Week 5.

[trustfellowship]

WEEK 5 Another week has passed; another two people have died. Tsubasa Hanekawa and Nachetanya Loei Piena Augustra have joined the ranks of the deceased. Whatever you may have thought about them in the end, one thing hovers heavy over the group: the fact that neither their compassion nor their ambition was enough to keep them alive in here. Is yours? Saturday is given to regrouping and rest; the static blares out early on Sunday, but at least there are no bodies to find today - it seems you're safe for now. The night before wasn't necessarily a peaceful one, however; you'll probably feel a bit groggy when you wake up, and it seems you've regained something that you didn't realize you'd lost... And of course, with another successful trial comes a new addition to the building, another corridor opening up on the west side of the building. The doors leading to it branch off of the hallways leading to the second and fourth sections of the building; have those doors always been there? You can't remember... It's a new week. Of course, that means you've been here for over a month, and your stay doesn't seem to be coming to a close yet. PATIENTS REMAINING: 22

SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY
[OOC: Welcome to week five of Trustfell! Feel free to make as many top levels as you'd like and tag out to other characters! This post is for all of your interactions this week... at least until the weekend. Don't forget to save those threads for coins and the activity check!

If you'd like to get in contact with the Transmitter, you can do so through text or the phone in your room!]

Comments

[imaginex]

[... Did she really not explain the constant dose of daily pain? Yikes. Well thankfully it's partly a mage thing, which she feels less awkward describing]

All crests are painful, I'm afraid. Without a very specific kind of medicine, some mages will rip off the appendage the crest is attached to. [She is not even joking a little. Mages are a special brand of humanity]

And I think Transmitter-san is afraid of confusing us further... We weren't supposed to lose our memories, according to her, but it ended up happening by accident.

Giving us details might have unforeseen consequences in her eyes.

[cthulwho]

I...see.

[Just. This face for a second. He's definitely coming to notice this fact the more Sakura and Rin tell him about mage things.]

Oh, that...says a lot, when you think about it. The Transmitter makes it sound like it is connected to your memories. I...thought they might have done something.

["They" being the Risen.]

[imaginex]

[She's trying not to laugh at that face and probably... fails. At least one giggle escapes. Honestly, she's secretly happy someone finds the mage culture as ridiculous as it is]

No, Transmitter-san promised nothing was done to our bodies. So my assumption is our abilities are present... we just can't reach them.

[cthulwho]

[The laugh gets a look of curiosity from Lovecraft. Apparently he didn't realize what he did with his face.]

You are most likely right. I suppose I never considered what I do to be an "ability".

[imaginex]

You mean... transforming? [Is that even correct? Wouldn't this human form then be the actual ability? She seems to sink on that thought for a moment before replying]

We have a lot of people who'd be able to wipe everyone out if they didn't have some kind of handicap... it's likely to ensure this experiment doesn't end prematurely.

[cthulwho]

Yes. There are such things as "Abilities" in my world. In most cases, they work similarly to your magic, [...] But I don't possess something like that. I am simply...myself.

[Something entirely different, unbound to the rules that Abilities have.

That said...]

Wipe everyone out... Hm. I did consider that as well. Then again, they themselves have their own way of doing just that, should things end prematurely in a trial.

[imaginex]

Mmm... perhaps it's to make sure we don't have the power to fight back against them, then.

[... A head tilt]

Though Lovecraft-san, why do you appear human? Wouldn't it be easier to always be as you are in the ocean? [A hum] Or can you appear as anything, and just prefer looking like this for convenience?

[She's just saying. The human form being the only one she's familiar with, of course Sakura is fond of this tall man who looks like he needs a nap at all times, but it seems more a hassle in the long run]

[cthulwho]

Well...I am legitimately stuck like this for the time being, but I typically use this form when I am out and about anyway. It makes carrying out my work easier. I...cannot move as easily, otherwise.

[So...a bit of both convenience and necessity.]

As you guessed before, my true form is only used on land for dire circumstances. But usually I can get away with just a partial transformation...

[imaginex]

[Please hold, Sakura is looking slightly above Lovecraft's head as she imagines him transforming into a cat with tiny little tentacle whiskers.

... It's cuter than it has any right to be. Drawing projects.]

Eh...? Oh-- yes! Like... half your body, you mean?

[cthulwho]

[Oh my god.

A tentacle pet to rival Cerberus, clearly.]

Mm. My arms, mainly. [He glances down at them rather glumly.] I was hoping I could use them to break the window in the foyer. That idea...was shut down rather quickly as soon as I discovered I couldn't even transform.

[imaginex]

[Tentacle... arms...

Sakura is just learning all sorts of interesting information today. She glances at Lovecraft's face, then his arms, and after that gives a curious hum.]

... Does it rip your shirt when you transform?

[She's really curious about this entire process, alright? How much does Lovecraft have to pay a tailor?]

[cthulwho]

Oh... Um.

[He fiddles with a cuff of his coat. It's shredded on the ends, but not as much as you would expect to account for the times he has transformed.]

It does, but...it regenerates, when I revert my arm back.

[However the hell that works.]

[imaginex]

[...]

C-could you take your coat off for a second?

[cthulwho]

I...suppose?

[And so he will! Even though he's not sure why she wants him to.

His dress shirt looks entirely normal, with only a little bit of fraying at the cuffs of the sleeves. If anything, even his tie looks more weathered than his shirt really ought to.]

[imaginex]

[Honestly she should question why Lovecraft chose such a well-groomed outfit as his default. Nothing wrong with it... just seems like more work than she'd expect he'd care for? Jeez, this dude is making her overthink everything.

But no, her interest lies in the coat. She'll take it into her hands for a moment if he'll let her, looking increasingly more uncertain as she does. The coat regenerates... but he can remove it... so it's not serving as a "skin" of sorts. Is it a magic tied to Lovecraft then? If she set it on fire, would he feel pain (god no she would never). But if he had access to his mana, and she ripped the sleeves while wearing it herself, would the cloth still regenera--

Y'know what? Mysteries, all of it. Maybe she deserved the Sixth Magic by accident. Either way, she's handing him back his coat]

... It's a very nice coat. [S U R E]

[cthulwho]

[For what it's worth, the coat is in much worse shape. It's entirely shredded at the bottom, though again, not where one would expect it to be. Why did he style it this way if he can apparently regenerate it? Indeed, who the hell even knows.

He holds onto it when it's handed back to him, like he's thinking about something until he slips it back on.]

...Thanks. [??? This whole exchange is odd to him.] I did my best to choose something that seemed normal enough. Something to allow me to blend in.

[He ended up with a Goth Aesthetic, as Madison put it. But he tried.]

[imaginex]

[... Oh no he was trying to blend in. Bless his soul, Sakura has to fight back a smile (and fails)]

If it helps, I had no idea what you were when we first met. No one can tell at a first glance.

[Or a second glance... unless he's chilling underwater. That last habit tends to ring a few bells.]

Though you did admittedly go for something very... business-like...

[She cares a lot about Lovecraft but he does not have the presence or appearance of a dude you'd want to meet in a dark alleyway.]

[cthulwho]

[Indeed, coming up with a decent appearance is only part of the performance. It can't account for his strange personality!

...as evidenced by the way he gives Sakura a curious look for smiling about this. Did he say something funny?]

That is good. I believe I had enough problems with my awakening to be concerned about anything else.

[...but, hm.]

Is that odd? I thought it would be rather neutral.

[imaginex]

[One day Sakura will explain in just how many ways Lovecraft accidentally outs himself as an "oddity" to the human community, but that's going to be a long, long conversation.

For now, she just smiles and gently pats his shoulder in a "don't worry about it" gesture.]

It depends on where you're going. Where I'm from, people would assume you were a businessman of sorts. [...]

... Or a yakuza member.

[cthulwho]

[He appreciates the sympathetic gesture. He...thinks. He doesn't quite understand, to be entirely truthful.]

Oh... Well, I think that works. I currently work for...an organization? It is a business as well? [He's speaking in questions, and apparently he notices this because he stops himself.] ...It is complicated.

[...]

The yakuza is...a criminal organization, is it not? We have had to deal with those...

[imaginex]

... Y-yes, the yakuza are.

[She'd meant that as a joke and now she is filled with some level of concern. Even with her status as a mage, she's still born and raised in Japan - most wouldn't want to have dealings with the criminal underworld.]

You had to deal with them under your current contractor? [What is this guy having Lovecraft do?]

[cthulwho]

Something similar... Port Mafia, I believe they are called? The Guild is in some sort of conflict with them, I...think. My memories are still hazy.

[He doesn't seem very concerned about it, as evidenced by the way he just shrugs.]

[imaginex]

Mm, I've never heard of them before.

... But are these the people you and your partner were fighting? [Her glance slides back to the monitors, Steinbeck in particular] When your contractor ordered you to eliminate someone...

[cthulwho]

I believe so, yes. Fitzgerald probably wanted them out of the way.

[He tilts his head with a sigh. But, thinking about that fight...]

Steinbeck got hurt during the fight, but he looks okay in the footage. He must have recovered, so...I am glad to discover that.

[imaginex]

Did he? [A brief pocket of silence where Sakura's brows draw in sympathy, but she smiles soon after that, as if sharing Lovecraft's relief]

What kind of person is he, if you don't mind me asking?