avalononline | Text | UN: Anonymous

Entry tags:

Text | UN: Anonymous

[Hijikata was just having the time of his life on the Island of Dreams, playing with a whole bunch of cute mayonnaise mascots, when a little bird (literally or not... who knows) told him that back in Camelot his ghost subordinates are being hunted and trapped by dark web denizens. Shit!! Why does this happen the one time his burner phone is out of commission?!

After a quick panicked brainstorming session he decides to take to AOL, totally anonymous this time, just in case. He'll keep it short and sweet.]

How do you find ghosts that have been sealed in containers and hidden?

[If only there were something like a more specialised Wayfinder spell for this exact situation! Wait, didn't the traders sell a pendulum that can detect items? Ugh, why didn't he buy it?! But really, who could know that something like this would happen? Now he can only hope that Avalon's netizens have some good ideas for him.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Of course I can see ghosts! What, do you think I'm some kind of moron who'd get duped by a scammer? And sure I'll bring them somewhere nice, that was implied!!

[This guy..!! Okay, Hijikata kind of is withholding vital information, and letting a bunch of unknown, potentially dangerous ghosts loose would be a bad idea - that's the very reason why he was wary about the initially vague plans to clear out the Forest of the Felled months ago -, but he's still feeling a little attacked.]

I don't know if you are or aren't, that's why I have to check! I've never met a ghost rights activist before, after all. You could probably be one without death magic. Isn't it weird that only death mages can even see ghosts?

[Okay, that's objectively fair. If Hijikata saw someone making his current combination of claims and requests on AOL he'd probably side-eye them too. As for the other part...]

I guess it depends. Some people could see ghosts back home but can't here, but I don't know if that's due to different worlds having different types of ghosts (I know that some ghosts can actually make themselves visible to non-death-mages here too), or if it's just something that gets nerfed on arrival here, like many other abilities people had naturally back home.

There are ghosts that non-death mages can see? Besides the meaty ones? Why didn't anyone tell me that?? This is all too finicky, everyone should be able to see all ghosts. Without spiritual tools, I mean.

I guess you're not some kind of moron, but I'm still not sold on the ghost activist part. People don't really go for that kind of thing. Besides, aren't these ghosts that are being hunted causing trouble? You should focus your efforts on the harmless ones probably.

The meaty ones?

[Somehow he doesn't like the sound of that...]

Yeah, it is finnicky. I don't know if ghosts just need to unlock that ability in their ghost magic skills to be able to do it, or if it's only specific kinds of ghosts that can, or what, but I've seen it happen. Anyway, people go for all kinds of activism, and ghosts are my passion!!

[That couldn't have been more untrue up until half a year ago.]

I thought the ghosts concerned here were causing trouble, too, but I heard that that's not actually true and the people hunting them just want to sell them.

[That's not what the dark web quest said, but the person he's talking to doesn't seem to frequent that side of AOL, and the anon downthread is trying to sell him bottled ghosts, so it seems like things went off the rails even more than he feared.]

[Give him a second. 'ghosts are my passion' is the funniest thing he's heard in at least two hours.]

Don't look at me, it's not my distinction. 🍖👻🌫️👻🦴👻. But if there are 🌫️👻 that non-death mages can see, that's...well, normal, actually. Which is to say, weird for here. Where did you see this 🌫️👻 visible to non-death mages? I promise not to put it in a jar. It might not even fit.

That sounds like a pretty bizarre scheme. What kind of idiot would buy ghosts?

[Those emotes are kind of cute... Hijikata can't wrap his head around what sort of person he's talking to. They haven't been a jackass and seem quite sincere, with reasonable questions, so he doesn't mind answering, even though it's not really related to his current quest.]

In midsummer a bunch of people got attacked by ghosts from the Forest of the Felled, and I heard from several non-death-mages that they could see (some of) those ghosts. Those ghosts had been dead for a very very long time (they were sealed in the forest), so maybe that has something to do with it (having access to more spirit magic)? Or they were a different type than the most common ones.

[Despite being a death mage he's barely educated on the classification of ghosts on Avalon and largely relies on hearsay... damn, it's really sinking in how unorganised he is. Well, the research will have to wait until he has his subordinates back. Speaking of which--]

I'll buy them if that's the only way to free them.

[The emojis are scholarly death mage shorthand and not trolling at all.]

Oh those 🌫️👻. ✨🌫️👻. Those definitely had something else going on. Not just human ghosts. Still weird that people could see them, but I was hoping there was a real anomaly 👻 (👀, 🚫🍖 🚫🦴)

I'm sorry I doubted your commitment to ghost activism, clearly you are very dedicated. Now I wish I hadn't skipped right over making a Compass of Evil to make something for 👀👻, that would probably be really helpful right now, unless the jars interfere.

[Not noticing when he's being trolled is one of Hijikata's many special skills. He tries to parse the bracketed emote combination - visible ghosts that are neither meaty nor bony..? Again, what kinds of ghosts has this person encountered?!]

Yeah, maybe fae ghosts etc. are different.

[Why are there so many ghost enthusistasts around here who are upset that they can't see them?! Okay, this is only his second encounter of that kind, but it's still weird that it happened twice! When he thinks back to how he first got his death magic and how he hated it this is just baffling. In any case he feels that he's gradually reaching the end of his rope here.]

A Compass of Evil would be good to have if it'd lead me to the perpetrators, so that really is a pity. I guess I'll just have to search every nook and cranny.

[At least he'll have some means of narrowing down the suspects, knowing which locales his subordinates had been investigating... but that doesn't mean the flasks are necessarily hidden in the respective vicinity, all the less since apparently at least some are being peddled on the black market instead.]

[No way this guy is ready for the meat ghost revelation. ]

Well, it wouldn't lead you to the perpetrators unless they were...you know, it probably just wouldn't work here unless they were ghosts themselves. Different criteria, different energies. Another unfortunate thing is I need help with the 'compass' part now. Which I can get, but is that fair to me? It isn't.

[It's a real trial but he narrowly manages to keep himself from bragging about the ghost seeing item, getting too involved in ghost compasses instead. Not that this person suffers from a lack of seeing ghosts, so really he's just being efficient.]

[Luckily Hijikata kind of mentally breezed past that part, given that he really doesn't need help seeing ghosts... but later on, when he's less stressed, he may just think back on it and go "Wait a minute". Right now, though, he's increasingly losing track of the particulars of the compass problem.]

You can get help, but it's not fair? What's the compass actually for? To find ghosts?

[Its name threw him off since he's come to understand that not all ghosts are evil, so he assumed it's a tool to find criminals or people with impure souls or whatever, but if it actually is a ghost compass, then assisting the inventor may pay off in a big way!]

[The particulars of the compass problem are that Wei Wuxian has to whine a certain amount per day or die (again) and also sucks at naming things. Though in his defense, in its original iteration an oversimplified name would have been very fitting for a layman-friendly tool.]

Yes, to find ghosts. It would have been more than ghosts, originally, but I have to work with what I've got, and that's the unfair part. The way abilities are broken up into disciplines is very inconvenient for me, personally. But not too inconvenient in this case, since I know someone. Though I haven't thought yet how to specifically select for captured ghosts. And I'm not sure if I trust you to be a real ghost activist, either!

[Yes, it's easy to lose track.]

[That's fair on almost all counts, except for the whining. Hijikata would refuse to be on the receiving end on that in most circumstances, but luckily for Wei Wuxian he currently has his undivided (well, mostly undivided) attention.]

Of course I'm a real ghost activist! If I can help as a death mage I will. Your compass may just allow us to find and rescue the ghosts!

[Oh?? So now it's "us"?]

[Unfortunately the whining is crucial and non-negotiable, but the quota has been filled for now and the whining has been shelved in favor of problem solving. Though first Wei Wuxian has to spend some time just saying 'ghost rescue' out loud in varying tones of incredulity and consideration. He's never exactly had the opportunity to interact with a well-meaning cultivator of the ghost path in any capacity, it's a novel experience. Ghost liberation, sure, but ghost rescue? Ghost rescue.]

That's exactly what both a real ghost activist and a fake ghost activist would say! But assuming you're real I still don't know how to tune a compass for only captured ghosts. I'm not sure it would even find them, if the jars are spiritually sealed somehow. Help with that!

"Help with that", you say, as if I know what to do here! I actually don't care if it's tuned only for captured ghosts; I'm willing to check every single goddamn ghost in Camelot! But OK, I'll try to find out about whether the jars would prevent detection.

[That research will most likely take time, though - if he can't find the answer on AOL he'll have to visit Camelot's library as his next stop. He'll do it, though, and keep Wei Wuxian updated on his findings.]

That's dedication, there's a lot of ghosts. And if they move you might end up checking the same one more than once. But that's the life of a ghost activist I guess! If we can detect the sealed ghosts, and IF they've been piled up somewhere, we could maybe tune it that way, in terms of quantity. Speaking of quantity, are there more ghost activists or just you?

I'll move fast and ask them not to change locations too much (most of them tend to be stationary to one locale anyway in my experience, except for the ones who traverse their last route before death etc).

[He's already trying to look up information on whether ghost traps evade detection, but since he can't seem to find any valuable information on ghost detection as such it doesn't look promising right away.]

If there are other ghost rights activists I don't know them. I work alone.

[Because lone-wolfing it up is famously efficient when it comes to protection- and preservation efforts...]

Very sensible! Maybe I should be working on a ghost map. You know, just keep the locations all together for reference, maybe make it so it keeps track too.

[Wei Wuxian is going to wind up inventing so many things about ghosts for no real reason. But it's fine, he needs the enrichment.]

Wouldn't it be better if there were more, though?

[You know, for the ghosts. Maybe he just needs to inject a little charisma into the movement.]

I'm not sure if that's a good idea. In the wrong hands much harm could be done with a map like that.

[If someone like that black market ghost seller downthread got their hands on it that'd be a disaster! As for the ghost rights activism movement, if only poor Wei Wuxian knew that it's purely a front for Hijikata's unprofessional investigations... and yet:]

More ghost protectors would be good, yes. But it's hard to find trustworthy people. I guess we two could stay in touch on the matter, for a start.

Good thing it would be in my hands instead, isn't it? Could make like, a second part that's necessary to read it, like a glass or a lamp. Maybe just a blood based lock? I'd figure it out.

Are death mages that rare, or just trustworthy ones? Either way, I'm in.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Text | UN: Anonymous

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject