video;

[gotsomebadnoose]

[a burst of static. Shadows blot out the corners, dip into the frame. Dim. Dreary. Lee's been thinking. It's a dangerous place to be. Makes him lament. Reminds him of things he didn't have or of what he did have, but lost. Out of reach. Out of grasp. Close enough that maybe, just maybe the tips of his fingers could brush it, but then he'd just knock it away. Weighed down by a heavy heart. Heavy mind.

The audio kicks in with a loud crackle and adjusts into a tolerable almost hum in the background. A corpse, well tended to- dressed in a jacket, black sweater, and jeans, slumped in a chair- head lulled to the side, tilted back against the backrest of the chair, and craned against the cement wall, lies. At a glance, the figure was only in a deep rest. A sleep of ages claiming both body and breath, stilling his pulse and stealing his color. Blue lips parted. Words left unspoken, silenced by a descended crowbar. The scene faintly illuminated by a pale blue glow.

The video remains stubbornly glued to the body. The speaker standing somewhere behind the device.]

I've b__n th_nking again...I r______…what my life was __ke bef___ this place an_ _ rea____…there w_sn't m_ch th___e. I ___ed my life with___ RE__LY living it. Then again, everything in between ___ ____ght, I ___ss. __ o___ it hadn't ended the way it DID.

[silence slips in, the static simmering to a barely audible level. His words easier to hear. Images of the last few hours he had lived float on the surface. Lee speaks quietly. He didn't want to startle those memories.]

Anyways, what do y_u do when you're feeli_g bl-...down?

I'd really like to k__w.

non-static version I've been thinking again...I remember...what my life was like before this place and I realize...there wasn't much there. I lived my life without REALLY living it. Then again, everything in between was alright, I guess. If only it hadn't ended the way it DID. Anyways, what do you do when you're feeling bl-...down? I'd really like to know.

Comments

action.

[cadaverdaddy]

_{eeeeheheheheheheheheheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee}eeeehehehehehehehehehe [A shadow slides up beside the corpse, long fingers stroking that strong jawline.] ^{Was that a joke Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~?}hehehehehehe

[Cheek to cheek with the corpse, he stares, all childlike excitement and grins, at the ghost. He whispers:] I think it was~

action.

[gotsomebadnoose]

[o h. Lee should have figured Taker would've been keeping an eye on the network. He wasn't a recluse in the same way Lee was. The corner of his lip twitches and he pockets his phone- the only item he's always been able to manipulate without concentrating.]

I-I think you're looking too deeply into it.

[was he...joking?
Probably not. Lee was a terrible liar :(
and joking is so hard when one is so- bluuue ]

action.

[cadaverdaddy]

[To say that Undertaker takes an eye off of Lee at all is to say that he does the same for Ciel. Nearly impossible, that is. Everywhere the spirit is in the house, the reaper can feel him, and there's a significant reason why that corpse still lays on a table of its own in the basement. Tethered, the spirit can only go so far. He is far easier to watch after than his wayward boy Earl.

Smiles dance along the lines of his lips, pressing them together into a taut, resistant line, before giving way to a rush of shining enamel. The dam of his teeth just can't hold all of the giggles welling inside him. Scarred cheek to a cold one, his fingers run back through Lee's body's blonde hair. It would need another washing soon.]

Lee~ [He just sighs out his doubt (it was a joke), and his delight in the spirit's horrible way with lies.]

[voice] (after listening several times, to be sure he has the message down right)

[gaveherwings]

I've often felt the same, if that's any consolation.

I like to take walks here, take in some of the open air.

voice; dabbled with static, but easily deciphered

[gotsomebadnoose]

A little I guess.

If...you don't mind me asking, where do you walk or is it kind of wherever you feel like going?

Re: voice; dabbled with static, but easily deciphered

[gaveherwings]

I just walk. Hillsdale, SPU campus, and Versaid Lake Park are all close by our condo, so normally I'd gravitate there.

permatext;

[mom_to_us_all]

[It's hard to understand most of the message but... The last part, it's quite understandable.]

Friends. But food sometimes helps.

text~;

[gotsomebadnoose]

food with friends?

[Talk of food makes the mopey ghost miss eating. He wasn't a glutton in life, but he's pretty sure if he suddenly had the chance to eat, he might eat himself silly. Or into a coma. Whichever came first. He tappity taps away despite the hunger pang. Talking helped too.]

are there certain meals or snacks you eat whenever your sad
or is it just
eating
that helps?

text~;

[mom_to_us_all]

[That was tactless wasn't it? ... Oh well.]

Friends help with and without food. But it's particular food most of the time which helps you feel better. The kind that makes you remember happy moments.

[voice]

[1800deadguy]

I know exactly how you feel.

audio; sob our poor ghosties D;

[gotsomebadnoose]

Yeah. I guess I can't complain. At least we're living, right? Even if it's this way?

[a quaking hope and a shot in the dark. Sometimes he'd wish he didn't exist this way. That maybe it was better if his life had just ended where it did.

But then he couldn't make things right and that was something he'd always clinged to- is clinging to now.]

[1800deadguy]

Right.

I guess it's frustrating, sometimes, not remembering anything about when I was alive. But on the other hand, I guess I don't have any regrets as a result.

[swordandbells]

[Sabriel isn't amazed to see a corpse talking. She amazed to see a corpse talking with no visible evidence of necromancy. Naturally, she's more curious about how this poor individual died than how to answer his question.]

...How...how did you die?

video;

[gotsomebadnoose]

[The camera wavers and he's quiet for a while. Blips of static spike. Sore subject, but then he figures as long as he's around he'll always be asked. And... it didn't hurt anyone if he said anything. It's not like HE was here...]

I was murdered. I tried to help a friend out. You could say things went south..

Re: video;

[swordandbells]

Oh, dear...I'm...terribly sorry...[What else can she say?]

video;

[spiderlilies]

It's a bit difficult to understand you, dear, but-- [ Red's head tilts as she squints juuust so, observing that body on the screen. ]

You've said... that you died? That's you, then?

video; still static, but now I'm lazy to type it :P

[gotsomebadnoose]

Yeah, that's me, but- it's not ALL of me.

[The world spins. Glimpses of the rest of the basement as whoever was holding the NV moves. He was in a basement. A marble embalming table could be seen before Lee finds a place to set the device (on a bookshelf). Blue invades the screen. A point blank shot of the noose around his neck before he backs away, satisfied with the height and angle of the camera. Naturally, he fidgets and gives a little nervous wave.]

Hi.

video; haha, got it. ;D

[spiderlilies]

[ The surprise shows in her eyes, fingertips lightly pressed at her bottom lip. ]

Goodness... Ah-- I mean- hello! [ A half-smile as she raises her hand to give a slight twiddle of the fingers. ]

Forgive me for being rude, I thought this place revived the deceased is all. I never would have expected to see a... a ghost, is it?

[video]

[sonatasedge]

How'd you die?

video; buzz buzzz static and white noise buzz

[gotsomebadnoose]

I was stupid.

[the crawl of static and spider webbing of blue electricity sparking across the screen.]

video;

[sonatasedge]

... [He's gonna wait for that static and spider webbing to calm down. Plus, there's not much he can say to that and it's not cool to insult ghosts with empty words of sympathy when he can't even relate.]

[Video]

[seaphonic]

How can one live without living?

_{[Because really...it doesn't make any sense to her.]}

[Video]

[gotsomebadnoose]

[he turns the video to himself, blue filling the screen. It was everywhere. It defined him.]

My life was empty. I didn't have a driving force, not really. I was just...THERE and when it really mattered, I let HER down.

[ACTION???] I'M NOT SORRY....

[inkyubeytor]

<sub>[Kyubey's been in this basement before - after all, this is the same place he found Elliot Nightray's body, in the Undertaker's grasp. He remembers this corpse, this ethereal spirit still tied to his embalmed container. Ghosts were curious things to Kyubey, souls at unrest, beings that carried such longing and misery lacing their very essence. If only one could bottle up the emotions such spirits held.

The thought was, well, intriguing.

Up on a table Kyubey hopped, beady red eyes blinking at the solomn ghost.]</sub>

You seem very unhappy.

ACTION YES <3333

[gotsomebadnoose]

[He's tipped off by the soft pap pap of Kyubey's pads on the table's surface. Lee turns, folding up his NV, but still holding it in his hands like it was his last connection to people. He wasn't used to other PEOPLE here, even if they were strange little cat things.

Was it bad that a teeny part of him wanted to reach out and pet Kyubey?]

Yeah. It happens a lot.

[He murmurs softly]