into each breaking wave

[thisaroma]

[ Well, that was — no pun intended — unfortunate. ...But in light of what they already saw happen the first two weeks, maybe it's not really that surprising, either; and maybe it's at least a little easier to recognize when something is going to be a lost cause, if not necessarily to accept it.

In spite of everything, this is the first time Decus has been in a halfway decent mood after a trial, which he can gather is... probably not the case for most of the rest. So he figures he can take on the party host duties for this week rather than push it onto someone who needs a break. Anyway, he wants to keep up this feeling-okay thing for as long as he can, and if he has too much downtime and starts to think about what happened a week ago today... he might end up a little less okay.

So, he brings some food down to the buffet from the cafes for a little variety (even though most of them probably aren't going to be too picky at this point), along with some tea and cocoa from Starbucks and a few harder options from the bar, and gets that all set up in as welcoming an arrangement as he can manage. And...

Well. Despite how he may come off sometimes, he actually is self-aware enough to realize that some of the others might not appreciate being reminded that he's still alive when three people who'd never had any intention of killing are dead. It doesn't really bother him, but he doesn't want to create unnecessary drama, either; so he doesn't put his name anywhere on the invitations he puts up around the place, just a simple:

food and drinks at the buffet

...Which is almost always the case, technically, this past week excluded, but hey.

And while he might come by to offer a drink or something to someone who looks like they need it, he's mostly going to hang back and let everyone do their thing. ]

Comments

[silentscout]

The first rule of dealing with ghosts is to pretend they are not there. They don't expect the living to be able to see them, so if they think you can't see them they will probably leave you alone.

If that doesn't work, stay in the light. Ghosts are stronger in the darkness. You can also say prayers, most religions in the world have prayers to protect you from ghosts. But it has to be a religion you personally believe in for it to work.

Finally, never speak to a ghost. Do not tell it your name, do not make any deals with it. Communicating with a ghost will earn you a fate worse than death.

There are those who can deal with ghosts for you. If a ghost is following you, seek help from a trained professional.

[That is mixed in with the pictures he drew.]

Oh.

...if you can translate it, that would be important.

[ltcommandroid]

I will do so.

[Hm! Interesting!]

If I may ask - a ghost is simply a deceased human, is it not?

[silentscout]

Sort of. When a human dies, their soul isn't supposed to linger here. It's supposed to move on to the afterlife within a few hours. If a soul stays for too long, it can become corrupted and weighed down. If that happens, it becomes a ghost.

Ghosts can't pass on. They have to be purified and returned to their original form before they can pass on to the afterlife.

[ltcommandroid]

I see.

[Well, that answers several other questions he had!]

How are they purified?

[silentscout]

Prayers and rituals, mostly. If they're not too far gone yet you can just talk them into letting go of what weighs them down too.

[ltcommandroid]

I see. That is interesting to me - we have no recorded instances of ghosts in my universe. None which are human, at least. Some more psionically-gifted species can leave impressions of themselves behind after their deaths, or even transfer their consciousnesses.

[silentscout]

Most people can't see them. Only mages can. ...and people with death-powers, I guess.

So if people don't have magic in your world, they wouldn't be able to see them anyway. That's why you should pretend you can't see the ghosts: they don't bother people who can't see them.

[ltcommandroid]

We have species with psionic and empathic abilities. That could be seen as a form of magic.

[Lately he's been running into a lot of that lately - how his world maybe does just have what people around here call magic, and they just use science words for it all.]

[silentscout]

Mmm, they could be mages, yes. If they see ghosts they probably are.