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

[captainobnoxious]

[She is a good person! She's also just rash and a little too full of herself!]

Guess I should've listened to her more about being serious.

[Though she does think that being too serious is a mistake, maybe if she was a little less playful Sigrun could've been a little closer to her and prevented that.]

It's a captain's job to get to know the people she works with and protects, not to pick fights with them, and I totally failed at that. [Auuuugggghhh. This tea is being drunk like stress relief.] It's a basic! I got too ahead of myself thinking she was just some snot-nosed brat with a stick of her ass!

[ratingspoint]

...That's exactly it, sweetheart.

[And there's no flash to it, none of the usual enthusiasm that accompanies an affirmative answer; it's just kind of straightforwardly there.]

It's not like attacking souls directly is something we're above or anything. It's not beneath us at all. It's just a little strange to see that sort of thing here.

[goodforsomething]

[He laughs.]

It was a dare durin' that party! Just the first one, but it seemed to irritate him, so - [Stan shrugs.] - what the hell.

[cherryblooded]

...All of us messed up there. Her, us. If we're good we can learn from this.

[And if they're not, they'll just repeat this case, over and over.]

[cherryblooded]

[He can sort of imagine why, but not put it into words. So he doesn't try, there.]

...What does a soul look like? If it's not usually a stone.

[capyper]

Well, I can tell you one thing earnestly! It's not worse than hell.

[ Hell sucks and the queen of it is definitely worse than the Kingmaker... ]

This place is definitely weirder than hell, though.

[goodforsomething]

Just kept at 'im. They don't call me "Charismatic" for nothin'!

[He sets down his glass and then carefully lowers himself down to the ground next to her to fill a second.]

...I ain't allowed to flirt with him anymore, but it was worth it.

[ratingspoint]

[Bless your heart, Mouri, you have found your nunchi for the day. He definitely won't mind at a later time - Mettaton is kind of weird like that, he doesn't really tend to take a long time to move past things - but just...not at a funeral, dude.]

Well...monsters are made up entirely of their soul, sweetheart. Your body is made up largely of water; ours is made of magic, and our soul holds it together. Physically speaking, we're not very strong - I'm an exception, of course, but attacking us directly is attacking our soul as well as our body.

If our soul is damaged enough, we die; the soul itself disappears forever, the magic breaks apart, and dust is all that's left.

[notjustawriter]

[Gabriel watches quietly for a long moment, only knocking politely at the door when he gets the chance.

He might be an idiot, but he recognizes some sort of funeral ritual when he sees it, even if it's foreign to him.]

Were you two close?

[ratingspoint]

[His hand twitches a bit; the movement is odd and involuntary, like he doesn't realize he's doing it, his fingers settling against that metal band at his waist with the glowing heart at the center.]

Well...mine's a bit different - a lot of things about me are. But monsters' souls are colorless, while humans' have some sort of shade to them - they're usually very vibrant. They can change colors sometimes, too, depending on what's happening around them.

They're heart-shaped; monsters' point upwards, humans' are the opposite.

[captainobnoxious]

[What a pair of Grade A Messes.]

Wow, I wonder why someone didn't get along with you. [The sarcasm is at full blast, but she's chuckling lightly at the end, a sigh tacked on.]

I still could've tried, though. I didn't even get to apologize for hitting her -- as much as she deserved it, mind, it feels kind of petty now. So what if she's got as much hot air as a... a...

[... Wow, she's stumped. What has hot air.]

Anyway. Yeah. As a thing with hot air. [...] Are you sure you're not mad or anything? You seemed pretty pissed earlier.

[goodforsomething]

I don't bring around fake liquor, kid. [how can you be too eager, this place is a shitshow]

[notjustawriter]

Hell if I know now.

Maybe there's some kind of magic involved with it-- someone who can create somethin' that...

[He trails off.]

...I really can't think of anything useful.

[cherryblooded]

[...yeah he did sort of notice that heart, now that they're talking about heart-shaped things. He won't bring it up directly, though.]

Can you see the souls of the people here, or just their bodies?

[captainobnoxious]

[Please don't let the next person she smacks be the killer. That was unfortunate. Every person Sigrun touches becomes a murderer. And a twin.]

So, from your long-lived perspective, got any ideas we can make use of? The more people die the less they're gonna be wanting to be close to anyone. I think. I mean, I wouldn't want to be close with someone who was probably a murderer.

[notjustawriter]

[Gabriel gives a tight smile.]

I was hopin' someone would find alcohol around here somewhere.

[cherryblooded]

[They just get an identical twin right on the spot.

He has to think about this for a second or two.]

This happened partly because Caren thought she could trust the Kingmaker more than she could trust us. We can't exactly make ourselves much more trustworthy right now... So the tactic would be to make sure everyone knows how unreliable the Kingmaker's word is.

We have absolutely no guarantee he'd follow through with any incentive he gave us.

[sleepingkogoro]

No way. No way! This is something I have to see by myself.

[Maybe it is an effect of the booze and he is already pretty inebriated, but Mouri finds that immensely funny]

Got one saved? I want to read that!

[ratingspoint]

[...Between the literal Viking and the robot that has literally never been outside, that's a great question. What does have hot air.]

Do you want to go in your room and discuss it? It's not like I mind, it's just not something I'd want to yell in front of a room full of people.

[prismbloom]

[ Aqua enters the dining room--but she doesn't stop. No, instead, she retreats into the kitchen. She'd needed time for herself, needed to think about things. She'd made a promise to Caren, after all.

It still hurts. The Wayfinder's tucked into her pocket, like always, but as she bakes, the shape becomes familiar to anyone she's close to. They're cookies in the familiar star shape, cookies of all different flavors. Aqua's stress baking--again--but, who can really blame her?

Anyway, once she's done, she'll start carrying the baked goods out, setting them with the other items. ]

[ratingspoint]

Not at all, actually.

[He's not looking away from the photograph as he says it; he doesn't mind the company, though.]

Still, that doesn't mean we shouldn't give them funerals if we can, right?

[sleepingkogoro]

That is a relief, I suppose. Not that I used to believe on heaven and hell. I'll really have to reconsider that thought.

So this is all weird, even for a god? That sounds a tad hard to believe!

[captainobnoxious]

[What a joy this is, don't mind if she just takes that straight down.

Oooooh boy.]

Worth it indeed. Ah, this really hits the spot! Especially after-- all that. [She waves her hand.] I'll toast to them and their hopeful good afterlife.

[Because gods know they'll need it. Absolutely dead, huh, that's what the Kingmaker told her -- and as far as she knows it is the truth. So are they just... ghosts or something? Mages handle ghosts. Not her.]

[captainobnoxious]

[Fire??? Fire has hot air... above it.]

I was heading there anyway, so sure.

[Come on in, buddy. Let's have some kind of talk about your apparent issues with roughing up a mermaid. Everyone else had an issue too but. Yes.]

[captainobnoxious]

[That's what it feels like, doesn't it???]

But as far as we know, he has been pretty much truthful with everything he's told us, though he does have plenty of reason to lie. The incentive could've come true for all we know -- we just didn't get to find out. 'Cause we would've been dead.