WEEK 4.

[trustwellness]

WEEK 4 Three more have died this past week. Milla Maxwell was killed for breaking a rule, Chiyuki was murdered, and you all had a hand in executing Yoshikage Kira. It seems like this isn't going to stop any time soon. How many more will join them this week? Saturday is given to regrouping and rest; on Sunday morning the clock chimes as it always has, but at least there are no bodies to find today. It seems you're safe for now. The night before wasn't necessarily a peaceful one, however; you'll probably feel a bit groggy when you wake up, and it seems you've regained something that you didn't realize you'd lost... Despite the Wordsmith's reaction to the last trial, it seems as though you've been rewarded once again for a job that was...well, it was done, even if he didn't explicitly say it was well-done. Another door has opened in that stairway, it seems, leading you further down into the building; once again, there are more rooms down there, more things to occupy yourselves with. Or perhaps just more means to get creative with regards to how you take initiative with your fellow Apprentices. APPRENTICES REMAINING: 23 APPRENTICES REMAINING: 22 APPRENTICES REMAINING: 20

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

[OOC: Welcome to week four of Trustfell! Feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget to save those threads for coins and the activity check!

If you'd like to get in contact with the Wordsmith, you can do so through letters or the switchboard!]

Comments

[trustwellness]

[Jeez, maybe you were planning on wanting this back or something, how should it know.

Anyway, for a while it seems perfectly content to ignore Watanuki and everything he says - it doesn't seem to be responding at all, it's just continuing its usual pattern of flowing down the wall and generally being a black waterfall of vaguely disgusting-looking shadowy crap. After a few moments, though, it'll creep back in the direction of the rice again, and eventually it will eat it, so at least there's that.

...I mean, it also takes the bowl and the fork with it. But it did very much eat the rice, it did do that.]

[feistytrader]

I'll protect Mugetsu with my life.

[...Is it absolutely impossible to tell if he's being ridiculous or serious. Oops.]

[foundfate]

[That's okay, there's more of those in the kitchen.

But hey, at least he got an answer of if that thing eats or not. Now he can go on with phase 2 of his plan.

Now he sets out two pieces of paper, one with 'YES' written on it, and one with 'NO' written on it. Both papers are set on the ground, right about where the bowl of rice had been.]

This one- [he points to 'YES'.] -means yes, and this one- [he points to 'NO.'] means no. You don't have to eat these, just touching one, or even getting close to one, is enough for me to tell what you mean.

Can you understand me?

[Might as well do a baseline question first, to see if it'll work.]

[oyashiromama]

Is that so? [Well, Hanyuu flips through it a bit more, then.] ...It's such a nice story. I'm... I'm glad you of all people were able to receive it.

[trustwellness]

[Thankfully, it doesn't move to eat either sheet - and it doesn't drift over to "NO", either, because that would be either an accident or make it just, like, an impressive smartass.

But eventually there will be a reply, though not without a good several seconds of it ignoring the hell out of you again, Watanuki.

YES.]

[foundfate]

[Patience is a virtue he is struggling to remember. This would be so much easier if he already had certain memories back.

But hey, an answer! So he just takes in a breath, holds it for a second, and then asks his next question.]

The people who died- not the ones we saw you take, but Adelina, Christo, and Chiyuki- are they with you?

[oyashiromama]

[Less tense. ...no smile still but that's kinda just how she is this week.]

There are more decks around. Set up another game, while I reset mine. We'll be playing in turns.

[deofoled]

Yeah, my luck's not bad. [ He's certainly pleased, and the exercising is helping burn off the energy he has after today.]

[feistytrader]

You're exposed.

[And he figures she might appreciate some cover. Maybe. Either way, he's leaping on in, and Weavile's diving in right after him.]

[trustwellness]

[It...pauses briefly, then, the amount of flowing around it's doing seeming to still a little before it responds.

YES.]

[acherontiastyx]

[...yeah. Guzma saw all that shit earlier, and he felt his chest tense up and his stomach bottom out and the need to just run away from this all, so...

It's really just time to channel all of this into anger, right? So he skips out on the emergency meeting and just goes down to the gym, where he just... punches the punching bag. He punches it a lot, trying to just... clear his mind. It's not working, though. He keeps thinking about the shadow, the fact that it's definitely in the walls, the fact that three people have died so far this week and there will probably be more come Friday, if the pattern holds, the fact that he's terrified but he doesn't want to admit it, he's not supposed to be afraid of anything, he's not afraid, he's not afraid, they're all going to die, he's not afraid, he's not afraid...

It's a long time before he registers how much his knuckles are stinging and the fact that he's left a bunch of bloody spots on the punching bag, and he hasn't quite gotten to the point where his brain is acknowledging that this is a problem. Oh. His knuckles... um. How long has he even been at this?

Tapu Koko. Man. Okay. So uh. Maybe sometime after dinner the door of Room 24 is kind of absentmindedly open, where he can be seen trying to move his bed into the middle of the room instead of against the wall, but his hands aren't... cooperating. For obvious reasons.]

[foundfate]

[Huh. That's an interesting response. It's too bad Watanuki can't ask for more details, he's curious as to why the flowing slowed.]

Can we talk with them?

[His thought being, even if they can't see the dead, there must be a way to communicate with them.]

[trustwellness]

[NO.]

gym

[feistytrader]

[...You know, Silver sort of had the same idea of punching his frustrations and fear out, but seeing Guzma's blood on the punching bag stops him in his tracks.]

...I can bandage that up for you. Come on.

[He knows how to do that much, at least, since they don't have Mercy around. He's not sure if he should ask what's up; it feels too obvious at this point.]

[foundfate]

What if I gave you a message written on a piece of paper? Could you give it to them?

[sportadork]

[!!!] Look! It ate it!

[immediately takes another orange segment and holds it out. just to make sure that one wasn't a fluke or something.]

[trustwellness]

[That gets neither yes nor no; just kind of more flowing down the wall and avoiding either.]

[trustwellness]

[It'll take it, sure.

Congratulations, Sportacus, you have learned something today and that is that sports candy is good for everyone, up to and apparently including eldritch horrors.]

[foundfate]

[Rude. He'll just have to try the letter later anyway.]

Do you need to eat to stay alive?

[This question might seem out of left field, but Watanuki previously thought that the shadow was eating bodies, so.]

[trustwellness]

[NO.]

[acherontiastyx]

Yeah, okay, that makes sense.

[he's good at this.]

I don't know if this place would even let him get big if he tried, though. I mean, none of our Pokemon can use any of their moves.

[sportadork]

[oh man, how exciting... he has to use this knowledge to benefit everyone. it's what Judy would have wanted.

he takes another segment of orange and holds it out.]

... Can I talk with you? If that's okay, please eat the orange. If that is not okay, please do not eat the orange.

hello shadowfriend

[quadruples]

[ ...Welp, that wasn't how Viktor wanted to start the day. This is fine. He's okay with the events that are unfolding currently.

Seeing the dark entity reminds Viktor of the conversation he had with Varric after the second trial, where he'd wondered if Molotov cocktails or an improvised flamethrower would work against the shadow. Fire or some sort of bright light seemed like the kind of weakness a living mass of darkness would have.

However, he's pretty sure throwing a Molotov at it is going to get him killed, so he's not going to do that. Instead he whips out his phone and steps close enough for the flash to illuminate the broken wall before he snaps a picture. ]

[deofoled]

[...]

Have you ever seen anything like it before?

[foundfate]

So when you, er, 'absorb' people, you're not eating them?