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

[dreamvour]

It's hard not to. I've been around a long time and I still get proud of them when it comes to things like that.

[the gods may love their creation, but Baku loves them, probably more than the gods do]

I hope I don't either.

[unbearablynaive]

I've only been around a short time, relatively speaking, but do I find them wonderful.

[It helps that most of the people he cares deeply about are human.]

In any case, thank you for the exercise. It's always enjoyable to hear new stories.

[dreamvour]

[that makes her smile] May I ask how long you've been around?

Mm! I like telling stories, especially ones like these. These are creatures I know personally, so sharing their stories is kind of important, in a way.

[unbearablynaive]

Between home and my time here? A little over five years, all told.

[He is a baby.]

Hmm. Because if they are forgotten, they'll never be able to complete their unfinished business and move on?

[dreamvour]

[she can't help but smile wider] Five years can be a long time, though.

Ah, you're close. People knowing and believing in their stories gives them - mm, I don't want to say power, but it gives them energy, in a sense. Fuel. It keeps them existing.

They're long past their unfinished business, though. They've long accepted that they're trapped in those roles. If they do move on, it's because someone has convinced them to. Someone human, not - you know, one of my kind.

[unbearablynaive]

For me, it's been a lifetime.

[Oh, interesting.]

Belief is a form of sustenance? I can imagine that. Though that is different from the way most American ghost stories are told, I must say. As in the one I recounted, once their business is completed they can feel free to move on. Sometimes it's even just the promise of help.

Others, I think, do last past then. Do you know the story of the Phantom Prom Date?

[dreamvour]

[she nods, leaning forward as she explains again]

Mmm, that isn't wrong either. It honestly depends on the spirit. Unfinished business is just one of the more common reasons. Mostly because of the way those spirits passed on. Usually, they're the ones who are the most in danger of becoming something else.

[she tilts her head] I don't think I do, no. Prom is . . . isn't it some kind of special dance in America? In school?

[unbearablynaive]

Something dangerous?

[He nods.] It's a tradition several decades old, which is practically forever in America. Near the end of the school year, the students in the final grades get together in their formal clothes and celebrate at a dance. It's considered very romantic, often the highlight of the school year and greatly anticipated.

Once there was a girl who was very poor but determined to have the most beautiful dress at her prom. She worked odd jobs and babysitting all winter to save up for it, and finally she bought a beautiful silk gown. She waited outside her house, for her boyfriend had promised to pick her up, but it began to grow dark and he didn't arrive. She waited and waited until long after the dance had started, but he still didn't come. But she had worked hard for this opportunity and didn't want to miss it, so she took her own car and drove, sad and angry, through the winding hills toward the dance. but it was dark, and she was upset, and so when she turned a hairpin curve and was blinded by the lights of a car racing toward her, she steered off the road and crashed down below.

The boyfriend, who was desperately speeding toward her house after having to change a flat tire on his own car, stopped his mad run when he realized he'd run a car off the road. Down below he found his girlfriend, weeping, still in a beautiful prom dress. She told him she only wanted to go home, so gave her a ride and told her how sorry he was that he had been late. She forgave him and left a single kiss on his brow as she left.

In the morning, he read about the awful wreck and how the girl inside had died instantly, and that they were only able to identify her by her silk dress.

To this day, she is said to appear on the side of the road to people who break promises. If they keep the promise, she lets them reach home safely. But if they break faith, their cars meet a similar fate as hers, and they are never heard from again.

[dreamvour]

Sometimes. Sometimes when a human passes, it's in such a horrible, terrible way that the spirit and the place that it died becomes cursed. From there, the only thing it wants is to draw others in and make them suffer the way that it did.

[she listens to the story, her expression not once wavering. Sad stories have long since lost their effect on her, but she does tilt her head towards the end, eyebrows furrowing in thought]

So she's an urban legend. Or just a legend? It would make sense, if she's lasted this long.

[unbearablynaive]

[He closes his eyes briefly.] How terrible. I hope they can be helped. No one deserves that, regardless of how they lived their lives.

An urban legend, I think, though I'm not terribly certain I could tell you the difference between one and the other. But there are many version os the story. I think there's something in it that catches the human imagination.

[dreamvour]

Unfortunately, it's the innocent ones that end up that way most of the time. [her lips twist briefly] Sometimes they can be helped; other times . . . it's better to leave them be. If someone is foolish enough to trespass into their domain, then there's not much that can be done to save them after that.

[she nods] It's an urban legend, then, probably. If there's numerous version of the story and it's widespread enough - if other parts of the country have their own version.

[unbearablynaive]

[Oh no, that's even worse. Those poor people.] I'm very sorry to hear that.

Yes, she's one of a number of hitchhiking ghosts. I believe the most famous is the Hook Hand. Perhaps there's something about a long trip in a car that engages the imagination and keeps such stories alive.

[dreamvour]

[she tilts her head] I've never taken a long trip in a car. What about it engages the imagination? I'm not sure I understand.

[she can travel anywhere in the world in a matter of minutes, so the thought of traveling for hours is kind of lost on her]

[unbearablynaive]

[He nods, as if he'd been expecting something like that question.]

It can be very monotonous, but the driver must attempt to stay alert at all times, as roads are dangerous. This leads to a state of mental exhaustion that causes flights of fancy or hallucination. In a passenger, I believe it's simply boredom and the human need to set everything to a narrative. They like to see patterns and use stories to explain what they don't know.

[dreamvour]

I see . . . [she's considering this very seriously] That makes sense. I wonder if that's why the humans I see on the train always look like they're in another world. I sometimes take it up north when I need to keep my cover during the day. They look like they're lost, but I obviously can't ask why.

[unbearablynaive]

Yes, they call it "zoning out". Sometimes humans use it for creativity or problem solving, but for others it's more of a fugue state and they're half asleep the entire time. Either way, a half-seen detail in the landscape might catch their eye, and their mind turns it into a story without their conscious effort.

[dreamvour]

Huh. I always assumed they were trying to fall asleep. Sometimes I can feel them drifting in and out of my realm, but I didn't know they were doing other things.

[unbearablynaive]

Oh, I find most humans are uncomfortable sleeping in public due to a combination of a latent safety instinct and a societal expectation not to. So to keep themselves awake, their minds invent narratives to pass the time. It's quite intriguing from an outsider's perspective.

[dreamvour]

[her lips twitch] If ever given the opportunity, you should take Japanese transit. People sleep on it all the time, at all hours of the day.

But now that I know what else they're doing, I'll make sure to look for it.

[unbearablynaive]

Perhaps I shall. I tend to avoid mass transit, as I do not blend in to any crowds without significant effort on my part. [Also he can fly.]

[dreamvour]

Ah, understandably. I don't know if you'd run into any problems in Japan, honestly. You could always say you're cosplaying. [a shrug] People wandering around in strange costumes is normal, depending on where you are.

[unbearablynaive]

[Thinking about what he knows of Japan?]

You're probably not wrong.