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Post by beastly on Nov 27, 2022 22:46:02 GMT -6
'Less crime'. He'd keep that in mind the next time he shot some mug in the noodle. He would need to lay low for a while after this visit. As low as he could, as work would allow. He didn't want to make this WDSA look at him too closely, wanted to stay just a bored ghost in their files. Continue, by all means, to try and 'build trust', Ru.
"Artistic. If that's what you want to call it," Ruby would like it, came the unwelcome thought, " Museum district, though. Lights. It'd be something to see."
The ghost fished out the lighter again, looking into the distance. She would like it. She'd have something smart to say about paintings, probably mention something he didn't understand in Paris. She'd know artists, and know people who know artists.
"You said you're an actor?"
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Post by jarahamee on Nov 30, 2022 1:08:38 GMT -6
“I’d recommend it. It’s nice. I always learn something.”
He didn’t want to say that maybe Jonny might enjoy learning sometimes. That would be mean, and he’d been a pleasant ghost so far. So far. He wondered exactly what he did when he was alive. Probably something not great if he knew a bunch of ghosts who died in an event where they were gunned down in mass.
“I was. For one movie. It wasn’t much. It was a minor arthouse sort of movie, the ones with no budget and no one anyone knows in them. It was called The Vampyre, and of course, it wasn’t really seen by anyone besides the vampires that turned us.”
Ru’s mood seemed to decline as he brought up the movie. He was really just a music guy, he wasn’t really into the whole show business thing.
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Post by beastly on Dec 1, 2022 22:08:11 GMT -6
"I got nothing but time, but I dunno what you can learn from a painting," Jonny said noncommittally. He would end up going. Now that he knew it was there, now that he had to give up the taxis, at least for a few months, he'd have to find things to fill his spare hours. Although he grumbled, he knew he probably wouldn't hate the experience. There would be people to watch, and a place full of old stuff probably had a ghost or two around he could talk to.
The ghost did pick up on the dip in Ru's spirits when he mentioned his acting career, the shift in his tone. It had made the man into a vampire, something he didn't seem pleased about. He could understand that, to a point. Maybe once Ru was over the vampire stuff, in a few decades, he could come back to it. Movies, in Jonny's opinion, were far better than any museum. Or doing whatever it was Ru was trying to accomplish with his ghost taxi service.
"Shame," Jonny shrugged, " You enjoy this more?"
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Post by jarahamee on Dec 7, 2022 14:14:19 GMT -6
“Well, you can learn about other people’s lives and experiences, and they’ve found art helps with people’s moods, and can keep people from becoming senile with age. I imagine even for people like us, who don’t have to worry about that sort of thing, it might help.”
Ru didn’t mention he thought that ghosts got ghost senility sometimes. They often had very particular habits, and a lot of the time, he felt that they didn’t remember things as well, especially as they aged. Some of them did not even remember their own names. He glanced into the mirror, checking the Jonny’s expression.
Ru smiled, leaning back in his driver’s seat;
“Honestly, I find this very fulfilling, but I admit, being the star of a movie was an experience… It felt nice in some ways, but this is an improvement.”
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Post by beastly on Dec 8, 2022 23:22:40 GMT -6
"Oh."
The answer was so genuine and harmless, Jonny couldn't argue with it. What could he say to that? He gave a shrug again, looking out the window.
He had trouble with his memory at times. He didn't like to think about it, but keeping new information in his head wasn't easy. Learning things was hard, although it could be done. The past, though, was crystal clear.
"And they pay you well enough? Put bread on the table for the family?"
Ru seemed happy, he supposed. Jonny paused after he spoke. The man was a blood drinker. They tended... not to have human families. It was a tie to human life, to their humanity. Most didn't like that. He frowned, reaching up to fiddle with the sun visor.
"...Do you see your family?"
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Post by jarahamee on Dec 13, 2022 1:51:02 GMT -6
“They pay me enough to keep my apartment. I live with another vampire there. It’s small but we don’t need much room, since we aren’t alive.”
It wasn’t too bad. He supposed since he didn’t have to do anything that he did in life, he didn’t really need privacy, or a real kitchen, or a bathroom, or really anything at all beyond what would normally be about the space of an attic or a closet. It was really all they needed.
“I haven’t seen my human family since I became a vampire. The vampires I joined said they’d kill them if I ever saw them again, and even though our head vampire is gone… Well, they’re all in cahoots to some degree, so I don’t really trust any of them honestly. I miss them.”
His expression was distant as he stared out into the darkness.
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Post by beastly on Dec 15, 2022 0:53:34 GMT -6
Jonny felt a dim spark of empathy in his chest, and settled back in his seat. The vampire had been kind to him. He took off his hat, looking at it for a moment, turning it over in his hands. His hair was dark and curly, styled short on the sides and longer on top, tamed by brilliantine. On the right side of his head, if he turned, a wound nearly a century old could be picked out, although it blended in with his dark hair. He looked hard at his hat, not looking up as he spoke.
"Ru, I've been dead a long time, see. I've known a lot of dead guys. If you want to keep being yourself, you have to hold onto what you loved when you were alive. And, see, if they croak before you see them again, you're gonna be kicking yourself for the next hundred years. Family is important. The most important."
Jonny worried the brim of his hat. He didn't know this guy, they were strangers. He doubted Ru would actually take his advice. He'd wished he would have said something to his family.
"You said you got away. Your vampire boss is dead, the rest are at war. War makes men distracted. I don't mean this as an insult, but you seem like small potatoes. Send for them, save up and bring them here. Contact them under a different name if you have to. You'll regret letting them fall through your fingers."
He shrugged, then put his hat back on, tilting his head with a grin.
"Or don't. It's none of my beeswax, I'm just an old specter and you're the man they pay to keep things hush."
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Post by jarahamee on Dec 15, 2022 2:12:15 GMT -6
Ru let the thought roll around in his head. The ghost was right, how much attention were any of the vampires going to be paying to whatever humans did? They rarely had any interest in human affairs unless it directly impacted them, and right now they were being attacked by other vampires. Would they really notice? Would his parents relocate to be with him?
He looked back at Jonny with the slow drop of revelation. Why not move them here? How much would he regret never seeing them again, or speaking to them, or even, leaving without ever saying goodbye? They must feel terrible thinking that he was dead all this time. It left a new and fresh pain through his chest to think about it.
“Did you ever say goodbye to yours?”
The vampire thought that maybe that was too on the nose. He had implied he hadn’t, though Ru wondered why not. He should have been able to have that much. Maybe Ru could have them summoned so he could speak to them, and get some closure.
“I’ll…talk to my roommate about plans. I think…they’d do anything to see me again, honestly.”
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Post by beastly on Dec 15, 2022 9:30:46 GMT -6
Jonny wasn't always good at reading people, but he felt maybe he'd conveyed what he'd meant to. Jonny blinked at the question. He really should have seen it coming. He held off on answering and nodded slowly, smoothing his suit.
"Mmhm. Don't know them, but they would."
Of course they'd do anything to see the vampire again. He was their child, their brother, their nephew. If someone could have their loved one back from the grave, they'd do just about anything. Ru wouldn't ever be alive again, but he could be in their lives.
He sighed, considering the vampire's question again. For all his dislike for sad ghost things, he found himself answering.
" I never wanted to- I didn't want to 'haunt' them. I thought it'd be easier on them if I let my death be a firm thing," he chuckled, but there was no humor in it," I kept an eye on them, but didn't let them see me. Helped, but quietly. Then... my father died, and I regretted it. But by then I felt it was too late to walk into their lives. In her last days, did say goodbye to Maria- my dear sister. She was very ill."
The ghost went quiet, and just when Ru thought maybe he'd finished the thought, he kept talking. He seemed to be somewhere else mentally.
"I told her it'd be okay, she'd be up in heaven soon. She was worried about her children, and I said I'd look after them for her... I did that, they've passed now, all of them. I've been watching their children, and their children's children. I'm a... uh, Talia's born, so," the ghost counted on his fingers, apparently this area of conversation was one he was happy to spill the beans on," Great-great-great-great uncle. There's a lot of them now, and they don't recognize me, so I can just walk up and jaw at them without scaring them. They're doing well, most of them."
He smiled, but then blinked and dropped the expression. He couldn't see them anymore. Not because he'd been forbidden, but because they were so far away now. That stung. Without them, his whole situation felt more crushing, he felt so much more lost. He'd told himself, when things had gotten bad with work, that he was doing it for them.Sprinkles had tricked him, sure, but there'd apparently been something in the contract about taking care of his immediate family. Or something. He was not told exact terms. The pixie had paid for Maria's medicine, and when that failed, her funeral.
Now, he was thousands of miles away from his family. He had nothing and no one, he wasn't working for Sprinkles, he was just working for the new terrifying boss to delay hell. He visibly wilted, leaning against the door.
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Post by jarahamee on Dec 16, 2022 2:54:55 GMT -6
Ru listened, watching the ghost’s face through the rear view mirror. This was the opposite of ‘sad ghost shit.’ This was the sort of thing that made Ru wish that he himself was a ghost sometimes, rather than a predatory vampire. To be a protector and a savior.
The fondness was recognizable. He had cared, had followed the lives of his family and their descendants, and had even followed them to this day. And then the sadness. Something had changed. He couldn’t be with his family anymore.
He pulled over to the side of the road and parked the car, before reaching back to take Jonny’s hand. His expression was sincere and somber;
“Your family sounds wonderful. I’m sorry you can’t be with them anymore. If… you wanted…I could see if we can contact them from beyond, so you could say farewell.”
Ru smiled sadly.
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Post by beastly on Dec 18, 2022 8:52:57 GMT -6
Jonny didn't move away from Ru when he reached for his hand. The idea struck him dumb. He knew, of course, that such things were possible. He'd just never thought of summoning his departed family, and although he was capable of a few rituals, he'd stayed away from anything like that. Wouldn't want to do it badly.
He had several complicated emotions on the prospect, blinking at Ru as he tried to digest them. His long dead heart begged him to say yes to this vampire. Mama and Al had died long before him, and in life he would have given both his arms just to see them again. His other siblings, his father, he missed them all terribly as well. To know they were okay, to say goodbye, he wanted that. Badly.
He was ashamed, though. He knew he'd been an evil man. He'd continued his wicked deeds beyond the grave. He'd had fights with his father in life about his father's suspicions that Jonny was up to no good. How could he face them? They were good people, people that had lived good lives. How could he come to them as the wretched creature he was?
How couldn't he though? How could he pass up the chance to see his family? He couldn't. He swallowed, then looked away from Ru, then back up at Ru. First thing first, he had to figure out if it was a real offer, and what the vampire wanted in return.
"What's in it for you?"
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Post by jarahamee on Dec 19, 2022 2:11:59 GMT -6
Ru’s expression softened a little bit further, if that were even possible, and his eyes became wider. He did not pull back, or change his hand placement, he simply sat in his seat, trying to think of the best answer he could give Jonny. It wasn’t pity, perhaps, it was a sense of compassion. Settling these matters. Bringing joy.
“I have the ability to talk to ghosts by nature. Even ones that other people can’t see. As long as they are accessible, I have the means to summon and speak to the dead, for a short while. There is nothing in it for me, besides that it makes others happy.”
And bring him the closure that he didn’t have himself. Which he might have himself soon. Wouldn’t that be something? To make someone else’s day? To make them beautiful with joy. Whoever they might be, or whatever they had done.
His hand did not move from where it had been placed. He believed what he said, a hundred percent.
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Post by beastly on Dec 20, 2022 2:54:27 GMT -6
Jonny took a breath he didn't need, patted Ru's arm then leaned away. He folded his arms, tilting his head as he studied Ru. The man meant what he was saying. How unbelievably kind. Still. Jonny wasn't going to accept help for free. Clear exchanges with terms were best when it came to magical and mystical dealings. Not just cause he wanted Ru's situation to turn out okay.
"I don't expect something for nothing," Jonny gestured to himself," and to tell you the truth, see, I don't like to owe people. Known too many of the good folk. So. I'll make you an offer. You help me talk to my family, and I'll help you with your family if you ask and it's something I can do."
Jonny held out his hand, this time for a handshake.
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Post by jarahamee on Dec 21, 2022 3:22:18 GMT -6
Ru paused. A ghosts’ help was…well, helpful, especially in his situation. Maybe he could help his family avoid danger somehow. He wasn’t really sure, but even a symbolic agreement would probably put the spirit at ease.
After a moment’s consideration, he shook on it, doing his best to look like a very serious businessperson. As serious as one might look while dressed like they came directly from a period drama.
“You have a deal. I’ll need a little bit of time to make arrangements, but it’s something that I can do. They will probably end up speaking through me. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”
He smiled faintly. He had the sense that the ghost would be able to find him. If not, he did have a card with his contacts. Most ghosts were, by nature, unregistered, so he didn’t expect this one was, and by the look of it, he’d probably be reluctant to, but that was the nature of the beast, wasn’t it?
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Post by beastly on Dec 21, 2022 22:07:06 GMT -6
Jonny shook Ru's hand just as seriously and business-like. They had a deal. One Jonny made willingly. He hoped it wouldn't get him on troubled with the new boss, talking so much to a wdsa guy, but he also couldn't bring himself to care too terribly much. It was his family.
"Right, you're the conduit. That will be odd."
But he would take it, no matter how strange it would be to look this vampire in the face and address him as his mother. He was sad it would take time, but what was time? Time was nothing in the face of eternity.
"When will you be ready?"
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