lukas away. She let out a small laugh at their antics and eased Jules out of Reggie’s arms and replaced her with Sir Reginald II.

If she noticed Luke freeze and eye her warily, she didn’t think much of it as she gripped Jules loosely in her arms. Jules ended up in an outfit that was pretty close to her Stand Tall outfit and she was mildly impressed. Unfortunately, Julie caught a glimpse down at her watch and began to shoo the boys out. It was just about time to open, which meant it was time to send them home. She gently placed Jules back in Reggie's arms and began preparing for the rest of her day.

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #jatp fanfic #build a band

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mirdaniaa · 4 years ago

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@jeynewesterling some of my ghost stories from the tour are

-the first bar used to have an apartment on top. there was a girl there who people say was named mary (which is what people say of literally any ghostly woman but i digress), and she supposedly doused herself in lavender perfume. she died in that apartment, and sometimes people in the bar overcome with the smell of lavender. i fully did not believe this story until it happened to me a couple times. just random spots in the bar where there shouldn’t have been any lavender smell, and it was always concentrated in one spot.

-lincoln park is an extremely haunted neighborhood because it’s built on top of the old City Cemetery, which was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. instead of moving the bodies, they built an upscale neighborhood on top of the cemetery, Poltergeist-style. the zoo has the highest concentration of paranormal activity, and it’s said that if you use the women’s bathroom next to the lion den, you can see victorian men and women staring at you in the mirrors.

-this isn’t a ghost story but i always take people to the site where mothman was first spotted in 2017. there were almost 100 sightings of him in chicago in that year alone, most of them concentrated in lincoln park.

-bc we’re in chicago i have to tell the obligatory st. valentine’s day massacre story, paying particular attention to jimmy clark (aka alfred kachellek), who would haunt capone to his dying day

-not particularly ghostly but bc it’s relevant to the location, i always talk about john dillinger

-the iroqouis theater (now the nederlander, formerly the oriental) is downtown but i like to bring it up because it was the deadliest fire in chicago’s history. you can read the wikipedia article but the tl;dr is that building the theater was running behind schedule, so the investors paid the builders extra to finish it early. as a result it was insanely unsafe; there were no fire escapes, and the asbestos fireproof curtain was actually muslin and wood chips. a stage light sparked halfway through act 2 and the first five rows basically burned to a crisp in minutes. it was a sold out performance and all the standing room had been sold; more people would be crushed to death by stampeding than killed by the fire itself. unfortunately all the fire exists were chained shut to prevent people sneaking in, and the only other doors, the lobby entrance, opened inward, so with hundreds of people pushing against them, very few people escaped. additionally, there were no fire escapes, so the people who made it upstairs fell to their deaths in the alley below. all told, the fire killed 600 people. having worked briefly at this theater, i can verify that it is extremely haunted.

BUT that wasn’t even chicago’s deadliest disaster! that would be

-the uss eastland, a steamboat that was meant to take all the employees of the western electric company and their families on a picnic. the fire department’s steamboat was passing by, shooting off water cannons to amuse the children; everyone rushed to one side, and the boat (already top heavy with so many people on the upper decks) flipped over. 800 people died in 12 feet of water. many of the local businesses were used for morgues. one of these businesses was later purchased by oprah winfrey and turned into harpo studios. oprah reportedly was never alone in the studio, she never stayed after sunset, and when asked if the studio was haunted, she said, “no comment.” !!!!!!!

-far and away my favorite story though is resurrection mary. she is chicago’s most famous ghost and the most famous example of a hitchhiker ghost. long story short, she was walking home from a dance one night on archer avenue when a car struck her and killed her. she famously haunted the ballroom she was attending that night, dancing with young men and asking them for rides home, at which point she would disappear, and later people reported picking up a woman in white on the side of the road, who would promptly disappear when passing the cemetery. cab drivers on the south side supposedly do not pick up women in that neighborhood at night because they don’t want them to run up a fare and disappear.

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scared-aquarius · 5 years ago

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signs as haunted places in Texas

(This post is part of a series where I assign haunted places from each state to the signs)

Aries: Highway 281, between Johnson City and Blanco TX- On August 24, 1885 in Blanco County, Al Lackey went on a murderous rampage, killing six of his family members including his mother, father, brother, daughter, niece and sister-in-law with a shotgun. After slaying these six, he went home and attempted to murder his wife and baby with a knife, however, the wife ran and after his attempt to chase her down failed, he cut his own throat. This did not kill him, however, and he wrapped his wound with a bandana. On horseback, he rode towards town, finding his neighbor who, unaware of the murders just committed, rode alongside him. He noticed the red bandana and thought it was simply red in color, not blood-soaked. During the ride, Lackey lunged at the man, cutting him several times but he, too, managed to escape. The sheriff eventually caught Lackey and after being tended to by physicians was brought to jail. On August 26, two days after his rampage, a mob of 50-60 people marched down to the jail and broke him out, demanding he pay for his crimes. They rode until they found a tree at a halfway-point between Blanco and Johnson City, which supposedly runs parallel to the current Highway 281, and hanged Lackey. The rope they used was thinner than rope normally used for hangings which prolonged the strangulation. The rope also dug deep into the laceration that was already present in his throat which caused him to bleed heavily onto his shirt. The sheriff found the body the next day and, with none of his surviving family members willing to claim him, he was buried in a pauper’s grave somewhere in Blanco. To this day, people report seeing a man with a red bandana and bearing Lackey’s physical description hitchhiking between Johnson City and Blanco, especially at late hours. Those who have stopped to help him claim he was holding a knife. Truckers and locals claim to not like driving down the road at night and they know not to pick up any hitchhikers on that stretch between Johnson City and Blanco. And now you do, too.

Taurus: Spaghetti Warehouse, Houston TX- Built around the turn of the 20th century, the building, originally called the Desel-Boettcher warehouse, started out housing fur pelts and then some years later it was owned by a pharmaceutical company. It was not until 1973 that it became the Spaghetti Warehouse. A former employee of the pharmacy involved in a freak accident as well as his wife are said to haunt the restaurant. The employee was said to be very busy one night and grabbed a stack of paperwork off his desk as he was rushing to get home. As he headed back to the elevator, he was not paying attention and walked into what he thought was the elevator but was actually an open elevator shaft. Having not returned home, his wife hurried to the warehouse looking for him only to find his body crumpled at the bottom of the elevator shaft. Traumatized and brokenhearted, she too tragically passed away only one year later. Today, their spirits are said to occupy the second floor of the warehouse. The restaurant is riddled with activity according to staff members, particularly during late-night hours, including full-bodied apparitions, bottles of wine inexplicably falling off shelves, disembodied voices calling employees’ names, guest’s hair being tugged on and shoulders being tapped. The wife is also said to rearrange furniture and make a mess of organized dishes and silverware. Guests have reported feeling ill or tingly as soon as reaching the second floor. Another spirit said to haunt the building is a former frequent guest. A man in his mid-fifties who was struck by a car outside the restaurant can sometimes be seen by employees, seated in the restaurant one moment and then gone the next.

Gemini: Miss Molly’s Hotel, Fort Worth TX- The building itself was built in 1910, serving as a hotel called The Palace Rooms for those who traveled by the new railroad. During Prohibition, it’s named changed to the Oasis and served as a speakeasy. By the 1940s, it was called The Gayette Hotel and acted as a bordello that mostly served cowboys and locals. This was a dark period for the building as many ill-spoken deeds and rumors of some of the prostitutes meeting unfortunate ends circulated. Eventually, under new management, the building stopped serving as a bordello and was split with the first floor serving as the Star Cafe and the second floor serving as a hotel- Miss Molly’s Hotel. Many of the ghosts who haunt the hotel are thought to be those who were present during its time as a bordello. Full-bodied apparitions have been seen, for example, that of a young girl around the age of nine has been seen in the former owner’s rooms. No one knows exactly who she is but she is believed to be a former tenant. One hotel guest claimed to wake up in the middle of the night with a pale blonde woman sitting at the edge of his bed. She is believed to be the ghost of a former working girl. There is also a tipping ghost who is said to leave coins in recently cleaned rooms. One cleaning lady even quit because she was frightened by this entity and did not want to risk having it attach itself to her. Throughout the hotel, unexplainable shadows and cold spots are frequently encountered. Strange smells are also present, with some being described as toilet water while others are described as smelling like women's perfume, perhaps from the hotel’s time as a bordello. Some of the hotel’s mischievous entities are also known to move guest’s belongings, play with their lights at night and make loud bangs in their room.

Cancer: Littlefield House, Austin TX- Located on the campus of the University of Texas, the Victorian-style home was built for Civil War veteran and businessman George Littlefield and his wife, Alice, in 1893. Throughout their life, they donated a lot of their money to the school and therefore became special figures for the college. It is said that for a long period of time, Alice had been locked in the attic to keep her safe from Union soldiers during the war. Because of this, Alice developed a severe mental illness and was constantly afraid she would be kidnapped or murdered. She was prone to nervous fits of hysteria, sometimes having to be restrained. Despite being told she should be admitted to a sanatorium, her husband instead kept her home and hired three nurses. After George’s death in 1920, Alice was devastated, but over time her mental state improved. She was able to become more social again and would host parties at the home but was rarely ever seen outside again. When Alice died in 1935, she left the house to the university where it is now used to hold classes on the first floor and house offices on the second. However, some believed that Alice never left and is trying to reclaim her home. Shortly after her death, full-bodied apparitions were seen throughout the house, colds spots were frequently felt and sounds of running, screams of fright and other eerie noises could be heard coming from the second floor and staircase nightly. Things are also said to be misplaced often as if Alice is trying to put her home back to the way it was before her death. Many students claim to hear her play the piano in her upstairs bedroom and her face can sometimes be seen peering out the window. While it may seem unsettling, many students refer to her as Aunt Alice and see her as a comforting and benevolent spirit.

Leo: Hotel Galvez, Galveston TX- The Galvez Hotel opened its doors in 1911 and is still in operation today. During WWII, however, the building was occupied by the US Coast Guard and no rooms were rented out to visitors. Over the years, many famous people had been guests there, including Jimmy Stewart, Howard Hughes, Frank Sinatra, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the mid-50s is when tragedy struck at the hotel. A woman in her mid-20s named Audra was planning on getting married to her fiancé, a mariner who sailed in and out of the Port of Galveston. She stayed in room 505 while she waited for his return back from sea. One day, after a terrible storm, his ship did not arrive when it was due in port. Audra heard that the ship had gone down and that there were no survivors. Stricken with grief, she hung herself. Not even a week had passed when her fiancé came back, having survived the sinking of the ship, only to find that she had taken her own life. Staff and guests alike have reported hearing Audra running up and down the hallways looking for her husband-to-be as well as hearing crying and doors slamming shut in the middle of the night. Strange smells and visions of orbs are also reported throughout the hotel. Staff have also reported seeing a young girl bouncing a ball in the lower level of the hotel and the housekeeping staff say that there is the ghost of a man who stands in the corner of the laundry room. There are also reports in the lobby and restaurant such as candles blowing out on their own and dishes moving and breaking. Heavy breathing and children’s laughter are said to be heard in some of the hotel bathrooms. After Hurricane Ike in 2008, some staff had to stay at the hotel while their homes were being repaired and many claimed to see a woman in an old maid’s uniform accompanied by a man walk through a guest room and disappear.

Virgo: El Paso High School, El Paso TX- This high school has been in use since it’s opening in 1916. In 1922-23, its name was changed to Sam Houston High School at the bidding of a local chapter of the KKK but was quickly changed back after community outrage. During both World Wars, the basement of the school worked as an overflow morgue, taking in bodies of soldiers as well as Spanish Flu victims. Throughout the years, students and faculty exploring the basement have discovered classrooms from the early 20th century in seemingly untouched condition yet blocked off, with no reason given by the school administration for the hasty remodeling. There are also reports of slamming doors and “spectral pep rallies and games” occurring in the gym, only to discover the gym is empty upon further inspection. A teacher at the high school once reported seeing a girl in an old blue dress at the end of a hallway one night and instructed her to go home as it was late. He claims that when approaching her, she turned around, gave him a sorrowful look and then slowly vanished before his eyes. Another ghost girl is also said to be seen throughout the school, her identity being tied to that of a student from the 80s who slit her wrists and then jumped off a balcony which is now walled off along with the hallway and stairwell leading to it. Despite this, multiple people have claimed to still see a girl standing on that balcony. A famous class picture of the 1985 graduating class may capture this ghost girl as her face is considerably more blurry than the rest and no one can seem to identify her.

Libra: The White Sanitarium, Wichita Falls TX- Built in 1926, this sanitarium was made for those who were mentally insane. The founder, Frank S. White, wanted to create a place where instead of being locked in cells, the patients were free to roam and live a non-institutional lifestyle. He wanted it to be a home, not a prison. He only operated the sanitarium for about 5 years, though, as he himself had fallen ill. By the 1950s, the building was flooded and badly damaged so it was abandoned and sat vacant for another 50 years. It is believed that some patients never left, perhaps due to the now-banned medical practices on the mentally ill of the past which left patients permanently injured or worse. Those who have visited the site since it’s foreclosure have claimed to see glowing ends of cigarettes as well as full-bodied apparitions of patients in hospital gowns. There is also said to be a lady in white who roams the halls and looks out the windows of the abandoned building. Reports of children’s voices are heard and lights are said to sometimes be seen coming from the sanitarium even though there is no running electricity there. There is also a group of men who are known to be seen on the property playing a game of poker every now and then. Visitors have said they feel strange cold spots and feel a general “heaviness” in the air. People who claim to be skeptics have said their beliefs are shaken after visiting there as they cannot explain their experiences. Today, the building has been remodeled and transformed into apartment units.

Scorpio: The Jefferson Hotel, Jefferson TX- In 1851, the building was built originally as a warehouse to support the booming cotton industry. It is unclear whether the building became a hotel, with some speculating it was during the 1870s and others saying it was as late as 1900. As a hotel, it also served as a brothel as well as a speakeasy during the prohibition era under the name “The Crystal Palace”. The ghostly activity in the building is so frequent that the staff keeps a “book of the dead” at the front desk, with years of recorded activity and experiences within it and new encounters being written by guests to this day. There are at least five different known entities within the hotel’s walls. The first is a tall man wearing boots and a long coat who can frequently be seen by both staff and guests. The identity of the man is unknown. While he has never proven to be malevolent, guests find him incredibly unsettling as many times he can be seen sitting or standing in their rooms at night. The apparition is so solid and recurrent, some guests have claimed they had followed him down hallways thinking he was another guest only to turn a corner and see him vanish. The second known entity is a beautiful woman nicknamed Libby. Her exact identity is unknown, however, staff can agree that she is either the spirit of a woman named Elizabeth or Lydia. Both women were pregnant and stood up on their wedding day and subsequently both hung themselves from the hotel bed’s tall headboard. These suicides happened 50 years apart. Libby’s appearance is what points to either of these women being the spirit as she is said to wear a bridal gown and have golden blonde hair. She seems to appear in front of male guests traveling alone most frequently. While she doesn’t haunt a specific room, she seems to be attached to a bed which has moved to different rooms over the years, specifically room 12,14 and 19. Room 19 also houses another ghost, that of a teenage girl who was stabbed to death by a client during the hotel’s brothel years and left in the bathtub. She is said to appear in the mist when people are showering and writes messages, pleas for help and sometimes warmings, on the bathroom mirror. She is known as Judy as the name has been seen among her scribbles. The last two known entities are those of a young boy and girl around age 7 in 19th century period clothing who can frequently be seen chasing each other and can be heard laughing. They are thought to be casualties of the cotton warehouse. Despite their laborious lives and sad deaths, they are known to have fun by pulling pranks on guests by moving small items and turning lights on and off.

Sagittarius: USS Lexington, Corpus Christi TX- Nicknamed “The Blue Ghost”, the USS Lexington is an aircraft carrier built for the US Navy during WW2 in 1942. The ship got the nickname “The Blue Ghost” because of her tendency to reappear after reportedly being sunk, as well as her dark blue color for camouflage purposes. It was decommissioned in 1991 and is now docked, serving as a naval museum. Many spirits of soldiers are said to roam the decks of the ship. During WW2, a Japanese plane struck the ship near the engine room, killing many. Some employees of the museum claim to see figures frantically running as if trying to get to position to defend and maintain their ship. A security guard says that running footsteps can be heard frequently, especially in the early hours of the morning. Disembodied voices and screams are also heard and both staff and guests report being touched. A known ghost on the ship is a man in a sailor uniform who helps guests find their way back to the deck. Another who resides in the engine room is said to give lectures on how the turbines work before vanishing into thin air. Charles Reustle, a director at the museum who has worked on the ship for 26 years, is a skeptic but has had his own fair share of strange experiences. He claims that over a course of a few weeks, he kept losing his pen cap. After the sixth time, he turned his room over but still could not find it. The next morning, he found all six caps lined up on his desk. He believes a spirit may have been playing a prank on him. With the museum receiving hundreds of reports of supernatural activity a year, the executive director of the museum, Steve Banta, says that there are too many accounts that “there has to be something to it”.

Capricorn: Yorktown Memorial Hospital, Yorktown TX- This hospital opened its doors in 1951 and was run by the Felician Sisters, a group of nuns who kept the hospital open until 1986. The building was named in honor of those lost their lives in WWII. Under the care of the nuns, 500 patients died within the first 6 years the hospital was open. It reopened as a drug rehabilitation center but then closed again for good in 1992. Roughly 2000 people have died within the walls of the hospital and is known to be one of the most haunted hospitals in Texas. One employee by the name of Dr. Leon Norweirski was responsible for multiple deaths- he became known for his fatal mistakes during operations. In one patient’s case, he accidentally cut a patient’s throat while operating on his thyroid. This doctor’s mistakes may be a reason why the hospital is so active. There is a ghost of an eight-year-old girl named Stacy known to roam her old room on the first floor, basement hallways, and sometimes is seen in the library. Her favorite book to read during her life was “The Poky Little Puppy” which supposedly was given to her by none other than Dr. Leon Norweirski. She is known to be a playful spirit and supposedly will roll a ball if you ask her to. A few nuns seem to have stuck around as well, although some of them are known to be violent. Visitors have claimed to be scratched, choked, rushed at, and people with tattoos, piercings or other body modifications seem to be especially targeted. Another spirit is that of a man named Doug Richards. He was a heavy equipment mechanic who died there in 1973 and not much is known of his ghost but people say you know it’s him by his tall appearance and his white t-shirt and blue jeans outfit. During its time as a rehab center, a man who some call TJ came during late hours seeking help. When he rang the back-door bell, no one answered- whether the doorbell stopped working or the nurse on duty had fallen asleep, TJ didn’t get help fast enough and his body was found on the steps the next morning. His apparition can be seen today wandering the hall near the back door. Lastly, blood is still visible on the walls of the boiler room from a double murder that occurred after a stabbing due to a love triangle between a female employee, a co-worker and a patient. The hospital is also home to other less well-known entities and strange anomalies such as shadow people, full bodied-apparitions and top-notch EVPS. It is also said that disembodied voices and screams can be heard coming from the delivery ward.

Aquarius: Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington TX- After a trip to Disneyland in 1959, real estate developer Angus G. Wynne Jr. decided he wanted to build a rival theme park in his own state. Opening in 1961, the park was a huge success. By the 1970s, Six Flags Over Texas had expanded and added new rides and phased out old ones and by the 80s it was operating almost year-round. It had become one of the nation’s fastest-growing theme parks. However, despite its years of success, it still has its fair share of dark times and mishaps. On August 8, 1968, the park experienced its first ride-related death. Ride Operator John Raymond Nelson was only a high school senior when he accidentally lost his balance while unloading passengers on the El Sombrero. He fell into the pit beneath the ride and was rushed to Arlington Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. In 1999, a 29-year-old woman drowned on a river rafting ride after her raft unexpectedly deflated and flipped. She was trapped underneath and drowned in 2-3 feet of water. A 64-year-old woman also drowned in 2011 after being found unresponsive in the lazy river. She was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead. Lastly, in 2013, a 52-year-old woman fell to her death while riding the New Texas Giant roller coaster after her seat restraint malfunctioned. Because of its history of death, it’s unsurprising that the park is known to be haunted. Ghost sightings have been reported all throughout the park as well as cold spots and sensations of being touched. While most paranormal activity is sporadic, there is one ghost known as Annie who is said to haunt a yellow house by the New Giant Texas roller coaster entrance as well as a candy store within the park. Believed to have passed in the early 1900s after drowning in nearby Johnson’s Creek, her spirit is said to be friendly and a bit mischievous. Lights in the yellow house are known to turn off and on with no one around, curtains open and close and doors slam shut unexpectedly. According to employees, doors also seem to not remain locked. She can also sometimes be seen by guests walking along the tracks in the Mine Train attraction.

Pisces: Frio River, Rio Frio TX- In the early 1900s, a woman named Maria Juanez was murdered by her brother-in-law, Gregorio, on the banks of the Frio River. Gregorio had fallen in love with her and after confessing this to her, she rejected him- she was already in love with a man named Anselmo. Often, Maria and Anselmo would meet down by the river bank at night. On one of these nights, while waiting for Anselmo, Gregorio decided to confront Maria to profess his love. After the rejection, he shot her with a pistol out of rage. Upon realizing what he had done, he hid underneath a large pile of hay in a barn until the next morning when he was found by angry townsfolk. Gregorio was tried for the murder of Maria Juanez and was found guilty, spending the rest of his life in prison. Maria had always dreamed of marrying Anselmo and having children of her own as she had loved caring for her sister’s children, however, that dream never became a reality. Instead, she was buried in a wedding dress along the Frio River, where some say she still roams to this day. She is said to be a very kind spirit, helping lost children, comforting them, or sitting at the edge of their bed at night to protect them. People who claim to have seen her say she is dressed in all white, being nicknamed “The White Lady”, and sometimes she is seen walking down the middle of the river in a mist or fog-like form. One man who cannot swim even claims that Maria saved him from falling into the river. He reported that as he fell back after slipping on a rock, he felt an unseen force push him back to an upright position.

New Jersey

Pennsylvania

Let me know what state I should research next...)

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zoey0509 · 4 years ago

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Ghosts in Society

I’m a ghost. But it’s not that I died, although I never really got to live either. You see, growing up I never felt like anyone noticed me. Sometimes I’d speak and it was as if nobody had heard me. And other times people would ask where I was, even though I was in the room with them.

But one group of people noticed me, and sometimes I wish they hadn’t. They took me away and trained me on how to control my powers. They told me I’d be very useful when I grew up.

It was just another day. I got a new target, a man called Shane, so I waited patiently outside his house until he and his girlfriend walked outside. I started taking pictures, casually walking behind him, keeping my distance. I was just supposed to follow him around, see if I could spot anything outside of the ordinary, who he talks to, and start piecing together a larger puzzle.

Then Shane turned around and asked “Are you following me?”

I was stunned. Not sure how to react, I stuttered out a “Uhm, you shouldn’t see me.”

“What are you talking about, what’s your name?” Shane asked, clearly getting annoyed.

I composed myself as best as I could and said, more confidently this time “I’m not real, you shouldn’t see me, and I wouldn’t tell anyone about me. They’re going to think you’re crazy.”

Then, a few meters ahead, Shane’s girlfriend had turned around. She asked him “Who are you talking to babe?”

Shane turned around to his girlfriend, then back to me. He could still see me, made obvious by how he was looking into my eyes.

“What do you mean, this weirdo is standing right there.” He said, pointing straight at me.

His girlfriend looked at where he pointed, squinted for a second, then said to Shane “I.. I can’t see anyone, Shane.”

I stood there, completely still. Shane was staring into my eyes, clearly fighting a battle in his head, unsure what to do now.

Until he reached out and grabbed my wrist, putting his hand firmly around it. He lifted my hand up and said “See? I’m holding her arm right now.”

She walked up next to Shane, stopped and laughed nervously “You’re joking, right? This has to be a joke.”

“Just touch it!” Shane said, getting frustrated.

She reached her hand out to where my hand was, and as Shane could clearly see her hand went straight through mine.

Shane stood still for a second, his girlfriend looking at him.

“Babe… What the fuck is this about?” she said.

“You didn’t feel anything?” Shane said.

“No, of course not. There’s nothing there. Seriously Shane, are you alright? What’s up with you? Why are you doing this?” His girlfriend said, growing very concerned, sounding almost scared at this point.

Shane let go of my arm and looked at me again. I took two steps backwards, then I turned around and started walking away.

“What do you mean “he saw me”?” the man said over the phone.

“I mean “he saw me”. I was trailing him, he turned around, looked me dead in the eyes and asked me if I was following him.” I said back to him, idly lounging in my chair.

My room was generally clean, except for the pile of clothes in the middle. Having just gotten home, I’d immediately changed into something more comfortable. It being a sunny summer afternoon the window was opened, fresh air blowing in.

“And no, before you ask, I didn’t do anything wrong. He shouldn’t have seen me.” I continued.

Silence over the phone. I looked over at my desk. A laptop was opened on it, the lock screen displaying the time.

The man spoke again “Could he touch you?`”

“Yes, he could touch me, hear me, see me, all of it. He grabbed my wrist. Oh, and his girlfriend was there. She couldn’t. She even tried to touch me, her hand went right through. It wasn’t my fuckup I promise.” I told him.

“Let me get back to you.” The main said, coldly, and hung up.

I leaned my head back and sighed.

This had never happened before, nobody else had seen me when I didn’t want them to. And all the training I had made sure that I wasn’t using these powers the wrong way. I was sure I did everything right. But what could it mean? Did he have powers too? What if he had the same powers? No, then he’d have known, it can’t have been the same power. And I was pretty sure the powers I had didn’t let me see other ghosts.

It just didn’t make any sense. I got up from my chair and fell not so gracefully down on my bed. As I laid there, taking in a mild summer breeze from the window, I decided to browse the internet for a while.

I’m 22 years old, and yet I still live with a family. Not my family, this family is made up entirely of government employees. They don’t have any children of their own, instead they were assigned the role of my caretakers. This doesn’t actually entail very much though. I come and go, they feed me, and give me some people to talk to. They’re generally nice people, but they also have to report in on me. To let the agency know when I’m home and such.

During the days they’re working in an office, it’s about 20 minutes away by car. I’ve been there a few times, but it’s not my headquarters. That’s further away, a lot further away. If I go there, it’s usually for accessing things they don’t want to risk sending out across the internet.

“Dinner is served!” I hear Frank call out.

I slowly start getting out of bed, making sure to stretch as much as I can on my way. Using the internet isn’t always great when you’re strictly disallowed from participating in communities and your phone is being monitored for activity.

But at least I can use it to find information, and lurk. So I looked up the person I was trying to follow earlier that day. He’s an activist with possible ties to some far left extremists. That’s probably why they want me to follow him then, but there was something that bothered me about it. He himself had never been observed doing more than protests, openly and peacefully, not even trying to hide himself. Why send me, of all people, on this when he seems so harmless?

I walked down the stairs and in the hallway I was greeted by Rob, Frank’s husband.

“Oh, hello, didn’t expect you. How’s you?” Rob asked while taking off his coat.

“I’m alright, how was work?” I asked back.

#short story #writing #text #story #ghost #ghosts #invisibility

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rayveewrites · 4 years ago

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So as a simultaneous end of the year/ completion of Golden Echoes/ launch of Buried Gold celebration, I thought it would be neat to go through every chapter and post my favourite line/phrase/sentence/paragraph/etc from each. Why? Is this a genuine celebration? Do I think I’m funny and laugh at my own jokes? Am I actually just procrastinating? Yes. (Very obviously spoilers for the entire fic.)

Prologue: Lost Darkness, pierced by the faint glow of sunlight through the holes in the ceiling. The sound of dripping water, pooling in the centre of the room.

Prologue: Found It remembered a time of life and colour, when it danced and played and sang, when children flocked around him and fed off its happiness and energy and gave him their own. Would it ever experience that again?

Prologue: Name Old, brittle bones grinded. Rusted metal sounded against the tiled floor. Colourless eyes softly glowed silver.

Returned ...whoever thought it was a good idea to create a horror attraction out of the actual murders of actual children needed to have their heads readjusted. Forcefully. With a mask full of crossbeams and wires.

Exploration ...servos and circuits, they had been at this location for an hour and Freddy was already having a terrible day. Also it was 10 AM. The location operated at night. Why.

Darkness So young, and left without a voice. I ask you now to make your choice. Clean the tiles of blood and tears? Or let them suffer with their fears?

Void He called up a memory, of turquoise eyes and golden fur, of whispers in the night that meant nothing and everything, of a feeling of happiness, that nothing would ever change, because the world was already perfect.

Balloons Of course this place has wonky physics.

JJ “So let me get this straight. A potentially dangerous supernatural rabbit wants me to take a cryptic message to a potentially dangerous animatronic rabbit, and then somehow convince the other potentially dangerous animatronic rabbit and his potentially dangerous animatronic friends that the first potentially dangerous animatronic rabbit is not, in fact, the definitely dangerous child-murdering serial killer who’s...somewhere else. Have I got all that?”

Rabbit Part of his mouth twitched, as if he was trying to make a facial expression, but couldn't.

Arcade The Void was not cooperating.

Parts Things had always seemed much brighter when they were two.

Guard Whatever came to one or the other's mind, in the breaks between people coming through and Sam playing creepy sounds over the speakers because 'a couple of teenagers are smooching on cam six, do they you realize I can see you, jesus christ, why are you even snogging in a horror attraction anyway, I really don't get the appeal, I swear to god-' or something along those lines, anyway.

Adventure Peace wasn't a feeling the ghost had had for a very long time.

Notes ...it had been a handful of wild yellow daisies a little girl had found, and he’d woven them into a ‘flower crown’ (actually more of a flower bracelet- the girl had picked as many as she could hold, but children had small hands) and put it on Fredbear’s hat when his partner wasn’t looking. Fredbear had promptly worn it all that night and the next day, daisies and all. Spring hadn’t been sure if he’d noticed or not, but either way, it had been very cute.

Cupcakes If the kid wanted a dinosaur, the kid should get a dinosaur, as far as he was concerned. Clothes were clothes. Why did people kick up such a stink about it sometimes?

Tapes “Uh, hello? Hello, hello! Uh, there’s been a slight change of company policy concerning use of the suits. Um, don’t.” “Oh gee,” JJ muttered, “imagine. It’s almost as if they were giant metal deathtraps.”

Talk ...she didn’t need to understand every aspect of Springtrap's life. That was Springtrap’s job, and he was apparently terrible at it.

Performance “It smells like something crawled in there and died.”

Gold Fredbear had been Springtrap’s heart and soul; as much as he loved the children and gave each performance his all, his real reason for living was in the bear who sang beside him. Springtrap remembered singing on stage, a guitar in his hands and love in his soul. He remembered stolen kisses in the night, waltzing on cool tiles with music nobody else could hear. He remembered stealing Fredbear’s hat dozens of times, running off wearing it and giggling like a small child himself. He remembered quiet nights, when the only sounds were his guitar and Fred’s soft humming, sometimes the same tune, sometimes not, but neither of them ever cared. He remembered curling up together, watching stars twinkle in the night sky beyond the walls of the little diner, and truly believing that the time they had together was infinite.

Stage He was holding something. He looked down, opened his hand and saw a gleaming purple microphone, accented with gold. It had been years, decades, since he had last seen it, but he recognized it. He knew what it meant. "Even after everything, I’m still with you."

[Note: this is also the chapter that contained Springtrap’s poem. I’m quite proud of that one, despite how much of a pain it was to write. So, honourable mention]

Notes [Note: wait, crud, there’s two chapters named Notes? I’m gonna have to change one of those later.]

Maybe she just needed to hit something.

Knife [Note: I forgot to actually title this one in AO3. Welp. Better fix that later]

It was slightly strange, a Freddy’s-related crime that was just… basic burglary. It was always the unusual crimes that happened- murder, manslaughter, OSHA violations (so many OSHA violations). But theft? That was new.

Shadows

They lapsed back into silence for a moment. “So, this place… is it real?” In a fashion. It was created from your memories of what is gone. “So… if Fredbear isn’t here…” He is unreachable. “Where?” I cannot tell you. “You don’t know, do you.” The Shadow-Bear was silent, telling Springtrap all he needed to know.

Puppet RWQ… Yes? Stop tormenting the rabbit. You’re no fun. Puppet? She hissed at the purple bear. Stop tormenting the rabbit. “And why would I listen to you?” Because, Shadow Freddy said as the Puppet was slowly levitated up into the air, all four limbs flailing, he’s needed. And also, you are being, as Springtrap so eloquently called RWQ earlier, an asshole.

Voice Specifically, it was more a mixture of blood, rotting flesh, and whatever other bodily fluids lingered in William Afton’s partially mummified decomposing head and was accessible via Springtrap’s mouth, without opening said mouth to the point where someone would notice said partially mummified decomposing head. [Or] Springtrap was displaying remarkable self-restraint. First, he hadn’t punched the Puppet in the face for threatening his friend’s life. Then, he hadn’t punched the Puppet in the face for implying he had a problem with the golden bear. Now, he wasn’t squeezing the life out of JJ in a hug.

Ghosts “No. The thing is, I’ve never had a name I felt truly fit before it. I can’t be Bonnie any more; the Classic model has taken that name, and he is welcome to have it. Spring Bonnie was the name the Man Behind the Slaughter used; I never truly referred to myself with it. Some employees called me Golden Bonnie, to fit with the whispers of a Golden Freddy, but that was never truly a name either, although I suppose I could have gotten used to it eventually. But Springtrap? It lets me keep my past, and it lets me have a future. Sure, it’s a little odd, but I don’t mind. I kind of like it. It’s unique.”

Humans Oh, Spring has a key. That explains where the spare went! When did he get that? Jake’s been looking for it for ages. Not that it’s my business. He says he technically works here, so it’s not stealing. Cheeky. He’s right though.

Henry “I’m not sure whether I should be pissed about the weird way he’s been constructed, or impressed he hasn’t collapsed yet. What the hell is holding him togeth- wait what the hell is that.” Springtrap winced. He knew he should’ve warned them beforehand, but he still tended to hide the rotting corpse. It was instinctive, a sort of habit- born from the fear he would be scrapped is the workers found out, and increased by the fact he was being blamed for murder.

Sound No matter how bad Springtrap’s eyesight could get, no matter how often his joints locked up, Springtrap had always had his rabbit hearing. It had saved his life several times, back when the Classics were hunting him. He had figured out a basic method of echolocation for when his eyes were useless. He relied on his ears, and now they were letting him down for the first time in his life. It scared him.

Doors “Freddy! We have a problem!”

Attack He did. He needed a hand. God, it hurt. Where was his arm? Was that his arm? No, it couldn’t be. He was gold. Not green. Or maybe it was. It was hard to think. Thinking. What a strange concept. The Greeks had invented thinking, hadn't they? Why would they do that?

Rest There were voices. Voices. His voicebox had lungs. His lungs were in his spine. His spine was being held together by lungs. His spine attached to his legs. He had no legs. He heard voices. He couldn’t hear. The grass was nice. Cool. Soft. Green. Like his eyes. Not like his eyes. Like his fur. He had no fur. Like his plush. His plush was green. Or gold. Or red. Or brown. He couldn’t remember which. Maybe it was all of them There was a breeze. It was nice. Warm. Hot. It was sunny. The sun was a star. He liked stars. Stars meant Fredbear. And dancing. Where were his legs? He wanted to dance with the stars. Or with Fredbear. Fredbear. His Fredbear. He missed Fredbear.

Epilogue: Box Smeared down the plaster, it started about six feet up, and grew thicker toward the ground. It looked like Springtrap, or the Purple Guy, had slid down the wall until they were sitting. The tile beneath was stained heavily, and Freddy marvelled at how much blood was in a human body.

Epilogue: Opening ... no killing. That was the new rule. It was a strange one, for Master, but he supposed Master knew what he was talking about. He had changed, too; he had scratched behind his ears a couple days ago and it had felt so good.

Epilogue: Spark He remembered a time of life and colour, when he danced and played and sang, when children flocked around him and fed off his happiness and energy and gave him their own. He would experience that again.

#Golden Echoes

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sparklyjojos · 4 years ago

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CARNIVAL DAY recaps [7/13]

Today’s recap: The first few of many ‘character testimonies’, the obligatory Kodansha Editor Characters, and Dokuson’s confession.

[tw: suicide]

[BOOK V—CARNIVAL EVE]

FORTY

10 May 1997 — 16 May 1997

THE POLES

(And in the latest news report…)

On May 10th, satellite pictures show that a cylindrical hole 800 meters in diameter and 350 meters in depth has suddenly shown up at the South Pole, while a mass of frozen earth of that same shape and size has appeared at the North Pole, as if it was teleported. The Billion Killer’s skull is found in the frozen mass.

(Diana Hosey is the daughter of Theodore Hosey, the serial killer known as Deep Cut. After her father fled jail, she helped investigate his escape, and after many strange events was invited to the Sanctuary by RISE.

Below is Diana Hosey’s testimony.)

Diana didn’t expect to see her father under the mask of Yellow Bishop. He said he’d been living as RISE’s Dog for decades, their inn’s name Two-Headed Dog now sounding quite ironic. He was eventually chosen to become one of the Rainbow Sophists. While the rainbow had seven colors, there could be less than seven Sophists appointed at a time—though technically there were seven of them right now, as he and Tanna Sazen doubled as Yellow Bishop.

According to Theodore, a necessary requirement to be chosen as one of the Sophists was the ability to look and act like one of the S-detectives when masked. They also needed to be able to act out the corresponding S-detective’s reasoning method. Fabian as a lover of a cartel boss knew well how to use a fake identity to her advantage, sort of like Meiru. Tanna Sazen gathered information on Ajiro’s behavior through Maimu and was himself able to “intensely focus” as a bank clerk. Pacha Palermo just like Frau D could process large amounts of data at a time, although she was an interpreter of many languages rather than a statistician. Aleksandr Uryakov had a similarly mysterious and supernatural reasoning method as Zerofini Roi’s Zero Reasoning. Theodore Hosey personally knew Ronely Queen and used similar logical thinking.

Theodore talked about how his “world chaos theory” pertained to the Crime Olympics. (Diana doesn’t really understand the theory, but she knows it’s a bit like meteorology—forecasting future events from seemingly chaotic data). He said that the case Ronely Queen had solved at their inn had been just a test to see if she could pose a threat in the future. RISE decided that her determination could hurt their cause and so she had to disappear.

Ronely Queen and Ushiwaka Gigolo both died in the Statue of Liberty case while covering Diana. Then Diana and Kakuusan Kanke gathered (intentionally provided) clues about Theodore and went to the Earth House, from where Diana was taken to the Sanctuary. Everything according to the plan. Just like the world chaos theory predicted.

Diana felt furious and sad that her father would manipulate her and lead to her friends’ death. Theodore assured her that Ronely Queen had to die; if she survived, RISE’s plan would be eventually stopped, and as a result the Cosmic Bomb would destroy humanity.

The Cosmic Bomb in question can be also called “shinrui” (“God’s tear”) or a more straightforward name Lunatic Bomb, which makes it easy to guess what it really is.

At the end of the Crime Olympics, the Comic Bomb—the Earth’s own Moon—would fall and destroy the human race.

FORTY-ONE

17 May 1997 — 23 May 1997

CARNIVAL IN RIO

(Kirika Mai knew nothing about her origins. The strong desire to find her family made her a detective. Not given love, she was instead gifted with insight and logic. Many times she attempted to eliminate that uncertain and inexplicable being that was herself, but was saved by her desire to learn the truth before death; she feared that if she died without knowing anything about herself, her entire life would be worthless in hindsight. Giving up on eliminating herself caused her elimination reasoning method to blossom instead.

The only place that ever felt like home to her was JDC, but then it exploded, leaving her gravely injured. Her life partner Hazama Kuroo died in the Three Monkeys Case. JDC was taken over by a suspicious man called Yuiga Dokuson, and Kirika spent a lot of time investigating him, even visiting his parents in Hiroshima. They seemed like perfectly normal people and didn’t know much about their son’s life after he had graduated high-school. “He was born with a bitter smile,” they just said. Kirika tried to contact Dokuson’s school colleagues, but no one knew a lot about him either, though a lot of tales about his youth still circulated.

Below is Kirika Mai’s testimony.)

Whenever Kirika spoke to someone who knew Dokuson, including his own parents, it seemed to her like all those people were afraid of him, felt uneasy when talking about him, and generally preferred to regard him from afar. Perhaps that rumor about how Dokuson had talked someone into suicide in high-school had some basis. Kirika got the feeling that maybe it wasn’t just people’s fear that hindered the investigation, but that Dokuson had taken measures to hide his past.

Before Ushiwaka left for North America, she warned Kirika against digging too deep. Now that Ushiwaka died and Hyouma was missing, there was no one left who could tell her more about Dokuson—perhaps it was him who quietly eliminated uncomfortable witnesses.

Dokuson was simply too suspicious to ignore. People at JDC told stories about a woman in black (a secret lover? a ninja? a ghost?) who was sometimes heard talking with him in the office, but not many have seen her. Rumors claimed that it was the new detective using the D-name Manji Tawawa, who was about as self-conceited and devilishly beautiful as Dokuson, wore rich pink dresses, and had a bunch of jewelry all in the shape of her D-name. [Manji is written 卍, which is not exactly That symbol, but it’s still about as subtle as a sledgehammer, which is probably why everyone in JDC is calling her Lady Hitler]. JDC quickly split into two cliques based on which local narcissist they preferred, and some wanted Tawawa to become the new representative.

While investigating Tawawa, Kirika found a private detective called Tanegashima Cafe. Her reasoning method was called “happou vision”, happou refering to both “all directions” and “shooting”, as she was firing all her ideas in rapid succession. Tanegashima Cafe had apparently been working together with Kirika when they were both private detectives (which Kirika couldn’t quite remember, as the JDC explosion left her with partial memory loss). She had two young children and often took them to Kyoto’s park Tsukigime, a popular spot for parents and kids. When hanging around there, Kirika was surprised to meet families of JDC detectives.

There was Mizuno Reito (father of Christmas Mizuno), who took care of the household while his wife Chiyoko worked, and often went to the park with his young daughter JDC [yes, that is her first name]. In a funny coincidence, “Chiyoko” and “Reito” together sounded like “chocolate”, and they were born on respectively February 14th and March 14th, which together earned them the nicknames “Valentine Mizuno” and “White Day Mizuno”. [So basically, we have the family of Valentine, White Day, Pyramid, Christmas, and JDC Mizuno. Dear God.]

Another family group in the park were Shiranui Zenzou’s daughter and granddaughter, named Zenzouko and Zenzounene [effectively “Zenzou-kid” and “Zenzou-kid-kid”]. They were given these names to respect the dying wish of Shiranui’s father Taizen to pass his name on in some form. Both also inherited reasoning methods somewhat similar to Zenzou’s own.

Kirika learned about a very lively detective “lady network” made of all those women who constantly sit and talk in parks and always seem to know everything. It turned out they even knew about Tawawa and Dokuson, and told Kirika a bit more. Dokuson apparently was getting his secret info through the ninja detective Sarutobi Shinobu, while Tawawa would buy data from Tanegashima. It was their ability to gather secret data that made them seem geniuses of reasoning.

Realizing that the “lady network” really knew everything, Kirika asked about herself—and finally got the answer.

But now that she solved the mystery of her life, the pressure to eliminate herself returned.

[...and at the end of this testimony that turns out to have been a letter all along, for no obvious reasons there are a few mentions of “Georgia” at the end.]

(And in the latest news report…)

On May 17th, during an important soccer match in Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, the ball suddenly explodes. No one is hurt, but the match is suspended, agitating the fans and causing an outburst of hooliganism that kills close to a hundred people. The Billion Killer's skull is found in a ditch by the sports grounds.

Earlier that year, an incident of mass suicide took place during the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Investigation found a worldwide suicide cult calling themselves Carnival Dice (or just DICE). It has been confirmed that JDC's Kirika Mai, who disappeared leaving only a suicide note, had been in contact with DICE. JDC announced they would search for Kirika and attempt to stop the cult.

FORTY-TWO

24 May 1997 — 30 May 1997

AYERS ROCK

XX would never guess he’d become a JDC detective so quickly, but it wasn’t that hard with the entrance exam abolished. XX’s job interview was led by a detective nicknamed Cappuccino Knob Suzuki (actually Suzuki Nobuyuki), who had previously worked as a Kodansha editor and even took part in publishing Cosmic and Joker. [Suzuki Nobuyuki is an actual Kodansha employee.]

Ever since the Crime Olympics began, a lot of “description detectives” or “writer detectives” started to pour in, their reasoning based on describing an incident as a book narration. Since every writer needs a good editor, that’s how “editor detective” Suzuki got his new job overseeing MAT (“Mystery Attack Team”). There are also “reader detectives” responsible for careful analysis of the stories.

In the world where new mysteries and incidents constantly surround everyone, more people than usual start to awaken their detective instincts. People have a need to solve mysteries. They also need to make stories; living in itself is writing a story about themselves.

(And in the latest news…)

...on May 24th, an earthquake caused Uluru / Ayers Rock in Australia to split, a part of it breaking off and killing a few tourists. The Billion Killer’s skull fell out of the newly made crevice during the earthquake.

...the JDC representative Yuiga Dokuson disappeared on June 6th, incidentally the day of his 27th birthday. In his office he had left a video tape with a confession:

“To tell you the truth, the Billion Killer is me. For various reasons I have been causing all the incidents until now, but there’s no further need for them. The Billion Killer cases end today. Humanity, rejoice.”

FORTY-THREE

31 May 1997 — 06 Jun 1997

CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN

(Below is Inugami Yasha’s testimony. [Originally in first person.])

If only Yasha had paid more attention to his surroundings, maybe the tragedy wouldn’t have happened. But it’s too late for regrets; the past can’t be undone.

At that time, Sayo was away from Gensoukan. When Yasha went outside to search for Kanaihidetaka, a person put a blade to his neck from behind, drawing blood, and ordered him to stay quiet in a muffled voice. Yasha wasn’t able to tell the stranger’s gender or age from the voice. When Juku opened the door to go outside, the assassin pushed Yasha away and charged, but Juku managed to jump away. The assassin wore silver clothes and a bull mask. Juku asked the enemy if they were Tsukumo Jaki / Yakuma Suzume, but was ignored. The assassin instead leapt at Juku, piercing his chest with a sword and forcing him to the ground.

Something unexpected happened right afterwards. When the assassin raised the sword again to deliver the final blow, they suddenly stopped moving, and Yasha heard their muffled voice saying something like “Godust… Alive… sh…”. The sword fell from their grasp and they collapsed on top of Juku, both the attacker and the victim now completely still on the ground.

Yasha couldn’t move both from shock and from blood loss, but thankfully Sayo returned right at that moment. Yasha heard her yell right before he lost consciousness. When he woke up in a hospital bed, he was told that Sayo had called an ambulance, but the help came too late and Juku passed away.

When the ambulance got to the scene, Sayo, Kanaihidetaka, and even Gensoukan were no longer there and couldn’t be found later, as if they had never existed.

The masked assassin was discovered to be not Yakuma Suzume, but the writer Minase Nagisa (real name Tamei Madoka). She had apparently died of Alive with strangely perfect timing just before she could deliver the final blow.

Yasha realized what Jaki had meant warning them about “sankaku, shikaku, maru”. It didn’t mean “triangle, square, circle”. Sankaku could mean someone taking part in a plan. Shikaku was an assassin. Tamei Madoka’s first name was written 円, this kanji having an alternate reading of maru.

After Juku’s death, Yasha became Dokuson’s helper as JDC’s first vice-representative. This unexpectedly led to him becoming the actual representative after Dokuson left his confession and fled. Leading JDC wasn’t in Yasha’s plans at all, but he decided to help everyone as he could.

[End of testimony.]

The writer detective XX stumbles upon files about “the phantom case of the Seppuku Detective”, which was solved by Suzukaze Unomaru.

Once upon a time, a woman wandered into a forest known for suicides and found a house called Gensoukan, where she met two men. One was the seppuku detective, another was a genius surgeon dressed in white. The detective would repeatedly attempt seppuku—the state between life and death sharpening his reasoning—and the surgeon would then piece him back together.

The woman got into a romantic triangle with both men. However, one night the detective actually killed himself in secret, and the other two fell apart and went their own ways away from Gensoukan. When the woman returned to the forest later, the house was no longer there.

The woman asked JDC to help her find the house and the surgeon. The tale was clearly absurd, but Unomaru wanted to check if it had any basis in reality.

The woman indeed had been in a triangle relationship with two brothers, but then the older one (Endou Naoto) disappeared, and the abandoned pair split. The woman attempted to contact the younger brother (Endou Masato) a few years later, but found that he had mysteriously fled. This entire “Gensoukan” must have been just a metaphor for lost love and happiness.

While the case was technically solved, XX thinks there has to be more to it, especially since the recent case of Juku’s murder also involved a disappearing Gensoukan. Additionally, that short story Another Joker was set in Gensoukan, and its alleged author was the brother of the masked assassin.

XX asks Yasha for a testimony about everything that happened [the one we just read]. He learns about “Seiryoin Ryusui” being the suspected “third writer”, about the Yakuma Suzume hypothesis, and about the two Endou brothers. Everything is starting to come together.

FORTY-FOUR

07 Jun 1997 — 13 Jun 1997

NUCLEAR WEAPON TEST

(And in the news…)

...On May 31st, a giant fire broke out on Mount Roraima in South America and had been raging on for a week. The Billion Killer’s skull was found in an extinguished part of the slope.

...the investigation of Mount Roraima revealed the existence of a group called F4C (Fire 4 Card), also suspected of bombing buildings and setting fires during the Crystal Nightmare. The name comes from the group always leaving four playing cards the size of an adult on the crime scene, always the four different colors of the same number, starting from twos during the Crystal Nightmare, up to aces on Mount Roraima. As the usual skull was found in the Mount Roraima fire, it points to the group’s possible connection with the Billion Killer.

...tensions between India and Pakistan heightened with both countries announcing multiple underground nuclear tests.

The writer detective XX decides to try solving the “seppuku detective’s phantom case” by writing about it.

Books about real cases sell unusually well in the new society of the Crime Olympics. Way back in February, Kodansha even sent over their editor called Katsushi Outa to scout for good stories from the writer detectives. [The real Kodansha editor Katsushi Outa just had to appear eventually, didn’t he.] He later became an editor detective with the D-name Strong J Outa.

The (by that time) vice-representative Yasha asked XX and Outa a strange favor: to start writing and publishing more books under the pen name Seiryoin Ryusui, as that would somehow help end the Crime Olympics.

[>>>NEXT PART>>>]

#sparkly reads carnival day #maijo and jdc stuff

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orenonahaichigoda · 5 years ago

Text

Shinya Shokudou x Hotel del Luna verse (crafted to compliment @orihimex 's Hotel del Luna verse)

I haven't actually seen Hotel del Luna, and I can't find anything useful on the English or Japanese Web about it. But Ichigo comes in from his own place.

Ichigo, b. 15 July 1980, is a failed med student with PTSD from witnessing his mother's murder. After realising his lack of being able to focus was going to absolutely cause him to fail med school at Toudai, he took what he had in college fund left and opened up a late night donburi place, because he didn't want to be a financial burden to his father, who already doesn't make great profit on his one-man clinic. Sure, there are cheaper places to get donburi, and they're open longer, but they don't heal your soul like Sinya Shokudou, run by a man that would probably take care of everyone in the whole world if he could. So he has good business.

But he keeps getting guests from this alleged hotel one street over. Something is very strange. One day, he decides to try to figure this mystery out...

Ichigo can still see ghosts. Ripping out Ichigo's sixth sense entirely just seems *wrong.*

In fact, Ichigo has given up on all forms of prayer and ancestor worship because he prayed for so long for Masaki to come see him, or at least give him a clear sign she was doing okay in theafterlife. He'd last seen her face with blood coming out everywhere dead in his arms.

Issin said sometimes the dead aren't powerful enough to return to this world, sometimes even at times like O-bon, when the boundary between worlds is the weakest.

Yuzu's sense is the weakest, and she often assumed every cup falling over and rustle of the wind through the curtains was her mum. When it wasn't, Karin would cry angry tears.

Ichigo went almost mute in the week or so following the murder. Even when he was able to speak again (it would take longer for him to be able to look at anyone again. He still blames himself for not being able to save her, and the like the sayings in both Japanese and English, not that he really speaks the latter, he couldn't face anyone) his memories were so scrambled, he could only supply things like "big" [it's likely the killer wasn't as tall and imposing as Ichigo remembers], "male, maybe?" and black gloves that turned out to be suede-like. He now strongly associates both suede and gloves with that night. They are triggers.

The killer was never identified, hence never caught. No discernible motive was established (this may be revisited) The case went cold.

This happened when he was twelve, in 1992. Masaki's birthday and O-Bon (he has no idea what day she died. He can't remember. His dad is afraid to tell him the date. His sisters were too young to really understand "date.") depress him pretty badly.

(As it was a hailstorm--he was being picked up from school mid-morning with an injury-- there were no witnesses at the river bank, except Ichigo)

Ichigo is still trans and mixed race, by the way. Here, as he was born earlier than canon, he still learned trans was a thing you could be from Kamikawa Aya's NHK radio appearances, but he was mid-high school. The transition was much more obvious to his peers. As children will pick for any difference, he dealt with bullying more heavily, but comparable for what he always got for being mixed. Conservative teachers/school admin that probably worshipped former PM Nakasone were no more kind. His grades yo-yoed and bounced around between PTSD brain, teachers marking him wrong when he wasn't for bullying, and bullying from his peers. Being intelligent, his fairly-marked grades from neutral and supportive liberal teachers, as well as his dad's smart call of putting Ichigo's college fund into something like a CD account, meaning he could pay more, and completing tough papers and tests got him into Toukyou University by the skin of his teeth, but his scattered mind made it so that his prospects were none within one year.

Feeling fed up with feeling like a burden, in Spring 1999, he sank what was left of his college fund into a small donburi shop, Shinya Shokudou (Late-Night Diner)

It opens Sunset to Sunrise. He is the only worker there.

Sure, there's more than five dishes available at Denny's. Sure, dishes are generally more varied than your choices being between eel over rice and egg over rice. Sure, service is faster because they have plural employees. Sure, it never is closed.

But if the bar Cheers was "where everybody knows your name," then Shinya Shokudou is "where people care." It's "Situren Restaurant." It's where you go when the comfort of your parents' kitchen isn't an option.

And it may also be one block from a cursed hotel, as Ichigo will find out...

(And he will wonder how he never noticed before, but he still cannot visually distinguish the living from the dead)

In this verse, Chad is still his best friend,ex-boyfriend, and still have a daughter together. Chad has always been supportive of Ichigo,and he of Chad. Chad witnessed Ichigo's transition and struggles, meeting him the first day of seventh grade, Masaki dying toward the end of sixth.

However, they both realised they weren't what each other was looking for in a life partner.

Chad and his spouse live in the same building as Ichigo and their daughter, Yasuko, b. 3 June 1993.

Ichigo has a hard time getting really close to people. Yasuko is an insei at her university. I'm not sure how you call this in English, but she's above a Bachelor's. She is very feminine, and goes to school in skirtsuits. She wants to do her part in making the world greener. Yes, the landlord of the apartment building has been approached many times about converting the complex to a natural, renewable source of energy. They might be a bit at odds.

She can also see ghosts, but she's usually asleep while her dad works. (Her Papi, however, does animal rescue. When Sunset happens earlier in winter, she often dines with him and his spouse)

In this verse, Ichigo wears a lot of plaid flannel. I don't know why, but I can't get the image of almost middle age restaurant owner Ichigo wearing lumberjack-style clothing and an apron over it out of my head.

#about verse

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justatiredghost · 5 years ago

Text

Unsolved Academy Ch6

It’s time for Klaus and Dave to film the next episode of their ghost hunting show! Unfortunately, there are some unforeseen consequences waiting for them. - Both Vanya and Ben were filming today; they were working on their editing, trying to make things more dynamic or whatever, Klaus wasn’t really sure. He wasn’t very involved with that part of the process, he was mostly in charge of the social media side of things and let Dave and Ben and sometimes Vanya take care of the editing.

“Okay, let’s get this party started!” Klaus said, punching the air in his excitement.

This was promising to be a great episode and he couldn’t wait to get going. They took their positions in front of the old building and the moment Ben gave the signal that they were ready, Dave launched into the introduction.

“Hey everyone, we’re back with a brand new episode. Sorry we took such a long break there, but we have a special treat for you all. Today we are joined by two famous actresses! Welcome, Allison and Claire Hargreeves, so glad you could join us today.”

“It’s a pleasure to be here, thank you for having us,” Allison said with a radiant smile.

“I’m not famous,” Claire objected.

“Yet,” Dave said. “So! Tell us what we’ve got here, Miss Hargreeves. Allison,” he clarified.

“Well, this old abandoned office building behind us has had a surprisingly dark history. Even after it’s closing there have been rumors of ghost sightings. That’s why it was chosen for the location of our new movie.”

“Ghosts Like Us, a lovely romcom starring our very own Allison Hargreeves,” Dave said. “I can’t wait to see it!”

And I’m not just saying that because I’m dating your brother.”

“Well thank you,” Allison laughed.

“Seriously, he’s a big fan,” Klaus said.

“One of the first things I did when I got here was marathon all of your movies,” Dave said.

“And we’re definitely going to have a watch party when this one comes out,” Klaus added.

“Oh, god,” Allison said with an embarrassed laugh.

“But back to the task at hand,” Klaus leaned down, resting his hands on his knees so he was closer to Claire’s level. “Claire! I heard you’ve been allowed to wander around the set. Have you seen anything strange?”

“I don’t think so,” Claire said doubtfully. “I think I saw a ghost in the basement while I was exploring when I wasn’t supposed to be.” Looking guilty, she glanced over at Allison but avoided eye contact. “But that might have just been one of the actors in makeup, I’m not sure because mom was calling me and I had to go. And it’s creepy down there.”

“Here’s hoping we get to see whoever it was again tonight,” Klaus said. “Now, I know Dave here, giant nerd that he is, usually gives the rundown of the history of the building, but since this one’s yours, why don’t you go ahead, Allison.”

“I’d be happy to,” she said. “Like I mentioned, it used to be an office building, but freak accidents kept happening, people getting hurt or dying. I mean, it’s an office building, it shouldn’t have been that dangerous.”

“So we’re thinking a curse, ghosts, or OSHA violations?” Dave asked.

“Exactly,” Allison laughed. “No one was arrested, but I’m not sure that really means much. Regardless, enough people died that the company had to close up shop. Several other businesses have moved in over the years, but they all eventually moved out after suffering high casualties as well. None of them ever made it a full year.”

“Well, seems like there’s certainly plenty of reasons for the place to be haunted,” Dave said.

“That’s for sure. The story goes that the main ghost spotted here is that of a repairman who died when the basement collapsed in on him. They didn’t find his body for weeks. He’s said to slam doors and push people down stairs”

“Great, well, let’s go piss off a ghost! Maybe if we’re really lucky we’ll get him to chuck us down a few stairways!” Klaus said, throwing his arms in the air.

“Cut,” Ben said. “Great job everyone. Especially you, Claire.”

“I did okay?” Claire asked.

“You bet you did,” Klaus said. “Are you trying to steal the spotlight?”

“Maybe,” she replied

“That’s my girl,” he said, ruffling her hair. “Come on, I think Uncle Diego is here to pick you up, I’ll give you a piggyback ride to his car.”

“Aw, can’t I stay?” she asked.

“Sorry, honey, it’s getting late and it’s a school night,” Allison said.

She seemed disappointed, but was giggling again by the time Klaus ran her over to her ride.

“Now, there’s a lot of filming equipment and props already set up, but check this out, this was here when we first arrived.” Allison pointed out a large bulletin board as they entered, filled with notices and flyers.

“Hell yeah, Taco Tuesday!” Klaus said.

“Oh nice,” Dave said, looking over his shoulder. “Any chance we can get in on that? Although I guess the business putting it on is probably long gone.”

“Unless you want ghost tacos. Probably not that appetizing.”

“No not that,” Allison said with a long suffering sigh. “That.”

Above the lunch schedule was a notice with ‘Warning’ written at the top in large red letters.

“‘The owners of this property are not liable for any injuries or damages that occur after business hours’,” Dave read.

“Is that even legal?” Klaus asked.

“Aw man,” Dave said. “That ‘s gonna make it kinda hard for us to sue them if we get killed.”

Allison was amazing at this, full of energy and enthusiasm, weaving stories, the three of them able to play off of each other with ease. Klaus had no doubt this would be one of their more popular episodes and he was having a blast. They could definitely learn a thing or two from her and he made a mental note to talk to her about lessons or something later. If nothing else maybe she could recommend some improv classes. Maybe even get them a much needed discount.

“Hey, thank you for this by the way,” Klaus said during a lull as they swapped out the batteries in the equipment.

“It’s nothing, really,” she said, waving a hand. “It didn’t even take any convincing on the producer’s part. She seemed pretty excited about the whole idea. Maybe because I let Claire do the asking.”

“Ooh, roping your daughter into doing your dirty work, hmm?”

“Oh not at all, this was all her idea!” Allison said proudly

“Wait, really?”

“Of course! She is a big fan, after all. I should be thanking you guys though, this has been a lot of fun.”

“We’re glad to have you,” he said, hand on her arm, glad that they were getting the chance to be closer after all these years. He’d missed what they used to have.

“Down this way is the basement,” Allison said, leading the way. “Apparently police have already searched but some stories insist there are still bodies from missing employees buried under here.”

The dark was a familiar thing to Klaus. Of course it was, his dad had locked him in enough mausoleums over the years that it was pretty much a home away from home. He was getting better, though, now that he actually had the support system for it, working on how to deal with the fears and the nightmares instead of just trying to force himself to endure until the panic attacks kicked in. Sure, he still slept with a nightlight on, but that was part of the point, getting to choose for himself when he faced it.

He still hated the dark and he probably always would. And as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he hated it more than usual. He was just hit with too much, too fast. It was dark, so dark, and the air was filled with the smell of mildew, damp and thick. It brought with it memories, clawing hands grasping at him, voices begging and screaming. He’d apparently never be free of his nightmares of graveyards.

But there was more. The mold and the dark, the low ceiling and the walls that seemed to push in on him made him feel like he was trapped in a tiny motel room again, shoved into a closet for hours, tortured and tortured until he could barely remember what it was to be anywhere else. He staggered back, overwhelmed, and almost bumping into Vanya. Dave was at his side almost immediately, steadying him.

“Woah, woah, hey,” Dave said, rubbing his arm soothingly. “You okay?”

Klaus looked to Vanya and somehow she looked the way he felt. He had done his best not to think about the little box Luther had locked her inside, it was too terrible to even imagine. How many days, how many weeks had she spent trapped in there when they were children, with nothing but the sound of her own heartbeat?

“Vanya?” Dave asked, spotting her expression as well. He glanced between the two of them, obviously concerned.

“I think you guys can handle this bit without us, right?” Klaus said.

He didn’t want to pull out of Dave’s warm and comforting arms, but he couldn’t leave Vanya like this either, so he took her hand and led her back up the stairs, back into the light. They’d been in musty places before, of course they had, it was practically their job now, so Klaus wasn’t really sure why this out of all the places they’d visited was the one that did it. Maybe it was just too much all at once.

It was probably the same for Vanya. She had a strong stomach, so few things bothered her and as far as he knew, she wasn’t all that claustrophobic. Klaus was angry with himself that this was getting to him so badly, and no doubt she felt the same. She held the camera tight against her chest and Klaus stretched in the newfound freedom of the wide hallway, breathing deeply as the others filed back up the stairs behind them. Allison went to Vanya, but she waved her away with an embarrassed smile

“Hey,” Dave said, rubbing Klaus’ back and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“We’re fine, all good,” Klaus said, leaning against him briefly. “Why don’t you guys just film this bit without us?”

“Are you sure?” Dave asked, looking between the two of them. “We can stay here for a bit, or we don’t even have to do the basement, we can just do the rest of the building.”

“We’ll be fine,” Vanya said, mustering up a reassuring smile.

“See?” Klaus said. “Now off you go, you have an episode to film.”

“Okay,” Dave said, popping his collar and turning to the others. “Let’s go get this ghost. Punk won’t know what hit him.”

“Punk?” Klaus echoed, trying to stifle a laugh.

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, Claire is gonna be watching this episode. I’m trying to keep things PG.”

“Right,” Klaus said with a fond smile as he straightened Dave’s collar, folding it back down, before giving him a gentle shove in the direction of the basement. “Just go already.”

He knew Dave was being silly on purpose, trying to make him and Vanya smile and Klaus loved him for it. He had the same impulse, to make others laugh when they were upset. Having someone else do that for him instead, knowing Dave would always make sure he was able to smile, meant more to him than he thought it could and he probably had a ridiculous grin on his face as he watched him leave.

“I appreciate the thought,” Allison said to Dave with a laugh as they headed downstairs.

Vanya slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor so Klaus dropped down beside her. He let out a heavy sigh, resting his head back against the wall. Thankfully he hadn’t had a full blown panic attack, but he still felt rattled. He just focused on his breathing, trying to calm his pounding heart.

“Thank you,” Vanya said, voice small.

“No sweat,” he replied, flashing her a smile. “I don’t really like dark, cramped places either. With how often we were locked up, I’m starting to wonder if dad had some sort of obsession.”

“Wait, you were locked up too?” she asked, horrified.

“Oh, yeah,” he said, glancing away and waving a hand dismissively. “You know dad, it was no big deal.”

Klaus had a problem with not talking about things. He had never seen much of a point, everyone had their own problems they were dealing with, they didn’t need Klaus’ on top of that. So instead he’d always just made jokes, exaggerated and tried to make people laugh. In the end, people stopped believing anything he said. Even on the few occasions he truly did go to them for help. At some point he just gave up trying, assuming none of them would care. Except maybe Ben.

Dave cared, though, and he wouldn’t let him do that. Klaus was getting better at not just trying to hide it all away, but that didn’t mean he was as open with the rest of his family. That was a much longer work in progress, there were still too many bridges to rebuild there. Besides, he still didn’t know how much he should share, it still felt like they probably didn’t want to know. .

“Knowing dad, I kinda doubt that,” Vanya said, leaning over to bump against his shoulder. He smiled at her, grateful. “Did he build a box for you too?”

“Nah, it was a crypt for me,” he said.

“What the fuck,” Vanya whispered.

“It was only overnight. You got kept in your little prison for weeks, right?”

“Still fucked up,” she said.

“That’s fair,” he said, climbing back to this feet to stretch. “Thankfully, he’s dead now so we can leave whenever we want.”

“What, you want to go get ice cream again?” she chuckled.

“Unfortunately I’m on the clock, you can take me out next time.”

“Deal,” she said, standing to join him when they heard the others approaching.

They were laughing and talking as they climbed the stairs and Klaus couldn’t help but smile. Once he once might have felt left out but right now more than anything he was glad they were all getting along. Knowing he actually had a place and wasn’t going to get abandoned helped too. He knew Dave and Ben especially would never do that to him. He had a place here, and people who cared about him.

“Overall that was a pretty uneventful night,” Klaus said, stretching.

“Yeah, did you even see any ghosts?” Dave asked.

“Well,” Klaus glanced over at the only ghost in the room. He was standing around awkwardly, face an unpleasant blue. “No historical ghosts, but there is a guy who died out back choking on a sandwich.”

“A sandwich? Well that’s not ideal,” Dave said.

“It would have been nice to see a ghost that could confirm the stories but I think we still got a pretty good episode,” Allison said.

“It’s almost time for us to get out of here,” Vanya said. “Shall we get packed up and head out?

“Roger that,” Dave said, giving a solute.

They all started grabbing bags and equipment, carrying it outside to the car. Dave ran up to Klaus before he could do the same, hand on his arm to get his attention.

“What’s up?” Klaus asked.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, all good,” he said with a smile and was surprised to realize that he meant it. He brought his hands up to rest on Dave’s shoulders, always seeking to physically reassure, for both of their sakes. Sometimes these things could take a day or so to really hit him, and he supposed that was still possible, but he really did feel okay right now.

“What was it?” Dave asked.

“Just-- all of the basement,” Klaus said gestured broadly. “I didn’t realize the mustiness would get to me so badly. I guess that’s what happens when you’re tortured in a shitty motel.”

“Oh, love,” Dave said, pain in his voice as he cupped Klaus’ face, thumb brushing across his cheek.

“I’m fine, really,” he said, leaning into the touch before placing a quick kiss to Dave’s lips.

“I wish I could take your nightmares, you have too many,” Dave said.

“No way I’d let that happen,” Klaus scoffed. “You already have plenty of your own.”

“Fair enough,” Dave laughed.

It was a little sad, having to say goodbye to Allison and Vanya. It was one of those nights Klaus just didn’t want to end. He waved as they drove away, putting his arm around Dave as he leaned into him.

“Hey, we should go get breakfast,” Klaus said.

“Is it breakfast or dinner at this point?” Dave asked. “Either way, I could eat.”

“Oh, shoot,” Ben said, counting bags in the trunk of their car. “I think I left a mic upstairs. Hang on, I’ll only be a sec.” He sprinted off towards the house.

“Aw, he took the keys with him,” Klaus said as he tried the door. They leaned back against the car together, hand in hand as they waited. Dave leaned over and kissed his shoulder.

That’s when Klaus saw it; a familiar figure crawling across the grass towards him, leaving a trail of blood, most of his face missing as he screamed in agony.

“No,” Klaus said, flinching into Dave as he averted his eyes. “I didn’t summon you, how are you here?”

“What is it?” Dave asked, wrapping an arm securely around him.

Klaus wanted to fold himself into those \arms and disappear, but the screaming was loud, too loud, it was everywhere. It went beyond sound, in his very skull. It shouldn’t be like this anymore. Normally if Klaus poured enough of himself into a ghost it became more solid, more human as they regained awareness, but something was wrong, it felt too terrified, too frantic. How--

No, it couldn’t be. His grip on Dave tightened and he felt frozen to his very core.

“Dave, I think-- I think we’re in trouble.”

“What?” Dave said, looking around quickly and Klaus could see him slip back into the role of the soldier, assessing the situation, looking for cover. He knew Dave hated that that still happened on occasion, they both wanted to forget their time in the military, but right now Klaus was grateful for it.

“The ghost from the crime scene is here, but there’s no reason for him to be. Unless the person he’s attached to is also here.”

“I thought he’d been attached to a location?”

“That must have changed somehow. Unless buildings have suddenly learned to move, in which case I think we have much bigger problems,” Klaus said, unable to stop himself from falling back on jokes.

“Does that mean his killer is here?” Dave asked, horrified. “But why? How?”

“I don’t know, maybe they somehow found out that we talked to the cops and followed us? Ohhh wait, shit,” Klaus said, smacking himself on the forehead. “I may have kinda sorta accidentally talked about it on our blog.”

“Really?” Dave said, but he looked impressed instead of angry. “You’ve been doing great with that, by the way.”

“What can I say, I’m a natural when it comes to social media,” Klaus said although he didn’t feel proud at all. “The people love me. But right now we should probably get out of here”

“Come on,” Dave said, turning back towards the house. “We should probably go find Be--”

As Dave reached the back of the car, a figure stepped out from behind it, swinging a crowbar. Dave tried to dodge, but it came in too fast, clipping the side of his head with a sickening thud. Klaus’ blood ran cold in horror as he watched Dave smack into the side of the car and crumple to the ground. He could feel bile rising in the back of his throat, sick with dread. No no please, his mind screamed, he couldn’t lose him, not again.

He screamed Dave’s name and made to scramble to his side, but the stranger was faster. He stepped over Dave, standing between them, as he raised a gun to point at Klaus. He was a large man, wearing all black and even had on a balaclava which would have made Klaus laugh if the circumstances had been different. Right now, though, he needed to act. He reminded himself that he was the target. If Dave was still alive, he might just be able to get away so long as Klaus could provide enough of a distraction.

“Don’t even think about running,” the murderer said, apparently reading his mind.

Without even waiting for a reply, he fired the gun. Pain shot through Klaus’ leg as he stumbled to the ground, a snarl on his lips. He tried to focus, to find something he could use to his advantage. And then he spotted Dave moving, quietly and carefully dragging himself to his feet. He was alive! Klaus tried not to let the relief show on his face as he stared down his attacker.

“You’re the idiot who almost got me caught?” the masked man said with a laugh.

“Normally people at least have the decency to be impressed by the whole talking-to-ghosts thing,” Klaus said, hoping to keep him talking, keep him occupied.

“Pathetic,” the man said. “Well, as much as I’d love to make this nice and slow and painful--”

As he took aim, preparing to fire again, Dave launched himself at the killer, knocking the gun to the side just as it went off, firing a shot into the grass only a few feet from Klaus. Dave was bleeding from a wound along the side of his skull and he was obviously unsteady on his feet, leaning into the killer as they grappled for the gun and Klaus knew they only had a matter of seconds before this went south.

He could try to hobble over there and help, but what if he didn’t make it in time? Or what if the two of them weren’t able to overpower the murderer? Movement caught his eye and he spotted the ghost of the victim still there, hovering just behind them, hand reaching through his murderer as if he was trying to help and Klaus knew exactly what to do.

Acting fast, he channeled every ounce of energy he could into that ghost. It practically fell forward onto the killer, blood pouring from the missing section of his skull, a horrible grin on what was left of his face, his jaw only half attached. The murderer gasped in horror and headbutted Dave who collapsed immediately, stunned. Now that he had the gun free, the murderer turned it on the ghost, firing shot after shot into it. The ghost didn’t even flinch. He was already dead, what was that supposed to do? He just laughed, a horrible gurgling sound.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Klaus lurched to his feet and scrambled forward. He might hate fighting more than anything else, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t good at it. He grabbed the murderer’s wrist that was holding the gun and jabbed him in the throat with his free hand. As he doubled over, Klaus twisted the man’s wrist and managed to rip the gun free, sending it flying out of his hand and well out of reach. The murderer stumbled back, gasping and choking.

And then he drew a second gun from his coat.

You have got to be kidding me, Klaus thought.

Before he could even take aim with the new gun, the murderer was ripped off his feet, pulled backwards and up into the air. Klaus, Dave, and the ghost all looked up to see Ben’s monsters rip the murderer apart, raining bits of blood and gore all around. Klaus had already seen this happen too many times before and took the opportunity to kneel beside Dave, helping support him and checking his injury. Just as quickly as they appeared, the monsters receded back into Ben who immediately ran to their side.

“Are you guys okay?” he asked, breathing heavily.

“Wow,” Dave said in awe. “That,” he pointed at half of the corpse of the killer lying nearby, “is gross. But that,” he pointed at Ben, “was fucking awesome! You have got to teach me that sometime.”

(Next chapter)

#klaus hargreeves #dave katz #umbrella academy #the umbrella academy #klave #unsolved academy #fanfic #my fic

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