[Town victory] Vanilla Mafia!

[Bluwiikoon]

[They were kind of trembling after their big anime speech, a bit deflated from the exertion and from the fact that everyone still mostly seemed either anxious about the circumstances or cynical.]

"//////'s ////, you have to be ////////, ///////// or both if you really believe that," Altair growled. "There's no 'making friends' here. You only have folks who are either with you or against you and those who are with you are only with you because they have to, so spare me the /////////."

[Even with the gaps in their auditory processing, they knew this wasn't a very nice or polite response. The machine they were currently inhabiting did not possess any sensory input other than audio and visuals, but the words felt like bricks. Their stomach(?) was twisting. They felt like they were breaking apart. They could feel-- yes, even in this new body, they were unwell. They were so excited that they forgot for a while. Senses blending together. Silence becoming deafening. The weight of everyone's stares.]

[This was not the best way to help everybody, right now.]

[They slowly wheeled away from the group, quietly huddled away and tried to think of other things. Counting each blade of grass and admiring their texture and colour. Maybe, being locked away for an undetermined amount of years, meant that they weren't yet fit to talk to real people. Maybe. Or maybe they forgot how hard it was? Were they ever good at talking to people, before they became who they are now?]

[They felt like they really missed someone, but they didn't know who.]

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Is your friend Gladion? The company president's son?

“Yes! You know who he is? He must not have met you, though, because there’s no way he would have a nice friend like you without ever telling me!”

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Yeah! We're all going to win!" Ebony was going to be a champion? "Did you have an awesome trainer? Or did you get to be your own trainer?" Jean wasn't sure which possibility was cooler.

Ebony perked up a bit. "Yeah! My trainer is the best! We're really strong! We fought Team Rocket, and won!" They always won. Except when they did't.

"Come on! It's going to be a great time! It's just a game!" She wanted to pet Salem, too. Was that allowed? Will had never wanted her petting him. She decided to just hug her arm a little. "I'm sure we can all learn it together."

Ebony wagged her tail, pushing her nose against Salem's arm again. "Yeah, what she said! It'll be fun!"

Some of them were about to become enemies.

Some of them wouldn't be coming back here in the morning.

It'd still be fun... right?

 

[Dragonfree]

“Yes! You know who he is? He must not have met you, though, because there’s no way he would have a nice friend like you without ever telling me!”

Jean waved her hands in excitement. "Gladion's in one of my favorite shows! He's so cool! In the show I don't think his partner is called Hazel, but sometimes what's on TV isn't the same as what really happened, so that's okay."

Ebony perked up a bit. "Yeah! My trainer is the best! We're really strong! We fought Team Rocket, and won!"

Jean gasped. "You fought Team Rocket!" She let out a high-pitched squeal. "That's so awesome! Please can I meet your trainer, please!"

 

[IFBench]

PNS-NT floated over towards the machine Porygon was in, in an attempt to comfort them as the final minutes went by.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jean gasped. "You fought Team Rocket!" She let out a high-pitched squeal. "That's so awesome! Please can I meet your trainer, please!"

Ebony beamed. "Yeah! Definitely!!" For sure! Once they made it out of here.

If they made it out of here.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Salem's tail thrashed and her eyes widened at the unexpected hug, but... Well, she could tolerate a hug right now. It was okay. The vulpix and her had decent odds of being on the same team. And she was probably right about the ritual just being a game and nothing really bad happening to anyone.

She awkwardly patted the other morph's arm and tried a smile.

"Well, it's great to be a Pokémorph! You have powers but you still get to do human things! You can join my superhero team if you want! We'll be great!"

"What do I call you?" Salem asked again, nervous that she'd missed the vulpix's name already or that she didn't want to confide one. "And, uh... What is... 'superhero team'?"

 

[Bluwiikoon]

PNS-NT floated over towards the machine Porygon was in, in an attempt to comfort them as the final minutes went by.

[They didn't have the energy to speak, but they huddled closer to their friend. They were still trembling.]

 

[Dragonfree]

"I'm Jean!" Jean yelled, grinning. "And a superhero team is like a group of people who are awesome together and kick the asses of the bad guys! We should do that!"

 

[Namohysip]

And then, the final light disappeared... The night fell, and everyone seemingly pulled into a brief void to think to themselves. There was little else to do for some, and for others, the night had just begun...

Diyem stood, arms crossed, as he waited and observed all the happenings. He would, of course, tell nobody what he saw that night.

Night 0 has begun. Day 1 will begin in 24 hours. Be sure to review the role list in case you want to refresh on what might be on the table!

 

[Namohysip]

The night was quiet... and pitch-dark at some point, as if all sense, not just sight, had left them. Except, for some... there was more.

--

He slept fitfully, and awoke in the middle of the night.

Of course he awoke in the middle of the night. He'd kept to himself yesterday, for the most part, but what little he had said was obviously enough to betray his sharp deductive skills. His physical prowess spoke for itself. It was only natural the imposters among them would gun for him first. He'd have done the same, in their place.

Before they could seize him, he snapped to his feet and fell into a fighting stance, fists raised in front of him. "Show yourself, coward," he growled, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Fortunately for everyone else, you chose the wrong person to mess with. Let's wrap this up quickly so the rest of us can get back to our lives." No one lunged forward at him—no surprise there, seeing as they were surely a spineless craven, after all.

"I warn you, I will not go easily," he boasted, whipping about in hopes of catching his attacker standing there. Still, nothing. He stepped backward slowly, tail swishing behind him. "I will fight for the honor of my people to my last breath. I will defend the ancient ways. I will wield the old ancestral magics and strike you down without hesitation. Approach cautiously, for I will—"

Something swept his legs out from under him. Ferry seemed to fall backward in slow motion, grasping at the air as he did. "Wait," he cried, "I didn't even get to—"

He wasn't able to make out his foe before tumbling into the portal behind him and disappearing into its bowels. Then he was gone, and the air was still and quiet again.

--

SFBINFECVJNBWCINGDCBKNBMANZAGGLEGIKNFDCHOLNESCHONGEXVUPORYGONETUJMFESVIKNRXVJJ0FHKNF10GHN0110ER1010100001111110000000

Fatal error. Unable to commence startup process.

The fizzling and buzzing slowly ceased, and a Porygon-Z was tossed into another portal. Seconds later, it closed, leaving nothing but signs of a brief struggle behind.

--

A somber, quiet atmosphere filled the air this time around. The group emerged not in a field this time, but instead a great cave complex after the night had fallen into complete and utter darkness. When light finally returned, streaming weakly through holes in the rocky ceilings, they counted eighteen strong. Two had been eliminated.

After they all entered the central cavern, Diyem tossed two letters on the ground for them all to see.

--

PNS-NT was eliminated. They were innocent.
Ferry was eliminated. He was innocent.
Night 1 will begin in 48 hours.

(Thanks to kyeugh and Bench for the death flavor!)

--

Diyem stood by, sitting in the corner of the caverns to watch with an impassive stare. "Perhaps now," he said, "you will see that this ritual is not merely a game. No matter where you look and how thoroughly you search, you will not find them. They have been claimed."

(Note, if anybody did not get any role messages from me, feel free to let me know privately! This is a big game and my first time hosting, so I might miss someone.)

 

[Dragonfree]

Jean blinked. What had happened? They were in a cave now?

Frantically, she looked around for her new friends. Ebony! Hazel! Salem! All okay! She pumped her fist.

The grumpy Lucario was gone. The Porygon-Z was gone. She hadn't really gotten to talk to them. Maybe she should have.

But it was okay! It was just a game. They'd just lost. Too bad for them! She was still playing, and so were her friends. Everything was good! Maybe she could talk to them after the game was done. And she could tell them about how she won!

 

[Sinderella]

A cave now? Fucking perfect. It was somehow better than the field, yet still just as bad. At the very least, his suit would keep him warm against that cave chill. Though, not that that was the only chill in the air now.

Two eliminations. Both innocent. Clovis frowned.

“Off to a rollicking good start,” he grumbled.

But, that merely meant that the game had begun. No turning back, they were in now. Two people were gone, and as Diyem said, they weren’t coming back. It was spooky shit. And he’d seen his fair share of spooky shit.

Now was not the time to dwell on the wrongful deaths. It was time to get his ass in gear. No more putzing around, begging for lighters (at least until he needed a cig again…).

The night was quiet... and pitch-dark at some point, as if all sense, not just sight, had left them. Except, for some... there was more.

--

He slept fitfully, and awoke in the middle of the night.

Of course he awoke in the middle of the night. He'd kept to himself yesterday, for the most part, but what little he had said was obviously enough to betray his sharp deductive skills. His physical prowess spoke for itself. It was only natural the imposters among them would gun for him first. He'd have done the same, in their place.

Before they could seize him, he snapped to his feet and fell into a fighting stance, fists raised in front of him. "Show yourself, coward," he growled, still blinking the sleep out of his eyes. "Fortunately for everyone else, you chose the wrong person to mess with. Let's wrap this up quickly so the rest of us can get back to our lives." No one lunged forward at him—no surprise there, seeing as they were surely a spineless craven, after all.

"I warn you, I will not go easily," he boasted, whipping about in hopes of catching his attacker standing there. Still, nothing. He stepped backward slowly, tail swishing behind him. "I will fight for the honor of my people to my last breath. I will defend the ancient ways. I will wield the old ancestral magics and strike you down without hesitation. Approach cautiously, for I will—"

Something swept his legs out from under him. Ferry seemed to fall backward in slow motion, grasping at the air as he did. "Wait," he cried, "I didn't even get to—"

He wasn't able to make out his foe before tumbling into the portal behind him and disappearing into its bowels. Then he was gone, and the air was still and quiet again.

--



The fizzling and buzzing slowly ceased, and a Porygon-Z was tossed into another portal. Seconds later, it closed, leaving nothing but signs of a brief struggle behind.

--

A somber, quiet atmosphere filled the air this time around. The group emerged not in a field this time, but instead a great cave complex after the night had fallen into complete and utter darkness. When light finally returned, streaming weakly through holes in the rocky ceilings, they counted eighteen strong. Two had been eliminated.

After they all entered the central cavern, Diyem tossed two letters on the ground for them all to see.

--

PNS-NT was eliminated. They were innocent.
Ferry was eliminated. He was innocent.
Night 1 will begin in 48 hours.

(Thanks to kyeugh and Bench for the death flavor!)

--

Diyem stood by, sitting in the corner of the caverns to watch with an impassive stare. "Perhaps now," he said, "you will see that this ritual is not merely a game. No matter where you look and how thoroughly you search, you will not find them. They have been claimed."

(Note, if anybody did not get any role messages from me, feel free to let me know privately! This is a big game and my first time hosting, so I might miss someone.)

 

[Homestar!]

Mike had experienced long dreams before, here and there. Some felt like weeks, or years, but they only felt like time was passing.

Whatever had shut him up had made the hours drag painfully slowly. And Robin wasn’t one for torture.

No entertainment. A small room. A bed, a bathroom. No windows. A door that was only for show.

In the sixth hour, he tried to manifest a deck of cards. He wasn’t sure that he could manage anything more complicated and hold the idea together. The prospect of ‘randomizing’ the cards that he would attempt to summon was daunting enough.

In the seventh hour, unable to make even a slip of paper and a pencil appear, he began to curse Robin up and down.

In the twelfth, after an hour of fitfully trying to sleep, he realized he needed to use the restroom. It was during that hour that it finally dawned on him: he’d have to wake up soon to pee. Otherwise he would wet his pants!

In the fourteenth hour, unable to withhold it any longer, he made his way to the bathroom. Shame washed over him, realizing that in the waking world he must be wetting himself. Shortly thereafter, to his surprise, he didn’t awake.

He didn’t awake in the twentieth hour, either. In fact, that was when he finally succumbed to sleep, the coils of his anxiety unable to hold him together any longer.

Unbeknownst to Mike (but knownst to us), he suddenly was propped up against a sturdy stalagmite, snoring heavily. His eyes rolled behind his closed lids, and his breathing was punctuated with fitful dreams-within-dreams.

 

[Equitial]

In the middle of a great domed cavern, a yellow device lay on the ground, one of its sides lightly engraved with the outline of a Pikachu. It had actually been there the previous day in the Windows Screensaver fields, but it hadn’t moved then. However, if one had looked closely, they would have have noticed that its screens were on, and an absolute icon of a soundtrack bopped on a low volume.

Suddenly, the Nintendo Device Lite (Yellow Pikachu Limited Edition heck yeahhh) burst into the air. Its volume suddenly turned all the way up-definitely louder than a DS should be able to go—as an ending credit song reached its crescendo.

Abruptly, the screen switched to that old chatting classic, ya’ll remember Pictochat OH HECK TO YEAH BOIS. The Nintendo’s stylus whipped from its slot and at mach-speed typed out a message. Technically it emitted no sound, but its words echoed throughout the cave nonetheless.

[BARTHOLOMEW]
OH EM GEEEE THAT GAME WAS MOTHERMCFLIPPING GREAT. OOOH, I WANNA PLAY IT AGAIN. WHEEEEEE

[BARTHOLOMEW]
oh, but wait. we’re supposed to be doing another game. sorry I wasn’t paying attention.

[BARTHOLOMEW]
we’re supposed to be killing each other RIGHT?!?!

The diminishing stylus was suddenly swinging through the air, crackling with an ungodly electricity. Now via touchscreen, the Nintendo sent out a message:

[BARTHOLOMEW]
Come at me bros!!!!1!!!!!!exclamation points!!!!!

 

[AbraPunk]

Kent sighed. Two were gone, and both were innocent?

Great. Just great.

"Well, looks like shit's getting real." He said after a moment's hesitation. "Hmm, anybody got any leads or anything like that?"

Then, he noticed...

Unbeknownst to Mike (but knownst to us), he suddenly was propped up against a sturdy stalagmite, snoring heavily. His eyes rolled behind his closed lids, and his breathing was punctuated with fitful dreams-within-dreams.

Kent smiled impishly. This guy wouldn't be helpful if he was going to be asleep...

He snuck over to the sleeping human, and summoned a shadowy gun. He raised it up in the air, and:

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"WAKE UP, ASSHOLE! DON'T BE USELESS!" He shouted right in front of Mike, also stomping on one of Mike's feet for good measure.

 

[Homestar!]

BANG! BANG! BANG!

An innocent Lucario, a Porygon Z, both fell within Mike's dreams at the sound. Innocent, he knew in his heart. And the only thing he would remember of the nightmares.

He jerked awake, ears ringing. He couldn't hear a thing. He never knew a louder sound. A gun? Who on earth had a gun, besides---

He shouted right in front of Mike, also stomping on one of Mike's feet for good measure.

There was a crack and a shot of pain as his right foot twisted at a strange angle beneath the strange being's foot. He screamed, and screamed, and screamed.

This wasn't a dream. It was all his brain could do to shout through the ringing and the sudden pain: This isn't a dream.

 

[Sinderella]

[BARTHOLOMEW]
OH EM GEEEE THAT GAME WAS MOTHERMCFLIPPING GREAT. OOOH, I WANNA PLAY IT AGAIN. WHEEEEEE

[BARTHOLOMEW]
oh, but wait. we’re supposed to be doing another game. sorry I wasn’t paying attention.

[BARTHOLOMEW]
we’re supposed to be killing each other RIGHT?!?!

The diminishing stylus was suddenly swinging through the air, crackling with an ungodly electricity. Now via touchscreen, the Nintendo sent out a message:

[BARTHOLOMEW]
Come at me bros!!!!1!!!!!!exclamation points!!!!!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"WAKE UP, ASSHOLE! DON'T BE USELESS!" He shouted right in front of Mike, also stomping on one of Mike's feet for good measure.

Clovis would have thought people—even Pokemon—would be raised on manners. But no, it seemed that nobody here had been taught that caves echo, and that being obnoxiously loud was incredibly unnecessary. He grit his teeth as he brought his hands to his ears.

“Dear Gods, you lot are some loud company,” he groaned.

 

[windskull]

A cave, huh Well, that dredged up some unplesant thoughts, but they didn't have time to unpack all that. He didn't want to air his dirty laundry in front of a bunch of strangers, anyways.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"WAKE UP, ASSHOLE! DON'T BE USELESS!" He shouted right in front of Mike, also stomping on one of Mike's feet for good measure.

He let out a totally uncool yelp, whipping around to glare at the mysterious creature.

"Hey! Uh... Cut it out! That's not gonna help anyone!"

 

[Fusion]

Reme shook her head, sighing. There was a sombre look about her. One of the ducks, gone... the poor thing didn't look to put up a fight either. Whether they died or simply left, Reme did not know. Regardless, she felt she had to pay some respects... A shame didn't have any digital bread to offer, due to that not existing.

But, suddenly, in Reme's moment of silence--

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"WAKE UP, ASSHOLE! DON'T BE USELESS!"

He screamed, and screamed, and screamed.

"For the love of god can we not do this so early in the morning?" Reme snapped, quickly taking a moment to recompose herself. "There's no need to yell, and there's no need for weaponry either. Save your ammunition for whoever did the duck and the Lucario in."

Regaining her calm, Reme walked over to Mike, offering him a hand. And an Oran Berry. "I'm unsure of whether or not humans feel any healing properties from Orans, but it should be better than nothing."