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

[shimmershimmer]

[The Gentleman does not move, and his voice sounds as smooth and soothing as ever in your head.]

That was a piss-poor show out there, boy. A man needs to have more fight than that.

[irenicly]

[This is already off to a better start than he thought it would be.]

I'm sorry.

[He's not like Kimblee. Banjou's plans are shitty as hell and without the bullshit theatrics that actually pay off.]

If there's any possible way for me to make this right, I'll do what I can.

[Of course, Banjou doesn't know if he can actually trust the Gentleman, but he'll take the lesser of two evils.]

These men wanted to talk to you.

[steel_over_blood]

[ Bulat's been hanging around outside the door up until now, letting Banjou get the formalities out of the way and trying to pick up on just what kind of person (?) this Gentleman is. And stretching, just in case he needs to either run for it or fight. With how terrified Kimblee was at the trial, and how Banjou's been for the trip over here... If he has to fight, he wants to be ready for it. At this point, he wouldn't even mind an unarmed fight with a horrifying monster, at least he'd be doing something. ]

[ Cripes. He's never seen anything like that. It's... okay, this is fine, this is fine, he's going to keep his cool if it kills him, which is a definite possibility because keeping it cool means striding into the barn and past Banjou without skipping a beat. This is creepy and he does not give a fuck anymore, all out of fucks, fuck stand closed for the season because the fuck harvest is OVER. ]

You're the Gentleman, are you? As he said... let's talk. Let's talk about that Lady of yours.

[shimmershimmer]

Much as I'd like to agree, I can't say she's "my" Lady yet. That would be right presumptuous of me.

How can I help you boys?

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

[ Oswin's close on Bulat's heels and similarly determined to keep his wits about him. He's fought a dragon before and lived to tell the tale, and the Gentleman is not currently breathing fire at him so this is... an improvement??? He guesses???

It's still probably not a good idea to take his eyes off him, but Oswin bows politely anyway. The Gentleman might be a horrifying eldritch abomination that may or may not want to eat everyone, but that's no reason to be rude. Or maybe he's just hoping that a little sucking up will go a long way in getting the Gentleman to relax enough to let something slip that he shouldn't, who can say.

His mind is ablaze with questions, but the Gentleman's response brings one to the forefront. He... he doesn't mean... ]

You... you are courting her?

[ WILL SOMETHING PLEASE GO HOW HE IS EXPECTING IT TO FOR ONCE ]

[shimmershimmer]

That's right. She's a real lady, that one.

[Politeness calls for politeness! If Gentleman had a hat, he would tip it.]

[steel_over_blood]

[ Three people have died so far just so some vicious monster could get laid yeah this is definitely just like home. ]

Oho. So this is your way of taking her out to dinner and a show? Or is it the other way around?

[ In other words, which one of them is responsible? Not that he's going to swallow down everything the Gentleman tells him, but he's at least more trustworthy than the Lady so far. ]

[shimmershimmer]

The challenge was mine; the game hers.

Let me tell you, I was over the moon when the Lady accepted. Most of the drones who've tried to propose to her were devoured right on the spot.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

Ah, yes, speaking of devouring....

[shimmershimmer]

What about it?

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

Ah...

[ How does he put this delicately? ]

It is... our understanding that one of the possible outcomes of your wager with the Lady is that the winner will... eat us. This is... very concerning, you understand.

[shimmershimmer]

It's true. If she wins, she has the right to devour everyone here, including yours truly.

Mind you, she might be telling the truth about changing her mind and making that offer to let the survivors go. It's her call.

[ill_hearted_gentleman]

Then, by the terms of your wager, you stand to either win either her hand [ tentacle? ] or lose your life, whereas the only thing she looks to be risking is whether or not she gets to enjoy a feast.

[ After all, if she really wanted nothing to do with the Gentleman, she wouldn't have set up this game in the first place, right? This is an entirely bizarre method of courting to him, but, well. What about this isn't entirely bizarre? ]

It hardly seems a fair bet.

[shimmershimmer]

That's the way love goes, my friend. If you can't risk your life for it, it's not worth a darn thing.

[steel_over_blood]

Your stunning good looks at work, huh?

...So you're in this for the sake of love, but what about her?

[shimmershimmer]

She enjoys the challenge no matter what she might say, and at the end she gets either a mate or a meal. Or both, if that's what suits her! That's really her call.