Ninth invocation; video

[betel_geuse]

Betelgeuse floated above a bed. He didn't know who owned the bed, but he was borrowing it for a bit. He tended to switch which house he was haunting, whenever he got bored. A big danmaku event was coming up, but it was taking time. Idly, he flipped through the videophone, reading and playing people's messages and randomly throwing out comments. After a while, he began his own video.

"YO, GENESSIA...and well, the other places, too. How are you babes and fellas getting on? Gotta admit, your resident Ghost with the Most is a tad bit bored. NOW. I could just come up with some brilliant scheme to prank you all, because honestly, you need some shaking up. I've been listening in on some of your messages on this thing, which is the best gossip hotline I've ever seen, I gotta say.

Where was I?

Ah, yeah, yeah, anyways, it's just too damn quiet, know what I mean? SO, instead of pranking you, I'll give you a chance to distract me. I don't care how. JUST MAKE SOME DAMN NOISE ALREADY!"

Comments

[betel_geuse]

Betelgeuse laughed, during the dance, his eyes lighting up, whenever an explosion went off. Sure, he wasn't usually interested in ballet, but the fireworks definitely added something to special to it. When it was done, he clapped, sincerely applauding the performance.

"Yup! Explosions get me every time. I LOVE THEM. Good job! Hang on a sec."

Betelgeuse disappeared from the bedroom and reappeared next to Ted.

"How ya doing, buddy? You sure set that up fast. You a professional performer?"

[youfool]

Ted jumped. A prank for a prank was fair, he supposed, but it was so sudden!

"Whoa! How did you-" He coughed

"Mm. Not, not a professional. An apprentice, actually, but your compliment is well taken. The Wheel of Fortune gave it to me; I'm glad it wasn't for nought!"

"So, Mr. Most, what do you do for a living?"

[betel_geuse]

Betelgeuse laughed, waggling his eyebrows. "Magic, of course. You're pretty good for an apprentice. Me? At home, I was a bio-exorcist. Here, I'm a business. I'm getting a sporting franchise going. Ever hear of danmaku?"

[youfool]

There seemed to be more than a small amount of magicians here. Hopefully he wasn't the type to throw fire and turn people into frogs.

"Thank you!" "An exorcist? And a bio-exorcist at that...do you remove spirits by means of flora and fauna? I don't suppose you're a catholic." Those were expressly forbidden from magic.

"Danmaku? I haven't. Sounds oriental; is it fun?"

[betel_geuse]

"I don't REMOVE SPIRITS," Betelgeuse hissed indignantly. "I'm no traitor!"

He rolled his eyes, managing somehow to grimace with his whole body, but then he took a breath and calmed down, moving swiftly on.

"Nah, nah, buddy, I exorcise the living from houses that are being haunted. I just scare them off, generally. Well, I was raised Catholic, yeah. I guess I still am, though minus the rituals and all."

Betelgeuse stood a bit taller, taking on the air of a showman, as he began describing danmaku.

"Oh hell yeah! It's great fun. It's a sport, well, kinda, and a duel. See two opponents throw stuff at each other in patterns, trying to confuse each other. Then they knock each other down with heat or something. Koishi, my partner, actually knows a bit more about it than me, though I'm catching up fast!"

[youfool]

Lot to process there. Ted was first apologetic, having said something to offend without knowing. Unavoidable in a place brimming with strangers, especially with Ted's lack of most social graces. Then he was afraid; traitor? Weren't all spirits human once? Didn't they retain that primal identity no matter what?

"Oh...a reverse-exorcist, practically. I suppose there are places where the living shouldn't tread; trespassers and such. I have to ask; what would make a spirit want to stick around here? The prospect of the afterlife is almost unbearably exciting, where I am from. That house of yours must be pretty cozy if a spirit would refuse the pearly gates." He didn't mention the other place a spirit might have to go.

"Well, I do like throwing things, and knocking people down!" It was an admittedly stupid question, asking a salesman if he thought his product worth selling. Still, he was intrigued. "What sort of equipment is involved? It seems more might be required than a ball."

[betel_geuse]

"Ah, well, in my world, I'm pretty sure the pearly gates thing only happens at the end of everything, Armageddon, Judgment Day, and all. In the meantime, the dead are playing a waiting game, with no set answers. Matter of fact, ghosts have to haunt the living world for the first hundred and twenty-five years of being dead."

Betelgeuse gave an elaborate shrug. He'd been surprised, when he'd found himself still existing, once he died. Still, he'd grown used to it, falling back on the Catholic teachings he'd followed, when alive. They made as much sense as anything else, after all.

"Well, then, danmaku is definitely for you!" Betelgeuse said encouragingly. "Oh, well, you need a bunch of objects to throw. Doesn't have to be balls, though! It can be leaves, pebbles, paper, just about anything really. Um. That and magic...well, that's about it, really. Koishi knows more about it. We're going to have a big demonstration thing sometime soon."

[youfool]

"Goodness, a bit longer than four score and seven! It must be difficult, running a race that long." He referred to the Paulian quote about a life well lived. Hopefully the dead got some leniency in Geuseland.

Ted was getting excited as Danmaku was elaborated on. A bunch of objects he could most definitely gather. And then he used the "m" word, and was chilled. The disappointment was visible on his face.

"Oh. Well, I would like to attend that, certainly." It wouldn't be immoral to merely watch magic at work, would it? No, definitely not. The knights were fine with Merlin, weren't they? And in Genessia, maybe the rules were different...ugh, best not to chance it.

[betel_geuse]

Betelgeuse wasn't as familiar with his Bible as he ought to be, but he vaguely recalled the reference. He shrugged.

"A bit, yeah. Whether it's difficult, well, it depends on what living folk come around. Some ghosts get left completely alone. Some get exorcised," Betelgeuse said, the last bit in an unusually somber tone.

He noted Ted's reaction and frowned.

"What's the matter? You look like you got doused with ice water. Look, if you can't do magic yourself, we're working to find ways around that...like letting you borrow magic, maybe."

[youfool]

That certainly added a new dimension to the trials and tribulations of one's time on earth. Ted couldn't honestly say whether it were easier to live righteously alive or dead, if the notion made sense at all. Betelgeuse seemed chipper enough, so there's that. And it was lucky for Ted that he didn't know the Bible too well, else he would've been rebuked for mixing Psalms with the Gettysburg Address.

"Your position's well-merited; already you're seeking alternatives to a potential customer." Borrowing magic was a new one for him, but the rules were the rules, and he flaunted them at his peril. "Nonetheless, I look forward to that demonstration of yours. It ought to be a site to put my antics to shame."

[betel_geuse]

"I sure hope so," Betelgeuse agreed. "The secret to good business is being able to adapt to the consumer's needs."

[youfool]

"Heh, I hope mine can be satisfied, somehow. Goodbye Ghost, I'll be looking forward to it." Ted waved, and prayed he wouldn't be on the receiving end to anymore spectral shenanigans.

[betel_geuse]

"Sure, sure. Be seeing ya, buddy," Betelgeuse said, waving back, lazily. "Just keep an eye out for the demonstration. It'll be a blast!"