The Medium Manifestation

Intermission: Excerpt from Jason’s vlog

Investigation log: #18.5 [Unreleased]

08/05/2018

13:45

[Jason's face takes up most of the screen. He has short brown hair and a face covered in acne. A cacophony of laughing, screaming, and carnival music can be heard in the background.]

“Hi guys! So, today I’m out at the county fair. Now, I know that doesn’t sound like a very good place to find any ghosts, but perhaps you’d be wrong! There is something I’m here to see. I checked the attractions online and there is supposed to be a spirit medium here somewhere. Now I know they are most likely a scam, but no good scientist would discount an avenue for research out of pocket!”

“So the plan is to use my phone once I'm in there to recor—”

“Ooooh, can we go on the teacups Jason? Pretty please?”

“Not right now Steph, I'm just recording something. Give me a sec.”

[A loud sigh can be heard off camera as it drops down to stare at the grass-covered ground.]

“But you have been ‘Just recording something’ for like, foreverrrrr.”

“Well, it's not gonna happen any faster if you keep interrupting, is it?”

“Well, I’m not gonna stop until we do something fun! So HA!”

“Well… how about we go get your fortune told?”

“Whoa, like see my future? Isn't that not real though?”

“Uh.. well maybe? But we won't know unless we try it.”

“But what if it's a waste of money!! Dad only gave us twenty-five dollars!”

“I brought my own money, don’t worry, you’ll still get ten dollars.”

“Ten dollars!? That's less than half!”

“And I’m the oldest, so I’m in charge.”

“I’ll call Daaad.”

“Ugh, fine, you can have half.”

“Make it fifteen.”

“What? No, we can split it even.”

“I’ll tell dad about you sneaking out the other night.”

“Wha- how did you even? Ugh, fine. Just don’t tell dad.”

“Hehehe, what were you even doing anyway?”

“None of your business.”

“Oooh, have you got a girlfriend Jason?”

“N-no!”

“Jason’s got a girlfriend! Hahahaha, I bet you kissed and everything.”

“No! I don’t have a girlfriend, I was just… going out to… investigate, that's all.”

“Really? Well that's good then… Not that I care… I mean… I wouldn’t want any nice girls to have to deal with you and your weirdness.”

“ *Sigh* Thanks… really nice of you.”

“No problem!”

[The camera wiggles around slightly, then shows a blur of people, tents, and rides as it swipes across the area.]

“Ugh, I forgot to turn this off, and my battery is too low to record another intro; this is your fault.”

“Why don’t you just use your phone?”

“Because it doesn’t look as nice! And the sound quality is bad.”

“Who cares? It's not like anybody is gonna watch you go to the fair anyway.”

“It’s just better alright? It's for me, not them.”

“Whatever weirdo, can we actually do something now?”

“Sure, just let me…”

[Cut to black]

Unknown Time

[The Camera quality is noticeably lower than previously, and the sound is somewhat muffled. The picture shows a young Steph, her face is pale and she looks terrified.]

“Please just come in with me, I really can’t just leave you out here, Steph.”

“Do I have to Jay? This place just makes me feel sick.”

“If you come in and sit quietly, I’ll buy you another cotton candy… and you can’t tell dad.”

“Okay… just… can we please be quick? I really don’t like this place.”

“Hey, it’ll be alright, we’ll be in and out, no big deal.”

[A hand reaches in from the side of the frame towards Steph. She reaches up to grip it back and gives a gentle smile in return.]

[The camera then turns to the right; a large purple and black striped tent comes into view. There is a worn purple sign with chipped gold text outside that reads ‘The Magnificent Mordrith, Psychic, Spirit Medium and Fortune Teller.’]

[The tent grows closer in frame until the front curtains take up the whole shot, two pairs of hands reach forward to separate them. Inside the tent is much darker, with glowing purple crystal lamps illuminating the space.]

“Welcome! To the domain of The Magnificent Mordrith, how may I be of service to the lovely young duo?”

[A curtain in the room drops down to reveal an old-looking man with an extremely long white beard. He is wearing a large, purple turban and a long, purple and black cloak that covers him from head to toe.]

[An audible squeal is heard off camera]

“Ah, eheh, um… hi? We’re here to… well, contact some spirits… I guess?”

“Very well. Now young man, how about we start with your names?”

[Mordrith raises his hands in the air and slams them together, a loud clap peaks the audio.]

“Well, uh.. My na—”

“Wait! Don't tell me, would your name happen to begin with J? A Jason perhaps?”

“Wha- uh, yeah, that is my name, how did you know?”

“Didn’t you read the sign young Jason? Any good psychic should be able to guess somebody's name.”

“Ah, well, yeah, that makes a lot of sense… haha.”

“And you young miss, your name wouldn't happen to beeee… Steph! Short for Stephany, a beautiful name might I add.”

[Mordrith performs an exaggerated bow]

“Now, how about we get to business? You say you are looking to contact spirits? Now that is no easy task, even for one as experienced as myself.”

“But you can do it, right?”

“Of course of course, young Jason.”

[He walks closer to the camera, leaning forward and reaching his arm over the top of the frame.]

“But you see, such services do not come cheap, unfortunately.”

“Uh… how much?”

“For a ten-minute session, that would normally be forty dollars, but for you, as my newest customers, I can do the same for thirty-five. Sounds like a pretty good deal right?”

“Oh- uh, well, I suppose that's a bit more than I was expecting.”

[The camera turns to the left, eye level with Stephany once again, her eyes widen and she looks almost hopeful while looking up. A sigh from Jason can be heard behind the camera.]

“I guess we'd better get going, Steph. Sorry to bother you, um, Mr Mordrith, was it?

[The shot pans back to Mordrith as he raises his hands in protest]

“Oh no no no, that simply won’t do, how about a further discount to persuade you? Thirty dollars perhaps? No, actually, I can go down to twenty-five, and that’s as low as I could possibly go.”

[The camera pans back to Steph, who is shaking her head, silently pleading towards it with fear in her eyes. Then back to Mordrith with his arm outstretched.]

“I uh, that's a really generous offer, but I think we'd better be off, my sister doesn't seem to be feeling so well… so.”

“Twenty dollars! I can do twenty dollars!”

“I'm sorry… we really need to be leaving.”

[The shot swivels around, and you briefly see Jason grip Steph’s arm as the Tent’s entrance comes into view, and they run straight towards it.]

[Once they are clear of the tent, the camera eventually stops shaking and jostling, staring right at the ground. Heavy breathing can be heard in the background. It lifts up and Steph's face comes into view, tears streaming down her face and hair a mess, she looks incredibly pale]

“Oh god… I'm so sorry Steph.”

[Steph’s face is smushed into the camera before the shot goes fully black; the sound is significantly more muffled than before.]

“Sorry………… Didnt…………….. Okay………….anything…………..apologize”

[It pulls away, and Steph is blushing and wiping the tears from her face]

“It's alright *sniff*, I don’t know what came over me, I just felt so sick and scared *sniff*, I needed to get out.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t realise how uncomfortable you’d be.”

“I’m fine now *sniff*, im just calming down a bit.”

[Steph pulls a tissue from her pocket and wipes her face clean, then blows her nose. Finally, she looks up with red eyes but a beaming smile.]

“So what was that you said? Something about letting me buy anything I wanted today.”

“Anything within reason, anyway. I’m not about to bankrupt myself for you.”

“Well, I want to go on the teacups! And then I want some cotton candy, then I want to try the merry-go-round, then we can go get some hotdogs and then…”

[Steph's voice is overtaken by rustling as a hand covers the screen for a second. It then lifts the phone camera up in the air out of Jason's pocket, it flips to him smiling down at the camera for a split second before the footage cuts out]

“Hello, my beautiful viewers! And welcome back to Harem Hotel!” Jocelyn twirled upward into the air as she made her entrance, spinning once before striking a dramatic pose above the stage.

“Before we headed off on our little break, we introduced our first three contestants—so let’s take a moment to remind everyone at home just who they are!”

She glided effortlessly toward the lineup of ghostly girls, stopping only when she hovered directly above them.

“First up, we have contestant number one! Our sparky specter, Mika Tanaka!”

Confetti burst from the ceiling at the announcement, drifting down in bright flakes… only to strangely soften and melt away the instant it touched the floor. Mika and Jason both noticed, exchanging brief but curious glances. Sylvie, meanwhile, stared on in wide-eyed wonder at Jocelyn’s magic, while Babs remained completely silent.

“Next, we have Barbara Dalton!” Jocelyn purred, casting a slow, saucy wink toward the audience. “A real smokeshow, ain’t she, boys?”

Another cascade of confetti rained down around them, framing Babs in a glittering halo of color as she remained unfazed.

“And finally, our most recent addition—our precious little ghost writer, Sylvie Langford!”

Jocelyn spun in an excited circle, arms spread wide as yet more confetti erupted above them.

“Now that everyone’s all caught up at home…” she grinned, pausing for effect, “…let’s get on with the show. It’s time to introduce Contestant Number Four! Please give a warm welcome to… Esmerelda Medrano!”

Jocelyn snapped her fingers and hurled a smoke bomb at the floor below her

The stage exploded into thick violet mist, rolling outwards and engulfing the center stage; the stage lights flickered wildly, shapes twisted within the smoke, shadows stretched and warped. Then, slowly, the haze began to clear.

Jocelyn was gone, and in her place stood a woman shimmering with an otherworldly purple glow.

Her body was wrapped in torn, tattered black fabric that looked less like clothing and more like the remnants of something violently destroyed. Long, luminous purple hair spilled down her back in glowing waves, framing a sultry face sculpted with undeniable allure. Full, plush lips curved naturally into a pout. Her eyes burned with an eerie violet light, traced with dark, smoky eyeliner that sharpened her gaze.

A jagged tear ran straight down the front of her ‘outfit’, parting the ruined fabric to leave her large, heavy breasts unapologetically pronounced, straining against what little material still clung to her chest.

Her hips flared wide and shapely, the torn fabric accentuating her curves dramatically. One side of her outfit had been shredded away completely, leaving a single long leg fully exposed—smooth and purple like the rest of her, and framed by wide, thick thighs. Her whole form radiated raw ethereal femininity.

Jason gawked openly at the violet beauty before him. He had never seen so much of a woman’s body on display in person before—not that he hadn’t ever thought about it; it had just never been a prime focus in his life. But here and now, with her standing so close, it was impossible not to admire her.

Sylvie, on the other hand, had a much different reaction; her face began to glow a bright, telltale yellow, her eyes going wide before she quickly buried her face in the folds of her dress reflexively.

Mika blushed too, a faint spark of warmth coloring her cheeks, but she didn’t look away. Her attention stayed firmly fixed on Esmerelda, curiosity winning out over embarrassment.

“Welcome Esmerelda! To Harem Hotel! Would you like to let our audience and lovely master know a little about yourself?”

The sudden reappearance of Jocelyn startled Jason and knocked him back to his senses. He wasn’t being rude, was he? Surely not, he was just surprised by Jocelyn’s magic trick, nothing else. Obviously.

Esmerelda herself was in shock. One minute, she had been listening to that fucking cabrón spout nonsense to another one of his ‘clients’, the next, she was on some kind of stage with a spotlight beaming down on her, and a weird blue lady poofed up in her face.

“What the fuck—where am I?” Esmerelda demanded, her brow knitting as she scanned the room. “This doesn’t look like any hotel I ever saw.”

Her voice carried a slight Mexican accent, smooth but unmistakable, and each word seemed to trail a faint, reverberating echo—as though the sound lingered a moment longer than it should have.

“Well… I suppose you aren’t wrong there, Esmerelda. This is indeed not a hotel,” Jocelyn said brightly. “What I meant to say is that you are on the show Harem Hotel, okay?”

She nodded vigorously at the violet woman, as if that alone should clear everything up.

“Oh—and Esmerelda? That name is far too mouthy to keep saying, hmm…” Jocelyn tapped her cheek thoughtfully. A beat passed before she suddenly straightened and smacked her fist into her open palm. “How about Esme? Much snappier. You’re alright with that, my dear, yes?”

“Uh… sure, whate—”

“Of course you are!” Jocelyn cut in cheerfully. “Now, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?” She angled the tip of her cane toward Esme’s face like a microphone..

“Well,” Esme replied, one brow lifting, “what do you want to know?”

“We can start with your name, then yo—”

“You literally just called me by my name,” Esme interrupted flatly. “Don’t you already know it, lady?”

Jocelyn froze, eyes wide with disbelief.

“First of all,” Jocelyn said sharply, her smile vanishing, “my name is Jocelyn. Second of all, I do the interrupting around here.”

Her hair slowly lifted as her anger grew, and her whole body began floating upward as a red glow bled out across her body. “Now, I highly recommend you answer the next questions properly.”

“Sure,” Esme replied, entirely unimpressed. “Whatever.” She shrugged.

Jocelyn’s jaw tightened in response, her lips pursed.

She exhaled sharply and **** herself to reset.

“What I was trying to ask for was this: your full name, the age you were when you died, your occupation, your sexual experience and interests, and finally… your cause of ****.”

Esme stared at her for a moment before answering.

“My name is Esmerelda Medrano, but Esme is fine. I was twenty-two when I died. I didn’t work; I was a full-time student studying to be a teacher.” She paused, lips curling slightly. “My sex life is none of your business. And I was murdered.”

Jason felt like the floor had dropped out from under him.

Murdered?

Questions flooded his mind all at once. What had happened to her? Did that shape her appearance? Was that why her clothes looked torn, like something violent had been done to her? Was that how ghosts manifested—some kind of echo of how they died?

For Jocelyn, however, the reaction was very different.

“I said all the questions,” Jocelyn snapped, raising her cane threateningly. “Now, if you’d please, do tell everyone about your sexual interests.” A smirk grew on her face as she spoke, right before she thrust the cane forward.

“Relax, pendejo,” Esme said calmly, leaning back just enough to avoid the strike. She casually pushed the cane aside and stared Jocelyn dead in the eye.

A vein pulsed on Jocelyn’s forehead. What does that even mean?

“If you really want to know that badly,” Esme continued with a smirk, “fine. I’ve had sex a few times. I’m no virgin. I’m a romantic; I don’t do random hookups. I like nice guys. Guys who actually care about me.”

“Wow,” Jocelyn drawled. “Booooring.” A large neon yellow thumbs down appeared behind Esme while Jocelyn booed her.

Suddenly, her face dropped, then she waved her cane dismissively. “Whatever. We have things to do. One last question: Esme, how do you know our Master Jason, over there?”

She pointed the cane toward him.

Esme hadn’t really noticed him before, nor had she noticed the other three strange-looking women sitting across from him in much less comfortable-looking seating. A blue short-haired girl in overalls, a muscular woman covered in what looked like cracked rubber, and a small, perfectly white girl with her face buried in her too-big dress.

What on earth is going on here was the only thought running through her head, then she remembered the question she was asked.

Jason? I assume that's the skinny guy, although, now that I have a good look at him…

“I have no idea who he is.” She answered sincerely

“Oh come on, Esme,” Jocelyn said impatiently. “You must’ve met him somewhere.”

“I don’t know who he is,” Esme shot back, “and I don’t know who you are. I’m just happy to be out of that filthy cabrón’s place.” Her voice was dripping with venom as she said that last part.

Jocelyn’s eyes narrowed.

“Alright,” she said coldly. “Let’s see about that then.”

Before Esme could react, Jocelyn pressed the tip of her cane firmly against her forehead.

“Now tell us, Esme,” Jocelyn demanded. “How do you know Jason Wendell?”

She pulled the cane back and folded her arms with a sinister grin.

“I don’t know Jason Wendell.”

“What?” Jocelyn frowned, tapping the staff as if it were malfunctioning. She tried again, only to get the same answer.

She stared at Esme for a long moment.

“…Alright,” Jocelyn said slowly. “Sure. Whatever. I’ll sort this out later.”

She huffed, turning away dismissively—only for her irritation to melt into a familiar smirk as she floated over to Jason.

“So…” she purred, drifting behind him, slender hands settling onto his shoulders. “What do you think of our newest contestant, Jason? She’s feisty, isn’t she?” Her fingers kneaded lightly as she leaned closer. “Is that something you like? And those curves… they just keep going, don’t they?”

She chuckled softly near his ear. “I remember you mentioning you’ve got a bit of a weakness for some booty on your girls. Be honest now—does this one suit your tastes?”

“Excuse me,” Esme cut in sharply, planting a hand on her hip and arching an unimpressed eyebrow. “I’m standing right here.”

“Well, obviously,” Jocelyn replied without missing a beat. “How else would he get a proper look at you?” She gestured vaguely toward Esme’s stance. “And honestly, that pose? Absolutely perfect for showing off those delicious curves. Don’t you agree, Jay?”

Jason didn’t answer. He just bowed his head, heat flooding his face.

He did find Esme attractive; he couldn’t deny that, but the way Jocelyn deliberately pushed him, teased him, it made everything feel so much worse, or maybe better? He wasn't sure. His body betrayed him completely, the response impossible to ignore. He was hard—very hard—and the shame of it twisted in his gut.

Was that wrong? Probably. But he genuinely didn’t know how anyone was supposed to stay unaffected when Jocelyn was actively trying to provoke a reaction like this.

All he could do was keep his eyes down, shoulders tense beneath her hands, and press his legs tightly together in a futile attempt to hide the response he could no longer control.

Jocelyn glanced downward, and what she saw caused her eyes to sparkle with wicked delight.

“Well, I’ll take that as a yes,” she announced brightly as she lifted into the air, smirking down at him. “I’ll make a man of you yet, Jason.” She tossed him a theatrical wink.

Then she turned back toward Esme—her smile faltering just a fraction.

“Now, Esme,” she said with **** sweetness, “how about you go take a seat with the other girls? It’s almost time for the next one!”

“Yeah, sure, blue lady,” Esme muttered, already walking off with an unimpressed flick of her hand. Once she closed in on the seating area, the white one looked up at her, looking almost afraid. They locked eyes for a second before she buried her face back into her dress. The blue one just raised an eyebrow at her, and the black one just sat there unmoving.

Jocelyn’s eye twitched. And she took a deep breath before continuing..

She turned back to the audience with the brightest smile she could muster.

“Well, that’s her, folks!” she chimed, arms spread wide. “Esmerelda Medrano! Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments as we prepare for our next contestant!”

Spotlights snapped to the centre of the stage.

“Cassandra Byrne!”