shimmershimmer | Lost Souls

[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~ :>))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[And something about that - maybe the mention of Kaneki, maybe something else entirely, he can't really say for sure - seems to kick something in his head into gear; the shift is visible, his expression leaving some of the annoyance behind and slipping easily into something slightly more neutral, or at least less like he's going to rip your face off with extreme prejudice.]

I've already been working on it; I've spoken to McDougal-san, to try to get his perspective on what the entire ridiculous lot of you thought you were doing. I've also been watching everything that's happened today - or at least, as much as I can, I am still only one person - and trying to ascertain how much is true and how much is the result of brainwashing.

It's ugly, to put it very gently.

[If they can have this discussion without another fight, he'll be grateful. Working with Tsukiyama isn't easy, but they do need to get back to Kaneki.]

I can't speak for Kimblee-san, but I thought we were helping. Get the numbers down and then we "win." It sounded simple enough at the time, but that was probably the brainwashing, wasn't it?

...When the option of taking us to the barn came up at the trial, Kimblee-san looked disturbed. He probably knows something I don't. That's where the real temple is, but I don't want to go anywhere near it.

[He really doesn't want to know what the Gentleman looks like among other things.]

At least, it looked like the real temple whenever I saw it.

...The real temple...

[He mulls that over for a moment.]

We ought to talk to Kimblee-san about that, then, because I saw that too. He was fine when the discussion centered around burning, but he seemed...a little upset about being sent into the barn. I wasn't sure why, other than the obvious "If the Lady wants to put him in there, it probably isn't safe."

What was in this "real temple" of yours?

An entity who called himself the Gentleman.

I saw this in my dreams, so I don't know how real any of it was, and he didn't look like something out of a horror movie when I saw him. He claimed that the Lady had imprisoned him in the temple.

You know the vague threat we had knowledge about? He talked about it, too. Nothing specific, just that it's a "threat."

[....]

I wouldn't be surprised if he was a lie made up by the Lady, but in those dreams, I could see the village for what it really is.

...I don't know about that, Banjou-san, if you legitimately saw no threat in that barn - but at the same time, I don't know why Kimblee-san seems to have, either.

[He has this feeling he's missing vital information.]

Kimblee-san probably knows something I don't.

That's not particularly difficult.

[Tsukiyama...]

[That's a low blow.]

Says the man who honestly believed I was possessed.

[...You tried it.]

That wasn't my fault and you know it.

[You know, he's pretty aware of his whole doesn't know anything problem. That being said, he isn't... really in the mood to go back to bickering or having Tsukiyama trying to kill him.]

I don't think anyone should approach the barn until we know more.

[He's just... going to wish he could ask someone besides Kimblee about this. Banjou has honestly tried to avoid knowingly killing everyone. Except for when it came to the dove where he....

...you know what, let's not think about that right now.]

Unless you want to risk possibly getting eaten by a horror novel monster.

[It's sarcastic, but he's also not going to say no if Tsukiyama wants to see what the barn actually looks like.]

[...]

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if that's exactly what's in there...?

[That's...huh.]

Now that we know what the Lady looks like, who's to say that your Gentleman...

[But at the same time, there's something wrong with that, isn't there?]

How in the world would Kimblee-san know about that, however?

I don't know.

[It's possible Kimblee doesn't know for certain, and to be honest Banjou barely knows him so he can only tell the bullshit when it's extremely obvious, but assuming the Gentleman is actually something horrible is the safest bet.]

The only way to find out is to ask him.

Yes, of course.

[He pauses for a moment before shifting his weight back a bit, folding his arms across his chest.]

Don't feel guilty about what you did to me yesterday. I wouldn't have hesitated to do the exact same thing to you, and I find it better to see this place for what it is.

We don't have time for sentimentality here. So don't bother.

I know you wouldn't have.

[He doesn't think Banjou being set on fire would have bothered Tsukiyama in the long run, either. That's just how ghouls are so he can't hold it against the man.]

The only thing we can do is figure out what's happening, how to stop it, and then stop it before either side has a chance to "win."

[Easier said than done, but at least there's something of a half-assed plan there.]

I'm aware. Because I don't know about you, but I fully intend to wake up at the end of all this.

I don't plan on spending the rest of my life sleeping.

...You really were trying to protect me, weren't you.

[It's not much of a question.]

The Lady did a good job with the brainwashing.

[He spent the last few days honestly believing that Tsukiyama was his twin brother. Yes he was trying to protect him. It wasn't the first time he'd done it and it more than likely won't be the last, either.]

Enough so that you nearly got me burned.

You really are fortunate that Kimblee-san was so desperate to save himself; had I burned yesterday, I would have been the only one given that rather charming outcome.

[And that...

Honestly he's not sure why almost murdering Tsukiyama still bothers him. It's probably because it goes against his nature as a pacifist.]

I'm grateful I didn't send you to the pyre.

So am I. Your guilt would have been insufferable.

[Banjou scoffs.]

I should ask Kimblee-san about the temple.

[If you want to follow him, he's not going to say no. He may have gone back to disliking Tsukiyama, but he's not going to turn down the company of the only person he actually knows here.]

[Like hell he is.

Enjoy yourself.]

Lost Souls

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject