video; un: bana-nice; dated to early April

[wildscreen]

WHO: Nana and you!
WHERE: the network
WHEN: early April
WHAT: just chatting
WARNINGS: serious talk about a near-death experience and possession

[The video clicks on to show a friendly-looking girl with a bright smile, sitting outside under a tree on Kaisou University's campus. She gives the camera a wave with both hands. Maybe her phone's sitting on a tripod?]

Hello, everyone! I think I've seen some of you around school, but to those of you I don't know, I'm Daiba Nana - or just Nana. I'm a theatre student here at Kaisou University. It's good to meet you all! I hope we can all be good friends.

[Her smile fades, just a little.]

I also wanted to take a minute to talk about something that can be kind of scary, but also, to encourage people. So...

[Deep breath.]

I don't think it's much of a surprise to anyone that strange things happen around here sometimes. I think some of you remember when we were putting on Phantom of the Opera in high school and the chandelier fell before the show? Not during the show, when it's supposed to fall, but when I was rehearsing Christine's part on my own one night. There were all kinds of rumors about a ghost in the theatre, but I thought they were superstitions till that night. I'm convinced that the ghost was the one that made the chandelier fall.

Well, that night, I wasn't sure I was going to make it out of there. That's when, well, a harpy's spirit possessed me. The details are still a little bit blurry, but she got me out of there and helped me heal.

That was a couple years back, and we've learned to coexist mostly peacefully since then. There's one week a month where I'm basically a bottomless pit when it comes to food, but it's something I've gotten used to. Plus, I've learned a little bit of magic. Watch this -

[She picks up a paper fan, holding her left hand still. With her right hand, she lets a little gust of wind blow, making the fan move.]

- and I can make small things float, so that helps a lot with taking pictures and video with my phone.

I wanted to just encourage people that even when bad things like that happen, you can make something good out of it. If you ever need someone to talk to about it, I'll always be glad to listen. I'll even bring banana muffins.

[With one more wave, she clicks off the video.]

Comments

video, un: Mariposa

[nonmagical]

[Hearing that gives Mirabel some hope for her own possession.]

You learned to live with it okay? Because I'm... kind of having a hard time with it.

[She knows she should probably lock this, but she's getting tired and a little careless.]

[wildscreen]

I think that's normal, honestly. It was pretty hard for me to get used to the contract price at first, and I was kind of miserable for that first week while I was healing.

But it gets better. I promise it does. Do you want to talk about it in person?

[nonmagical]

I'd actually like that a lot, thank you. Is there a good place you'd want to meet?

[wildscreen]

All right. I actually work part time at one of the bakeries in town; do you want to meet up there? Or if you want to come by the university, I'm out on the quad.

[nonmagical]

Let's go with bakery. [Discussing possession and eating pastries sounds like... well a strange combination, but Mirabel wants to eat a pastry and discuss possession so]

It'd be easier for me to get there, I think.

[wildscreen]

Sounds good. I made a fresh batch of banana muffins this morning. I'll meet you there!

[she'll text over the address; it's in Midtown, not too far from Nuestra Casita.]

[nonmagical]

[Ooooh banana muffins! Mirabel won't say no to that. She recognizes the bakery address from having traveled to Nuestra Casita, and heads in that direction. She arrives shortly at the bakery, heading inside and looking for Nana.]

[wildscreen]

[Nana won't be hard to find. She's pretty tall. She also has a basket of muffins and a pot of tea waiting.]

[nonmagical]

[Mirabel walks up to her, offering a smile.]

¡Hola! You're Nana, right? I'm Mirabel!

[wildscreen]

I am! It's good to meet you, Mirabel. I love your dress - did you do the embroidery yourself? It's beautiful!

[She'll just gesture for her to sit down.]

Voice; un: hikari-vi

[whiteshroud]

[Oh damn. He had heard the rumors of the incident happening when he was in school, but he never knew it was the details. To think it was possession all this time....]

So that's what happened...

[wildscreen]

Yeah, that's what happened. I guess it was partially my fault for practicing so late on my own, but I didn't think there was actually a ghost in there to make angry, you know?

[whiteshroud]

I don't think you're to blame for that, no one of us could've known for sure there was a real ghost. I always thought it was just a rumor myself.

[wildscreen]

I still should have been a little more careful. Nobody wants art to really make life, after all.

[whiteshroud]

Perhaps, but there's no changing things. And it sounds like you've made the best of it.

[wildscreen]

That’s the only way to move forward. I wouldn’t have chosen to be possessed, but I just…if sharing what happened can help someone else adjust, then I think it’s worth it.

[whiteshroud]

That's really noble of you. I hope it does help someone to hear. At least so they know they aren't alone.

[While he's not possessed himself, he knows what an isolating experience it can be from the people he knows that are. ]

[wildscreen]

I felt like I was the only one for a long time. It's a very lonely feeling.

[whiteshroud]

I can imagine it is...

[...]

I'm sorry. I knew that possessions existed while we were in high school, but I never said anything.

Text, un: Dynamight

[callmekacchan]

[Katsuki has probably seen her around campus but he's not the best at remembering people unless they make an impression. He'll remember her now though. Ever since finding out for sure that other possessed exist, he's been trying to look into it. It hasn't been long and he only knew of two others before this.]

Just broadcast to the whole network, huh?

[She's got guts. He's a little impressed. He never once considered doing that...]

That's one way to do it.
Have you talked to many others?

[wildscreen]

I just don’t see the sense in hiding it. Not when the other option, being open and honest, can help people adjust. Make them see that it’s not the end of the world, you know?

I don’t think a lot of people see it the way I do, though. I hear rumors here and there, but nothing concrete.

[callmekacchan]

I think a lot of us are reasonably cautious.

['Us'. Letting it drop that he's part of this without actively saying he is. He's still wary. Talking to others like himself is still a new experience.]

There's plenty of ways it can bite you in the ass if the wrong person finds out.
It gets dangerous fast if someone stops seeing you as a person.
And plenty of people out there won't see us as people.
The kinds who'll try to use it to justify putting us under a microscope to study.
Or the kinds who'll think we're a threat.

[He's less wary of the people he's met through this whole Zodiac mess. They all seem to have their own weird shit going on. He's feeling that out. But he's been hiding his possession a long time. It's an adjustment learning he maybe doesn't have to.]

[wildscreen]

I know the world out here isn’t all sweetness and light. There are people who would see us as monsters ourselves, or like you said, something to be used as a lab rat.

I just…think that if it happens, we’re better served as a united front to fight back.

[callmekacchan]

People who think we're monsters aren't really wrong.
Even if their idea of what that means is off.
What else would you call something that died and kept on going?
Don't think it's a bad thing to be one, probably.
But people don't like shit they can't understand.

[But the two possessed he's talked to so far seemed nice. First Luisa and now Nana. Neither one was the type of person who would come to mind with that word.]

That your end goal then?
Get a bunch of us together in a strength in numbers play?

[Not a bad plan. He was just looking for others for answers at first. But now he was also looking because it felt... nice. Not being alone. He's just not good at admitting that.]

[wildscreen]

You've got a point. I guess you could call us zombies, but that's just weird. We're not going around trying to eat people. ;)

[she hopes the joke translates through text.]

Yeah, basically. Strength in numbers is usually a pretty good call.

[callmekacchan]

Zombies, huh?
I've had this damn thing latched on for most of my life.
Pretty safe to assume I'm not going to start craving brains any time soon.
So we're in the clear on that one.

[His own sense of humor might not translate too well through text but he picked up hers at least.]

Count me in, I guess.
Your little 'I died and all I got was this shitty possession' club.
Or would it be a 'not a zombie, but something adjacent' support group?

un: phantom

[removal]

are you a singer by any chance

[wildscreen]

I am! A singer, dancer, and actress.

[removal]

did you ever have any luck on figuring out what sort of spirit entity caused the chandelier to fall

[wildscreen]

I didn't. There had been rumors about a ghost in the theatre for a long time, though. We joked that when we put on Phantom, we just needed to call on our own Opera Ghost. I wonder if we didn't actually make a poltergeist mad or something...

private

[removal]

i used to be a singer as well, then an attempt was made on my life which ended in possession

it may be coincidence, but a rather odd one if that's the case

private

[wildscreen]

Definitely an odd coincidence, if it is one. I don't want to scare anyone offstage, but it's something to keep an eye on.

[removal]

you're very optimistic about all this

[ It's admirable, honestly. But it's also out of his own capabilities. ]

Video | un: pequeña_montaña

[neverbreaks]

[ After watching the video, Luisa has to take a moment to process what she's just heard, and try to sort through the different emotions she's feeling. ]

...you really think something good can come from it?

[wildscreen]

I do. I believe that even a bad experience like that can make you a stronger person.

[neverbreaks]

[ A stronger person, huh? In a way she's right, but Luisa knows that she's isn't just talking about physically. ]

I guess it's just difficult, especially with how it all happened.

[ Even though the family's Miracle had come from tragedy, this didn't feel quite the same. ]