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

I guess bein' trapped leaves people feeling anxious.

[And there's something that he's tempted to say to that, but before he can he just sort of...stops, and he hesitates for a moment, and ultimately he doesn't say it because once in a while Mouri does a decent thing and explains feelings to the narcissistic robot in a way that he understands.]

...It...does, yes.

[...]

It's something that I'm used to. Being shut in somewhere like this. So that's not really something I think about.

[...MAN, IT WAS A ROUGH COUPLE OF DAYS WHEN HE REALIZED OTHER PEOPLE HAD FEELINGS.]

You.... you've mentioned where you're from, from time to time.

What happened? ...I mean. If you're comfortable talking about it.

Oh...I don't mind at all, darling, it's fine. It all happened before my time, anyway, so it's not like it's my story to be upset about.

[...Well...that's one way of looking at it, anyway.]

A long time ago, monsters used to live on the surface, alongside humans. I don't know what happened exactly - there's an entire history of it written on the cave walls where I grew up, and it says that the humans feared us and attacked. In other writings, it sounds like we made some sort of bid for power and failed.

It doesn't really matter. The point is that there was a war that the humans won. The monsters escaped into an underground cavern before the humans wiped us all out. And then the humans sealed us down there.

[He shrugs a bit.]

There are barriers covering the whole cave system; anything can come in through them, but nothing can get past them to get out.

[You know, that's a whole lot of holy shit right there.]

...Christ, I guess that explains why you're used to be locked in a place you can't leave.

[For what it's worth, Gabriel doesn't sound judging at all, despite the fact that he's talked about being a protector of light and someone who's supposed to hunt "monsters".]

Humans can be pretty unreasonable with things they don't understand.

Well, it's not as though they're completely without reason, either - we're capable of some pretty interesting things, if we're given the opportunity.

[..."Interesting."]

You're being really fair about it, though.

Y'all are pretty powerful, I take it?

[...He'd make a Vulcan reference here, but]

Generally, humans are stronger than we are. But that doesn't mean we can't kill them. Our magic is powerful, and we can...interact with their souls directly.

[To put it very gently.]

I see.

Does that mean you can see souls?

You bet I can - it takes a bit more focus here, and I can't do anything with it, but I can definitely see them.

What do they look like? If you mind tellin' me.

Not at all!

[His hand drifts a bit as he says it, as though it isn't a particularly conscious or deliberate motion, shifting down toward that metal band at his waist with the heart at it's center.]

They're all heart-shaped, as far as I can tell. Monster souls all point upward, and humans' - and people with souls that are about as strong as humans' - all point the other way.

Monster souls don't have color to them, they're white or a very pale grey...humans' come in various colors, though. I think it depends on their personalities, though they change sometimes depending on what they're doing.

[He watches Mettaton move to touch the heart, curious.]

Colored, huh?

[....]

What color's my soul?

[#priorities]

[It doesn't take him long; the sort of mental process it requires is along the lines of the intent to engage in some sort of fight, which is a little odd to conjure up out of nowhere, but at the same time it's not like he's unfamiliar with doing it for no real reason - he fights often on television against people he has nothing against, after all.]

It's yellow, darling - really, it's= pretty.

[And it clashes less with your everything than Cherryblod's did, thank anybody who happens to be listening up there.]

Yellow.

[Isn't that something.]

Thanks for telling me.

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

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