deercountry | (no subject)

[mob's never seen someone walk so importantly through a worm curtain before, but something about the mix of ridiculous nonsense reminds him of reigen. to many this would be an insult, and they would be right. to mob it means he doesn't inwardly wrestle over 'oh maybe i shouldn't have walked into someone's room like this without asking,' taking the shh in stride.

he offers a nod before tuning back into grandpa's rambles about a moon presence, which shigeo offers,] She sounds very nice. [about an actual eldritch god. thankfully grandpa doesn't seem to care much about his input, which is fine by him.

when he finally does start trailing off mob glances over to pal.] Sorry for intruding. I like your curtain.

[If Palamedes and Reigen have anything in common, it's the cringe dad energy, so this tracks. Sadly, for Palamedes, he is a cringe dad...

He does patiently wait for gramps' rambling story to be done, at least, because that's just the done thing. One does not simply interrupt the old man telling his stories; unthinkable. Palamedes squints, pretty sure he's heard this one before, from the very ending snippet - but ah, yes. The interloper.]

You do? [world's first.......] Don't worry about it; if I wanted to keep out visitors, I'd put in an actual door.

[Or, rather, get someone else to put in a door, who has upper body strength. Now, Mob is here talking to the ghosts, so Palamedes assumes someone told him they were here and this isn't purely a worm curtain enthusiast moment-]

You came to see the spirits?

[palamedes is an incredibly cringe dad in an uplifting, free way, this is true. viktor mocks him for this constantly probably.]

It's soft. [is his stunning review of the worm curtain. this is also a boy who will one day look forward to going clothing shopping with hanazawa so like, can his taste be trusted? no absolutely not.

thankfully it seems he is not a criminal for going through the Worm Door, so that's good.]

Oh, well I saw them through the door and they seemed a lot less skittish than the other spirits here. Most of the ghosts don't want to talk much. [which is fine, better than shitty new city bully ghosts but still. grandpa and bethany are a nice change of pace.]

[Viktor is also a cringe dad, just in a different way!! Cringe dad who comes to the science fair and loudly critiques the other children's volcanoes, so they can hear.

Anyway, the Worm Door is indeed soft, good one. Palamedes nods sagely to this.]

It is. And they are— usually. Bethany is usually more shy— [She Objects to this, shrilly, but only for a moment so she doesn't embarrass herself in front of Mob. Little girl behaviors.] But they've gotten used to all the foot traffic we get in here, by now.

[But, hm!! He does not get necromancer vibes from this child, maybe because he seems physically fit (audience laughs), so:]

You're a spirit medium, then?

[fine, you got him in one. absolute nightmare of a pair of cringe dads.

yes, mob doesn't look like he's actively dying and doesn't pass out every single time he runs now so he's clearly no necromancer. spirit medium, huh.] I guess so. I'm a psychic, that's what we call it back home. Or an esper.

Are you a spirit medium? [he seems good friends with the ghosts, which automatically puts mob a little more at ease. it's nice? that this weird noodle of a man is taking care of them. most people he's met here think they're creepy and frightening.]

[A psychic, how fun. Palamedes considers how to file this new type of Spirit Guy in his mental file of other people's powers; psychic implies a great deal less physically-based, fleshy type stuff than necromancy, but who can say. Next time Mob wants to look at the worm curtain maybe Pal can make a spreadsheet.

So he will ask but one question, ahem:] What's your best skill?

[Which is kind of a few questions stacked on top of each other, but never mind, tell him the deets.]

I'm a necromancer. No zombies involved; I don't know where all of that brain-eating nonsense came from, but that's not what we're into. [He nods towards one of the many blood wards drawn meticulously in key spots around the room.] My wards are for the spirits. Makes it easier to be seen.

[that makes mob blink as he considers. of course he immediately doesn't think of psychic stuff because pal foolishly didn't specify you know, the thing they're actively talking about. after a long moment of deliberation he decides,]

Writing. [he did write that whole book once, and his grades there are a little better for it. thanks reigen.

then pal answers and he realizes something.] Oh, you mean with my powers? [he did it, give him an award.] Telekinesis I guess, and barriers.

[he glances to the blood wards, brightening just a touch.] I see, like in video games. [thank serizawa for probably infodumping rpg classes or something. still sort of expected zombies though.] Do you do exorcisms? Or just look after ghosts who need it?

[....Writing.

........Oh okay, he's got it, good job kiddo. Palamedes nods approvingly.]

Those are helpful. And you're young; you must be a natural.

[He has zero input about video games, being an old man who doesn't know what rpg classes are beyond maybe in passing from Nico or something, so-]

I can do an exorcism in a pinch, if it's needed. Before I washed up here I was a librarian, if you can believe it. We did research on the extent of our abilities, I passed all my practical exams, but primarily we kept a library.

Here, though, the spirits need a little generosity more than this place needs yet another library, so— I've shifted gears.

[yeah, natural sounds right and also something he doesn't think is worth much praise.] I guess so.

[now what is interesting and worth a vague perking to his bland expression is pal's attitude towards spirits. the rare times he's mentioned feeling bad for certain spirits here or in the new town it was mostly met with disagreement or unease, hardly the idea of generosity.]

Shifted gears? [he asks. he also resisting the urge to poke at the worm curtain throughout everything, so there's that. incredible self control.] How?

Well— that's a good question.

[At this point Bethany has understood that her cringe dad is distracted by Boring Dad Stuff and has drifted away from Palamedes' desk to perch on the other armchair, primly, straightening her ribbons. She is absolutely doing this for attention, sorry Mob, this is also a babysitting gig]

I'm sick of history, I think. The entire ancestry of my family- and we are numerous- has been dedicated to keeping stock of someone else's past. Don't get me wrong; there's merit in the keeping, most definitely, but if I'm to keep stock of something in this place I'd like it to be on my own terms.

[Possibly complex to just say to teens, but he did ask!! So.]

So! Ghosts. Spirits. They have history, you know? Also, I hate the Archives, on principle, for being a mess. [A beat. He lifts his hands, like, woo.] That's it.

[bethany has to listen to pal's nerd rambles enough she deserve it, probably. mob glances over to her, unable to help it, offering a raised hand in greeting because he doesn't want to interrupt palamedes, who seems like the sort of academic authority figure you're absolutely supposed to listen to. a librarian, that's what he said, right?

time to tune back in properly, standing a little straighter like he's listening to a teacher. he considers it for a moment before nodding. would palamedes perhaps say his life is his own? cue themesong here.

anyway it does make sense to him, in a way that clearly doesn't have all the facts.] Are you going to take down their histories then? [hm] A lot of the ghosts here died scared, I think. They're scared as ghosts at least. It would be good, if they were listened to.

[Finally, someone who listens to Pal without calling him a big nerd... Mob is an inspiration to his peers. Great kid.]

I could— maybe I will. I'm looking into finding a place for them; Bethany and our Gramps here are just fine here, but my office can comfortably house only so many spectres, you know?

[Bethany huffs egregiously at this, and Palamedes gives her a raised eyebrow. Ghost daughter...]

And some of them would like their own room, I'm sure.

Do you want to help? Collecting histories.