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

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

[ Well.

Uh.

That's.

Nnnnnnnnot what Oswin was expecting.

...Somebody dun fucked up here. ]

[tellurianterror]

[Just... quietly looks over at Oswin, looking more ruffled than anyone's seen him... well, ever, in Warmwood.]

[What have we done.]

[heartofsnarkness]

Did you really save him from suffering the same fate as the rest of us?

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

...Such was not my intention, but yes. I woke him in hopes that it would prevent him from communicating with his fellows. I did not anticipate that anything like this would happen.

[heartofsnarkness]

And this is how he repays you, huh. Not very nice.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

He is not a very nice man. That much is certainly apparent.

[heartofsnarkness]

This does imply, though, that we could prevent more people from being taken, if we knew who was likely to be targeted.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

...Yes, that should be possible. The Lady seems quite irritated that Kimblee is still awake. I wonder if she would feel likewise if the same should happen to one of the faithful.

[heartofsnarkness]

Worth a shot, anyway. She may not be as upset about the faithful sticking around as she is about Kimblee, but I don't think she likes things not going according to her plans in any case.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

Even that would be worth finding out. It seems the demons are as much in her thrall as the faithful are, and if she allows transgressions from one side and not the other, it should prove at least which side she favors.

[heartofsnarkness]

Good point. Anyway, I say we go for it.

[lasuaspada]

...Monsieur, how did you wake him?

[Because that is...very relevant to his interests, actually.]

He's claiming you shook him awake somehow; is that true?

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

It is, unfortunately. You have noticed the true form of the creature that calls itself the Shimmering Lady, correct? At night, she leaves her "temple" and calls the souls of all those in the village out to her. I thought that by pulling him away from her, I could prevent him from acting, or even force him to join our ranks. I did not expect... this.

[lasuaspada]

...You do seem to have done the exact opposite of that, yes.

[Thanks, Tsukiyama.]

Should we leave known demons to lie, then?

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

[ Oswin is well aware this has not gone just as keikaku, thank you, Tsukiyama. ]

That would likely be the wisest course of action, yes.

[lasuaspada]

Banjou-san is one of them, I'm certain of it.

[...]

He said something odd to me last night, however. About all of that.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

Oh? What did he say?

[lasuaspada]

Well, first of all, he confirmed everything Kimblee-san is saying with regards to the host, but I'm fairly sure that was because I was brainwashed and insane at the moment. His acting is rather bad, and in hindsight I think that's what it was.

He also tried telling me he was in control of his actions the entire time. I didn't believe him due to the abovementioned brainwashed insanity. So I don't know what I should think of...any of that.

The odd thing, though, was "No matter what happens, I want you to know that I'm doing this for you."

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

Hmmm. They have a story they've agreed on, then. I find that much more believable than taking Kimblee at his word. Likely, they believe themselves to be just as much in control of their actions as the faithful do, though I do not think they are being deceived any less. I do not imagine that this was quite the benefit he had in mind for you. Forgive my bluntness, but I would not put much stock in it.

[lasuaspada]

He manipulated me and believed it to be merciful; he told me that he wanted me to target the dove in hopes that the avenger would ensure that I didn't wake up.

...Banjou-san has a very backwards way of trying to help at the best of times. He genuinely thinks the coma is for the best.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

I can't imagine what they believe themselves to be accomplishing. If that's what you wish to know, you would be better served by asking Isaac McDougal.