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Jacks White Oak Seminar Possession Morning Track 240315
During a seminar on possession at the White Oak Institute, led by a figure named Jack, a complex and somewhat unsettling exploration of the phenomenon takes place. The session is grounded in the tangible setting of an aged Latin classroom within the Spender Arts and Wellness Center, creating an atmospheric backdrop for the subject matter. As Jack initiates the seminar, he focuses on the theoretical aspects of possession, categorizing entities capable of such acts and explaining the nuances that differentiate them. This sets the stage for a practical demonstration that underscores the seminar's gravitas and brings the concept of possession from the abstract into a vivid, experiential reality for those present.
The pivotal moment occurs when Jack, revealing his capability to step out of his body, conducts a live demonstration on two students, Lilah and Joel, showcasing the process and sensation of possession. This act allows the attendees to witness firsthand the dynamics and implications of such an occurrence, marking a profound learning experience. Lilah's and Joel's reactions provide tangible evidence of the intrusion and control wielded by an external consciousness, evoking a spectrum of responses from the students, ranging from curiosity to discomfort. The seminar concludes with a nuanced discussion that touches on the ethical, practical, and emotional dimensions of possession, highlighting its potential dangers and the responsibility attached to wielding such power. Jack's closing comments emphasize the importance of understanding and respect for the forces at play, leaving the participants with much to ponder about the nature of possession and its place within the realm of their studies at the institute.
(Jack's [White Oak] Seminar: Possession (Morning Track))
[Thu Mar 14 2024]
In the Latin Classroom of the Spender Arts and Wellness Center at White Oak
Aged, leather-bound tomes and meticulously annotated manuscripts line the sturdy, oak bookshelves. The soft, filtered sunlight seeps through the stained glass windows, casting a colorful, ethereal glow that dances across the weathered, wooden desks and the intricate, Latin inscriptions adorning the walls. The faint scent of antiquity lingers in the air and the distant murmur of students poring over ancient texts can just barely be heard in the distance.
It is about 50F(10C) degrees.
Taking a spot in the center of a circle of desks, Jack nods to Konami, Tabitha, Gabriella and Joel. "Miss Matheson has the right idea," he says. "Seminars like this are best done in a group," he says.
Gabriella's coat is a lot puffier, but, getting rid of it, Gabriella also picks a seat and puts her coat around its chair, before sitting down. "Hey there, Joel, Kiyo..." she then greets those who came in before her.
Joel makes his way into the class, giving a faint smile at known faces before quietly sitting down at a desk.
"Mr. Kalani, could you do me a favor?" Jack asks Joel. "There's a blanket and a cot tucked away in the corner, there --" He gestures to a corner of the class. "Can you do me a favor and set that up here in the center of the circle of desks?"
Konami gives a nod to Jack as she makes her way into the classroom, finding an empty desk to sit down at. She waves at Gabriella's greeting, though doesn't say anything in return for the moment.
"Light as a feather, flat as a board?" Tabitha asks Jack in the typical way she likes to tease the ex-priest, though it is rather half-hearted in its delivery.
Moving more slowly than normal, Lilah makes her way into the room and sinks into the closest desk she can find. For once she's not only not early, but she's late. There's a grimace of apology, and a slight shift as she makes herself comfortable.
Joel lifts his eyebrow, but then nods quietly as he gets to his feet and heads to the corner. Arms bulge a little as he heaves up the cot, carrying it in to the center of the room. He sets it down with a faint grunt, carefully spreading out the blanket over it before returning to his desk.
"Thank you, Mr. Kalani," Jack tells the assembled students. "Now then -- this is a class for Aware students only. You all seem to be in the know, however, so..." He pauses. "Our topic for today's seminar is possession. Does anyone know, generally, what possession is?" he asks, looking around the room.
Silas scoots himself into the classroom a little late and moves towards one of the free desks in the circle to sit down into it. He pushes his hood off his head afterwards and watches Lilah with a hint of concern in his features before trying to look towards the class as a whole, upnoding towards students and looking to Jack.
Konami lifts her hand at Jack's question and says, "Something ghosts or other spirits can do, to take control of someone? Either that or one of Danzig's better songs." she adds with a slight smirk.
There's another grimace, but Lilah nods her head at Jack's question. She doesn't answer though, because Konami's got it so much better. Giving the girl a quick smile, and tossing another one for Silas, she turns her attention fully back to Jack.
"Nine-tenths of the law, Father Jack," Silas says to Jack with a faint smile but he nods with Konami's answer instead, "Often spirits can inhabit someone's body as well as other beings to try and take actions within their form or communicate through them as an example."
"Deep cut, Miss Matsui," Jack tells Konami with a chuckle. "And yes, Mr. Arkwright." He pauses. "There are three general categories of entities that can possess people," he shares. "Well -- general is perhaps the wrong word," he says. "There are three -common- categories of entities that can possess people. Who can name one of them?" he asks the class.
"Eidolons," Tabitha remarks, setting her tea down onto the desk after a sip from it. Likely, from the shudder, she's well familiar.
Gabriella listens to Konami's reply and joke, but it is Silas's joke that makes her chuckle. She doesn't reply to the question, but... well, it has been answered already. "Ghosts and Eidolons... I can name two, counts for something right?" she then answers the latest question from Jack.
Konami chuckles at Jack's response, and considers the next question, but chooses to keep any answers she might have to herself, so that other students can get some words in.
"A person that can step outside of their own body can possess another," Lilah murmurs quietly, her own two cents.
Tabitha shifts her weight in the seat she's chosen, to set upon her right hip more, and crosses her leg, left over right. She gives her leg a gentle rub.
"Eidolons is one," Jack agrees with Tabitha. "They're really a very broad category of spirits, but they can possess those that worship them -- or who otherwise have some connection to them, like being in a place sacred to them or forging some other kind of psychic link." He pauses. "Ghosts, Miss Savoy, you are right, is another one," he nods to Gabriella. "And the third is yes -- that's right, Miss McFadden. Sorcerers can step out of their body to possess those of another." He pauses. "For practical purposes, all of these things are much the same in their -effect-, but magic is far more about causes."
Joel lifts an eyebrow faintly, some of the information seeming new to him. He quietly scribbles in his notebook, occasionally giving the cot a faintly nervous glance.
Lilah nods as Jack confirms all three suppositions to be facts, and quickly reaches into her backpack for her own notebook. Turning to a blank page, she writes the heading across the top in a loopy cursive that, for whatever reason, requires three different colors of gel pen to complete. As she writes, she stifles a small yawn in the palm of one hand.
"They can possess those who oppose them, too." Tabitha says, to make that piece of information known.
Silas keeps himself upright but there is a lack of movement from the man mostly while eyes do search between various speakers and he nods in agreement with comments made as well as what Jack is saying. He takes out a spiral notebook and begins to write in it, taking notes.
Jack tells the class, "We're going to focus most on ghosts and so-called 'ghostwalkers' in this class. None of you should be vulnerable to possession by an eidolon unless you've done something to let it inside you," he says. A pause. "Or you've been captured, but as long as you are on Institute grounds, you should be safe from that." He turns to look at Tabitha. "Fighting a thing can sometimes open you up to the thing itself," he tells her quietly.
Lilah tips her head, looking over at Tabitha for a moment with a thoughtful expression. The look doesn't linger, however. Soon enough this redhead is turning back, pressing a hand to her stomach, then reaching for another pen. "Is there a way to prevent yourself being possessed - by any of these things, Father?" she wonders, curiously.
Tabitha spares a little glance to Lilah and if it doesn't look like she's biting her tongue, well...
"If there's magic here on campus to stop some possessions... is there a way to make a... portable protection? Like a charm or something?" Gabriella also asks to Jack after nodding to Lilah's question.
"Campus does not stop possession," Jack tells Gabriella. "As we'll demonstrate soon." He looks around the room. "However, there are ways to get rid of a ghost or other entity," he says. "There are words of power, but they are extremely draining -- one set to bind a spirit to a place, and another to banish it entirely. These rituals are most effective for ghosts and ghostwalkers," he says. "The binding ritual can bind both of them in a location," he explains. "The banishing ritual will confine a ghost to the graveyard for some time, and it will nearly kill a ghostwalker. However, they are considerably less effective on spirits with an eidolon's power."
OOC: ritual banish and ritual binding are both instant rituals that work as described in 'help ghost rituals' on ghosts and ghostwalkers. On eidolons, they will generally temporarily banish or bind the eidolon, but it won't hurt them or stop them from leaving the bound area/the graveyard through means other than normal movements.
Tabitha sighs and slumps into her seat a little, twisting the venti cup of tea about, as she listens to Jack speak. It is some time after that she finally pulls out a notebook and a pen to begin taking notes.
Joel blinks a few times as if having trouble concentrating. But he keeps an attentive expression on his face, quietly scribbling in his notebook.
"Unfortunately, those things don't stop the possession itself, but it can be a deterrent. Just like knowing how to defend yourself and it being well known can be a deterrent if a spirit knows that you are able to do those rituals they may decide to stay away from you and yours," Silas says after listening to Jack. He writes into the notebook again, a few sparing notes. He leans himself forward against the desk heavily, using one forearm to brace himself.
"Now, then," Jack tells the class. "Has anyone here -been- possessed?" he asks. "How does it feel? Did you lose control entirely? Still retain your sense of self?" he asks. "What could you feel?" he asks.
First, she looks surprised, then disappointed by the news that the campus itself isn't safe from such things. But soon enough, Lilah is writing in her notebook about the rituals mentioned, and carefully underlining and boxing certain important words. "If you're possessed, can you banish the thing from inside of you? Or does it have to be done by someone el..." Her question trails away sharply, at Jack's question, and once more she grimaces.
Konami pulls out a pen from her jacket, and starts to write down a few notes as Jack continues to speak. On his question to the class she shakes her head, and glances around the room to see if anyone has any experience with having that happen, to them.
"It feels like there's something else in your head, in your body with you. Something that can force you down, but not force you out," Lilah mutters, twisting her pen between her fingers. "I... it was awful."
"I have experienced possession before through spiritual means from someone able to leave their body," Silas answers Jack now, pressing his arm into the desk to try and sit himself up more, "The experience is disconnecting because for me it felt like watching yourself from outside of your body doing things that you didn't tell yourself to do. Then suddenly you're there again. It is unsettling, to say the least."
Joel quietly chews the end of his pencil for a while. He glances at Silas with a lifted eyebrow at his story, his expression growing steadily more serious as the class goes on.
"It is unsettling," Jack agrees with Lilah and Silas. "Anyone else had an experience?"
Gabriella looks worried as Jack speaks of a demonstration. She keeps not taking notes, and she does not reply once possession experiences are requested. Jack asks specifically if anyone else had them, and Gabriella shakes her head slightly.
"It is a terrible feeling. Something slithering inside of your head, snaking about your body. As if it owns you." Tabitha remarks, sitting upright in her seat again. She begins to rat-a-tat-tat the end of her pen onto a blank sheet of notebook paper.
"Well, then," Jack tells the class. "I have the power to step out of my body." He goes to straighten up the cot. "I'm going to do that, in a moment," he says. "But before I do, what questions do people have?" he wonders. "What fears do people have?" he asks. "It will be -- different, at least, for me to communicate when I am in that other state."
This, from Jack, leaves Lilah gaping at the man. She puts her pen down and slowly raises her hand to ask, "Can you... can you read people's minds while you're... like that?"
"I certainly hope not," Silas says to Lilah before looking towards Jack for confirmation, "I am fairly certain it is only as if seeing what you're seeing and hearing what you're hearing."
"I don't have a question, but I have a request - don't do it to me" Gabriella tells Jack with a frown.
"Read their minds?" Jack tells Lilah. "No, not generally, though I have access to -- perceptions," he tells her. "We can see in just a moment, won't we?" He turns to look at Gabriella. "Miss Savoy, given how fast and loose you play with the rules?" It's a lingering threat, but then, "All the same -- I'll spare you," he says. "Anything else before I lie down?" he asks, beginning to settle on the cot.
Gabriella's jaw tenses as Jack starts replying, but then he says he'll spare her, and she nods slightly to thank him for it.
Joel lifts an eyebrow faintly, briefly glancing toward Gabriella. He remains silent but lays his notebook aside, leaning in to watch the proceedings with a mixture of apprehension and deep curiosity.
Lilah exhales a slow breath, looking somewhat relieved by this news at least. She nods to Jack, looks aside to Gabriella with a tiny, amused little smirk at the teacher's claim - today it's not her being called out! Then, she turns to watch Jack again. "Does it take a ritual of any sort? You just... lay down and step out?"
"Not from me." Tabitha says to Jack, chewing upon the left-side corner of her bottom lip for a short spell. She turns toward Silas to say, "I've only experienced that sort of thing with an eidolon, but I don't believe that ghosts or walkers can. But they can probably at least sense anger, sadness, excetera."
Lying back, Jack begins to chant, something low. "This magic, like any spell, takes something out of you," he says. He makes the sign of the cross, slipping his fingers around his crucifix. "So it's not to be done lightly -- and it takes a great deal of power to master." He replies to Lilah. "It is a matter of short magic, more akin to mancing than some extended ritual." He finishes his low prayer, and then he closes his eyes, exhaling: "Spiritus."
Stepping out of his body, Jack stands from where he lies on the cot, flexing his insubsantial, immaterial muscles. He looks around.
"Spiritus!" Gabriella mutters, just like in Harry Potter the students try and try again the words of spells in order to do achieve the spell they want. But she has no wand, this isn't Harry Potter, and her mutter has no effects at all.
Joel sits up a little as someone sinks into his sleep, eyes flickering over the other students, looking hard for any sign of something taking one of them over.
Joel sits up a little as Jack sinks into his sleep, eyes flickering over the other students, looking hard for any sign of something taking one of them over.
"I think with a lot of things the intent behind the words almost means more than the words themselves," Silas says to Gabriella, but nods to Tabitha, "I think it is how strong of a link you might have with a certain eidolon or power that lets them connect with you in such a way?" When the Father goes to sleep, those dull blue eyes move to watch someone and then look in Lilah's direction, concerned.
"I think with a lot of things the intent behind the words almost means more than the words themselves," Silas says to Gabriella, but nods to Tabitha, "I think it is how strong of a link you might have with a certain eidolon or power that lets them connect with you in such a way?" When the Father goes to sleep, those dull blue eyes move to watch something unseen and then look in Lilah's direction, concerned.
Some kind of low shift runs over Lilah, and when she speaks it isn't quite in her voice. "Was anyone able to see me do that?" He pauses. "I see Mr. Arkwright is tracking."
Lilah tenses, visibly, her fingers curling into a fist around her pen.
Konami frowns slightly as she glances in Lilah's direction, when it's clear that the redhead is the target. Shaking her head at the question, she writes down a few more notes in her notebook.
Joel starts a litte as his gaze shifts to Lilah, watching her carefully, eyes widening.
For a brief moment, right when the Father had fallen asleep, Tabitha tracks, but then whatever it was she might have noticed is gone. She looks to Lilah when she speaks, but it doesn't seem quite like her. "Sort of. I tend to have more of an insight to the things that go bump in the nightmare than these things, though."
"I can feel Miss McFadden's physical tension," Lilah tells the class. It sounds professorial, strange on the redhead's lips. "But I have no access to her thoughts -- just her sensations."
OOC: Ghosts and ghostwalkers do not see thinks, internals, or feels. Just the emotes of those they possess.
"They can also see if you're texting someone, so be careful with that, I think," Silas adds to Lilah's commentary even if someone else is saying it through her. He looks unsettled while watching the woman, but follows Jack when the spirit of the man slides out of the woman.
There's a breath, a sigh, and then a mutter of 'ass,' beneath her breath that may, or may not be heard, depending on how keen ears might be. Lilah's expression is strained; that she feels violated is very obvious, though the anger on her features does remain contained, shoved down again fairly quickly. When Silas speaks, she glances very worriedly at her phone, for a moment, then quickly shoves it into her bag.
Tabitha's lips twist to something -- of a smirk? No, not her. It's not worry or concern, though. She looks between Silas and Lilah, resting there on the latter. "At least he is not making you do anything, Lilah." is offered in some consolitory fashion.
Stalking the room, the spirit begins to come near one student, then another, and then another. Finally, Jack pauses in front of Joel, and then he reaches out -- he touches the young man's brow and he is inside him.
Now it is Joel who speaks, and his voice, too, is not quite right. "I won't linger at this lesson for too long," comes the voice that isn't Joel's. "But when inside you -- there are many things than can be controlled." Slowly, the young man begins to rise from his desk, his movements jerky. "Questions?" he asks.
Joel gasps softly in between words, eyes flickering around as he finds himself pupeteered to his feet.
Joel asks himself, "How do you feel, Mr. Kalani?"
"Like that," Tabitha says with a gesture toward Joel, who gets a little twist of her lips again, for the man's surprise.
Joel takes a deep breath "Uh... very weird. And yet... I don't know. Not as mind-numbingly terrifying as I had imagined." he slowly lifts his arm, studying its motion with fascination.
"Don't be deceived." Tabitha warns Joel lightly. "This is only Jack doing a demo. In real life though?" She hitches up her shoulders.
"Men rarely have to worry about their bodies, minds, or free will being violated," Lilah says dryly in response to Joel's claim.
Tabitha nods to Lilah. "There's that."
Sitting up, Jack grabs his things. "Well," he says. "Miss Matheson!" he says, at Tabitha's familiar address. "And no. I was -- restrained," he says in agreement with Lilah. He turns to look at Joel. "What's particularly troubling is that you could be possessed and not really know. For those of you in societies, it's a real risk."
Joel lets out a sharp breath as the presence leaves his body, leaving him to strumble faintly "Y-yeah. I didn't mean to imply it was fine or anything. In a way, the fact that your mind kinda... adapts to it makes it all the more low-key terrifying."
With Lilah's comment a sheltered look comes to Silas's features and he lifts his hood over his head now. His eyes look distantly towards the cot where Jack begins to wake once more. He snaps from whatever inner thoughts took him away from the moment now and looks to Jack after the man speaks.
All too smooth, Caelum slides in, poor in his attempt at sneaking about while he quickly takes a seat among the circle of desks and folds his arms over his own between others as if he's been there all along. A not-so-subtle gaze travels along to others from him, but, of course, he was here all along so he doesn't actually greet anyone and eventually stares out at Jack, instead.
"Class is practically over," Tabitha says to Caelum, in a faux-whisper.
"Mr. Cross," Jack tells Caelum, sitting up from the cot. "You're so late as to really just be early for next week's class," he says. He looks around the class, slowly. "Who has questions about what they saw?" he says. "For me or for Miss McFadden or Mr. Kalani," he says.
"I know, I was here." Caelum replies to Tabitha - lying through his teeth - at least until Jack blows his non-existent cover and he has to clear his throat. He's still intent on keeping up the charade, though, while he raises his hand. "Sorry, what did we see? I think I fell asleep."
Lilah grimaces when her name is mentioned, but apparently despite the fact that she's annoyed by having been used for the demonstration, she'll answer questions. She hasn't stomped out in a huff, this time. But eventually, she herself asks a question: "What's it like? On your end of things?"
Silas does not look like he has any questions, but he does listen to the one Lilah has asked and waits for Jack to respond.
"It's a strange experience," Jack tells Lilah. "So much of what we are are physical beings," he tells her. "But you leave that behind -- so it's just your mind. You're you," he explains to the class. "But you don't feel cold or hot, or itchy, or hungry... not until you inhabit someone. And then you feel -their- feelings."
Tabitha wonders, "What did you feel?"
Lilah stiffens at Tabitha's question, giving Jack a look that suggests she might just lose her shit if he starts spilling private matters all over the room.
"Feelings is the wrong word -- but it's a strange thing," Jack tells Tabitha. "Miss McFadden, obviously, is... different than I am," he says politely. "But it's not like it is my body when I am inside her. I'm not her. When I move her arm, it's not like moving my arm -- I'm really possessing her mind, and telling her to move her arm for me," he says.
Jack glances at the clock. "We're at 90 minutes," he says. "Any last questions? I don't want to make you all late to your next class. I'm also available to explore this with you in small groups or individually, if you'd like."
Jack smiles. "Before we dismiss, though -- one last experiment."
Caelum gives Lilah a subtly sad look in the knit of his brows and how he stares at her after someone' explanation of something he has no idea about - but whatever he's gleaned, it doesn't look like he likes it very much. "Terrifying." It's a comment he makes often in someone' classes, evidently - and he's content with the bare minimum partipation he's shown while pushing away from his desk to sit up straighter. "Can I steal anyone's notes?"
"Yeah, I have a question..." Gabriella finally speaks up, now that the lesson is at an end. "What sort of... training is needed-" Gabriella starts asking, but someone just falls asleep again!
Caelum gives Lilah a subtly sad look in the knit of his brows and how he stares at her after the defrocked priest's explanation of something he has no idea about - but whatever he's gleaned, it doesn't look like he likes it very much. "Terrifying." It's a comment he makes often in someone' classes, evidently - and he's content with the bare minimum partipation he's shown while pushing away from his desk to sit up straighter. "Can I steal anyone's notes?"
Caelum gives Lilah a subtly sad look in the knit of his brows and how he stares at her after the defrocked priest's explanation of something he has no idea about - but whatever he's gleaned, it doesn't look like he likes it very much. "Terrifying." It's a comment he makes often in these classes, evidently - and he's content with the bare minimum partipation he's shown while pushing away from his desk to sit up straighter. "Can I steal anyone's notes?"
"Yeah, I have a question..." Gabriella finally speaks up, now that the lesson is at an end. "What sort of.. training is needed-" Gabriella starts asking, but the teacher just falls asleep again!
"What..." Gabriella feels like she has missed something, as Jack gasps as he wakes up again. "...hmm?"
Jack rises again. "Your question, Miss Savoy?"
OOC: As far as we can tell, there is no vehicle to share private emotes/internals with a ghost. So if you're being possessed, emote and subtle are all you have.
Looking a bit surprised at Caelum's expression, there's hesitation, then a flicker of a smile crosses Lilah's lips. "It is," she agrees, and then says, "I can let you see mine, but most of it was just a... demonstration, so there wasn't a lot of notes."
"I... hm," Gabriella seems confused, and then a little bit distracted. But she gathers her thoughts and goes ahead with her planned question "I just wanted to know what sort of... lessons or training or... what does it take to learn how to do that", she gestures towards Jack.
"That's a great question," Lilah says, seriously.
"And -- the power to become a ghost comes from the study of magic," Jack shares with Gabriella when he stands. "Particularly black magic." His eyes grow dark. "It is a dangerous thing to study, indeed." Then he looks around. "But there are those who teach it," he shares. "Just be careful of the cost." He smiles. "Class dismissed -- I'll have office hours later."
Whatever Jack meant to do with that last 'experiment' still goes over Caelum's head, and he simply stares at the man with a persistently tipepd brow while he wakes and answers questions. Even when he answers towards Lilah, and eventually trails his attention to her and smiles back. "I don't mind a verbal explanation either, whenever."
Lilah grimaces faintly at Jack's warning, before she nods, sinking down into her seat for a moment, rather than rushing to be out the door.
Joel quietly gathers up his things as the class is dismissed, still looking rather thoughtful. Glancing across at Silas, he gives a faint smile and murmurs "You been doing alright?"
Silas takes his phone out once Jack releases the class to begin to get himself caught up on missed texts. He looks up to Joel and nods his head, "I am doing alright, Joel, how have you been?"
"Sounds like a plan," Lilah says to Caelum, smiling over at him again. "I need to get to another class but after that, maybe we can grab lunch and I'll share my notes?"
The pivotal moment occurs when Jack, revealing his capability to step out of his body, conducts a live demonstration on two students, Lilah and Joel, showcasing the process and sensation of possession. This act allows the attendees to witness firsthand the dynamics and implications of such an occurrence, marking a profound learning experience. Lilah's and Joel's reactions provide tangible evidence of the intrusion and control wielded by an external consciousness, evoking a spectrum of responses from the students, ranging from curiosity to discomfort. The seminar concludes with a nuanced discussion that touches on the ethical, practical, and emotional dimensions of possession, highlighting its potential dangers and the responsibility attached to wielding such power. Jack's closing comments emphasize the importance of understanding and respect for the forces at play, leaving the participants with much to ponder about the nature of possession and its place within the realm of their studies at the institute.
(Jack's [White Oak] Seminar: Possession (Morning Track))
[Thu Mar 14 2024]
In the Latin Classroom of the Spender Arts and Wellness Center at White Oak
Aged, leather-bound tomes and meticulously annotated manuscripts line the sturdy, oak bookshelves. The soft, filtered sunlight seeps through the stained glass windows, casting a colorful, ethereal glow that dances across the weathered, wooden desks and the intricate, Latin inscriptions adorning the walls. The faint scent of antiquity lingers in the air and the distant murmur of students poring over ancient texts can just barely be heard in the distance.
It is about 50F(10C) degrees.
Taking a spot in the center of a circle of desks, Jack nods to Konami, Tabitha, Gabriella and Joel. "Miss Matheson has the right idea," he says. "Seminars like this are best done in a group," he says.
Gabriella's coat is a lot puffier, but, getting rid of it, Gabriella also picks a seat and puts her coat around its chair, before sitting down. "Hey there, Joel, Kiyo..." she then greets those who came in before her.
Joel makes his way into the class, giving a faint smile at known faces before quietly sitting down at a desk.
"Mr. Kalani, could you do me a favor?" Jack asks Joel. "There's a blanket and a cot tucked away in the corner, there --" He gestures to a corner of the class. "Can you do me a favor and set that up here in the center of the circle of desks?"
Konami gives a nod to Jack as she makes her way into the classroom, finding an empty desk to sit down at. She waves at Gabriella's greeting, though doesn't say anything in return for the moment.
"Light as a feather, flat as a board?" Tabitha asks Jack in the typical way she likes to tease the ex-priest, though it is rather half-hearted in its delivery.
Moving more slowly than normal, Lilah makes her way into the room and sinks into the closest desk she can find. For once she's not only not early, but she's late. There's a grimace of apology, and a slight shift as she makes herself comfortable.
Joel lifts his eyebrow, but then nods quietly as he gets to his feet and heads to the corner. Arms bulge a little as he heaves up the cot, carrying it in to the center of the room. He sets it down with a faint grunt, carefully spreading out the blanket over it before returning to his desk.
"Thank you, Mr. Kalani," Jack tells the assembled students. "Now then -- this is a class for Aware students only. You all seem to be in the know, however, so..." He pauses. "Our topic for today's seminar is possession. Does anyone know, generally, what possession is?" he asks, looking around the room.
Silas scoots himself into the classroom a little late and moves towards one of the free desks in the circle to sit down into it. He pushes his hood off his head afterwards and watches Lilah with a hint of concern in his features before trying to look towards the class as a whole, upnoding towards students and looking to Jack.
Konami lifts her hand at Jack's question and says, "Something ghosts or other spirits can do, to take control of someone? Either that or one of Danzig's better songs." she adds with a slight smirk.
There's another grimace, but Lilah nods her head at Jack's question. She doesn't answer though, because Konami's got it so much better. Giving the girl a quick smile, and tossing another one for Silas, she turns her attention fully back to Jack.
"Nine-tenths of the law, Father Jack," Silas says to Jack with a faint smile but he nods with Konami's answer instead, "Often spirits can inhabit someone's body as well as other beings to try and take actions within their form or communicate through them as an example."
"Deep cut, Miss Matsui," Jack tells Konami with a chuckle. "And yes, Mr. Arkwright." He pauses. "There are three general categories of entities that can possess people," he shares. "Well -- general is perhaps the wrong word," he says. "There are three -common- categories of entities that can possess people. Who can name one of them?" he asks the class.
"Eidolons," Tabitha remarks, setting her tea down onto the desk after a sip from it. Likely, from the shudder, she's well familiar.
Gabriella listens to Konami's reply and joke, but it is Silas's joke that makes her chuckle. She doesn't reply to the question, but... well, it has been answered already. "Ghosts and Eidolons... I can name two, counts for something right?" she then answers the latest question from Jack.
Konami chuckles at Jack's response, and considers the next question, but chooses to keep any answers she might have to herself, so that other students can get some words in.
"A person that can step outside of their own body can possess another," Lilah murmurs quietly, her own two cents.
Tabitha shifts her weight in the seat she's chosen, to set upon her right hip more, and crosses her leg, left over right. She gives her leg a gentle rub.
"Eidolons is one," Jack agrees with Tabitha. "They're really a very broad category of spirits, but they can possess those that worship them -- or who otherwise have some connection to them, like being in a place sacred to them or forging some other kind of psychic link." He pauses. "Ghosts, Miss Savoy, you are right, is another one," he nods to Gabriella. "And the third is yes -- that's right, Miss McFadden. Sorcerers can step out of their body to possess those of another." He pauses. "For practical purposes, all of these things are much the same in their -effect-, but magic is far more about causes."
Joel lifts an eyebrow faintly, some of the information seeming new to him. He quietly scribbles in his notebook, occasionally giving the cot a faintly nervous glance.
Lilah nods as Jack confirms all three suppositions to be facts, and quickly reaches into her backpack for her own notebook. Turning to a blank page, she writes the heading across the top in a loopy cursive that, for whatever reason, requires three different colors of gel pen to complete. As she writes, she stifles a small yawn in the palm of one hand.
"They can possess those who oppose them, too." Tabitha says, to make that piece of information known.
Silas keeps himself upright but there is a lack of movement from the man mostly while eyes do search between various speakers and he nods in agreement with comments made as well as what Jack is saying. He takes out a spiral notebook and begins to write in it, taking notes.
Jack tells the class, "We're going to focus most on ghosts and so-called 'ghostwalkers' in this class. None of you should be vulnerable to possession by an eidolon unless you've done something to let it inside you," he says. A pause. "Or you've been captured, but as long as you are on Institute grounds, you should be safe from that." He turns to look at Tabitha. "Fighting a thing can sometimes open you up to the thing itself," he tells her quietly.
Lilah tips her head, looking over at Tabitha for a moment with a thoughtful expression. The look doesn't linger, however. Soon enough this redhead is turning back, pressing a hand to her stomach, then reaching for another pen. "Is there a way to prevent yourself being possessed - by any of these things, Father?" she wonders, curiously.
Tabitha spares a little glance to Lilah and if it doesn't look like she's biting her tongue, well...
"If there's magic here on campus to stop some possessions... is there a way to make a... portable protection? Like a charm or something?" Gabriella also asks to Jack after nodding to Lilah's question.
"Campus does not stop possession," Jack tells Gabriella. "As we'll demonstrate soon." He looks around the room. "However, there are ways to get rid of a ghost or other entity," he says. "There are words of power, but they are extremely draining -- one set to bind a spirit to a place, and another to banish it entirely. These rituals are most effective for ghosts and ghostwalkers," he says. "The binding ritual can bind both of them in a location," he explains. "The banishing ritual will confine a ghost to the graveyard for some time, and it will nearly kill a ghostwalker. However, they are considerably less effective on spirits with an eidolon's power."
OOC: ritual banish and ritual binding are both instant rituals that work as described in 'help ghost rituals' on ghosts and ghostwalkers. On eidolons, they will generally temporarily banish or bind the eidolon, but it won't hurt them or stop them from leaving the bound area/the graveyard through means other than normal movements.
Tabitha sighs and slumps into her seat a little, twisting the venti cup of tea about, as she listens to Jack speak. It is some time after that she finally pulls out a notebook and a pen to begin taking notes.
Joel blinks a few times as if having trouble concentrating. But he keeps an attentive expression on his face, quietly scribbling in his notebook.
"Unfortunately, those things don't stop the possession itself, but it can be a deterrent. Just like knowing how to defend yourself and it being well known can be a deterrent if a spirit knows that you are able to do those rituals they may decide to stay away from you and yours," Silas says after listening to Jack. He writes into the notebook again, a few sparing notes. He leans himself forward against the desk heavily, using one forearm to brace himself.
"Now, then," Jack tells the class. "Has anyone here -been- possessed?" he asks. "How does it feel? Did you lose control entirely? Still retain your sense of self?" he asks. "What could you feel?" he asks.
First, she looks surprised, then disappointed by the news that the campus itself isn't safe from such things. But soon enough, Lilah is writing in her notebook about the rituals mentioned, and carefully underlining and boxing certain important words. "If you're possessed, can you banish the thing from inside of you? Or does it have to be done by someone el..." Her question trails away sharply, at Jack's question, and once more she grimaces.
Konami pulls out a pen from her jacket, and starts to write down a few notes as Jack continues to speak. On his question to the class she shakes her head, and glances around the room to see if anyone has any experience with having that happen, to them.
"It feels like there's something else in your head, in your body with you. Something that can force you down, but not force you out," Lilah mutters, twisting her pen between her fingers. "I... it was awful."
"I have experienced possession before through spiritual means from someone able to leave their body," Silas answers Jack now, pressing his arm into the desk to try and sit himself up more, "The experience is disconnecting because for me it felt like watching yourself from outside of your body doing things that you didn't tell yourself to do. Then suddenly you're there again. It is unsettling, to say the least."
Joel quietly chews the end of his pencil for a while. He glances at Silas with a lifted eyebrow at his story, his expression growing steadily more serious as the class goes on.
"It is unsettling," Jack agrees with Lilah and Silas. "Anyone else had an experience?"
Gabriella looks worried as Jack speaks of a demonstration. She keeps not taking notes, and she does not reply once possession experiences are requested. Jack asks specifically if anyone else had them, and Gabriella shakes her head slightly.
"It is a terrible feeling. Something slithering inside of your head, snaking about your body. As if it owns you." Tabitha remarks, sitting upright in her seat again. She begins to rat-a-tat-tat the end of her pen onto a blank sheet of notebook paper.
"Well, then," Jack tells the class. "I have the power to step out of my body." He goes to straighten up the cot. "I'm going to do that, in a moment," he says. "But before I do, what questions do people have?" he wonders. "What fears do people have?" he asks. "It will be -- different, at least, for me to communicate when I am in that other state."
This, from Jack, leaves Lilah gaping at the man. She puts her pen down and slowly raises her hand to ask, "Can you... can you read people's minds while you're... like that?"
"I certainly hope not," Silas says to Lilah before looking towards Jack for confirmation, "I am fairly certain it is only as if seeing what you're seeing and hearing what you're hearing."
"I don't have a question, but I have a request - don't do it to me" Gabriella tells Jack with a frown.
"Read their minds?" Jack tells Lilah. "No, not generally, though I have access to -- perceptions," he tells her. "We can see in just a moment, won't we?" He turns to look at Gabriella. "Miss Savoy, given how fast and loose you play with the rules?" It's a lingering threat, but then, "All the same -- I'll spare you," he says. "Anything else before I lie down?" he asks, beginning to settle on the cot.
Gabriella's jaw tenses as Jack starts replying, but then he says he'll spare her, and she nods slightly to thank him for it.
Joel lifts an eyebrow faintly, briefly glancing toward Gabriella. He remains silent but lays his notebook aside, leaning in to watch the proceedings with a mixture of apprehension and deep curiosity.
Lilah exhales a slow breath, looking somewhat relieved by this news at least. She nods to Jack, looks aside to Gabriella with a tiny, amused little smirk at the teacher's claim - today it's not her being called out! Then, she turns to watch Jack again. "Does it take a ritual of any sort? You just... lay down and step out?"
"Not from me." Tabitha says to Jack, chewing upon the left-side corner of her bottom lip for a short spell. She turns toward Silas to say, "I've only experienced that sort of thing with an eidolon, but I don't believe that ghosts or walkers can. But they can probably at least sense anger, sadness, excetera."
Lying back, Jack begins to chant, something low. "This magic, like any spell, takes something out of you," he says. He makes the sign of the cross, slipping his fingers around his crucifix. "So it's not to be done lightly -- and it takes a great deal of power to master." He replies to Lilah. "It is a matter of short magic, more akin to mancing than some extended ritual." He finishes his low prayer, and then he closes his eyes, exhaling: "Spiritus."
Stepping out of his body, Jack stands from where he lies on the cot, flexing his insubsantial, immaterial muscles. He looks around.
"Spiritus!" Gabriella mutters, just like in Harry Potter the students try and try again the words of spells in order to do achieve the spell they want. But she has no wand, this isn't Harry Potter, and her mutter has no effects at all.
Joel sits up a little as someone sinks into his sleep, eyes flickering over the other students, looking hard for any sign of something taking one of them over.
Joel sits up a little as Jack sinks into his sleep, eyes flickering over the other students, looking hard for any sign of something taking one of them over.
"I think with a lot of things the intent behind the words almost means more than the words themselves," Silas says to Gabriella, but nods to Tabitha, "I think it is how strong of a link you might have with a certain eidolon or power that lets them connect with you in such a way?" When the Father goes to sleep, those dull blue eyes move to watch someone and then look in Lilah's direction, concerned.
"I think with a lot of things the intent behind the words almost means more than the words themselves," Silas says to Gabriella, but nods to Tabitha, "I think it is how strong of a link you might have with a certain eidolon or power that lets them connect with you in such a way?" When the Father goes to sleep, those dull blue eyes move to watch something unseen and then look in Lilah's direction, concerned.
Some kind of low shift runs over Lilah, and when she speaks it isn't quite in her voice. "Was anyone able to see me do that?" He pauses. "I see Mr. Arkwright is tracking."
Lilah tenses, visibly, her fingers curling into a fist around her pen.
Konami frowns slightly as she glances in Lilah's direction, when it's clear that the redhead is the target. Shaking her head at the question, she writes down a few more notes in her notebook.
Joel starts a litte as his gaze shifts to Lilah, watching her carefully, eyes widening.
For a brief moment, right when the Father had fallen asleep, Tabitha tracks, but then whatever it was she might have noticed is gone. She looks to Lilah when she speaks, but it doesn't seem quite like her. "Sort of. I tend to have more of an insight to the things that go bump in the nightmare than these things, though."
"I can feel Miss McFadden's physical tension," Lilah tells the class. It sounds professorial, strange on the redhead's lips. "But I have no access to her thoughts -- just her sensations."
OOC: Ghosts and ghostwalkers do not see thinks, internals, or feels. Just the emotes of those they possess.
"They can also see if you're texting someone, so be careful with that, I think," Silas adds to Lilah's commentary even if someone else is saying it through her. He looks unsettled while watching the woman, but follows Jack when the spirit of the man slides out of the woman.
There's a breath, a sigh, and then a mutter of 'ass,' beneath her breath that may, or may not be heard, depending on how keen ears might be. Lilah's expression is strained; that she feels violated is very obvious, though the anger on her features does remain contained, shoved down again fairly quickly. When Silas speaks, she glances very worriedly at her phone, for a moment, then quickly shoves it into her bag.
Tabitha's lips twist to something -- of a smirk? No, not her. It's not worry or concern, though. She looks between Silas and Lilah, resting there on the latter. "At least he is not making you do anything, Lilah." is offered in some consolitory fashion.
Stalking the room, the spirit begins to come near one student, then another, and then another. Finally, Jack pauses in front of Joel, and then he reaches out -- he touches the young man's brow and he is inside him.
Now it is Joel who speaks, and his voice, too, is not quite right. "I won't linger at this lesson for too long," comes the voice that isn't Joel's. "But when inside you -- there are many things than can be controlled." Slowly, the young man begins to rise from his desk, his movements jerky. "Questions?" he asks.
Joel gasps softly in between words, eyes flickering around as he finds himself pupeteered to his feet.
Joel asks himself, "How do you feel, Mr. Kalani?"
"Like that," Tabitha says with a gesture toward Joel, who gets a little twist of her lips again, for the man's surprise.
Joel takes a deep breath "Uh... very weird. And yet... I don't know. Not as mind-numbingly terrifying as I had imagined." he slowly lifts his arm, studying its motion with fascination.
"Don't be deceived." Tabitha warns Joel lightly. "This is only Jack doing a demo. In real life though?" She hitches up her shoulders.
"Men rarely have to worry about their bodies, minds, or free will being violated," Lilah says dryly in response to Joel's claim.
Tabitha nods to Lilah. "There's that."
Sitting up, Jack grabs his things. "Well," he says. "Miss Matheson!" he says, at Tabitha's familiar address. "And no. I was -- restrained," he says in agreement with Lilah. He turns to look at Joel. "What's particularly troubling is that you could be possessed and not really know. For those of you in societies, it's a real risk."
Joel lets out a sharp breath as the presence leaves his body, leaving him to strumble faintly "Y-yeah. I didn't mean to imply it was fine or anything. In a way, the fact that your mind kinda... adapts to it makes it all the more low-key terrifying."
With Lilah's comment a sheltered look comes to Silas's features and he lifts his hood over his head now. His eyes look distantly towards the cot where Jack begins to wake once more. He snaps from whatever inner thoughts took him away from the moment now and looks to Jack after the man speaks.
All too smooth, Caelum slides in, poor in his attempt at sneaking about while he quickly takes a seat among the circle of desks and folds his arms over his own between others as if he's been there all along. A not-so-subtle gaze travels along to others from him, but, of course, he was here all along so he doesn't actually greet anyone and eventually stares out at Jack, instead.
"Class is practically over," Tabitha says to Caelum, in a faux-whisper.
"Mr. Cross," Jack tells Caelum, sitting up from the cot. "You're so late as to really just be early for next week's class," he says. He looks around the class, slowly. "Who has questions about what they saw?" he says. "For me or for Miss McFadden or Mr. Kalani," he says.
"I know, I was here." Caelum replies to Tabitha - lying through his teeth - at least until Jack blows his non-existent cover and he has to clear his throat. He's still intent on keeping up the charade, though, while he raises his hand. "Sorry, what did we see? I think I fell asleep."
Lilah grimaces when her name is mentioned, but apparently despite the fact that she's annoyed by having been used for the demonstration, she'll answer questions. She hasn't stomped out in a huff, this time. But eventually, she herself asks a question: "What's it like? On your end of things?"
Silas does not look like he has any questions, but he does listen to the one Lilah has asked and waits for Jack to respond.
"It's a strange experience," Jack tells Lilah. "So much of what we are are physical beings," he tells her. "But you leave that behind -- so it's just your mind. You're you," he explains to the class. "But you don't feel cold or hot, or itchy, or hungry... not until you inhabit someone. And then you feel -their- feelings."
Tabitha wonders, "What did you feel?"
Lilah stiffens at Tabitha's question, giving Jack a look that suggests she might just lose her shit if he starts spilling private matters all over the room.
"Feelings is the wrong word -- but it's a strange thing," Jack tells Tabitha. "Miss McFadden, obviously, is... different than I am," he says politely. "But it's not like it is my body when I am inside her. I'm not her. When I move her arm, it's not like moving my arm -- I'm really possessing her mind, and telling her to move her arm for me," he says.
Jack glances at the clock. "We're at 90 minutes," he says. "Any last questions? I don't want to make you all late to your next class. I'm also available to explore this with you in small groups or individually, if you'd like."
Jack smiles. "Before we dismiss, though -- one last experiment."
Caelum gives Lilah a subtly sad look in the knit of his brows and how he stares at her after someone' explanation of something he has no idea about - but whatever he's gleaned, it doesn't look like he likes it very much. "Terrifying." It's a comment he makes often in someone' classes, evidently - and he's content with the bare minimum partipation he's shown while pushing away from his desk to sit up straighter. "Can I steal anyone's notes?"
"Yeah, I have a question..." Gabriella finally speaks up, now that the lesson is at an end. "What sort of... training is needed-" Gabriella starts asking, but someone just falls asleep again!
Caelum gives Lilah a subtly sad look in the knit of his brows and how he stares at her after the defrocked priest's explanation of something he has no idea about - but whatever he's gleaned, it doesn't look like he likes it very much. "Terrifying." It's a comment he makes often in someone' classes, evidently - and he's content with the bare minimum partipation he's shown while pushing away from his desk to sit up straighter. "Can I steal anyone's notes?"
Caelum gives Lilah a subtly sad look in the knit of his brows and how he stares at her after the defrocked priest's explanation of something he has no idea about - but whatever he's gleaned, it doesn't look like he likes it very much. "Terrifying." It's a comment he makes often in these classes, evidently - and he's content with the bare minimum partipation he's shown while pushing away from his desk to sit up straighter. "Can I steal anyone's notes?"
"Yeah, I have a question..." Gabriella finally speaks up, now that the lesson is at an end. "What sort of.. training is needed-" Gabriella starts asking, but the teacher just falls asleep again!
"What..." Gabriella feels like she has missed something, as Jack gasps as he wakes up again. "...hmm?"
Jack rises again. "Your question, Miss Savoy?"
OOC: As far as we can tell, there is no vehicle to share private emotes/internals with a ghost. So if you're being possessed, emote and subtle are all you have.
Looking a bit surprised at Caelum's expression, there's hesitation, then a flicker of a smile crosses Lilah's lips. "It is," she agrees, and then says, "I can let you see mine, but most of it was just a... demonstration, so there wasn't a lot of notes."
"I... hm," Gabriella seems confused, and then a little bit distracted. But she gathers her thoughts and goes ahead with her planned question "I just wanted to know what sort of... lessons or training or... what does it take to learn how to do that", she gestures towards Jack.
"That's a great question," Lilah says, seriously.
"And -- the power to become a ghost comes from the study of magic," Jack shares with Gabriella when he stands. "Particularly black magic." His eyes grow dark. "It is a dangerous thing to study, indeed." Then he looks around. "But there are those who teach it," he shares. "Just be careful of the cost." He smiles. "Class dismissed -- I'll have office hours later."
Whatever Jack meant to do with that last 'experiment' still goes over Caelum's head, and he simply stares at the man with a persistently tipepd brow while he wakes and answers questions. Even when he answers towards Lilah, and eventually trails his attention to her and smiles back. "I don't mind a verbal explanation either, whenever."
Lilah grimaces faintly at Jack's warning, before she nods, sinking down into her seat for a moment, rather than rushing to be out the door.
Joel quietly gathers up his things as the class is dismissed, still looking rather thoughtful. Glancing across at Silas, he gives a faint smile and murmurs "You been doing alright?"
Silas takes his phone out once Jack releases the class to begin to get himself caught up on missed texts. He looks up to Joel and nods his head, "I am doing alright, Joel, how have you been?"
"Sounds like a plan," Lilah says to Caelum, smiling over at him again. "I need to get to another class but after that, maybe we can grab lunch and I'll share my notes?"