[ todomatsu is kind of a drunk mess by the end of the party, and is probably slouched against a wall somewhere afterward chugging a bottle of water and thinking muddled thoughts about what bullshit it is that the only person he got to kiss was a middle aged roach man.

but he'll scramble to straighten up and make himself presentable when he notices sora, because she is both pretty (in a cougar way that he's like, only semi into, but it's not like he'd say no) and kind of intimidating. ]

Ah, hello, Jingle— [ jingle???? fuck ] —Jingu-san! Did you enjoy the party?

[When you said it'd be 'a stupid toplevel' -- which of course when I echo I always mean affectionately, of course! Fun times -- I pictured it'd be, like, Totty fainted and drunk under a bar stool after the party. Somehow I'm surprised it was half right]

It was a quite fun time. I hadn't been in a party like this one in a very long time.

[She extends a hand]

Come on, Mr. Matsuno. I'll get you to your room.

[Because Sora does seem a tad tipsy too, so she meant to go in that direction as well. She spent a lot of the party with clouds over her head and with wings]

Edited 2024-02-29 05:13 pm (UTC)

I don't know if I've ever been to one quite like this, haha...

[ the crazy drinks were sure new! at least that invisibility drink (buddy, it was detergent) they had at that one party back home didn't actually have any effects until after they got home. and now he's just imagining a whole party full of people who are just organs and nervous systems...

...but thankfully he gets shaken out of that when he notices the extended hand. ]

Oh!

[ he kind of feels like maybe he should be offended by this, because surely he's not THAT bad, and he's not a kid... but also, it's a pretty woman's hand, so is he supposed to NOT take it?? ]

Uh, okay, thanks!

[That imagination is horrifying, goodness, haha.

Sora pulls from Todomatsu with perhaps more strength than one would expect from a woman like her. Not so much it'd implicate she works out, but enough to show she's pretty full of vitality]

There you go.

[Welp, time to begin a slightly unstable walk towards the dorms. Sora comments:]

I'm not one to celebrate often, but I wouldn't be against more of these, at a later time. They should make them grander if it still is up to us to pick the messes the way we had to today.

[Sora is pretty sure she's halfway to turning into a clean freak after the space mold today]

[ whoof. that was a lot, and todomatsu eventually finds his way to the lounge, giving sora a wave as he sits down on one of the couches nearby and sighs tiredly. ]

Hey. You're feeling okay after that— well, I guess there wouldn't be any lingering effects from a simulation, but.

I'm alright. If anything, I feel I should at least apologize to you, Mr. Matsuno. [She says, staring at the stars] It must have been rather unsigthly, to be near me at that time.

[Not only because she looked pretty vulnerable there, but also because her vibes during that were absolutely rancid. True, she wouldn't have been uncalled for for being uset, but still, that sure was strong!]

[ he shrugs. ]

I'm around wayyy more unsightly people every day [ himself included tbh ], so it's fine. Just a little jarring since you usually seem so together.

I try to be, however, I confess lately I have been a tad more on edge than ever before. Some things happened before I got brought to this spaceship, and that vulnerability among those flowers...it reminded me of the worst part.

[She sighs]

Surely you understand, how it's like, being forced to relive something you dislike.

Edited 2024-03-03 03:52 am (UTC)

Ah... Yeah, I do get that.

[ reruns... ]

I think most of us are probably way more on edge than usual, though. I mean... it'd be pretty weird if we weren't after yesterday.

You seemed to be taking it all well, Mr. Matsuno -- better than the average person would.

[Noted, though, that her opinion of the average person is quite low, but still, Todomatsu wasn't fainting nor losing his mind in the face of a trial and later carrying the lower half of a torso. That's better than most would do.]

[That really is a nice outfit, Todomatsu manages to look well more often than I expected.

Sora looks out of place around here because she doesn't look dressed to party at all. She looks as if she came to buy this nightclub for some company]

If it makes you feel better, Mr. Matsuno, they seem to be very conscious about how most aren't into blood. You'll be fine as long as you're clear when you order.

[.......

She speaks from experience, truthfully. So she imparts wise advise so others don't fall in that same trap she did of not being clear enough when ordering something]

[ of course, he's the fashionable brother who is inordinately concerned with how he looks to everyone! ]

A-ah, haha... That's good to know.

[ he did supposedly order off the blood-free menu, but frankly he doesn't trust anyone anywhere enough to be confident that no one's going to try to pull some gross prank on him.

...even though he's probably pretty safe in this case, since he could destroy them with a lawsuit or a really bad yelp review if they tried anything. ]

This whole planet's really something...

[Sora sits aside]

Leaving aside the alert for that one unpleasant-looking man, it has been a nicer planet than expected.

[Barring those unlucky enough to encounter Vlad, and also some of the love hotel things Sora has seen because those made her go all pink in the face, vampire planet has been better than expected, in her opinion]

The one incident I have heard about other than that is Mr. Blade getting into a brawl. Something about one getting too daring by trying to bite him.

[turns out these people aim for somes warm veins but not yours todomatsu rip]

[ well i guess since we got kicked out of the food court we can just be walking somewhere... or "walking" in his case, he hates these crutches. especially now!!! he's just going to think about viktor every time he looks at these things!!! ]

What the hell... there wasn't even an error like there was last time, was there?

None as far as I know. There are enough similarities with everything else to think this incident is similar than last week's, though.

[Was Scien controlled or spurred into murdering, for some reason? Sora still isn't convinced about that, but...perhaps that's what happened after all, and now it was someone else's turn.

At least Todomatsu can be ruled out. He doesn't look in any state to be murdering anyone -- unless they find Viktor with his head cracked upon with a crutch]

But I mean, something— [ turning his head to cough into his shoulder since it's not easy to cover his mouth right now... ] —something at least kind of prompted it last time. This feels less like a repeat and more like— I don't know, a copycat murder.

It could be. Regardless, it's not as if we have any choice but to face it head-on. Will you at least be able to keep your head held up high during that?

[She's not going to demand Todomatsu to be at the forefront of everything because look at him, he looks like a strong wind will destroy him in his current state, but still...she does hope he'll at least be able to put a word or two in about anything he may think. We all chip in to solve murderrrrs]

[ ...something about that rubs him the wrong way, and he frowns. why should he have to put on a brave face and deal with this shit when he had nothing to do with it? he's upset about viktor, and he wants to know the truth of what happened, but. god. ]

I guess.

[Ever unaware or, if she saw that frown and interpreted it correctly, uncaring about Todomatsu's internal conflict -- it's hard to tell with things that aren't like Sora Jingu wants them to be, all things considered -- she smiles like she heard the answer she expected from a pupil]

I'm glad.

[All is well]

Despite everything...if there's anything I might be able to do today to make anything less heavy for you, I'm willing to aid. Don't expect too much from me, though. I'm no nurse.

[Todomatsu has had a rough few days, what between his shattered hopes of sexy vampire girls feasting on his veins, then going to explore and returning made mincemeat, and now a murder trial in which he'll have to take part in. Sora figures she might for once try to go out of her way for someone else. She's trying to be more supportive, although it's somewhat difficult for her.

After all, if people are not doing great, they can't catch culprits, and seeing them caught is one of her two priorities]

[ ...sighs and gives a very slight nod. ]

Thanks, but... it's fine.

[ it is not fine, but there's nothing anyone can do about that. ]

[She waves back, pensive. After a moment, though, she approaches]

...Mr. Matsuno, might I ask a question? [And because she's like this, she asks instead of waiting for an asnwer:] Are you close to MS. Du Prix? I'd like your advice.

[Word gets around in groups, so she probably has heard Rosamund and Todomatsu smooched. Sora wasn't there, so she missed the part about Todomatsu having been a worm, so she definitely has incomplete information here]

H-huh??

[ vaguely panics like WHY ARE YOU ASKING ]

Well, I... don't know if I'd say that, exactly... um, what are you looking for advice on?

You and I saw what Ms. Du Prix had to do. Even someone used to such things would appreciate a word of thanks for taking such a burden on themselves.

So I wanted to gift her something. I thought you'd have an idea or two.

[And Sora knows full well what she'd gift Rosamund are, well, new and sharp arrows because hey, always be ready to fight...

...but that probably won't be all that great, given Rosamund executed Eunhyuk with arrows and what not. Sometimes being focused on practicality isn't all that great when it comes to gifts, so she decided to ask for advice from someone who might have different ideas]

[ uh. well, he's thought for a while that she has kind of weird vibes, but that was a lot more Out There than he was expecting. ]

Ah... sorry for the intrusion. That seemed kind of personal...

[I'm so sorry about that, Eric.

Regardless, Sora laughs under her breath, shrugging]

It's not as if you made the choice to watch it. I'd sooner blame the Eudora than you, Mr. Matsuno.

[Her head tilts a little]

But yes, I'd have liked not to tell people that. I'm sure you understand how alarmed most would be if someone among them turned out to not be what they seem to be, no?

[Her tone is as calm as always, but yes. No wonder she always had weird vibes, no wonder many thought there was something off about her. This is definitely one of the less bad memories, but it's enough to shatter the perception some have about her, and not for the better]

[Visiting the Lunar Rink is interesting. She had seen it through the usual ways the graveyards have to keep tabs on the living, but being here in person is interesting. She's looking around with interest]

This may be hard for you to truly understand, but you all were very lucky. We didn't have places as nice as this one.

[Well, everyone is getting to see how it felt to be in the Helly Belly now, thanks to the degradation of surroundings showing flesh. Sucks to be us all]

Well, yeah, I think people who don't die can generally be considered luckier than people who do.

[ grief and survivor's guilt aside, but he doesn't feel those things nearly as much as some other people anyway. ]

I heard about some of the places you were stuck with over there, they really did sound pretty terrible.

Calling them 'terrible' is generous. The useful things were barred from us -- only rats could use the hospitals and other amenities.

[Like the bank and the strip club. Well, not that a whole lot of people in the graveyard were all that eager to partake on those two]

At best, I'd say...the Applebees might have been the most worthwhile place, although it wasn't for the food.