Lost Souls

[shimmershimmer]

[You don't wake up, exactly, but at some point you come to. There's something wrong with you, a numbness and translucency. Should you try to touch something, your hand will pass through it. Why, it's as if you were a ghost. So that's the bad news. Sorry about that. The good news is that mentally, you've woken up entirely. You remember the real truth of who you are, your relationship to your so-called "family," and all the other lies you've been fed by the Shimmering Lady.

You can move freely around what you will soon realize to be the village. The reason why it may take moment of realization is simply because it doesn't look anything like you remember it. The sky is black, the grass is dead, and the cottages are run-down and shoddy concrete buildings. The pond is dirty, and there are no animals whatsoever, anywhere.

And the temple. It's more like a storehouse than a temple. The Shimmering Lady is there, or that mass of flesh and tendrils that calls itself the Shimmering Lady...

She doesn't seem to see or hear you. When the others exit their "homes," neither will they. And there's some strange force keeping you within the walls...]

((Popcorn, mingle, curse the Lady, etc! Also! There will be a special thing for you to do here once Night 01 starts. Watch for it~ :>))

Comments

[very_bad_end]

You seek to comprehend madness?

[lasuaspada]

[He just shrugs a bit at that, returning his attention to the Major's bonfire.]

Ah, well...I suppose it's fine now, or at least there's no sense in being angry over it.

Trial 4: Connor tho

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

[ Well that conversation Connor just had with the Lady was. A thing. Truly unrivaled in the quality of its thingness. And both very enlightening and very unenlightening at the same time, but either way, Oswin's gone ghastly pale by the end of it. He doesn't even care about being totally wrong about whether or not the Gentleman exists, that kind of pales in comparison to how one of them's going to eat the survivors if they win and they don't know which one it is. ]

[irenicly]

[Unlike Tsukiyama, Banjou is actually dead now so it doesn't make a difference to him.

Even if that wasn't true, Banjou was going to be perfectly content never acknowledging the days they spent brainwashed ever again.]

It isn't something either of us could control.

[lasuaspada]

...Yes, I know.

[Oh, you...actually seem to want to discuss this. That's horribly awkward.]

[irenicly]

[Actually, he doesn't! Not really. He's pretty content leaving it at that and going back to being silent and mopey.

It doesn't suit Banjou, but he's also never been dead until now.]

[irenicly]

The Gentleman told us he was trapped in the barn because of the Lady. I don't know if he was lying or not, but...

[If the Gentleman is the one who won't eat the survivors, the odds aren't good.]

[lasuaspada]

[...good.

While the alternative is...honestly also horribly awkward, Tsukiyama actually doesn't seem inclined to move, either. Though at least he'll have a completely rare moment of self-awareness about it after a second.]

...Would you prefer I go?

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

...I... I doubt he is staying there of his own volition. But... is it because he is a danger to us or a danger to her...?

[ Usually Oswin speaks with firm confidence, but this clearly has him distinctly rattled. ]

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

[ Oswin sighs and shakes his head. ]

No. Trying to find reason in such insanity is madness in and of itself.

[irenicly]

In my dreams, I saw the barn as a beautiful temple.

Kimblee-san told me he was likely the same species as the Lady, and that may be true. If it is, Yao-san may be dead. That's what I thought happened this morning, but it's likely I'm wrong.

There's one way to know for sure: we need to look for the Gentleman.

[fauxlosophical]

[WOW, OSWIN

IT'S ALMOST LIKE THERE WAS A REASON HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE PUT IN THE FUCKING BARN]

...They're the same species. If I had to guess, female-dominated; she's larger than he is. More imposing.

[irenicly]

[Maybe it's because Tsukiyama is the only person he knows here. Maybe it's because of some lingering effect of the brainwashing. Either way, Banjou shakes his head.]

You don't need to.

[lasuaspada]

...All right. If there's anything...

[He doesn't finish that, however, either because he's not sure how to or he doesn't feel the need to. It's a bit difficult to say.]

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

...Ah, yes, the barn, of course. We should go see this Gentleman with our own eyes. We may learn something. [ Hopefully something that isn't "he can eat ghosts, too." ]

[irenicly]

If we're lucky, he won't be able to see us.

[irenicly]

[Give him a moment.

Banjou's expression is really awkward.]

I'll let you know, Tsukiyama-san.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

[ LOOK KIMBLEE COULD'VE BEEN WRONG ABOUT THAT, OKAY, IT'S NOT LIKE LISTENING TO HIM HAS EVER PROVEN TO BE A GOOD IDEA BEFORE ]

If she truly is female....

[ He hasn't exactly gone looking for any bits and isn't too keen on trying. ]

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

I... It does not seem that the Lady can, so... perhaps....

[irenicly]

[But is the Lady pretending she can't see them? This isn't good.]

Oswin-san, if the Major and Clover-chan are taken out today, there's only one demon left. I think if either the Lady or the Gentleman win, the villagers are going to die, but the Gentleman is trapped so he probably only eats people who come to him.

Today's probably our only chance to save them.

[steel_over_blood]

However either of us phrase it, we're running out of chances.

I don't know how the demon side defines victory, but this doesn't look like it.

[steel_over_blood]

Charismatic, is that what you'd call that?

[ He's dancing now... Bulat can't look away in spite of himself. ]

[irenicly]

[Thank goodness for small miracles.

Poor Clover, though. She's still brainwashed.

From her perspective, her brother has gone completely insane.]

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

...They may react as poorly as the Major did. It is a great risk. If... If the Gentleman truly is the lesser of the two evils, it may be better for us to awaken important people among the villagers instead. The demons can do nothing about Bobby Fulbright as long as the Templar remains unknown, but if we awaken him, he may act similarly to Connor and oppose the Lady.

[irenicly]

[He nods.]

Tonight, all of us should try to save a villager if it's possible; Fulbright-san's good at what he does. I hope he does a better job than the Major.