[ todomatsu is done being an extra in midsommar and is back in his pink hoodie and jeans, taking some pictures of the profiles with his phone so that he has a portable reference for when he runs into someone he hasn't met — or, more likely, someone he has met whose name he doesn't remember.
he may be disinterested in most people but at least he's considerate enough that he doesn't want to be obvious about it. ]
[ turns toward her to— OH wow okay he'd thought that profile picture had just been the result of bad lighting, but she actually looks like that. huh. ]
—Ah! [ NOT GOING TO BE RUDE ABOUT IT........... ] My phone, you mean?
Mmm... okay. It's a thing you can talk into that lets you talk to someone far away in real time. You hold it up to your ear like this [ demonstrates! ] to hear what they're saying, and there's a microphone down at the bottom that you talk into so they can hear you.
And then this is like, a way more advanced version of that.
Uh... well, the old ones used cables, similar to telegrams. But most phones are wireless now, so they just transmit things through, like, waves in the air or something, I think...?
[ After the trial, Kate walked very quickly away from the pyre and ducked behind a building. Maybe it's the one Totty's staying at. Or he just happened to turn the same corner...
Here, she has her back pressed to the wall and her hands against her chest. She takes slow, deep breaths, one after another, like she's trying to regulate herself. ]
[ honestly i don't know where he's staying tonight because it's sure as hell not going to be the theater, so he is in fact probably turning down random corners while he anxiously wanders around and tries to figure out what to do.
...ah. ]
Kate-chan...? Are you okay?
[ not that he can blame her if she isn't after all that. ]
I don't know. It feels like a big risk when we don't even know what the reward is going to be.
Do you think— whatever Boothill's monster is, do you think he and his partner were both affected? Or did it just pick one or the other because their link wasn't confirmed?
I don't know... If his partner was affected, surely they would be one of the other people who were active that night... either Aventurine, or the person who killed Death.
And if they weren't... maybe it's as you say. A coin flip, once the monster is summoned.
[ ah... todomatsu has been meaning to catch up with kate since their last conversation, so he waves her over when he sees her from where he's standing outside the clothing shop ( in a fresh new shirt and cropped pants). ]
Hey. ...This is a lot nicer than our miserable village, huh?
[ guess who also found a change of clothes! kate has a sunflower dress and matching headband. same shadowy visage, new sunny vibe. sort of! it's an attempt! ]
It is. It's all very peculiar, but I'm glad to finally have a change of clothes.
... In the manor, I always had to wear the same clothes every day, because clothes are one of the few ways shadows can distinguish themselves from one another. But if there's no one else here like me, then... I should think about what else can be expressed with clothes.
[ I MEAN HE BELIEVES IT BECAUSE HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HER...
if she wants to talk about this he'll listen, but he'd personally rather stab himself than the eye than talk about his family, so he will also understand if she changes the subject. ]
Well, as far as the monster thing goes, it actually is a coin flip thing. So even if you've found your partner, if they summon your monster, only one of you should be affected.
...I mean, supposedly, I feel like no one really has that good a handle on what's going on here, so I don't think there's any guarantee we won't find out in a few weeks that they were wrong about that, but. Seems hopeful, at least.
I don't think you need to. I mean, on top of the evidence making sense, he was acting suspicious as hell, and he already had a track record of being violent and unpredictable.
[ he'll be out sitting on the beach at some point, cleaned up and now in blood-free clothes. he's still very pale and greyish, though the perpetual sunset might make it a little harder to notice that.
he startles a little when he's approached, but then relaxes again and smiles tiredly. ]
[ if she's looking that closely, she can notice that along with his lightning scar, his neck is littered with pairs of puncture mark scars. they weren't there when she saw him before today, but somehow look like they've had plenty of time to heal. ]
Yeah... I was back home again, or at least it seemed like it. And this... guy I know [ there are clearly a lot of complicated negative feelings behind this very casual phrase ] who has a lot of social connections invited me.
In that case, you should eat something to replenish your strength...
[ ...?
but she does lean in a little closer to look at him. is he not breathing??? surely, she's mistaken about that. unfortunately for todomatsu, it's pretty much impossible to tell what she's looking at or what kind of expression she's making as she just leans in very close. ]
[ yay we finally got our library!! aaand upon finding that there is, for some godforsaken reason, a manga section here, todomatsu is going to be scouring its shelves to make sure he doesn't have to worry about anyone finding something they shouldn't. ]
[ i rolled to see if she'd luck into picking up his canon but no it's just some sparkly shojo manga... in the page she's looking at, the protagonist has just locked eyes with an incredibly handsome dark and brooding stranger. ]
Yeah, I mean, I get it, but. Man. I thought she was going to try to get the overseers to keep her in that barrier again tonight so her monster couldn't hurt anyone. Kind of sucks that we won't know if that could have worked or not.
Yeah... she was pretty hard on herself for it. Kind of felt like her monster was lashing out at her on top of that.
[ ... ]
It could be another case where someone did it for one of the prizes. Maybe they weren't willing to kill an innocent person for it, but if they had the justification that this person had already killed and they were preventing them from doing it again...
I tried to ask Famine about what you told us... the person who might have acted for one of those prizes. But they weren't interested in discussing it.
War was willing to confirm that the prizes are only earned if one chooses to kill their target, and that those who are selected on Sundays and those whose monsters act for them are excluded.
[ so, things we kinda knew oocly. but kate can't read info page metatext so some of that was news to her. ]
... I wonder if we'll ever find out who killed Ichiban.
[ he hadn't asked about that distinction, actually, so. good to know, even if the answer isn't great. ]
So once again, if you choose to murder, you profit, and if you get forced into it, you get executed if you're caught and don't even get a shot at a prize if you're not.
God. If they pick your monster for their summoning crap you're really just screwed no matter what.
[ hhh. ]
I don't know if we will or not. I mean, if they're smart, they won't say anything, especially with Tomizawa-san still here.
[ she nods, tensing as she does. it's really not fair. ]
Yes... It would be foolish for them to say anything. As much as Famine tells us not to concern ourselves with a culprit who won't kill again... they would surely become a target for revenge.
Yeah, definitely. Especially at this point when they've obviously been trying to protect themselves by keeping it a secret for weeks. Doesn't exactly paint them in a sympathetic light.
[ yeah i felt my ericdentity was being threatened ]
...Well, who knows, maybe they'll slip up eventually. Besides, we didn't know that was actually something we needed to be looking out for before this week. Maybe we'll pick up on some things we didn't before now that we're looking at it through a new lens.
kate's at the boardwalk, staring up at the ferris wheel with awe. she gives a little start when she realizes totty is nearby, but then she gives him a polite nod and a soft little woof. ]
What a lively-looking place... even though there aren't any people.
[ a little high-pitched bark into his hand like he's covering a cough ]
It's actually sort of eerie seeing one this empty, these kinds of places are usually really crowded... I guess you probably don't have anything quite like this back home, huh?
I think sometimes circuses have midways with games kind of like this, at least... but yeah, most of the circus experience is watching a performance, and there's not really anything like that here. More interactive, less structured.
[ ...hm. is it rude to reply to something that wasn't actually said out loud? it's not really like it was with the cat that time... ]
[ some time after the minievent, or maybe even during but like, when it's time for a break, kate is sitting out by the waterfall at the grotto. she's still in her dress and flower crown, but she's removed her shoes to give her little feet a break. ]
It's nice to get a little fresh air.
[ is it fresh air? in here? probably not, but it is a refreshing little spot away from the crowd. ]
[ not that she can talk. her default emotional state seems to be one of intense misery and anxiety... though it seems to have lessened a little after this evening. ]
Still, I'm glad we did this. I've never been to a fancy party where I could just be myself before.
in tattered rags stained in red and black. horns out. wings folded neatly behind her. but otherwise, serene. she lifts her head just a little to face him. ]
Oh, Todomatsu. I'm sorry you had to see me like this.
Well, yeah, me too! I don't— you didn't do anything last night, did you? None of the stuff in the theater was out of place when you left this morning, so...
It's pretty annoying on this side getting such vague messages, but it's got to be even worse for all of you trying to send them and not being able to say what you want to.
[ yeah he doesn't know what anyone's supposed to say to that either, he just feels kind of weird about how much he's been misrepresenting himself to the people who put that much trust in him ]
We tried to warn you to use it sooner than later... One of the things we used our rocks for was to sever your ties to your monsters, so you can't become possessed in the future.
[ but that means losing the wish if it hasn't been used already. ]
I need to talk to Mu-chan about it. There's something I kind of want to help her with, but she won't ask, and I don't want to get the phrasing wrong and screw things up for her by doing it behind her back.
[ kate no... although yeah to be fair this is one of the few decent things he's ever tried to do in his life so if you're going to respect him for anything it should probably be this ]
Yeah. I think if I tried to use for anything in my own world it'd probably just end up getting wasted anyway.
intro weekend, saturday
he may be disinterested in most people but at least he's considerate enough that he doesn't want to be obvious about it. ]
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What is that device?
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—Ah! [ NOT GOING TO BE RUDE ABOUT IT........... ] My phone, you mean?
[ holds it up! ]
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Yes. I've never seen anything like it.
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Huh, really?
[ he was figuring she was just into egl fashion and not like, actually victorian. there is so much going on here. ]
Well, technically its primary function is to be a telephone, which— do you know what a telephone is?
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And then this is like, a way more advanced version of that.
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What would it need to connect to?
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[ as much as a victorian cryptid can. ]
So you'd need something that can... make those waves in the air?
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... Though it may be better that way, anyway. Do you have anyone you would like to try speaking to?
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[ to alert them to this MASS CROSS-DIMENSIONAL KIDNAPPING ]
But I'd also want to let my mom know what's going on.
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[ imagine having police. ]
Are you and your mother close?
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[ yeah you see her every fucking day because you STILL LIVE WITH HER ]
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Week 0, Saturday
Here, she has her back pressed to the wall and her hands against her chest. She takes slow, deep breaths, one after another, like she's trying to regulate herself. ]
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...ah. ]
Kate-chan...? Are you okay?
[ not that he can blame her if she isn't after all that. ]
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Yes.
I just... needed a moment. We just condemned a person to death...
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Ah... Yeah, we did.
I don't think we had much of a choice, though, you know?
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[ ... ]
... What happened to Boothill could have happened to any of us, couldn't it?
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I think so. If whatever ritual they'd done had set off someone else's monster instead.
...Kind of feels now like we've all got ticking time bombs inside of us.
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Our only source of power in this place, and it's already been turned against us...
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I wonder how the partner thing is supposed to factor into that...
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Do you think— whatever Boothill's monster is, do you think he and his partner were both affected? Or did it just pick one or the other because their link wasn't confirmed?
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And if they weren't... maybe it's as you say. A coin flip, once the monster is summoned.
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I guess I'll see if the overseers are able to tell us at least that much. Help us make a more informed decision.
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... I... I really don't want to remain powerless in a place like this.
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[ as someone who keeps having to hide from a fucking psychotic middle schooler ]
...I really thought that paint was going to match.
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... So did I.
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[ ... ]
I still think it was him.
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smoke starts rising from her head. ]
... It could have been... I don't know.
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...well, just keep your guard up. Especially now that we know what his item from home is.
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w1, monday
Hey. ...This is a lot nicer than our miserable village, huh?
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It is. It's all very peculiar, but I'm glad to finally have a change of clothes.
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It's fun to try new styles.
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[ don't say that and then wear a fedora to a party ]
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... In the manor, I always had to wear the same clothes every day, because clothes are one of the few ways shadows can distinguish themselves from one another. But if there's no one else here like me, then... I should think about what else can be expressed with clothes.
[ she will not wear a fedora. ]
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[ since you... look like a shadow... is that racist ]
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Yes.
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[ nods ]
That sounds complicated.
[ though lmao he knows all about dressing a specific way to distinguish yourself from people who look exactly like you!! ]
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[ in a somewhat lighter tone. ]
But mine may be more so than most.
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[ I MEAN HE BELIEVES IT BECAUSE HE HAS NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HER...
if she wants to talk about this he'll listen, but he'd personally rather stab himself than the eye than talk about his family, so he will also understand if she changes the subject. ]
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... It's difficult to explain.
[ thanks kate, good talk ]
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[ good talk.
abrupt subject shift... ]
...Uh, so I did talk to Pesto-san about those questions we had the other day.
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...I mean, supposedly, I feel like no one really has that good a handle on what's going on here, so I don't think there's any guarantee we won't find out in a few weeks that they were wrong about that, but. Seems hopeful, at least.
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... I'm not sure if good is the right word for it. But it's not as horrible as I feared.
Although... if someone is affected, and we have to dispose of them... the end result may still be the same.
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...Also, now they think the second killer — the one who killed Death — really was part of the cult.
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You mean, someone from outside the fog came here to kill them? It wasn't one of us?
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That's what they think, anyway. Wish they'd figured that out a lot earlier...
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Week 1, Thursday
Would you like some water?
[ she is, in fact, carrying a glass of water. ]
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he startles a little when he's approached, but then relaxes again and smiles tiredly. ]
Oh! Yeah, that'd be nice, thanks.
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You look very pale... How are you feeling?
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Tired and sore, mostly.
[ if she's looking that closely, she can notice that along with his lightning scar, his neck is littered with pairs of puncture mark scars. they weren't there when she saw him before today, but somehow look like they've had plenty of time to heal. ]
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Would you tell me what happened, to give you those wounds?
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I just... got bitten by some things.
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What things...?
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Um, just... some monsters...
[ maybe this is racist when astarion is here, he doesn't know ]
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Could they be vampires?
[ she already knows there's a necromancer involved, so ]
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How did you come to encounter them?
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[ this sounds so fucking stupid but he didn't KNOW it was going to be hosted by vampires!!!!!! ]
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A party...?
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Yeah... I was back home again, or at least it seemed like it. And this... guy I know [ there are clearly a lot of complicated negative feelings behind this very casual phrase ] who has a lot of social connections invited me.
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[ maybe that guy who sucks just wanted you to go to the vampire ambush party. ]
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[ yikes. ]
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So you went to the party, and you were ambushed by vampires there...?
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nods ]
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[ looks away... there's probably a lot he's skipping over here. ]
That... necromancer that was behind everything tried to use that to get me to ask for her help. [ ... ] I just told her to get lost, though.
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You were turned into a vampire?
What about now? Do you feel any different?
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[ he got turned into SOMETHING. ]
...Yeah... but it's not the same, exactly. The sunlight isn't bothering me anymore, and I'm actually getting hungry now.
[ but he still has the complexion of a corpse, and if she's been paying close attention, he's, uh. not been breathing this whole time. ]
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[ ...?
but she does lean in a little closer to look at him. is he not breathing??? surely, she's mistaken about that. unfortunately for todomatsu, it's pretty much impossible to tell what she's looking at or what kind of expression she's making as she just leans in very close. ]
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...... May I check your heart rate?
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[ there is no pulse. ]
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[ oh no. ]
w2, monday
congrats, you now understand even less about this anime. ]
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... ]
W, wow...
I'm not sure I understood any of that.
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[ she sounds like she's hoping he will affirm that. ]
Were those people your family?
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You were all just born that way? Like twins?
[ the way i keep playing from canons where people have to wonder if it's not some fantasy bullshit. ]
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Yep, haha. Just... six instead of two.
w3, monday
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Oh, what are these? Illustrated stories?
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[ STRAINS TO SEE WHAT BOOK SHE JUST PICKED UP ]
Do you have things like that back home?
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[ i rolled to see if she'd luck into picking up his canon but no it's just some sparkly shojo manga... in the page she's looking at, the protagonist has just locked eyes with an incredibly handsome dark and brooding stranger. ]
w3, thursday
Hey, Kate-chan. [ sighs and shakes his head. ] Really wasn't expecting to have to find something like that until tomorrow.
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... Yes. I thought someone would try to hurt her, but...
I thought we'd get a chance to say goodbye, at least.
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he nods. ]
Yeah, I mean, I get it, but. Man. I thought she was going to try to get the overseers to keep her in that barrier again tonight so her monster couldn't hurt anyone. Kind of sucks that we won't know if that could have worked or not.
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[ man...... ]
I think that would have been important to confirm, yes.
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I'm not sure if she was really planning to or not, but I think she would have wanted to avoid hurting anyone else if she could.
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[ tensing. ]
She wasn't going to be a threat to anyone, so why...
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[ ... ]
It could be another case where someone did it for one of the prizes. Maybe they weren't willing to kill an innocent person for it, but if they had the justification that this person had already killed and they were preventing them from doing it again...
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War was willing to confirm that the prizes are only earned if one chooses to kill their target, and that those who are selected on Sundays and those whose monsters act for them are excluded.
[ so, things we kinda knew oocly. but kate can't read info page metatext so some of that was news to her. ]
... I wonder if we'll ever find out who killed Ichiban.
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So once again, if you choose to murder, you profit, and if you get forced into it, you get executed if you're caught and don't even get a shot at a prize if you're not.
God. If they pick your monster for their summoning crap you're really just screwed no matter what.
[ hhh. ]
I don't know if we will or not. I mean, if they're smart, they won't say anything, especially with Tomizawa-san still here.
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Yes... It would be foolish for them to say anything. As much as Famine tells us not to concern ourselves with a culprit who won't kill again... they would surely become a target for revenge.
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Yeah, definitely. Especially at this point when they've obviously been trying to protect themselves by keeping it a secret for weeks. Doesn't exactly paint them in a sympathetic light.
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I wish I could give them a piece of my mind.
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...Well, who knows, maybe they'll slip up eventually. Besides, we didn't know that was actually something we needed to be looking out for before this week. Maybe we'll pick up on some things we didn't before now that we're looking at it through a new lens.
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Thank you for telling us what you found out.
Week 4, Monday
kate's at the boardwalk, staring up at the ferris wheel with awe. she gives a little start when she realizes totty is nearby, but then she gives him a polite nod and a soft little woof. ]
What a lively-looking place... even though there aren't any people.
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It's actually sort of eerie seeing one this empty, these kinds of places are usually really crowded... I guess you probably don't have anything quite like this back home, huh?
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[ I'm not sure the circus counts... ]
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[ ...hm. is it rude to reply to something that wasn't actually said out loud? it's not really like it was with the cat that time... ]
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[ she's rude too. ]
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Oh, back home there was this cat that got injected with some drug that let it understand and say what people were really thinking for a while.
...But it didn't really just do that unprompted, it just followed up whatever we said with what we were really thinking while saying it.
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[ ??? ]
I'm not sure what to think of that... or of what's happening now. It is a bit intrusive...
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[ barks. ]
...Also that.
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[ What if I start thinking something I really don't want someone to hear... ]
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Well... all the more reason to hang around here for a while and keep our thoughts from getting too heavy!
[ because god his are sure gonna go there if he doesn't distract himself ]
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[ It will be a good distraction. ]
Week 5, Wednesday
It's nice to get a little fresh air.
[ is it fresh air? in here? probably not, but it is a refreshing little spot away from the crowd. ]
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Yeah, it is.
[ he'll sit down over here too. he likes waterfalls. ]
The emotions get to be a little much in a crowded room with all those curses going on too.
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[ not that she can talk. her default emotional state seems to be one of intense misery and anxiety... though it seems to have lessened a little after this evening. ]
Still, I'm glad we did this. I've never been to a fancy party where I could just be myself before.
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Really? Just a matter of having to act proper, or....?
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The entire system of nobility is a farce, really.
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w5, friday
Huh???
[ BIG BURST OF WORRY AND GUILT ]
Kate-chan, what are you— what did you do??
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in tattered rags stained in red and black. horns out. wings folded neatly behind her. but otherwise, serene. she lifts her head just a little to face him. ]
Oh, Todomatsu. I'm sorry you had to see me like this.
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... No. The plan worked. I was unable to harm anyone last night.
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[ partly because he would have yelled at everyone until they explained, but.
anyway, his nonexistent heart is just sinking further as this is getting confirmed. ]
So after they let you out this morning...?
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she just nods. ]
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...Fuck.
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... I wanted to tell him that it worked.
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smoke starts to pour out from her head. a sudden flood of grief and sorrow with it. ]
... Ahh. I told him, and then...
[ feelings of horror. ]
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...Man. I'm sorry. You've really been trying hard this whole time, huh?
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But I was running away, too. Because I couldn't accept the answer in front of me...
Week 6, Wednesday
Oh, Todomatsu. I hope we didn't scare you too much. Everyone got so excited...
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Have you guys been planning this?
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[ oops! she blips out of existence. then she comes back. a little stunned. ]
...
... but "Jamba Juice" is okay now?
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It's pretty annoying on this side getting such vague messages, but it's got to be even worse for all of you trying to send them and not being able to say what you want to.
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w7, saturday
[ holds up a hand for a high five, give him some soot ]
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[ she will give him a high five! ]
It's all thanks to you, Todomatsu. You did wonderfully.
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May I ask what's next for you now?
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Not much of anything, honestly! [ ... ] Like, literally, I'm doing nothing with my life.
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[ what do you say to that... ]
... Did you end up using your wish?
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...Not yet. I need to figure that out tonight.
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[ but that means losing the wish if it hasn't been used already. ]
... Do you have anything in mind yet?
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...
I need to talk to Mu-chan about it. There's something I kind of want to help her with, but she won't ask, and I don't want to get the phrasing wrong and screw things up for her by doing it behind her back.
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I see. That is important. [ i'm sorry to say that her opinion of todomatsu has just been elevated even higher. ]
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Yeah. I think if I tried to use for anything in my own world it'd probably just end up getting wasted anyway.
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But it's also just... kind of the way my world works. Everything's designed to be a joke, so big changes don't really stick.