[ setting up his SHITTY SLEEPING AREA on the floor of this SHITTY CLOWN THEATER......... ]

Oh, Erin-san! Let me know if I end up doing anything that bothers you, okay? I know none of us actually chose this arrangement, but hopefully we can make it tolerable!

[ he is not saying this to the whole group because he thinks karma's a little bitch who can just deal with it if he doesn't like something ]

Eh, you probably will be fine. Despite everything I doubt you'll be annoying to be around of -- unlike that kid.

[Real classy, Erin, badmouthing Karma. She doesn't mind Karma, but...having to live with him under the same roof? Thaaaat...that0s bound to lead to trouble someday, that she is certain of.

Erin just hopes that day isn't coming soon]

[ oh after tuesday totty is going to straight up want that kid dead so he ain't judging ]

Uh, yeah, zero chance that I'll be anywhere near that level, at least.

Teens used to call me the devil but I think Karma fits that far more than I ever will.

[Life around that kid will be...interesting]

Overall we all could be doing worse. We could be at the mortuary. I'd rather not smell like a flipping slaughterhouse, like the ones staying there will.

[Sucks to be them]

[ standing outside the theater and looking inside (where it now looks completely normal, i guess) like ?? ]

What the hell happened in there?!

How do you expect me to know?!

[Erin is fretting, really. She's frustrated she can't go in to snoop and examine things for clues, that and also...]

When I was there last night all that happened was us getting locked in -- and Aventurine wasn't there!

Yeah, he was locked in at the cabin with me!!

Okay okay okay. [She takes a deep breath] Deep breaths, Todomatsu. Let's try to get this done somewhat orderly.

[Trying to calm both herself and him, because if not she'll keep freaking out and that's probably going to be useless]

Ashlyn and I were here. The place was very well locked, we'd know. That guy Aventure didn't get in there while we were awake, that's for sure.

[Erin seems about ready to dive into the fog again to futilely try to see if this time she'll finally get to see the theater as a crime scene]

Whatever kept us locked in must have turned off after we fell asleep. Did Aventurine fall asleep before you or something?

[Erin probably didn't realize there was a magical knockout sleep, really, so she's thinking too mundane right now]

[ i can't believe we have clothes but still don't have legit showers. who wants to try on something that was previously tried on by someone who hasn't bathed properly in a week... so, todomatsu is carefully sniffing every piece of clothing he picks up for consideration.

he, of course, still smells perfectly fine. ]

This is really not the order I thought we'd get things in, but I won't complain about new clothes.

[ it might be the first time erin's seen him smile since trick or treating last week. ]

No kidding! I actually can't believe we're getting actual decent stuff. The bare minimum, at last!

[Finally, being treated like actual human beings! Erin already is examining clothes, mentally making a list of what to take]

I know I'm taking one of the houses for myself. Whoever owned it first can go file a complaint somewhere, because I decided I'll take over it and that's that.

[A house! With no leeches, and no trapdoor where a dead body used to be! You'd have to be a fool to prefer the theater to this!

This is the kind of thought you have when you're not a considerate person, really, hah]

So I was told you stabbed the mage that was throwing thunder at you.

[What a first statement to do at the ailing, Erin. Still, in her opinion, it was well deserved, that mage had to get stabbed]

[ blinks ]

Uh... Yeah, I guess. [ well, he definitely did, but. ] I mean, she was kind of already dying, I don't think I really needed to at that point.

[ he just wanted to because he hated her. ]

After what she did? I think you needing to isn't so important. Anyone would want to stab someone who shocks you like that.

[No judgment, really. But it'a influenced by how Erin would have wanted to do that were in Todomatsu's place]

The shocking was kind of the least of it, to be honest, but. Yeah.

[ she was REALLY stabbable. ]

[ outside the theater sometime after investigation... he still looks vaguely undead, and perhaps surprisingly unhappy, though she can probably guess that it's not because of karma. ]

...It wasn't me, for the record.

Think I thought it was you?

[It's so easy to guess what he means with that. She's been there to see the obvious enmity between Karma and Todomatsu]

Look, I don't think you did it or anything. Besides, I'm tired, not really into playing detective right now.

[Erin seems pretty drained, which perhaps is to be expected, with this day we're all having]

[ shrugs. ]

Maybe. Not like it was a secret how much I hated the way he treated me.

[ this has sure been a fucking week. ]

The other two, though... what the hell.

More people than you think would understand you not being all that sad he's gone. No judgment there.

[Don't take her word for it, Todomatsu, it just is that Erin is kind of a jerk and also easier to understand when she has witnessed some of Karma's shenanigans]

...I really hope whoever killed the dog wasn't in their right mind. If they were not possessed their head will be on a spike before the day ends.

[Not that Ichiban is any less important, really. She just didn't know Ichiban all that well. And besides, it's undeniable Pickles had the esteem of a great majority of the people in Scawwy, except for a certain Karma]

Edited 2024-06-22 02:10 am (UTC)

[ man.......... he somehow looks more tired than he did yesterday when he was literally a borderline zombie. but he'll come over and sit down on the other side of the barrier. ]

Sorry, I don't think I can pass you a drink through this.

...Which one was it?

[The fish is here without water, this is so ruuuuuuuude]

Flood this place, won't you. It'll keep me fresh and maybe will get rid of the ruddy pyre.

[Being a monster and culprit and what not did nothing to endear Erin to this place]

Karma. All that about two working together wasn't right, it was only me.

[ nods... ]

Honestly, if you weren't possessed by an out of control monster, I wouldn't have wanted to convict you for that.

I mean, you went way too far, some of that was pretty fucked up and worse than he deserved. But I'm not going to pretend I'm sorry he's gone.

Just like I told you, no judgment.

[Hearing that what she did was overboard gets her to groan. It's kind of an ethereal sound]

Can't even guess why I did all I did. It feels like I played myself with all that.

[Skewering Karma with a pitchfork -- the traditional weapon of demons -- and then throwing him into the sea in a barrel -- as if that was a reference to her monster self? Yeah, it feels to her like her actions were setting her up for failure. Which is frustrating because really, she doesn't want to die.

i wish i could say i was clever enough to give those meanings to that stuff during planning but no those two were realizations i had during the trial that somehow fit nicely haha]

[It's the evening now, and the ghosts are still around!]

This is lasting for longer than I thought. Maybe it's a good sign after all -- some proof we're getting somewhere after all in all this.

[Few things make Erin glad like actual proof one isn't just wasting time uselessly. This all, the ghosts being here? She's taking it as a sign things are close to a positive denoument]

Honestly, I have no idea what any of this is supposed to be a sign of... but if you think it's a good one, I'll take it.

The fact so far there seems to be no downside is a sign of something, I'm sure. You haven't felt any ill effects from any of us having touched you earlier, right? Other than a chill?

[If it turns out that in, like, two hours Todomatsu will suddenly have some sort of secondary effect courtesy of his contact with the dead, well, she'll be sorry but not all that surprised. All these weeks have just reinforced her general thought process of expecting the worst out of anything that comes her way]