SHRIEKING SKULLS WILL SHOCK YOUR SOUL AND SEAL YOUR DOOM TONIGHT

[acherontiastyx]

[After 10:00 p.m., the library's... definitely a little different. The tables have lit candles on them, and there are... kind of janky cardboard cutouts set on some of the shelves. An attempt was made, at least, even if there could've been more boxes destroyed in the attempt...

But regardless. There's candles set around a place for some snacks if anyone wants to bring them, and there's also a blanket set on one of the tables. Because clearly, that's where the storyteller's supposed to sit...? Maybe you wanna do it. Maybe you just want to stand or sit or something.

Either way, let's get fucking spooky up in here.]

Comments

[uncouthhatcher]

Oh, you're alive alright, but you ain't livin'! You're about as dead as the people in these stories, dude, learn to have a little fun!

[plegia]

Perhaps not, but the best ones always involve gore!

[plegia]

Pretty good, but it would have been better if he'd been killed instead because he hesitated!

[oh my god gangrel locate your chill]

1/5

[uncouthhatcher]

[Everyone's telling their ghost stories and it's so exciting, ghost stories are great and holy shit he is not sleeping tonight, is he. He's not.

So he's gonna make sure no one else is able to either. Gold sits cross-legged on the table, taking off his cap and brushing through his hair.]

In Johto, we've got a lotta cool things. It's a real historical place, you know? Plenty of people who've died, who've gone missin', lost their way on Mt. Silver and ended up gettin' eaten or worse.

[He pauses, setting back on his cap and resting his chin in his palm, elbow on his thigh.]

My story ain't about that, somethin' a little closer to home -- just as cold though.

[so sorry silver.]

2/5

[uncouthhatcher]

Long ago, back when Johto was still a buncha little towns and the Brass Tower hadn't burned down yet, there was a string of incidents that didn't seem too unusual. People goin' missin' ain't too surprising, yeah? Especially when the fastest way to communicate was face-to-face. You never knew what was goin' on with your friends and family if they were away.

Well, [and he glances around,] people started turnin' up again, right outta the blue. That's the weird part -- people who'd been thought dead were comin' back, lookin' as young as they were when they went missin', and people hailed it as a miracle! They didn't think too much of the blueness in their faces, or how they jerked along when they walked. They were just happy their loved ones returned more or less safe and sound. Thanked Ho-oh and Lugia for keepin' watch over them.

But it wouldn't be much of a ghost story if it went all nicely, yeah?

[Gold waves his free hand, grinning mischievously.]

Four trainers went to investigate the direction these people kept comin' from and found themselves in a cavern made entirely of ice. Slippin' and slidin', they made their way deeper into the place, and the area started gettin' so cold not even their Fire-types could keep 'em warm. A strange mist was gatherin' too, leavin' frost on their clothes and face, and the deeper they got the thicker the mist... to the point that none of them noticed the ice spikes until one slid right into them, freezin' from the wound out.

Nothin' could undo the damage and they were forced to leave them behind, swearin' to find some way to free their friend.

[... This is definitely gonna be familiar to Silver; that ice couldn't have been taken care of by anything other than Entei's flames, after all not without being damaged.]

So deeper and deeper they went, bein' careful as they could be with thick fog and the knowledge there were dangers lurkin' just ahead of 'em, until they came to a room that was entirely clear. They were pretty thankful for it after all they'd been through... until their eyes caught a figure at the far end of the cavern, hunched over in the shadows, and one of the trainers called out a hesitant hello.

[stepout]

I don't know either, to be honest. I don't go looking up that kind of thing.

3/5

[uncouthhatcher]

The figure stood.

We all know how big Jasper over there is, yeah? That tall, about that width, and cloaked in black. The most strikin' thing about this guy was the face they saw when it turned, long white hair streaks against the darkness, the mask on its face a ghastly grin. The figure was in front of them in a flash, before any of 'em could make a move, and they found their legs frozen to the ground beneath them!

[he's very much not looking at silver.]

Trainers bein' trainers, even back then, tried to get their Pokémon to help them out. Growlithe with their fire oughta be able to free them, yeah?

[A shake of his head, grin turning grim.]

The fire got caught beneath the ice, and they ended up faintin' from the pain alone. That left two trainers to face this thing alone, and the monster that'd frozen them and their Pokémon liked to play.

It sent them on a hellish journey across the ice, tuggin' them back from ice spikes it conjured a second before it ripped through 'em. The fog started to thicken the longer they stayed there too, every moment a waking nightmare of constant movement and terror. Sleep didn't come to them either; they found their eyes pried open by ice, the constant cold keepin' them awake somehow, and the only thing that gave them any relief was death.

[Gold leans back, looking up at the ceiling and scrunching his nose. Not that scary in his opinion.]

4/5

[uncouthhatcher]

One got away, in the end. Came out to find the towns had changed a little more. Some years had passed, and they stumbled their way back to the town they'd started their journey from, tryin' to tell people about this thing that kidnapped them for so long. 'Course, no one really believed them, and they were kept at the edge of the town in solitude.

The mask kept itchin' at their mind, though. That grinnin' face, how pale it was, the dark cloak and endless horror... They ended up makin' a mask similar to it themselves, just to remind themselves of those years and the people that had died right in front of 'em.

Eventually, the nightmares became a memory.

[It sounds like a nice end, but Gold's not done.]

Decades pass and this trainer's still livin' on the edge of town. Just a normal night when fog starts rollin' in, thick and cold, frostin' the glass. Bein' curious as any old Meowth, they went to investigate... and paused, takin' the mask with them, rememberin' it from all those years ago.

Walkin' along, free of any wounds and with a blueness to their lips, were their friends. And behind them?

[tsugomori]

...And here I thought you were going to add, 'But then, people who had disappeared began re-appearing quickly so it wouldn't be noticed, confirming the story to be true. Only they weren't themselves anymore...because they had been replaced by the spirits of the dead!'

[stepout]

You're really fixated on that.

[ ...is this like some kind of fetish thing for you.

She's not gonna judge, she's not the judging half of her work relationship. ]

and done

[uncouthhatcher]

[He pauses, finally glancing back down with a grin--]

The masked man, makin' them walk along like puppets strings.

4/4 DONE

[iamthatsea]

Just then, the dark of the Abyss was filled with shimmering Syl, all blue and green and white in every shade, but none of it connected to a body. But Horim remembered his lessons - the Bluemother is a representative of the natural cycles. All things end, so that they may persist. But he thought for a moment - perhaps there had been a change in the divine plan. Perhaps it would not be so bad to see. He heard his brother's voice in the crowd, after all, swore he could see Rynok's Syl in the tide.

But under the crowd's voices, he could make something out.

"Come with us. Do not fear. We are eternal. You will reach enlightenment."

"Run."

It was small, under so many other voices, but Horim could pick his brother's voice from a crowd no matter how large. They were always together, how could he not?

So he cried out in refusal and anger, but he did not move to avenge his brother. Instead, he fled. He could hear something rise from the Abyss behind him, but he dared not look back. He felt a cold claw tear at his back, but he dared not let it slow him. He heard a hissing in his ear of the cold empty dark that awaited all who did not join the thrall, but he kept swimming. And he prayed to the Bluemother as he did, chanting louder the same song it had sung to him.

And the Bluemother heard him. A great quake shook the seafloor, and the mass of Syl and whatever else shrieked as the Abyss collapsed entirely, rocks falling upon rocks and sand falling in until only a small indentation remained. And the sea around him was made blinding by the brightness of that Syl, until it was all he could see forever.

Horim was struck blind, but he could still hear. And underneath the shriek, quiet like before, Rynok's voice.

"Thank you."

Blind and wounded, Horim was found by concerned elders quickly. When he took them to what had been the edge of the Abyss, nothing remained except their meeting-stone. And etched into it, dozens of gashes rended by massive claws. And from that day on, they say, Horim's Syl burned twice as bright.

[ She pauses a beat before smiling just as brightly as before. ]

So how was that?

[plegia]

[wow excuse u]

The others just aren't as scary. If you're going to tell spooky stories, you've got to go all out!

[feistytrader]

[Congratulations on your scary story! It's really heartwrenching and scary, and-

Gold's getting punched in the face.]

[oyashiromama]

[HAHA WELL... gently hides face behind sleeves] I-I agree with Orihime. [for several reasons ouch]

[uncouthhatcher]

[holy SHIT he is getting knocked off the table at that, though he's getting up just as fast.]

Dude!

[foundfate]

What- just because what I do for fun isn't what you would do for fun, that doesn't mean I'm not living! Geez, are you that immature that you can't handle the thought of someone doing things their own way?

100 GHOST STORY LIGHTNING ROUND

[elepe]

[So, one trip to the supply closet later...

When Lusamine and Silver come back, it's with quite a few candles. Seriously, it's good that they both decided to take the trip, because while Lusamine breaks the candles to circumvent the limit and Silver lights them up, Lusamine is going to speak up.]

Everyone, I would like to give a round of applause to you all--your stories have been nothing short of spine tingling, and rather horrifying as well! We are so curious to the legitimacy of Mr. Watanuki's story, however, so...

We think it's time we tried to reach that limit, don't you all agree?

Everyone who wishes to share some more stories, please take a few of these half candles and light them on the candles that have not been blown out yet--our goal shall be to see if we can meet these 100 ghost stories before the night is over, and see some unusual phenomenon for ourselves.

Best of luck, all of you!

[COME ONE COME ALL, GET YOUR CANDLES]

[feistytrader]

[He's tempted to yell at him, but he just sighs and shakes his head before sitting back down.]

[uncouthhatcher]

I thought your planet was peaceful.

[...]

It's pretty damn wicked you can glow, by the way, but seriously, what the hell?

[ravagers]

Right! And I definitely don't want that happening. Neither of us do, I think.

[ravagers]

Hm... maybe! There are all kinds of spirits, right?

[iamthatsea]

It is peaceful, I never said nothing bad ever happened, did I?

[ It's also probably a story to warn kids away from the really deep places for meditation, but. Jury is out on if she even knows that. ]

[uncouthhatcher]

[... Well, Gold was sitting beside Silver before he got on the table, so he'll return to that with a quiet bump of their shoulders. This ain't a place to talk about anything, but he's here.]

[foundfate]

[He just. Stares at Lusamine for a moment. He honestly thought that she would be one of the sane ones here, but apparently not.

He then looks around at everyone else, to see if anyone actually listened to him and is going to voice dissent, or if they're all going to participate in this.]