002; and this dream is your story

[dreamvour]

Who: Baku & you
Broadcast: fleetwide
Action: Caprine if you're so incline
When: now (October 26)

[for the unaware - which is a lot of people - Baku has an office! And she's made it spooky for this particular broadcast; which is to say, she's turned off the lights and lit a few candles to fit the mood. You might even see some glowing eyes in the background every so often - but no worries, that's just her leopard prowling around.

But shhh, it's totally spooky, shut up]

Around this time of year all of the really scary stories start getting passed around at school, so I thought I'd keep up the tradition, even though I'm not there right now and it's a little early.

One of the more popular ones at my school is Aka Manto - the red cloak. He's a ghost that haunts the old bathroom on ground floor. It's said that if you end up using it late at night, that you shouldn't use the fourth stall, or else he'll come to you. And that he's so charming you won't be able to resist answering his question.

[she props her chin on her hands] So he'll come to you and he'll ask, "Do you prefer the red cloak or the blue cloak?" If you answer red, he'll make it so you have a "red cloak", by cutting you. If you answer "blue", he'll drain your blood. [a hum] There's a way out of it, of course, because there always has to be, so I wonder if anyone knows or can guess the answer.

So that's my question to everyone.

[a considering pause, and then:]

Or - ah, or even better, you could share your urban legends from your world, if you'd like. Those are always fun, and it is the season for it.

Comments

[padadin]

Yes, similar to the planes. [He thinks about the space stories he knows and their origins.] Wasn't "the face on Mars" already talked about back then?

[Baku, you're being super cute about this. It gets Shiro all nostalgic. Bring a sailor uniform out and it'll be school all over again.]

That's correct - they want the recognition they flied and died for. I can't tell you exactly how malevolent they are. Most of the stories stick to the cramps or weird invisible barriers, but as you probably already know, those myths grow with time. Each person that tells the story adds details of their own. We had a horror movie about it, it wasn't kid friendly.

[dreamvour]

I believe so, yes. I remember learning about it in school a few times.

[she is NOT you shut up Shiro, gosh]

Do people believe they're that way? Or do they just believe them to be heroes? Because that's important to know. At least, it would be where I'm from.

[padadin]

[A pause, suddenly feeling worse than usual for them.]

They aren't well remembered outside the Garrison and history books, to be honest. People usually keep in mind the names of those who completed their missions. Even if they did, would their ghosts know all the way from Saturn?

[dreamvour]

[she tilts her head, making a thoughtful noise] Probably. I've never heard of distance being a factor when it comes to things like that.

[padadin]

I'm not surprised. I wish I know these things at home. [Sadly, it's knowledge they can take home.] You mentioned "Aka Manto" was a popular story, but is it your favorite or you have a different one at the top?

[dreamvour]

[she shakes her head] Not really. I don't want to play favorites, because I know most of the spirits the stories are about.

[...] There's a spirit in my school, though. I don't know her story yet, not fully. But her name is Megumi, and she's likely to become an urban legend herself. She's stuck in the basement, so no one goes down there, really. They don't know she's as scared of them as they are of her.

[padadin]

Understandable. [He sounds very approving of that! He doesn't like playing favorites with people he knows either.] It seems Megumi is shy. It's nice of you to make friends with her. Do you want her to become an urban legend?

[He isn't sure if it counts as a good thing or not.]

[dreamvour]

[she tilts her head] She was shy as a human; when someone becomes a spirit, their traits are . . . mm, magnified sometimes. It's happened to a few spirits I know.

Whether she becomes a legend or not . . . I don't know. It depends on whether or not she wants to remain where she is. If she does, then I don't see why she can't become one. If not, then I'd likely find a way to help her move on instead.

But it could take years. I'm not going to make her tell me her story.

[padadin]

That's the right approach. Letting them come to you makes it easier for them to open up and give their trust. [Says Mr Leadership over here.] You're easy to talk to and don't judge, so I'm sure she'll share with you sooner rather than later.

[dreamvour]

Mm . . . maybe. But she might prefer opening up to someone who connect to her more emotionally, probably. I fall short when it comes to that.

[a shrug] We'll see, though. Regardless, she knows how to get into contact with me if she needs to.