that's not what we usually mean by 'dance with death'

[cherryblooded]

[That certainly did happen. Cherryblod's not the type of person who will judge one person's value as being more than another's, so he can't say whether it was better or worse than the first week. It came as less of a shock, maybe, but even so...

It's not the kind of thing people usually want to go through alone.

So, after he spends some time in the kitchen preparing (with assistance from Bruce), he'll slip some personalized notes under everyone's doors.]

[Name],
If you'd prefer to spend this time alone, that's fine.
If you'd prefer not to, I've made some food and set it out in the dining hall.
Even if you're just hungry and would rather not talk, feel free to come take some.
But if you'd like the company, we're here for you.
-Cherryblod

[Those arriving in the dining hall will find an assortment of food - a fair number of sandwiches and other, actual meal-like options since most people missed a meal or two, but also a goodly number of desserts. There's tea, as well as coffee for those who favor it.]

Comments

[wokeupdead]

Dessert is better than nothing! [cookies and sandwiches is a perfect dinner, okay?]

Right? Hopefully being full will counter the stress. The last thing I need is a restless night when I've got to double up my investigative effort. You better sleep well too, got it?

[happysweets]

I'll try my hardest! I didn't have an easy time getting to bed last week, but...well, hopefully this week will be better! Misa-Misa has a lot of plans for this week, too! Like more crosswords, and that talent show we wanted to put on but never got to! Misa-Misa also got a few other event recommendations, so...we'll see how we can make them fit?

Misa-Misa feels bad that we didn't really get to have one this week, so, I'll have to double down!

[wokeupdead]

No one will blame you for taking a few days off either, you know?

[Especially after they all sat through their first murder trial. Not like they should get used to this happening weekly either. Please don't overwork yourself, Misa.]

I'm sure it'll be extremely fun. I'll have to come up with a good talent to show off.

[capyper]

Competition is stiff, you know! There's a whole eight million of us... but someday, you'll be hearing the name Yato among the most famous of gods! More famous than Bishamon, that's for sure!

[ It's... good to dream big. ]

[amygdalae]

[It's perfectly fine; Bruce doesn't mind at all even if she shooed him away for the need for space, but that doesn't seem to be the case.]

Can't say I'm any better than last week. [Although he is better at dealing with it. Kind of. (Not really. But he's good at pretending.)] How about you?

[happysweets]

Don't think I didn't see you at the Truth or Dare. You have a lot of them! But yes, you should definitely try and pick your best! I know Mettaton wants to perform there, and I want to do backup, too!

Also, Misa-Misa got a suggestion that we should have a whole night to do ghost stories, and I think that sounds like a great idea! We can all get around a flashlight and see who tells the spookiest one...

[amygdalae]

It's alright, I'm sure we'll think of a way eventually.

[As brief as they knew both Caren and Pearl - plus Zagi and Kamui - they should all be remembered. Not for what they did, but just for who they were; victims to this game of the Kingmaker's.]

But this alone is already incredibly thoughtful. Thank you for doing this.

[amygdalae]

It still doesn't hurt to take a break.

[Bruce could also say some other obvious things but that would be pretty hypocritical even for him.]

[ratingspoint]

It's more to do with their souls than the snails. They aren't as powerful as humans, so it's just temporary and they won't stay for too long, but their souls stay around after death.

There are a few of us in each region that are stronger than the others. At least one of the skeletons in the eastern caverns has potential, and there are a lot of members of the Royal Guard in that area. Undyne is in Waterfall - she's the captain of the guard that I mentioned, she'd love you. And where I work...well, there's me, of course. And my creator is pretty good with magic and technology, but she doesn't fight.

We're all pretty powerful, but we've got nothing on boss monsters.

[ratingspoint]

Don't mention it, sweetheart. It's something we prefer to do back home if we're given the chance.

[amygdalae]

[Oh Misa. If Bruce was the sort of person he would try some sort of physical gesture to reassure her, but as it stands he can't quite bring himself to do that.]

...she was desperate, and couldn't rely on any of us. I can understand why she wanted to do it, but...

[There had to be another way. There always should be. It's not as if this is all an impossible scenario.]

I suppose it doesn't matter now.

[wokeupdead]

Those weren't even half of my skills! I'm really flexible for one. I bet everyone would be super surprised at that.

[This stage better be big enough for Lynne to do tons of backflips. And the ghost stories come back.]

Oh yeah? You still have that great story up your sleeve?

[happysweets]

Even if she was desperate...I can't believe she would resort to that. I didn't think she was that kind of person at all.

[happysweets]

Flexible, huh? Well, you must be really fit, if you graduated from the police academy...but I'll make sure there's plenty of space for you to do all kinds of stunts!

Nothing but the best, though!

[wokeupdead]

I may look small but I've got a lot of power hidden away! [Lynne, you're like half a foot taller than Misa.] We could probably move some of the tables or something to make space. Although we might need a few people for that...

[Since they're made of steel and all.]

Nice! I don't know if I can come up with something by then. I got ghosts on the mind though so maybe.

[cherryblooded]

Suppose not.

Could go for some warm soup.

[happysweets]

[ To be fair, Misa's a tiny twig. Blame idol culture. ]

I think if we all work together, we should be able to get something done! It'll be a great group effort! If you need some time to come up with a story, though, we can always make that next week. Miss Megumi wanted to have a teaching event too, so...

[wokeupdead]

[ . . . Okay, she has to talk about that first.]

Teaching event?

[bloodisthicker]

Let's get rid of it right now, then. We'll go together so we have some accountability to it, of course.

[Kogoro doesn't strike him as hideously untrustworthy or anything, but this place... uh... yeah. It's almost like it's a game about trust or something.]

[happysweets]

Yes! Um, she wanted to have, like, a class or something in the library...I think it might be best to encourage her, though. How bad could it be, right?

[wokeupdead]

A class about what even?

[She is out of school, spare her-]

Although if it's something she really wants to do...

[happysweets]

Your guess is as good as mine. Misa-Misa's really bad in class, but...we can always play hangman in the back. Or Tic-Tac-Toe...

[wokeupdead]

...Okay. As long as she's okay with moral support and doesn't expect me to answer any questions.

[bloodisthicker]

I... can't actually argue with that. I'm sure that would only be a problem if that was just a disguise, but if it's some kind of shapeshifting monster, it can probably do whatever it wants.

...do you think they were trying to be a caricature of the victims in some way? It's hard to say, not knowing either of them that well so far... but all evidence points to that being some sort of expression Zagi could conceivably make.

[that boy wasn't right.]

[pokexplorer]

It's true, we have no idea what their numbers are. But as far as wild encounters with their true form go, there have been very few.

[He has to take a moment to consider that last bit based on what little he knows about the two Pokemon.]

I cannot confirm it for certain, but it could be possible? If they can mimic other Pokemon well enough with their illusions, it's not an extremely far stretch to consider object materialization. It all depends on how far they can take their ability.