Week 4 [Day 13-Day 15]

[calloperators]

[Well that sure was an eventful trial. But on the bright side it looks like there’s some justice in this world, as meager as it is.

But even with the success, something starts feeling off the moment they leave the trial. Even if you might not realize it at first, the people living in this town are starting to seem more distant than normal, although you’re still more than welcome to chat with them.

Along with that, delivery trucks are suddenly popping up all over the town. You feel like they’re watching you....but thats impossible--youve only ever seen them delivery real packages...right?

Perhaps more terrifying however, is that now the Bowling Alley and the Arcade are closed! That’s so much good entertainment… gone….

...Also, starting this week something new is happening with the ghosts. What is that? Well… just wait and see.]

< LOCATIONS | REGAINS | TAKEN >

[ Day 13 (Sunday) || Night 13 (Monday) || Day 14 (Tuesday) || Night 14 (Wednesday) || Day 15 (Thursday) ]

(OOC: As a reminder, if you want to investigate or talk to an NPC, please list it in your header! And don't forget to fill out this week's Activity Check!)

Comments

[conceivesfrenzy]

[ Can't spell Mr. Satan without Bad Coping Mechanisms! Maybe.

She watches him roll over, flashing something much more like a grin. Maybe a little too wide for comfort. ]

Wanna test out that theory?

[iote]

Some do. Those that don't love me, fear me. Those that do neither learn to do one or the other eventually.

[this conversation is just going to be nice people saying wonderful things the whole way down]

[boxingbuff]

Nah, he asked me to kill everyone on the train!

[He barks a laugh.]

Can you believe that? Some kid, like ten years old, tries to convince me to kill a bunch of people for reward money and explosives! And he was so smug about it too! Just so sure I wasn't gonna shoot him right in his little face!

[.... His expression drops. Now, he's all lackadaisical.]

So yeah, that's kind of what you remind me of. Been on the tip of my tongue for a week.

[hotlinenpcs]

[The speaker's voice is commanding, yet measured, like a presidential spokesperson, perhaps. It has the sort of quality that almost makes you want to listen, even if otherwise disinterested in the topic.]

...we have thus allowed evil to creep into aspects of our everyday lives. "One more drink surely couldn't hurt." Or, "Stealing a few dollars from the register won't matter." These actions weigh on the human spirit and, although initially small, their total weight eventually corrupts it.

But there is hope for us yet. If we focus our efforts into actively purging this evil from our lives, we will be able to triumph and make humanity a better place for all who live in it.

Should we wait for God to deliver us from evil? Absolutely. But we should also take steps to deliver that evil from ourselves.

[Keep listening?]

[rangerslayer]

You’re not the only one who was hoping for more.

[ The blood running down her back says as much, like. ]

No, he just said it wasn’t personal, and killed me.

[worldchampofmartialarts]

[Yeah, so Satan's starting to feel like he's being actively called out by this station for deciding on "I'm never going to be able to outrun my mistakes so I might as well stop trying to improve", and part of him wishes he could stop this guy talking to say, "buddy, some of us have nothing good under all our bad, and that's our own business"- the rest of him, though, feels guilty enough to keep listening.]

[hotlinenpcs]

[Spoke too soon, Satan.]

Of course, it would be naive of me to say that some individuals in society haven't already succumbed to evil, becoming devices for evil themselves. They may not have the faith needed to lift themselves out of sin. It is our job to take these individuals and show them that they can purge themselves of this evil if they just believe. Picture it as a surgeon removing a tumor. Only through this deliverance can we truly become better as a society.

[There's the sound of applause, and the sound fades out and is replaced by a different speaker.]

Audio for the previous section was by Claude Eisner, in his 1987 series of sermons. Tune in on the hour for more relaxing hymns to listen to....

[That's all for now.]

[worldchampofmartialarts]

....uh.

I... wow. [nervous laugh] Sorry you had to hear all that, folks- th-thought it, uh... th-that was for me... I guess?

[...quietly, he stops the recording. And starts walking back to the motel, with that whole fruitless morality play weighing on his conscience.]

[conceivesfrenzy]

[ two people chilling in the empty pool five feet apart 'cause they're not ok ]

Hmm. And you don't see any problem with the fear part? You don't think that those who are there willingly are a greater asset? Justice and love will always win and whatnot?

[ Gross. ]

[iote]

[The laugh that gets out of him is brief, but it's there.]

Are you trying to disgust me? Because I assure you, you succeed.

[conceivesfrenzy]

Just curious, is all! Some of the people here like to think they have morals and their own internal sense of justice, but they wouldn't be here if they were any good.

[ She giggles. ]

I think I like you... Mickie? [ She cocks her head to the side, trying to decide whether that's actually a good nickname or not. ] You seem a little stuck up, don't get me wrong, but at least you're not pretentious.

...okay autofill you get on with your bad self I guess

[iote]

Michalis.

[god.]

And the others here can play at having morals and forming bonds all they like. The most it's getting anyone around here is killed.

[rangerslayer]

[ She doesn't inhale deeply, doesn't steady herself. She doesn't need to. She doesn't betray any emotion, either. ]

Did you tell many people they were important to you, then?

[iote]

...No.

[conceivesfrenzy]

Oh, i-is that all?

[ Oh, thank goddess. She stops walking back, and forces out a giggle. ]

What a funny coincidence! Just goes to show you that it's those cute, unassuming types you have to look out for.

... Did you do what he asked, though?

suddenly we're at the beach!

[conceivesfrenzy]

That's what I said! Mickie! [ Oh good, that reaction cements it. Mickie it is. ]

Right? They tried playing that card with Laddie a few days ago, and look how that went. Kimberly still died. They could've saved Mac some bullets!

[iote]

No.

[whyyyy.]

And I suppose, if we're being fairer to them than they deserve, I didn't want to continue handling Ladd Russo either. It isn't as though someone wouldn't have destroyed him before long anyway. The outcome wouldn't have changed, merely the order.

[rangerslayer]

[ Hearing that doesn't feel like a victory. ]

...I'm sorry because I know what it's like to have someone important to you killed. Even if it's someone you...haven't known for long. [ ... ] If you want to be alone...then I can leave.

[ She winces at that, because just thinking it makes it harder to stay...well, manifested. ]

But I felt I owed you that. ...As someone who cares about you.

[iote]

...Do as you will, I'm not your keeper. But don't just stand around over there. Either join me properly or don't.

[He'll go back to working on the battleaxe, then; it's something to focus on. As it is, he's still cold, still distant; there's not much else to do, as far as he goes.]

You owe me nothing. If I felt you did, you would know it.

[worldchampofmartialarts]

[Satan is just too tired, and too sure of his own inability to be killed- to feel threatened by her suggestion. ...if he's even picking up that it's a threat to begin with.]

Trust me- ain't a "theory", it's a fact. ["I can't die" as in, he has done a lot that should've gotten anyone else killed. So it must be he just... flat out isn't allowed to die.] But it ain't just that, it's a- it's a- statement. ["I can't die" as in, there's too much he has to do, here and back home, that he has to find a way to live through it.] ...it's a lot of things. I don't fucking know-

[He lurches up into a sitting position to start coughing into his hands, rubbing the back of his wrist against the bottom of his nose.] S-sorry. Shouldn't use words like that with you.

[rangerslayer]

[ She bites back a sigh, but after a few moments, she walks over, sitting beside him at the edge of the pool. ...Careful to not show the back of her head, or rather where it should be. ]

Well, you may not feel that, but I did. So I'm here.

[worldchampofmartialarts]

Why's that the thing that bothers you- ...no- you know what? Don't answer. I'm not gonna like it. [He's struck by the distinct feeling that this won't stop Ladd from telling him, anyway.]

...I-I mean. Sure, maybe if you don't think in the long-term, sticking around as a soul sounds like a sweet deal- b-but... Doesn't change the fact you're still stuck. As you. On Earth. Forever. With... nothing you can do about it. Like, G-God... it sounds like a worse hell than Hell'd be, I'd almost feel bad for you if you didn't deserve it.

[iote]

[That gets a soft sound out of him, neither assenting nor derogatory; he keeps working on Hauteclere, even as he speaks.]

I spent three years trying to become someone that was deserving of forgiveness, you know.

[It's still icy, still distant, but maybe there's something a bit more behind it. Not much, but...something.]

That was what I wanted, in the end, even if I didn't know it at the time, I didn't have the words for it. But I wanted to be deserving of forgiveness, and maybe be deserving of love again. I wanted to be someone who had earned that love, because loving someone unconditionally was incomprehensible to me - it still is.

I've learned two things since. The first is that I can't be that person.

[He has no interest in looking over, it seems; he keeps his attention focused on what he's doing.]

Maybe it isn't possible for me, to be deserving of things like that after what I've done. Maybe I deserved them once a long time ago but don't anymore. I can't say for sure. But the fact of the matter is that here, being someone like that isn't sustainable. It isn't going to serve me, and so it should be discarded.

The second is that it feels...natural, almost, to stop striving for that. To stop trying to attain things that I don't deserve and am never going to earn. It isn't ideal, but it's better.

You can call it running if you want. Giving up. Whatever you feel like. I hardly care. But seeking forgiveness and love have done nothing for me, and so they cease to interest me.

[neverstudied]

[It's always surreal to go from seeing someone as a corpse to seeing them as a ghost, but usually there's some time to buffer. To prepare. This is just a shock.]

... Hey.

[Venkman eyes the bullet wound in her skull, briefly, before immediately deciding he prefers not to look at it. Probably for the best he can't see the back right now.]

I, uh. I found your body.

... And punched Michalis.

[Great conversation starters, here.]

[rangerslayer]

[ And she sits with that, with all of it, because he’s sat with and listened to everything she’s laid on him. Still, she keeps her gaze on him, not the axe or the scenery or the empty pool.

When she speaks, some time’s passed. ]

You do what you can, to survive, no matter what...is that it?

[ Though it’s a question, it doesn’t sound like one she needs an answer to. ]

...Whether you seek them or not...there’s a chance you’ll still get them. You’ve gotten them in the past. If that should happen, what will you do?