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

[ratingspoint]

[Well, that was...strange. The execution was beautiful, no doubt about it - the sort of elegant, sad thing that he'd approve of, normally, at least as far as staging goes - but the fact remains that Mettaton is still rather obviously distracted by something going off in his head.

He'll try to catch Bruce as they leave the elevator, and he'll stop by his own room to pick up some of those candles and his lighter; after that it's a matter of getting into Pearl's room and...well.

He won't go through her things - if he'd known her better he would have, admittedly, he would have found her favorite thing, or at least something she liked, but the fact of the matter is that he didn't, and so he doesn't, because he has no idea what he'd even be looking for. He does have the framed photograph that he'd taken from her podium, though, and he's able to set that up on the trunk easily enough; it presumably contains her things, or at least it was intended to, so it'll work as well as anything else, and after a moment's thought he surrounds the frame with the larger pieces of the gem. Once that's dealt with, though, he'll take that bag containing what remains of her - crushed gems tend to leave dust, they'll grind away at themselves in whatever container you put them in and they'll...shed, for lack of a better term, and it's that dust that he's after now.

He'll let his hand make a few passes with it over the photograph, sprinkling iridescent dust over the frame and the pieces of rock surrounding it as he goes; he sets the candles up after he's done with it, one on either side of the photograph and lighting them easily, the small lights from the flames bouncing off the shards of the gem. He's saying something as he does it, something about candlelights and crystals and guidance home; it's quiet, though. Not really for anyone else.

The door's open, though, should you choose to enter; he doesn't mind.

--

Once that's taken care of, he'll wander over to Cherryblod's gathering eventually; being around people is something he's definitely not averse to right now, let's put it that way, though he'll be fairly subdued this time around. A little less talking to people, a little more being lost in thought.]

[cherryblooded]

[Of course, Cherryblod's the type to notice that he's a little less sociable than normal. And of course Mettaton's someone he'll drop all attempts at making more food for everyone for in a heartbeat.]

Hello, dear.

[Quiet.]

...Did you know her very well?

[ratingspoint]

Not at all, actually.

[And that goes for both of them, really. He hadn't really talked to Pearl, and Caren...it was pretty obvious that he didn't get along with Caren.

That said, though, Mettaton just...shrugs, and he smiles a bit, and the expression is a strange one but there's some effort being put into it, at least.]

It's nothing to be troubled over, I'll be fine.

[cherryblooded]

I know you will.

[Because if Mettaton is good at anything, he is very good at being Fine.]

But - like you said. It's something I can't switch off.

[ratingspoint]

Of course.

[He's excellent at being Fine.]

I've seen worse than this; I just wasn't expecting all the...

[...the...how do you describe that.]

...All the soul-crushing that happened today.

[cherryblooded]

...It's something that would get to you, wouldn't it. Monsters don't normally have physical bodies in the same sense that I do - but they do have souls.

[That's his best guess as to why this specific instance is bothering Mettaton.]

Funeral

[sleepingkogoro]

I didn't expect you to do a ritual like this one.

[Mouri watched most of it from the entrance without saying a word. It seemed rather...private, so to say. Only when it seemed Mettaton was almost over he dared to approach]

[ratingspoint]

Well, it's not as though I'm any good at it.

[He isn't making eye contact still, keeping his gaze focused on the photo instead; usually this is when the ego would come in, when he'd insist that he's good at pretty much everything else, but now isn't really the time.]

It's something monsters do back home. You're supposed to spread someone's dust on their favorite thing, but photographs work too, if you don't have any objects like that.

It's supposed to keep the person's essence alive.

[sleepingkogoro]

[Huh. So that is a monster ritual. It isn't so different from stuff that comes to mind]

I don't know if it happens in all worlds with humans, but in mine some people spread their loved ones' ashes in some sort of place full of nature. Forests, meaningful places, the sea...

I don't think it is to keep anyone's essence alive. It's more to give the dead and the mourners some peace.

[And others keep the ashes in jars to put them on the chimney. Mouri isn't sure if Mettaton would like hearing that, though]

[ratingspoint]

[...It's really no weirder than anything else, let's be honest with ourselves.]

...That sounds nice, actually.

[It really does, from the sound of it.]

Dust is really all we have once people die - there aren't any bodies or anything left behind. Sometimes we don't even know that someone's died, if someone does it when there's no one around.

Usually if someone is gone for long enough we can assume, but there isn't any closure that way. It's sad, I guess.

[sleepingkogoro]

[If it weren't for what happened to Pearl Mouri would have a hard time imagining there being no body. For a moment he feels tempted to ask how monsters deal with murder cases, but even Mouri has enough social smarts to know IT IS NOT THE MOMENT FOR THAT QUESTION. Like it ever will be, at the rate the Vault life is going]

You guess.

[Emotions can't be that hard, even for a robot, right? Right?]

Why is there only dust left? I don't understand that yet. Is it like what happened to Pearl, the body disappearing if something is struck hard enough?

[That was...worded a bit too roughly than it should have been, but at least Mouri's tone should show there was no disrespect intended]

[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]

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?

[notjustawriter]

'Course.

[He smiles, even if Mettaton is looking away.]

Rememberin' the dead is important. Especially in circumstances like this.

[ratingspoint]

It's not anything I've ever seen much reason for.

[It's not arguing, exactly, just stating something.]

But things are different here, in a way. It's like this place is designed to not give us the opportunity.

[notjustawriter]

Right.

Even doin' something small like this... that's what matters, I'm sure. The point of this whole thing is to break people down, after all.

[prismbloom]

[ Aqua watches quietly for a moment, then knocks before stepping in. Courtesy, and all that. ]

It's a beautiful ceremony. I'm sure they'll find their way to a safe resting place.

[ratingspoint]

[Oh...hello, darling- ]

It's not anything I'm good at; I've never had to do one before. If I were doing it properly, I would have something she liked...but photographs can work if there isn't anything else.

It's supposed to keep their essence alive somehow.

[prismbloom]

It's still a wonderful sentiment. I know they'd be grateful for it.

[ She kneels down, closing her eyes and murmuring a few words. Words of goodbye, how much she had appreciated their friendship, and how she'll keep her promise. At least, she'll try her hardest to. They all deserve to leave here, alive. When she's done, she looks back up at Mettaton. ]

Where did you learn about it? A tradition from back home?

[ratingspoint]

...Something like that. It's how we do funerals.

[He'll let her do her thing without interrupting at all, though.]

We take the person's dust once they die, and we spread it on their favorite thing. I think it's more for us than for them, though - once monsters die, that's the end of it. There's nothing else.

[prismbloom]

It's the same with Unversed--but I don't quite have the same relationship with them as you. They're emotions; they disappear without a trace, as if they had never existed in the first place.

[ It's a bit sad, now that she thinks about it. ]

[amygdalae]

[The elevator ride back up is silent, Bruce himself tightly holding onto what is more or less the remains of Pearl. He still doesn't know what happened down there, how she was there when they knew now that it was an impossibility--but that's something to think about later.

Once the elevator arrives everyone gets out, eager to no longer be cramped with one another, and Bruce thinks about what to do. Something needs to be done--maybe something like what Tarrlok and Misa did last week, or--

He stops in his thoughts when Mettaton approaches him, and Bruce focuses on that for now as he manages a small smile.]

Hello, Mettaton.

[ratingspoint]

[Mettaton really doesn't like being aimless like this; he's...sort of like Bruce in that there's maybe one thing that he can think to do, though in some ways it's decidedly less productive in general, except maybe on a personal level.

But then, he's always been a bit self-centered like that.]

Bruce, hi.

[It's not exactly awkward, but it's more subdued than it usually is; he's got that framed photograph from the courtroom held close against him.]

I wanted to ask for a favor.

[amygdalae]

[Seeing the way Mettaton holds onto Pearl's photo like that has Bruce making a few guesses, but nothing that he wants to assume.]

Certainly. [He responds without missing a beat.] What can I do for you?

[ratingspoint]

There are a few things we do in the Underground when people die; they're not something we can do for humans, but Pearl is...different.

[What with the rock and everything.]

So I was wondering if I could have...her. To do all that.

You can watch if you want, it's not like I'm going to desecrate anything.