Stitchface

Stitchface is a poltergeist, doomed to wander the worlds of space in perpetual limbo, in search of friends.

Once a young boy from the planet Brunsun, the child who became Stitchface had his life cruelly snatched away from him when he met his sad and unfortunate fate. Unable to process the terrible accident which had befallen him, the boy’s spirit remained attached to the world of the living – only, now, in his spectral, otherworldly form, none could see him. His parents couldn’t see him, and nor could his friends. Their ‘rejection’ made Stitchface angry. Now he wanders the galaxy seeking new, ‘forever’ playmates.

In the world of Kinoko and the Cult of Galaxy, ghosts and poltergeists are two very different things. Ghosts are like memories; echoes of the past, feelings of great joy or sadness or some other emotion, forever imprinted on a person or place. They are insentient and harmless. Poltergeists like Stitchface, on the other hand, are malevolent beings who derive tremendous pleasure from causing pain and destruction, and they are very much sentient.

Physical appearance

Like all poltergeists, Stitchface has no true physical form. Although a rare few people can see ghosts and poltergeists, most can’t, and they’re lucky, for the ability to see them is no desirable gift. In his ghostly state, to those who can see him, he appears as a pale, blue, translucent figure, vaguely child-shaped, roughly half a meter tall, with a big round head and wispy hair.

But Stitchface doesn’t like not being seen, and that’s why he fashioned himself a look of his own. A cross between a ragdoll and a handmade Hallowe’en costume, Stitchface can possess this garment of his to assume a physical form. It’s mostly a tattered white rag with big teal patches, large round button eyes, a wonky hand-stitched smile, and a heart patch, so you know he’s friendly. He also wears a floppy brimmed hat which we think he stole from a scarecrow.

Personality

Like all poltergeists, Stitchface is extremely angry, volatile, and chaotic. He has regular explosive outbursts, throwing and destroying whatever he can get his spectral hands on. He’s quick to enrage, and wailing tantrums are never far away. Most souls depart this world peacefully; only the angriest souls linger as poltergeists, and child poltergeists are practically unheard of.

Being a very lonely poltergeist, Stitchface is desperate for friends to play with. In life, he was the ringleader of his small group of friends and he loved having a bunch of cronies to boss around. He lost all of that when he was ‘abandoned’ by his friends the day he died. He’s always wandering the galaxy now, searching the galaxy for new playmates who will never leave him. He’s extremely jealous and hates it when he finds out someone he’s become attached to already has friends of their own.

Stitchface is very emotionally immature – not only in his violent outbursts and intense jealousy, but in his interests and mannerisms too. He’s fascinated by toys and ‘playtime’ and he’s obsessed with jam sandwiches, just like his mother used to make him, even though he can’t eat them. He sucks his ghostly thumb like an infant, he sleeps cuddling a soft blanket, and he’s afraid of the dark.

Skills and abilities

As a poltergeist, Stitchface possesses many supernatural abilities. He can move at great speeds, and even apparate across short distances. He can glide straight through solid objects, including walls and locked doors, and he can possess things whether inanimate or living, gaining control over them or communicating through them. Like other poltergeists, he’s perpetually angry, and very destructive. He can effortlessly lift heavy objects to hurl them across the room when he’s mad enough.

Some abilities are beyond his control. For instance, electronics become faulty or even stop working entirely in his ghostly presence. When Stitchface is about, lights may flicker, televisions may switch on and off, and radio stations may tune in and out.

At some point in his haunting career, Stitchface has developed the ability to sew and fashion toys and costumes. How and when he learned to do this is unclear, but he made the sheet he wears himself and he has no trouble stitching it back up again when it gets tattered and torn. Somehow he’s also very skilled at creating lifelike, toy effigies of his friends and foes. (We’re sure it’s just a coincidence that when he hurts an effigy, the real person experiences physical bodily pain!)