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

[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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shapeshiftin' monster?

[Stan has a glass of what is clearly alcohol this may not be the most productive conversation.]

[Possibly unexpectedly, Colress seems to agree somewhat.]

It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. I've certainly heard of some Pokemon masquerading as humans. Or...humanoids, in Pearl's case.

However, I haven't a clue if there are even any Pokemon present in this place.

Could you tell us a bit about the Pokemon that can do this, then? I don't know if it's what we're actually dealing with here, but I think it's worth knowing about just in case.

Certainly.

[You bet he's happy to discuss Pokemon whenever possible! ...Okay, maybe not so much this time since it's mildly disturbing to think about. But still.]

The ones I am speaking about specifically are called Zorua and Zoroark, Zoroark being the evolved form of Zorua. Both can disguise themselves as humans, though Zoroark is much more skilled at it. It is said that Zoroark is so skilled with its illusions that it can fool just about anyone.

They are extremely rare, however. Not many people have seen them in the wild.

Is there any way to make 'em change back?

[Just because it's rare doesn't mean there isn't one of these things hanging out around here. Why the fuck not a Zoroark]

That is difficult to say, as there is so little information about them out there. As an educated guess, I would imagine you would have to find a way to break or disrupt its illusion.

[He really wishes he could say more since this is his wheelhouse, but...Zoroarks are nigh-mythical Pokemon in terms of rarity.]

I see... well, I guess it would be a little bit hard to tell how many of them there were if they can disguise themselves as humans, so maybe they're not as rare as you'd think.

Would they be able to materialize spears out of practically nothing, though? Or at the very least, disguise some sort of attack to look like that.

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.

That... does sound like it would make it extremely difficult to study them, yes. Theoretically, we'd probably have some way of learning about them if that is what's down there, but... I don't know. It's also entirely possible that it's something that literally none of us have remotely dealt with before, which makes it even more difficult to figure out.

Edited 2016-03-14 03:33 (UTC)

Honestly...the latter seems even more probable. I doubt the Kingmaker would want us to have the upper hand on something that could end up being a weakness for him.

So we're probably going to have to get lucky at some point, which hahahahahahahahhah yeah like that's going to happen.

Is that pessimism that I am detecting? You cannot allow yourself to give in that quickly!

[He says, as they've just dealt with another awful trial. But you know...]

Well, the fact that I'm being realistic about things doesn't mean I'm going to give up, exactly.

...I might complain a little more, but I'm not giving up.

...That's probably the best I can think of right at this moment, quite honestly.

[even if you are a little drunk.]

I would think it was some sort of disguise that's made more convincing by the fact that we're viewing what happens from a distance, but... whatever it was used some sort of ability that wouldn't be possible for a normal human.

It can look like dead people. Why wouldn't it make things come outta its head?

[Stan takes another sip, thinking for a moment.] Wasn't doin' that creepy smile this time though.

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.]

That kid wasn't right.

[in vino veritas and all that

Though Stan probably would have said it anyway.]

They could've been. I didn't know 'em too well, but Pearl didn't seem...she seemed like she might do what it did. Not the grinnin'.

He... really wasn't, no.

[...HE REALLY DOESN'T KNOW WHAT THE FUCK TO FEEL ABOUT ZAGI...]

I think we'd need to see more to be able to tell, but... given literally everything involved, I don't want to see more.

Wonder if he'd send 'em down if we started gettin' rowdy. He doesn't seem like the kinda guy to come himself.

[Stan was one of the ones who wanted to start some fires on the very first day. But having seen those things...] ...probably oughta avoid really pissin' him off though.

...I wonder if that's the sort of thing we should expect if we... erm... fell asleep outside of our rooms? Because that's something we can get punished for, apparently, so I guess we can look forward to that if anyone happens to be really tired someday.

Okay, I ain't the only one who thinks that's discriminatory, right? I'm old! I fall asleep everywhere!

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

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THIS MADE ME LAUGH FOR SOME REASON...

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