abhoth | ( SEANCE - WEEK 4, DAVE )

[Welp, that's a hand. At least it's somewhat less creepier than eyeballs.]

Hi, Dave. It's me, Emily.

Hey, Ems. [ immediate and soft and rapid-fire. ] Are you okay?

I'm okay. [Um. Kinda. She looks down at her bloody... rat paws? She can totally see whiskers coming out of her face to the sides.] I think I'm turning into a rat. [And then also without much hesitation:] Are you okay too? We miss you. You fought a scary monster. Some people found you and the monster. The room was open.

Dirk was upset. And I could have talked to you last time, but we were going to talk to Omega, and I didn't want anyone to be mad.

[ there's a burst of laughter before he can stop it at something in there, dry and sort of hysterical, but it evens out soon enough. ]

I'm fine. [ he's not, but since he doesn't think he ever will be again, what does it matter? ] Just got caught off guard for a second too long. Hey, Ems - this week I can prove to you your role matters. So keep it to yourself and the girls and...Dirk, all right? Please.

[NOW ISN'T THE TIME TO LAUGH, DAVE.]

Okay. I'm trying. It feels like everyone else finds helpful stuff, and I don't find anything. Everything is confusing and doesn't make any sense.

Is the mean lady there too? The Ghost. The one everyone wanted to punish. The Disposal Room was open, and they found things... They think it was from her, I guess. And! I got a strange necklace the other day when I woke up! I can't take it off.

Dirk took a picture of me, and I glow funny.

[Okay, there. She feels better.]

And Dipper is the Idealist, and he has a magic telescope that can see through walls and in the mirrors. And there's bowls of strange things in the lobby! I asked the Innkeeper if I could use it to talk to the not alive people, but he said they belong to people who are alive.

But they still keep appearing. This week, there's fingers. The first ones that point.

Oh! [She feels like she can't get any of this out fast enough.] Dirk wanted me to tell you--he wanted me to tell you that he misses you a whole bunch, and he's trying his best, and he doesn't know if you would be proud of him, but he's trying. And he "keeps your appointments."

And he hopes you're not suffering, and he said-- [She pauses like she's thinking, but only for a second.] He said your existence was the best thing to ever happen to him. He said he did a bad thing to make you upset, and he's sorry.

Edited (I HECKED UP) 2017-06-14 18:56 (UTC)

[ DAVE WAS ABOUT TO TELL HER SHIT BUT ]

What bad thing? [ he's immediately derailed by that, lmao. he can't even touch the rest of it. ] What did he do? Did he tell someone who you are?

[listen, she's ten and has a lot to say!!!!!!!!!!!]

No. He said he did a bad thing to you, and that is why you went into the room. He said he hurt your feelings and made you upset.

And that you would be mad because he asked us if it was okay to let Jake meet us with Dipper. Because Jake is a bad liar. But we said it was okay.

You all met Jake. With Dipper.

[ confirming? although he asked and dave just kind of laughs again. ]

Not yet. Dirk asked us if it was okay. I talked to Jake when he was listening to music. We talked about what the roles might do. He got a ball that bounced out of the funny machine in the lobby.

But we haven't met with Jake or Dipper yet. I told Dirk it was okay if he wanted me to meet Jake with him so the others didn't have to. If he thought it was safer.

What's so funny?

Nothin'. I was just right, and I knew I was, and it's...a relief to fuckin' know for sure. There ain't an inbetween anymore. So thanks, kiddo.

[ it's the expected knife to the back and he welcomes it, and with it, the sudden flood of calm distance. ]

Okay. Listen up, Ems. There's two "Facilitators" left, now that Mira's dead. Don't know that killin' them all will end shit - probs will not - but their collection bullshit is probably important to stop. The Facilitators agreed to this fuckery from the outset, and they traded their souls for power in order to do so. They're doin' this of their own free will.

Apparently at the end the living three are gonna decide about who stays or goes. Anyone who stays gets consumed as sacrifices. More...permanently than now, maybe?

We're in a weird place. Like the belly of a beast with a bunch of gore - which I assume is kinda accurate since we were "consumed" or what the fuck ever - but there are some rooms from the hotel. The more people who die the more rooms we get, I think. So far we have the Lobby, Lounge, Dinin' Room, Laundry Room, and Executive Suite. There are weird...eye...things, that we can watch y'all with if we ask. I try to keep an eye on you at least.

Abigail Phillips, the one I told you about, hangs out in the Lobby. She was a Facilitator in her own "game" ages ago. Couldn't nail a timeframe out of her though she said it used to be the 1920s or 1950s. She said her ambitions caught the attetnion of the gods - guess that means her dimension travel shit - and she gave them this realm as tribute or blah blah blah whatever. She's the sewer lady and the ghost, the one who always smells like lavenders. So she ain't dead.

Craftly was in a game, too, but he was like us - not a Facilitator. He managed to make it to the final three, though, and Abs said that he wouldn't be "stuck in his current predicament" if he hadn't. Their boss is the Mother or whatever.

Not everyone who died so far is really...around. I think the ones who died this week won't be up and about until after the execution, maybe, but - I guess it's like with ghosts back home. You either go dead or you don't.

Oh, and Tsurugi killed Hibiki. Make sure the others know in case there's a week y'all need to vote for someone and can't find the killer for that week.

How are you at memorizin' rhymes?

[She opens her mouth to say something, but Dave keeps going, so she shuts it again in order to listen very closely.

It doesn't all make very much sense, and there's a lot of information, but she does the best she can at remembering.] Okay. [She hopes... she can draw this.] I'll tell them. Um. Show them.

I like rhymes. I know some from Dunwall. Like the one I told you.

Cool. Do you have any questions about all the other stuff so far? I know it's a lot.

[ he sounds worried. ]

I wanted you to have as much as you could. [ SHE REALLY FUCKING SCARED HIM LAST TIME ABOUT "MAKE ME INTO A GHOST" HE WILL MAKE THIS ROLE WORTH SOMETHING HOLY SHIT. ] We can make a rhyme about it, but uh, I have one about somethin' else that...may help?

I don't know... [LOOK, SHE WAS SCARED HERSELF.] No one wants me to look for anything. I really want to help find something special. But then everyone would be mad if I died.

I don't know what to look for. The Innkeeper says the killers aren't important. But... does that mean the "Facilitators" are what's important?

What's your rhyme about? I want to hear it.

I don't know. I think, maybe, what choice the last three livin' people make might be important. [ if he had to hazard a guess. but he's not sure. ] I think that gettin' the Facilitators to stop...Facilitating might help, but I don't know if they're what the Innkeeper thinks is important.

I think he probably tells you more than anythin' else, though. You've already heard things that're special.

[ the rhyme, though.

DAVE BREAKS INTO AN aborted list of rooms with stupid names in a specific order split up by "don't even fuckin' know" in a variety of ways. one of the names is "curio shop".

he is rapping to her the order of the breaker labels to the best extent of his memory. ]

I think the unmarked room is the "Curio Shop". [ he says after he. finishes his fucking rap about how the breaker is laid out. he knows there are gaps, but he wanted her to have what he did know, and he's been obsessively reciting them to himself for over a week now. ] Which is like...a place to keep oddities.

[Did she just... did she just hear a rap about murdergame rooms and also the labels for the breaker box?

Dave...] Okay. I think I can remember. [It's silly enough. To her. SORRY, DAVE.] So we should go into the Curio Shop?

The others found... hearts in the Disposal Room. But... not yours. But they thought it was because of Mira. Or... the Facilitators. Is that what the Curio Shop is too?

[ LOOK...HE WANTED IT TO BE EASY FOR HER TO REMEMBER???? ]

I'm not sure if you should or shouldn't, but it's an option. That's my best guess at the unmarked room, since I couldn't match "curio shop" to anythin' else. At least if you tell everyone y'all can decide if you think it's important.

[ ... ]

I...heard somethin' about my heart bein' missin', but I can't say what the fuck caused it. If Mira stole it, she sure as fuck hasn't let on to everyone deadside as of yet.

[ he's not even sure if he should be. worried. like, whatever. does it matter?? ]

Okay. I'll tell them. Maybe they'll go, and they'll find something really interesting. [:pray:] Maybe she hid your heart really well. Or... maybe she didn't get it at all.

Oh. They also said there was a "morgue." There was 41 windows instead of 42. They said that was strange too.

Dave, are you all in the mirrors? There's a strange place in the mirrors. Or.. that's what Dirk said. Because Dipper saw it with his telescope. It doesn't look like this place at all.

It's okay. I don't really need my heart, so don't sweat it.

[ HE'S ATTEMPTING TO BE ENCOURAGING... ]

I don't know if we're in the mirrors. It's...this large cavern. It's all this blue gore. Just like we're inside something. Lots of slime. There's eyes on the walls and if you tell em a name they show you that person, or a room if you say the room. We can't see shit from the eyes from Thursday to Sunday really, but we can see trials on the televisions.

[ a pause as he shakes his head. ]

It's weird. Our hearts don't beat, our blood doesn't run, and our lungs don't breathe air, Ems. We're all...healed, whatever, of everythin' that happened - my hands are fine again - but we're not alive.

Like an inbetween place. That's what Dirk's picture looked like. It was like... a dungeon. [Like the Void maybe.] It's okay. We'll find your heart, Dave. And a way to go back home.

[She's quiet for a moment or two.]

Did you go into that room to find out what was in it?

Yeah. [ it's easy enough to answer the question. ] I thought maybe seein' the electric shit could tell us more about the hotel, anything hiding, but...there was a thing in there. I touched a breaker and it shocked my left hand, and I tried to circle around to the door when the thing...when I heard it. It tripped me, I hit the cabinets, I stabbed it a bunch.

I dropped them, though. I mean, my shades. I lost a second, grabbin' them again. Stupid of me; lethal mistake. I couldn't dodge it and we both slammed into the box. I at least kept a hold of it so it'd die too.

I think it was amazing. You were very brave. And a fought a monster! And you killed it too. Because they found it, and it was dead.

Dirk said the monster's insides were glowing like I'm glowing because of the necklace. But we don't know what that means.

I don't know if anyone else found anything. I think people were looking into other places. Dirk found out about some roles because of Jake and Dipper, I think. We might know what Dipper's sister does too.

[Hm.]

Do you want me to tell anyone anything? Oh! Do you know who drew me a cake in my notebook?

Yeah. Hibiki did. I wasn't sure who to draw somethin' for or whatever with my thirty seconds, but I figured since I did leave a note with Vi I should try somethin' else...I drew a thing on Velvet's hand, but I dunno if she got it what with the. Whole. GPA thing.

[ he Tried. ]

As for tellin'...I'm not sure. Just all of you stay safe. I do miss you. And you're doin' so well. I'll try to keep learnin' shit dead side to tell you, or make everyone new who comes and talks to us learn so they can tell you. Whatever needs doin' I'll try. Some of the others agreed to help, the ones who haven't quite given up.

[ so there's that... ]

Is there anythin' else I can tell you? I tried to say everything I know, but I'm not sure what else you might have wanted to ask. I told Vi Kaito's role...beforehand. I'm pretty sure he ain't a Facilitator.

[Thinking it may have been Hibiki, she smiles at the confirmation. It seemed like a clue, but then she realized while talking to Dirk that Hibiki had brought her desserts, and so it might have been a gift from him.] Okay.

I hope the others aren't mad. I think I will talk to you from now on unless we need to talk to someone else.

You said you lost your glasses. Dirk has them now. He keeps them in his pocket. I was going to ask to wear them, but... he misses you a lot, so I think he should keep them. I'm sorry they got broken. Maybe we can fix them.

You can ask him for them if you want. [ there's a certain tension there because > dirk, but dave won't let it stop him from talking to emily, or trying to stay calm. ] I have them here, unbroken. So there's that.

I might ask to wear them a little. But he's your brother, so he should keep them. Even if you have yours still.

Don't be mad at him, okay? He's been nice to me and Clementine and Violet. We made apple pie together because he said you'd like it. [BE NICE, DAVE.] Everyone else misses you too. And me.

Will you tell Hibiki thank you for me? For the cake.

[ he wants to say: he's not my brother. i don't want him to have john's shades. he doesn't know anything about me. he doesn't really care.

but it's emily, and she's ten, and dave just does what he did every other time it came up: he laughs. ]

Yeah, I'll tell Hibiki thanks. Omega offered me the hug you wanted her to give me, by the way. She and Kamui and Rachel - who can walk around now - all agreed to help try to figure shit out. I had to promise to strife with Kamui to get him to join in though.

[It's fine. Emily would have just Jessamine Kaldwin'd him if he had. Like she had done Dirk in a different way.] That's good.

What is "strife"? Are you going to duel?

Yeah. It just means fightin'. Trainin', whatever. I used to do it every day and night of my life for like thirteen years.

That sounds like fun! I remember what you taught me. About the scalpel and the roof. Dirk taught me a little more with the scalpel. But I practice sometimes when everyone else is busy.

One day, I will be strong and anazing like you and Corvo. I will fight monsters like you did.

[ haha yeah sure was fun all the child abuse DAVE opts not to correct Emily, uh ]

I know you will. You're already really strong, kiddo. I can't see you, but there's blood, isn't there? I'm sorry for bein' the cause of you doin' this, this time. But you're a brave girl. And you're very strong. If this is the last time we talk, or if it isn't...I'm at least glad I met you. I'm sorry I'm a crap knight.

[Yeah, watching your mother die in front of you and then being stuck in a brothel is pretty great too, so she can slightly commiserate.]

It's okay. The Innkeeper says this is the between place, so he has to "prepare it." So I have to put blood on my hands and my forehead, and then there's a bowl... with... something in it. It's different every time. Yours is a hand.

I guess... because you said you hurt your hand.

You're a good knight. Your rhyme was really good too. I'm glad you're my friend.

[ high five for terrible childhoods!!! ]

I mean, I super hurt my hands a lot, so. [ HAHAHAHA it was his fucking left hand again too rip ]

I'm glad you're my friend, too, Ems. Meeting you was...probably one of the best things to happen to me here.

I'm glad. [There's a bit of a smile in her voice.] Please be careful, okay, Dave? If you need to tell me anything, you can write it in my notebook. Or you can write it on my arm.

I can talk to you next week unless we need to talk to someone else. We'll try to open more rooms. Then you'll have rooms too. Maybe there's a door that connects one of your rooms with one of our rooms.

We only got thirty seconds every week to do it, but...I'll write you if anythin' else comes up. Thing is, Abs says there's some sort of consequences for anyone who like...says too much. Which is good for us, but means we gotta be careful.

[ ALSO HE will probably do something stupid with his haunting powers this week. for fuck's sake. ]

I'll make sure I keep tryin' to info gather. And if someone else I think you'll wanna talk to dies, I'll shove everythin' I know down their throat for you, okay?

[...............dave]

Okay. Don't get in trouble, Dave. [But she laughs quietly? To her, it sounds kind of like a squeak... but it's fine.]

Um. Dave? Who is "Abs"?

Oh, Abigail. She's, uh. Not super nice?

[ NO OFFENSE CRAFTLY? ]

She sold her soul like the other Facilitators for...fun and power, and she finds this entertainin'. And really worships the horrorterror gods.

Oh. The girl you told me about earlier. She's the one Andersen and Jake met. The one who gave Jake the coin to go in the toy machine.

Can you talk to her? Maybe we can ask her how to go home.

Yes. She's the one who smells like lavender. She hangs out in the lobby, but she's not...the most helpful. She is where I got some of the info, though. I'll keep talkin' to her this week, too, and see if she'll tell me anythin' else.

[ a pause, and then: ]

She supposedly might tell me what happens to all of us after this ends, whenever week five hits. But I'm not sure how true that is.

Oh... But the Innkeeper said we all go home... [She knows he's, like, in here. But still.] How do we know if she tells the truth?

So... should we try to make sure the three people left aren't Facilitators? Then the last people can pick who goes home. But... we have to find out who the Facilitators are first.

Then we have to kill them.

Like the Loyalists. They're pretending.

We don't. You can ask the Innkeeper about it later, though. He might tell you somethin', since y'all are friends.

[ HI CRAFTLY??? ]

But yeah, I think it's probably important that no Facilitator make it to the final three. If at all possible. Because I think...I think we don't want them makin' choices for us, ever.

Okay. We'll try. I'll show everyone else, and... we'll try. To stop them. And to find a way to leave.

We'll do our best to support you on this end, Ems. Everyone - well, not Mira or some of the quieter dead - has agreed to try to get you as much information as we can, okay?

[ dO NOT ASK SOMEONE TO GHOST YOU EVER AGAIN, CHILD ]

[LOOK, SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO BE DEAD AND KNOW STUFF TO TELL THE LIVING!!!

almost asked dirk to ghost her too but not yet]

Okay. I'll look for clues, if you send any. If not... I'll talk to you next week. If... there's no one else.

[ emily dave literally tried to swap his soul in an attempt to make sure you did Not ]

I'll talk to you then, Ems. Our time's up?

[DAVE WHAT THE FUCK]

Maybe. It's okay. I don't want to go, but... I think if I stay too long, monsters will come in the Dark Room.

[Or, you know, the night terrors can jusT GET WORSE. She's pretty sure her nose is longer than it was before?? Is that fur???] I might turn into a rat.

If I do... I'll still try to talk to you again.

[ he really likes emily. :( also he's a self-sacrificial idiot. ]

I don't want to risk monsters gettin' you, Ems. But no matter what you turn into, or who you grow up to be, I'll always want to talk to you. I'll learn to speak rat if I gotta.

[She tries not to cover her mouth with bloody hands when she giggles quietly imagining Dave speaking rat. Squeaking? That's what it'd probably sound like to people who don't speak rat.] I'll always talk to you too.

Goodbye, Dave.

Bye, Ems. Take care, y'hear? I really missed talkin' to you.

[ but better she like not get attacked my monsters... ]

I'll keep lookin' in on you throughout the week. All of you do your best, and...I'll keep doin' mine.

( SEANCE - WEEK 4, DAVE )

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