I don't think asking will really do much good considering the state of their memories, but I'm hoping at least one of them will let me take a closer look at their-- well, where their injuries used to be. There are a few other things I want to check, too.
[The squint disappears. He looks a little more curious now.]
Not a bad idea. I didn't really get a good look at Carlos's myself but when you're torn to pieces there's...probably something lingering there. Can I ask what the other things are?
That's the speculation, at least. [A little nod. Bad! Bad demons. Anyway, he'll hold up his fingers as he counts off.]
Sensation, range of motion. Whether or not they react to possible methods of purification. Anything amiss that can't immediately be caught by the eye. I considered a few other things, but... well. I think they've all been through enough.
Seeing if they still have full control of themselves or if something's possessing their bodies. [That makes sense.] Polly's probably still mad enough that if you flirt with her she'll let you do whatever. And Carlos...[...] ...he'll agree if he thinks it'll help us figure out what's going on. That's just how it works.
Yeah. [About that.] We were part of the same team in the decision game we were playing. We had to trust each other if we wanted to survive, so that sort of transferred here, too. He knows what I would have done if I had to.
[He would have flat-out killed Carlos himself if he needed to exorcise a demon. And haha, look at that! That's still questionable!]
I don't trust it either. Polly and Carlos are the only two who were still controlled, so...what happened to Nathan and Chuuya-Red? Were they just casualties? [...] There's also the part where they got their powers back.
It takes a strong bond and stronger understanding to be able to make the difficult decisions.
[Color him impressed... Though that makes Carlos' potential one-way trip to Possessed Sex Demon Hell even more unfortunate for both of them. Watch Junpei be executioner tomorrow.]
--If I had to guess? That kind of "perfect restoration" would come with side-effects, without a doubt. It's pretty likely that the amount of energy it takes to sustain that kind of form will wear off sooner rather than later - those bodies might just give up on them without warning. And barring a quick collapse, there's almost sure to be a slower one. Something happened during the revival process - Chuuya essentially said as much, even if he couldn't remember the details. If it's not done properly, it won't last.
You have no idea. [Haha, yeah! It's great! Let's not talk about that!]
You think maybe they'll fall apart all over again? If Polly summoned something, it wanted them alive again for some reason. But what would it want with people who were already dead?
[He's getting that HM BAD sense here, so he'll mercifully let the topic go... The night's been hard enough on both of them anyway, good lord.]
I think there's a pretty good possibility of that happening. People who were already dead once also tend to have a stronger connection to other things from that side. It's possible that Chuuya and Nathan's revival came from a different source than whatever brought back Polly and Carlos, though the method of revival itself seemed pretty identical.
Some other malevolent spirit that's running around without our knowledge? [This hotel continues to be the worst.] All four of them were able to read that language and go places we couldn't go. So. What do we do about Chuuya-Red and Nathan?
You think people are really going to let them wander freely?
Possibly! Possibly something else. They did seem to be channeling some sort of something at various points throughout the trial, what with knowing how to get into places and having an innate understanding of the rules and all.
[Waving a hand!! This hotel really is a Hard Time. Also, that's a good question and he SIGHS... His zombie bias really leapt out today.]
Some people don't even seem like they'd be happy to keep those two walking around, period. Nathan is one story, but who would even be able to stop Chuuya if he wanted to roam as he'd like?
One foot on the living side, one foot on the dead. [Not great! Bad!] Then again, this isn't the first time I've seen something like this so...we were on the right track.
Couldn't we just ground Chuuya somehow? I'm more concerned about the guy who can't die.
Technically neither of them seem to be capable of fully dying right now. [...] Not that I'd suggest testing it out again. I really wasn't kidding - the sentient revived tend to be very fragile and we might risk them dying in a way they can't be brought back from if we keep testing their limits.
[They might be like cats who only have nine lives!! Or Chuuya, anyway...]
We already proved that they can die and come back. But if it's damaging them that's a different story. [...] Let me know what you find out from the four of them. What's different, what's the same...we can figure out how to handle them from there.
Then again, after tomorrow we might only have two or three to deal with anyway. [...he's going to take another long drink, oh well.]
[From all four of them... including the extremely cursed Polly...
Haha that sure is a possibility though, isn't it!! He's quiet for a second.]
--Do you still want me to see what I can do about separating hosts and spirits?
[The tone of his voice suggests what he doesn't say aloud, though: that he doesn't think he'll be finding anything any time soon. Not soon enough for Carlos, if at all.]
I do, yeah. In case this happens again, if we have the information on-hand we might be able to save future victims. [But his own tone suggests that he doesn't think it'll save Carlos either and maybe he's accepted that a little more than before. It's still awful, but it's fine.]
There's something understanding in his expression for a second before he nods, in any case.]
I'll do what I can. I think I'll try to speak to some of the others who work with possessions and spirits and the like in their own worlds, too. The more we have to work with, the easier it might be to figure out what we can make work here.
There're a few people I'm sure you know about already. Some of our swords are used to spirits. Tamamo. Kagachi. Muzet, in theory. They're the ones I can think of right away.
I think splitting things into smaller teams is going to help us right now. A group to work on protection and knowledge of possessions and spirits. A group to work on research. A group to work on finding paths to the other floors. Something like that.
Mm, I was planning on talking to at least Kagachi, since it seems like he's dealt with other cases of forced bodily possession before.
[THAT'S GONNA BE A FUN TALK. Also, he nods pretty much right away. Though he's the type who tends to fuck off on his own and try to do things without help, sometimes you just gotta admit that the sex demons have you in a stalemate.]
I think that's our best bet for getting as much done as we possibly can at once, too. Focus the specialists where their specialties lie - usually doesn't work out too badly.
[My dude he is also there? Sometimes you're a one-man show and the next sex demons force teamwork on you.]
It's the usually that's a little concerning, but we'll figure that out as it comes. The best thing is we can get a schedule of things, so we know how many days we have at a time to figure out ideas.
[hi5 lone idiot wolves that are now forced to Join The Team
Anyway just sighing and carding a hand through his hair, god.]
Do we have a rough idea of that just yet? If the source of the disturbance is dispatched on Sunday, I'm hoping we won't have to go through this again for another week... Unless they decide to switch up the days on us. Which, you know! That would be perfectly aligned with our luck so far, wouldn't it?
Yeah, it would, but once a schedule is set I think whoever's actually doing all of this will stick with it. Wouldn't they be breaking their own rules otherwise? Of course, there's the chance we won't have to do this again at all.
[But he doubts that. Now that it's started, they're on a fast track. ]
[YEAH HE JUST laughs at that... This is not a situation to be laughing in but look! Even the mere suggestion they'd have that level of decent luck is hilarious!]
--I do wonder what the aim is in all of this, though - just how far things are meant to be taken. Clearly none of our dear predecessors were still around when we arrived. [...] Haha, well. Presumably.
[When your item is billed as A Lucky Hand sometimes you just have to think about believing in luck.]
I don't really believe that. Somehow some of them are still around. Otherwise how would they know things are going according to their plan? Even if it's been set up beforehand, they have to have someone nearby to make sure.
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You're gonna go see them and ask or what?
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I don't think asking will really do much good considering the state of their memories, but I'm hoping at least one of them will let me take a closer look at their-- well, where their injuries used to be. There are a few other things I want to check, too.
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Not a bad idea. I didn't really get a good look at Carlos's myself but when you're torn to pieces there's...probably something lingering there. Can I ask what the other things are?
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Sensation, range of motion. Whether or not they react to possible methods of purification. Anything amiss that can't immediately be caught by the eye. I considered a few other things, but... well. I think they've all been through enough.
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You two were from the same place, weren't you? Seems like he holds you in high regard.
[Even at the end of everything...]
I'll see about talking to them. The other two, too. To be honest, I don't trust these bodies of theirs to hold up as they are.
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[He would have flat-out killed Carlos himself if he needed to exorcise a demon. And haha, look at that! That's still questionable!]
I don't trust it either. Polly and Carlos are the only two who were still controlled, so...what happened to Nathan and Chuuya-Red? Were they just casualties? [...] There's also the part where they got their powers back.
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[Color him impressed... Though that makes Carlos' potential one-way trip to Possessed Sex Demon Hell even more unfortunate for both of them. Watch Junpei be executioner tomorrow.]
--If I had to guess? That kind of "perfect restoration" would come with side-effects, without a doubt. It's pretty likely that the amount of energy it takes to sustain that kind of form will wear off sooner rather than later - those bodies might just give up on them without warning. And barring a quick collapse, there's almost sure to be a slower one. Something happened during the revival process - Chuuya essentially said as much, even if he couldn't remember the details. If it's not done properly, it won't last.
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You think maybe they'll fall apart all over again? If Polly summoned something, it wanted them alive again for some reason. But what would it want with people who were already dead?
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I think there's a pretty good possibility of that happening. People who were already dead once also tend to have a stronger connection to other things from that side. It's possible that Chuuya and Nathan's revival came from a different source than whatever brought back Polly and Carlos, though the method of revival itself seemed pretty identical.
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You think people are really going to let them wander freely?
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[Waving a hand!! This hotel really is a Hard Time. Also, that's a good question and he SIGHS... His zombie bias really leapt out today.]
Some people don't even seem like they'd be happy to keep those two walking around, period. Nathan is one story, but who would even be able to stop Chuuya if he wanted to roam as he'd like?
[HIS POWERS.]
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Couldn't we just ground Chuuya somehow? I'm more concerned about the guy who can't die.
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[They might be like cats who only have nine lives!! Or Chuuya, anyway...]
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Then again, after tomorrow we might only have two or three to deal with anyway. [...he's going to take another long drink, oh well.]
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[From all four of them... including the extremely cursed Polly...
Haha that sure is a possibility though, isn't it!! He's quiet for a second.]
--Do you still want me to see what I can do about separating hosts and spirits?
[The tone of his voice suggests what he doesn't say aloud, though: that he doesn't think he'll be finding anything any time soon. Not soon enough for Carlos, if at all.]
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I do, yeah. In case this happens again, if we have the information on-hand we might be able to save future victims. [But his own tone suggests that he doesn't think it'll save Carlos either and maybe he's accepted that a little more than before. It's still awful, but it's fine.]
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There's something understanding in his expression for a second before he nods, in any case.]
I'll do what I can. I think I'll try to speak to some of the others who work with possessions and spirits and the like in their own worlds, too. The more we have to work with, the easier it might be to figure out what we can make work here.
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I think splitting things into smaller teams is going to help us right now. A group to work on protection and knowledge of possessions and spirits. A group to work on research. A group to work on finding paths to the other floors. Something like that.
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[THAT'S GONNA BE A FUN TALK. Also, he nods pretty much right away. Though he's the type who tends to fuck off on his own and try to do things without help, sometimes you just gotta admit that the sex demons have you in a stalemate.]
I think that's our best bet for getting as much done as we possibly can at once, too. Focus the specialists where their specialties lie - usually doesn't work out too badly.
[Usually.]
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It's the usually that's a little concerning, but we'll figure that out as it comes. The best thing is we can get a schedule of things, so we know how many days we have at a time to figure out ideas.
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Anyway just sighing and carding a hand through his hair, god.]
Do we have a rough idea of that just yet? If the source of the disturbance is dispatched on Sunday, I'm hoping we won't have to go through this again for another week... Unless they decide to switch up the days on us. Which, you know! That would be perfectly aligned with our luck so far, wouldn't it?
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[But he doubts that. Now that it's started, they're on a fast track. ]
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--I do wonder what the aim is in all of this, though - just how far things are meant to be taken. Clearly none of our dear predecessors were still around when we arrived. [...] Haha, well. Presumably.
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I don't really believe that. Somehow some of them are still around. Otherwise how would they know things are going according to their plan? Even if it's been set up beforehand, they have to have someone nearby to make sure.
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