InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "POOF!"

Bellum Anon (bellum_anon) wrote in bellumlogs,
@ 2010-05-18 10:00:00

Entry tags:

dorothy, john seward, plot: riddles

Group D: Little Mermaid, Dorothy, Lion, Dr. Seward

The plaque on the wall says:

All hands on deck, the lion and fish
but not one finger for girl with the wish
to simply go home. A seance will make
free men of you all, if you undertake
to summon a spirit that will mean your freedom
you must each spell the name of one passed to death's kingdom.

A Victorian parlor with a table in the center. The furnishings are all in dark red and blue velvet, with the windows covered by curtains that will not move. It is a lush, if musty room, full of the scent of fresh incense. On the table in the center there is a Ouija board.

If Madison touches the pointer on the Ouija board, the windows will rattle and shake and there will be a clanking of chains and a chorus of ghostly voices. All the lights in the room will also go out. Oliver touching the pointer has no effect, but both Avery and Ben must have their hands on it for a successful completion of the riddle.

They must then spell out the name of one person they each have known who has died, four names total. Upon doing this, a spirit will rise from the board and unlock the door.

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lionlike
2010-05-19 04:27 pm UTC (link)

There was a brief pause after the girls' announcements before he introduced himself, doing so with a simple statement of, "Ben," and a short wave to the group. He watched them gather around the board with a frown, not yet ready to buy in to this seance thing. Everyone knew Ouija boards were nothing but storebought cardboard and plastic, and "spirit communication" was only a cheap thrill for giggly teenagers.

On the other hand, people generally weren't supposed to turn in to lions and fish either, so who knew what rules the universe was following anymore.

While everyone was more or less distracted by the tool they would be using, Ben pushed himself away from the door and limped his way towards an open space at the table, grimacing in the process. With nothing to lean his weight on for support, he was startled enough by the abrupt rattling and phantom howling to topple forward over the last few steps, managing to save himself from a nasty spill by grabbing on to the table.

Just before the lights winked out, he saw he wasn't the only one having issues. "Are you okay, um-- Madison?"

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veridicality
2010-05-19 06:16 pm UTC (link)

"And I'm Oliver," he added in lastly, abandoning the plaque on the wall to move over towards the table in the middle of the room, the Ouija board taking up the focus there. He had nearly gotten to the table when the racket started up, gaze shooting to the windows just before the lights went out. Once they flickered back on, Oliver couldn't help the smile that pulled on his lips. "Well that was interesting. So, I think we're piecing it together."

He groped forward to find one of the chairs that circled the table, pulling one out and plopping himself in it before he made a fool of himself and tripped over something or someone. "Fish. Girl with a wish. We've got two accounted for, and I know I'm not the lion. So that must be you, Ben, wherever you are in the dark."

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syren
2010-05-20 01:27 am UTC (link)

The sudden chorus of disembodied voices reminded Avery of a scene right out of an old horror film and with her mind too numb to actually process anything, all she could do was let out a startled gasp. Hearing a soft thud in the darkness, Avery outstretched her arms and waved them around in an attempt to look for whatever - or whoever - had fallen. The noises stopped as abruptly as they had started just as the room illuminated once again and seeing Madison on the floor, Avery offered the girl a hand to help her to her feet.

"Is everyone okay?" she asked as she eyed the Ouija board warily. No, this definitely wasn't the board game she could manipulate into saying Bobby Singer had a crush on her.

"So, this is what we're supposed to use to spell out the name of someone who's- died?" She ponderdr aloud, suddenly remembering the last line of the poem. Her voice wavered slightly between the last two syllables. Given the display that had occurred when Madison touched the Ouija board, the prospect of making some sort of contact with more ghosts wasn't one that particularly appealed to her.

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metrogingham
2010-05-20 01:54 am UTC (link)

[ooc: omg bobby singer squee]

Gratefully taking Avery's hand and righting herself so she was surely standing, she called out "I'm fine!" to everyone, taking the time to scrunch her eyes shut for thirty seconds, adjusting her eyes to the darkness. It was a trick she learned from her dad when she was accidentally in the barn after dark and had a hard time seeing her way around. Somewhat able to see the other three figures in the room, she made her way over to Ben, offering to help him over to the Ouija board.

Her lips thinned into a tight grimace, realizing exactly what they were going to have to do. So they all lost someone and were stuck in a room together to share that. How great. Maybe next time she could get herself stuck with a room full of orphans and really drive the point home. A lot to put on an eighteen year old's shoulders but she was willing to take it on. "Okay then. If that's what we gotta do then we gotta do it. Who's gonna start?"

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lionlike
2010-05-20 02:48 am UTC (link)

Oliver ended up receiving an icy look in the direction of where his voice originated from; Ben was a little miffed at being outed in a sense. It would have happened regardless, he knew, which was why he didn't bother making a fuss.

Instead, he went about locating chairs for himself and Madison before either of them found something else to trip over. That, and he was in no hurry to actually touch the board. He wasn't superstitious or afraid of it... however, there was something about it that he found unsettling.

"Don't know. I don't think it matters either way." Pause. "I don't remember you being mentioned, doc. You touch it." Would the same thing happen?

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syren
2010-05-20 07:20 pm UTC (link)

Not quite wanting to discover the answer to Ben's question, Avery quickly placed a hand on the pointer, unconsciously sighing in relief when there were no apparent consequences to her act. Now that she was feeling somewhat at ease for the first time since entering the room, her other hand found a chair that she swiveled out and seated herself in.

After a moment of staring blankly at her hand to the best of her ability in the lack of light, she commented, "It's not doing anything. Hey, Ben," her head turned toward the direction she had heard his voice come from while addressing him, "maybe we need to be touching it together?"

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veridicality
2010-05-21 06:21 pm UTC (link)

[ooc: wasn't sure of order, but posting since I haven't in a bit.]

Letting out a sigh, Oliver reached forward and touched his fingers to where the pointer was, though it took a moment to find it in the darkness of the room. Fingers settled for a moment, and the silence continued on in the room. "Looks like I'm safe to touch it. But I think Avery has the right idea. You and her need to be touching it, Ben, and Madison needs to keep her hands off. I have no idea if it needs me in or it not at this point." And then he sat back, folding his arms over his chest. Someone who had passed away, hm? Immediately his thoughts went towards Heather, a memory he really did not want to revisit. The guilt that surrounded it was nearly suffocating, and Oliver had to wonder if he had actually ever gotten over her death.

"So hands on deck, Avery and Ben. I don't mind going first. We'll get outta here sooner if we get on with it, won't we?"

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lionlike
2010-05-22 02:13 am UTC (link)

"I guess so," he murmured, finally reaching out to rest his fingertips against the pointer once Oliver's hands were clear. It didn't seem inclined to do anything special now that both of them were touching it, and he couldn't decide if that was disappointing or not.

He shrugged, looking at Oliver once again. "Try not to give us a pissed off one. I don't know how to deal with vengeful ghosts in my face." If, in fact, they were meant to face them at all. Ben wasn't sure how this was going to unfold, but there was only one way to find out.

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syren
2010-05-22 02:56 pm UTC (link)

At Ben's remark about vengeful ghosts, he received a wide-eyed glare that held both alarm and exasperation. All this talk of ghosts and seances was more than enough to disarm a person and the possibility that they wouldn't be friendly wasn't one Avery quite wanted to dwell on. "I hope they're like Casper," she voiced her thoughts aloud, mostly for her own benefit.

Bracing herself for whatever spirits they were about to release into the world, Avery turned towards Oliver with what she hoped was pleasantly at ease, despite the fact that it would barely be visible. "Give us a name, Oliver."

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veridicality
2010-05-22 10:08 pm UTC (link)

For a long while, Oliver was quiet, arms folded in front of him, fingers pressed into his biceps. "Her name was Heather Adams. She... was a patient of mine," he said quietly, his demeanor growing more solemn as he looked in the direction of the Ouija board, waiting for the pair to spell out the name as directed. He really... really hoped that Heather would not appear. He couldn't deal with that guilt again. Not right now.

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metrogingham
2010-05-24 12:29 am UTC (link)

Madison looked distinctly uncomfortable as she watched Oliver's face as he named someone he lost. She really didn't want to have to share anything, but since one of them started, it was definitely too late to back out now. Plus, she'd hate it if it was her fault none of them could ever leave. That's just not how she was brought up. "Elizabeth Tanner, with two n's. She was my mom," Madison managed to get out before letting any emotion choke off her words. "Your turn," she whispered to the two of them as they finished spelling out the name.

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syren
2010-05-24 02:39 am UTC (link)

To say that Avery felt awkward as she spelled out the names of strangers' lost loved ones was an understatement, to say the least. But she performed the task at hand in spite of her growing discomfort and sympathy for these people she barely knew. With a deep intake of breath, she said "Patrice Desroscher" when Madison prompted as she moved the pointer around the board, voicing his name out of a sense of solidarity. "He was my husband," she explained with an uncharacteristic lack of pep in her voice, as if their identical surnames hadn't been an indication of their familiarity.

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