Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2E Belfast by Night

[Haval]

The Professor will get up to show you out. 'Oh that's quite all right. Better that someone tells the new ones what to expect.' The Professor's Geist will track Michael with his eyes as he walks to the door but will otherwise stay seated. The Professor will add something before Michael leaves. 'Ah. You may have already noticed on the way over here. The dead tend to get around. The ones that know what they are are easy enough to deal with, but the weaker ones won't even remember that they've died if you managed to explain it to them. Some of them can be quite... surprising to see if you aren't prepared. Even compared to your Geist in some cases. And of course, most people have no idea that they're even there.' The Professor is very calm and matter of fact about all this. 'Generally, most ghosts aren't a threat to anyone, but there are always exceptions. If you ever happen to run into one of them feel free to call me immediately.'

Spoiler: ooc

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Will hold here a second in case you want to add anything. Otherwise I'll move to Lisa's house in the next post.

[Bennosuke]

Michael will pause, listening to The Professor's last bits of advice with as much attention as he could. "Thank you," he will say with a shrug, already a little overwhelmed with everything he had been told in the last fifteen minutes, "I will try to keep that in mind." He'll open the door to the office, and with a curt nod of his head say, "Have a good afternoon."

(OOC: Ok to move on)

[Haval]

Michael will return to his car and make the short drive through rush hour traffic over to Lisa's house. If there are any visible ghosts out and about today they aren't obvious enough for Michael to notice.

Lisa lives in a fairly middle class looking area that lies between the University halls of residence at Queens Elms and the upscale shopping district at the upper end of the Lisburn road. It's about as deep a contrast from Michael's neighborhood as he has ever seen around Belfast. Lisa's house is one of a line of semi-detached clusters of redbrick houses along the opposite side of the road from Drumglass park. The park lies beyond a waist high black iron fence and is well maintained by the city. The weather is currently nice enough that the park is very busy this afternoon. The houses over the road are large enough to have actual gardens seperated by clusters of trees and have enough space on the premises for a driveway for Lisa and her housemate Caroline's cars. As Michael passes the house in search of a parking space he can see that only Lisa's car is currently parked in the driveway.

[Bennosuke]

The bad traffic will give Michael a little time to think (OOC: And if you are alright with it), he will make a stop at a local liquor store to pick up a cheap bottle of red wine. He knew that Lisa liked wine. Though Michael didn't really have a refined palate he knew enough to go with a red, as it didn't have to be chilled before delivery.

When he gets to her house, Michael will check the driveway to see if Lisa's roommate Caroline was in, before strolling up to the door and knocking. Assuming she comes to the door, he will say, "Hey Lisa, I'm sorry I didn't reach out to you before swinging by, my bad. Would you happen to wanna hang out now?... Sorry it's been a little bit." If Caroline's car isn't there, he'll still ask, "Is Caroline over now?" He'll keep the bottle of wine out of sight, saving the reveal for if he was certain she was letting him in, and was in a good enough mood to be receptive of the gesture.

[Haval]

On the way to Lisa's house Michael stops off at the usual off-licence. It's attached to a larger bar and nightclub and has about as much floorspace as Michael's living room, but it's well stocked and it's early enough that it hasn't filled up with the student crowd yet.

At the house, he can see that Caroline's car isn't here. Michael knows her a little through Lisa and knows that she's some kind of lawyer in East Belfast on the other side of the city. It's around 4pm, so if she's at work she'll likely not be back for a while yet. There is someone at home though. Michael can hear the TV from the living room even before he rings the bell.

Lisa is a slight woman with long brown hair that she currently has tied up. She's wearing a dark green robe over pajama bottoms and a t-shirt which together suggest that she might not be long out of bed. She looks tired, but will flinch a little at the sight of Michael who might remember that the last time she saw him was yesterday when he apparently seemed to recover from being dead. Perhaps she wasn't expecting Michael to be here on her doorstep, especially with a bottle of wine in hand.

If Lisa looks slightly panicked she will stay to hear Michael out. 'To talk about...that..you mean? Are you even ok? Do you need to go to the hospital?' About Caroline, 'She's at work and she's said she's bringing food after. I took the day off as you can see. Feel like I've barely slept.'

Spoiler: ooc

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So it occurred to me that she might have called an ambulance except for the fact that she was there at the right moment to witness Michael coming back from the dead. Obviously Michael's free to lie about this or whatever.

Retroactive Wits + Composure roll for her to have noticed the gun. With a penalty.
(2d10)[4][4](8)

[Bennosuke]

(OOC: Well glad she missed the gun. Michael will definitely be lying here.)

Michael will take a moment to digest everything he is seeing, before replying to Lisa. "Uh, yeah," he will say in reply to the question about if he's okay, trying his best to sound nonchalant, "I'm fine. It's... it's definitely nothing." But when she brings up taking time off work and not feeling well, true concern will sink into Michael's voice. The last thing he would want is for Lisa to suffer. He maybe couldn't vocalize it, but Michael cared for her on a deep deep level. "I'm so sorry Lisa. I really wish I had known yesterday had effected you so! I can explain, and it was really nothing you need to worry yourself about."

He'll take a moment to try to peer over Lisa's shoulder and make sure no one else is inside, before offering his most sympathetic smile. "Look, I'd be happy to explain everything if it would put you at ease. But uh, do you maybe want to go inside?" He'll turn the smile into a wry grin, adding in his best playfully teasing manner say, "I mean, you're rocking a hot look and all, but maybe not how you want the neighbors to see you?"

[Haval]

Lisa only smirked at the comment about her look, but won't be distracted easily. She will though wave Michael into a living room that is larger and much more nicely furnished then the one in his house. An episode of 'The Simpsons' is currently muted on the TV.

After the two of you sit down, 'Nothing? It's not nothing when you looked like that. I thought you were dead. You looked the way my Grandad did at his funeral.' Lisa's Grandad had died last year and had recieved an open casket funeral. Michael had heard all about it at the time. 'Obviously you're not. I knew that from you waking up on the floor of your living room, but it scared the **** out of me. And I feel kind of bad for running away now.' Lisa smiles ruefully. 'Not sure if I want to be sending you a text asking if you're dead. Maybe someone would see it and get the wrong idea.' Lisa will watch Michael for a few moments as if to assess the state of his health. 'If you're ok, what was that yesterday? I could have sworn I saw blood. If you can explain, this ought to be good.'

[Bennosuke]

Michael will nod his head as she talks, letting his guilt over having to lie to her show on his face to be read as guilt for scaring her. He sincerely didn't want her spooked, and he did sincerely feel terrible about the whole thing. But Lisa couldn't know! She couldn't know; it would only make things harder. When she is done, Michael will nod his head and shrug. "So, money's been a little tight," he will start, keeping his eyes drawn to his hands as if he were embarrassed by the acknowledgement, "and well, Halloween is... kinda coming up." With this, he'll chance a glance at her face, before looking down to his feet. He'll smirk a little and say, "Well, to make a little extra cash, I applied for this job at an upcoming haunted house. It's all night shifts, so it won't interfere with my day job, and the money's pretty good. Anyways, in preparation, they have me practicing these... 'practical effects', I think they're called." From here, Michael will look up at Lisa. He won't go hard with eye contact; that's a good way to be read as lying, but he'll look at her and with his best embarrassed smile say, "I know it's really really stupid, and I didn't think anyone was watching, and I really, REALLY didn't want to scare you... but uh, basically you caught me cos-playing for my embarrassing side hustle."

Spoiler: OOC:

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So I assume this is gonna require a big roll. Michael has Presence 3 and Manipulation 2, though I kinda assume you will prefer the latter. His Subterfuge is 2. I'll add a WP here for an additional 3 dice. So that would make it a 7-8d10 roll depending on which you prefer, and not including any modifiers you see fit. Will roll 8d10 just in case

(8d10)[1][9][7][6][4][6][2][9](44)
and 10 again (8d10)[6][8][5][3][3][5][1][8](39)

[Haval]

'Halloween, seriously?' Lisa grins in amusement at Michael's explanation. If she's sceptical over Michael's lie it's not obvious. Perhaps because anything is more believable then the notion that Michael had risen from the dead in front of her. 'That I'll have to see, you were very realistic. But what do you mean you need money? They not paying you enough at your thing? I know you make more then I do.'

Spoiler: ooc

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Manipulation would make more sense under the circumstances which would make it 1 success each. Can't seem to find an explanation on how to rule draws but I'm inclined to make it highest dice until I see anything that says otherwise.

And I suppose this means that Lisa is unaware that Michael lost his job.

[Bennosuke]

Michael allows himself another sheepish grin. "Yeah, seriously," he replies. He shrugs at her question, and this time can't help but wince a little. He pauses for a moment then replies, "Yeah, I mean, let's just say not enough." This was at least kind of true. He leaves his answer at that, deciding not to go into deeper details. But before Lisa can ask more questions, Michael decides to take the initiative. "Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry... if I freaked you out at all. I, kinda figured I did... not to be too self important or anything. So I just wanted to make sure you were okay and all; ya know? I... you're one of my closest friends. I wouldn't want to lose you or anything."

Spoiler: OOC

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And I suppose this means that Lisa is unaware that Michael lost his job.

Yeah, I doubt Michael would have told her if it was embarrassing enough to consider suicide. Just one more lie he is going to have to keep up around her. But I'm sure it would NEVER come back to bite him in the ass.

[Haval]

Lisa seems content to accept Michael's explanation but will reach over and swat him lightly on the arm at the last point. 'Well that's not going to happen is it. Just let me know the next time you go around pretending to rise from the dead. It's not something I see everyday.' She doesn't quite let the first point go though, 'You got money problems Michael? I know you're not spending it on rent.' The best thing about Michael's house was that it was reasonably priced, largely because of the neighborhood, but at least he didn't need a roommate.

[Bennosuke]

Lisa seems content to accept Michael's explanation but will reach over and swat him lightly on the arm at the last point. 'Well that's not going to happen is it. Just let me know the next time you go around pretending to rise from the dead. It's not something I see everyday.'

Michael allows himself to smirk a little. "I think what this means," he says playfully, "is I need to do a better job locking my doors. I mean, god forbid I had had a lady friend over, or anything." Despite himself, Michael will do his best not to check Lisa's reaction here, though he desperately wants to.

She doesn't quite let the first point go though, 'You got money problems Michael? I know you're not spending it on rent.' The best thing about Michael's house was that it was reasonably priced, largely because of the neighborhood, but at least he didn't need a roommate.

This sobers Michael's demeanor significantly. He can't help as his mood sours at the thought of everything that has happened with his job. Fighting the urge to get angry, he'll reply, "Eh, it's not exactly like that. Let's just say I'm not making nearly as much as you think. I'm... starting to feel pretty unappreciated at Fox and Gieves." Michael does his best to sigh and show that he's brushing this off, but will drive the nail home with, "But, if it's alright, I'd really rather not talk about it."

[Haval]

Michael allows himself to smirk a little. "I think what this means," he says playfully, "is I need to do a better job locking my doors. I mean, god forbid I had had a lady friend over, or anything." Despite himself, Michael will do his best not to check Lisa's reaction here, though he desperately wants to.

'Wouldn't be the first time something like that's happened. If I ever interrupted, I would have just tried to leave quietly and let you get on with it.' Lisa just seems amused. 'Why, does that mean you're seeing someone? It's been long enough.'

'if it's alright. I'd really rather not talk about it.'

'Believe me I get it.' Lisa had complained about her waitress job in Michael's presence fairly often. 'A job's a job though I suppose. Just let me know if you ever manage to get something better. Even if it means you have to move.' Lisa sounds less happy at the prospect. Michael had lived here long enough to understand that most of the best paid jobs likely involved moving to Dublin or London.

The Burned Man had made himself scarce on the drive over here but while Lisa talks he suddenly returns. There are no warning signs before he materialises and Lisa certainly doesn't respond to the Geist's presence, but he is suddenly present as if he'd been there the whole time. The Geist ignores the two of you and heads towards the open door to Lisa's kitchen. He is suddenly very attentive about something.

[Bennosuke]

'Wouldn't be the first time something like that's happened. If I ever interrupted, I would have just tried to leave quietly and let you get on with it.' Lisa just seems amused. 'Why, does that mean you're seeing someone? It's been long enough.'

Michael chuckles, relieved to be out of the woods, or at least almost there. He grins and replies, "Oh my! When did you get to be so nosy," well aware that he was avoiding the question.

'Believe me I get it.' Lisa had complained about her waitress job in Michael's presence fairly often. 'A job's a job though I suppose. Just let me know if you ever manage to get something better. Even if it means you have to move.' Lisa sounds less happy at the prospect. Michael had lived here long enough to understand that most of the best paid jobs likely involved moving to Dublin or London.

The Burned Man had made himself scarce on the drive over here but while Lisa talks he suddenly returns. There are no warning signs before he materialises and Lisa certainly doesn't respond to the Geist's presence, but he is suddenly present as if he'd been there the whole time. The Geist ignores the two of you and heads towards the open door to Lisa's kitchen. He is suddenly very attentive about something.

Michael does his best to hide his concern, and nods his head. "I promise," he says, though he adds a wink when he he sees Lisa's dower face and adds gaily, "though I doubt I'll be leaving here anytime soon." He reaches out and squeezes her hand. Afraid of any rejection, he will quickly let go, and pretending to sniff at the air, will rise from the couch and say, "Hey, were you cooking something? It smells like something might be burning." He won't leave her, but he'll do his best to kind of bend over to see if he can peer into the kitchen and see what The Geist is up to.

(OOC: I love what you did with the burning man here )

[Haval]

Michael chuckles, relieved to be out of the woods, or at least almost there. He grins and replies, "Oh my! When did you get to be so nosy," well aware that he was avoiding the question.

Lisa smiles at that, 'Well it's not like I keep any secrets from you.'

Michael does his best to hide his concern, and nods his head. "I promise," he says, though he adds a wink when he he sees Lisa's dower face and adds gaily, "though I doubt I'll be leaving here anytime soon." He reaches out and squeezes her hand. Afraid of any rejection, he will quickly let go, and pretending to sniff at the air, will rise from the couch and say, "Hey, were you cooking something? It smells like something might be burning." He won't leave her, but he'll do his best to kind of bend over to see if he can peer into the kitchen and see what The Geist is up to.

Lisa doesn't appear bothered by the brief contact but will look confused by the comment. 'Just some noodles. Unless you mean the thing from nextdoor? It's a bit of a mess.' Michael can see exactly what the Geist is doing from where he's sitting. The layout of Lisa's kitchen is very familar to Michael from having been to the house before and the kitchen wall between the counter and the overhead cupboards adjoins one of the neigbouring houses. There is a visible wet patch on the wall which the Burned Man will lean over to touch. As the Geist draws back his hand a trail of slime comes back with it. Michael might recognise it as similar to the residue that constituted Mary's body when she spoke to Michael in his back garden.

[Bennosuke]

Lisa smiles at that, 'Well it's not like I keep any secrets from you.'

Michael will roll his eyes playfully at this. Part of him is tempted to reply, "As far as I know," but the wiser part of him chooses to help this part of the conversation die off, before he sparks Lisa's curiosity again.

Michael will get up now, when he sees what the Geist is doing. Wandering towards the wet spot, he will pretend to be interested in the kitchen. Still sniffing at the air he will say, "... It doesn't smell like burned noodles. The thing from next door?" While prompting Lisa for more information, he will try to make his way over to the wet spot to get a better view, while also trying not to make it too obvious what he is doing.

[Haval]

'We think it's something with the pipes.' Lisa replies. 'The old guy next door said he's got it over there as well. His landlord's supposed to be taking a look at it.' Lisa will follow Michael into the kitchen without registering the Burning Man. The Geist will stand aside if Michael wants to get a closer look at the wet patch on the kitchen wall. Michael can register it's approval for paying attention.

The wet patch is roughly a metre in diameter and has patches of thick white liquid which has began to dribble down towards the kitchen counter but which is solid enough that it has mostly just congealed on the wall. Lisa adds, 'It's been getting bigger for a couple of days. Carolne tried to clean it off at first but it just comes back. It's not nice to look at but I've lived in worse houses.'

[Bennosuke]

It takes Michael a moment to realize that she is talking about the wet patch, and that she can see the stain as well. He'll give The Burned Man a furtive grin, before turning his attention to the wet patch. "Hmmmm," he'll reply over his shoulder. Michael will walk right over to the spot, and inspect it as best he can; getting his nose up close for a sniff, touching it and rubbing any substance between his fingers ect.

(OOC: I am assuming it is Plasma based on your prior description, but let me know if you need a roll here or if there is some other way you see Michael as engaging with hit. I don't think Memoria 1 will work here and I don't see any basic Sin Eater Powers that are immediately useful)

[Haval]

'You're not going to taste it are you?' Lisa asked looking over Michael's shoulder.

As Michael rubs the plasm between his fingers he has a brief flash of a kitchen elsewhere. Judging by the layout it's easy to assume it's the house on the other side of the wall, although it's too dark to be happening right now. An elderly man is carefully doing the dishes while a tall black shadow in the vague shape of a human stands behind him with both hands on the man's shoulders. It's unclear if the man is aware of the shadow's presence.

Spoiler

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I realised I misunderstood something about the nature of Plasm, so I'm going to keep going with a fairly broad definition of consuming Plasm. You could always taste it as well if you want.

[Bennosuke]

Michael smirks at the question, and assuming Lisa was mocking him, replies, "Is it better than your cooking?" With the assumption that he would probably freak her out if she saw him put the goo in his mouth, he'll try to get her to look away. Looking down at his hand with mild disgust, he'll point across the kitchen to the roll of paper towels and say, "Would you mind getting me something to clean my hand." The moment she turns away, he will race for a taste, sticking one finger into his mouth in case it might give him any more information.

[Haval]

'Aye, maybe.' Lisa is an indifferent cook and is unfazed by Michael's criticism. She will go and get him a paper towel to clean his hand.

When the plasm touches Michael's tongue he experiences a number of further visions of residents of the house. These come in a rush without any apparent connection.In one, the old man from the previous vision is sleeping in his bedroom while the shadow stands at the foot of the bed. It seems to only be watching. In another, the shadow stands on a staircase and observes a younger man and a woman who are in the process of moving boxes full of their possessions outside into a waiting van. The couple look tired and worried. There are visible stains of plasm on the walls of the house. In another, a frightened looking woman goes over the bannister backwards as the shadow approaches them. In another, a different man and a woman are engaged in an argument in a living room. The woman has a visible black eye. But there are many other less clear visions, all happening at the same time.

Spoiler: ooc

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Maybe roll something appropriate if Michael wants to try to keep his composure in front of Lisa.

[Bennosuke]

Michael will do the best to hide his response.

Spoiler: OOC rolling

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(4d10)[5][5][8][1](19) and 10 again (4d10)[3][7][3][2](15) Edit: 4d10 was Manipulation + composure.

Assuming he gets by, Michael will shake his head and sigh. Showing concern he will say, "Not to impose, but I think you should get this figured out quick. It can't be a good sign that it is spreading. In fact, would you introduce me to the guy next door? Maybe I can help." He won't push the issue, but he had the inkling that the old man in the visions was their neighbor, and seeing him would confirm this. Maybe he could figure out what or who the shadow was as well, since this didn't seem to be a problem that a plumber was going to fix.

[Haval]

Lisa doesn't seem to notice Michael's reaction to the plasm but will answer his question. 'I suppose you can ask but I don't even know his name. Maybe Patrick something? We just see each other in passing sometimes. He's blind you know, but he seems cheerful enough.' Lisa will head upstairs as she's currently still in her dressing gown. 'Give me a minute to get dressed.'

The Burned Man, who has been investigating the kitchen since he had drawn Michael's attention to the plasm, will point towards the wall and briefly stick his hand through it to make his point. Michael has a sense that the Geist was looking for Michael's permission before he entered the neighboring house.

[Bennosuke]

Though Michael is more than curious about what might be happening upstairs, he does his best to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. He will call after Lisa, "I mean, if you don't know him, I'm happy to just go by myself if you prefer."

But assuming she continues changing, Michael will watch The Burned Man with curiosity. He had a bad feeling about this, but not knowing what was going to happen, he gives the Geist a nod and replies with his voice low, "Go ahead... just don't to anything reckless."

[Haval]

Lisa will call from upstairs, 'Won't it be weird if you just show up alone? But feel free to knock on his door and I'll be over in a minute.'

The Burned Man will nod and head towards the wall adjoining the two houses. The Geist doesn't pass through the wall but rather vanishes suddenly before reaching it.

Spoiler: ooc

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I assume Michael's heading next door?

[Bennosuke]

Michael calls back, "Eh, I can explain the situation." Assuming Lisa does not protest further, he will watch The Burned Man for one moment longer, marveling at the strangeness of its power. Following this, Michael will head over to Patrick's door as described by Lisa, and will knock or hit the doorbell as appropriate.

[Haval]

The house next door is the mirror image of Lisa's although the garden looks notably more unkempt to look at. The blinds on the windows are closed and there are no signs of life coming from within the house. There is a doorbell but as far as Michael can tell it makes no noise when he presses it, but switching to a firm knock will get a response. Through the frosted glass panels on the front door Michael can see an internal door open in the hallway and the shape of a man moves carefully towards the front door. The muffled sound of a radio can be heard from within the house along with the tapping of a walking stick.

Michael can hear the jingling of keys and the rattle of a security chain before the man gets the door open wide enough that he can be seen. Lisa's neighbour is a man with thinning grey hair and a brown cardigan that to look at must be in his seventies at the least. He is looking in Michael's general direction without seeming to make him out properly. 'Hello? I don't think I'm expcting anybody.'

[Bennosuke]

If there was one thing Michael was good at, it was probably making a good first impression. He was... had been in sales. When the door opens only part ways, he takes a small step back to show he means no harm. Putting on a warm grin Michael replies "Hi, good afternoon. Sorry to bother you. I'm Michael, I'm just coming from next door. I may have misunderstood, but your neighbor Lisa mentioned your name might be Patrick?"

[Haval]

The man responds after a moment. He seems confused that Michael is there but is amiable enough. 'That's right. How can I help you?'

[Bennosuke]

Michael studied the man's face, doing his best to keep up his friendly exterior.

Does the man look familiar to Michael after his prior visions?

He'll reply to the man, "Well I wanted to come by, because I noticed the leak in Lisa's apartment. I think you heard about this? Anyway, she mentioned that you might be having some problems as well. I just wanted to help her out, and if this was something with a shared wall, I figured I might come take a look." Michael will also use this as an excuse to try to peer around the man, either to see if he recognizes anyone else from the vision inside, or maybe the mysterious shadow he had seen. Hopefully, The Burned Man might take that as a cue as well to go inside and investigate.