WEEK 2 MINGLE - ARTEMISIA

[foundationmods]

Things had changed so rapidly in the past few days.

The loss of two of them hung over like a shroud, made even worse by the fact that an innocent person had been executed.

Was this....how the rest of the game was going to go...?🗈

....Even if it was, there wasn't much they could do now. Yuuko herself hasn't shown up in public since the trial, and while some have talked to her, she's been...subdued.

Did the trial hurt her just as much as them?

Regardless, the island is still beautiful, if deadly. Summer continues, beaming down on all of them, the waves of the sea warm and inviting.

But even if things look bleak...

They have something in their hands that will soon lead to the Truth, and the heart of this matter.

And in the air...lies a heavy sense that everything is about to change.

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Comments

[sotoshini]

It was more than I expected. [ It was kinda cool tbh. ]

I don't know, I didn't fight her or anything, just told her not to be stupid. She seemed pretty familiar with it, but I'm guessing she's never used it against a person before.

[anonnomnomnom]

Maybe I should ask her for a match sometime! Maybe I won't even have to go easy on her.

[That's a joke. He will probably recover his sight soon!!]

Are you going to try any of the riddles?

[sotoshini]

That wouldn't be bad to see.

[ Maybe that's a joke too. ]

I don't think so unless any of the answers are really obvious. This just reminds me of testing and mock exams.

[anonnomnomnom]

[If he could see he'd be aiming his grin better, but as it is he's actually still pretty accurate?? It's probably the crinkly clothes. The eskimo makes a good target.]

Do your tests and mock exams usually have riddles in them? Not so much for us, but I think the Celestials are fonder of putting puzzles into everything. Father's definitely better at this stuff than I am.

[sotoshini]

[ He does, especially with the sound. Truth be told he's actually kinda bored but still refusing to participate on principal so don't mind if he pokes Anon back once, just cause. ]

Only the national exams. Usually it's boring stuff like English and Math. What do they put in yours then?

[anonnomnomnom]

[He makes an amused noise at the poke and sliiides to the side to get out of range! No actually, it's just so he can prod back form another angle.]

Most of our exams are more practical, especially the older we get. Of course we learn all our subjects, but for my clan... we value battle and tactics a lot. So that's what we get.

Father just has funny hobbies.

[sotoshini]

Sounds rougher than PE. [ Dryly said, even if that's probably standard for infernals. Hmm, with a moving target... going to poke again. Truly Natsuno is actually just a vampire cat. ]

Sounds like my father. Did he make eclectic furniture too?

[anonnomnomnom]

I don't know what PE is, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!

[Yeah, this guy was pretty much born for the battlefield; possibly even by Infernal standards.

Maybe it's just because Anon is still totally in the dark or because he's just playing around, but Natsuno gets his target. If this turns into a poking war they're just being on brand amounts of ridiculous I guess.]

Hahaha, I don't think Father's ever made furniture! He's more of a brainy kind of guy, for our kind, anyway. What kind of furniture counts as eclectic?

[sotoshini]

[ Victory! With that win he will totally try to pretend he wasn't just engaged in a poking war, back to his usual edgy self it is. ]

Chairs that are shaped like eggs, tables supported by thorns, bookcases that look like a giant soba noodle. I don't know what infernal decor usually looks like, though.

[ ...maybe more brimstoney? ]

[anonnomnomnom]

[Natsuno even brings the wall-leaning aesthetic to poking wars, now that's dedication.]

... I think having furniture shaped like food all the time would just remind me I was hungry all the time. Infernal furniture and interior decorating are more... down to earth? [a little laugh because that was probably a dumb joke on its own] We have a lot of stone and other materials like that, big towering buildings, and most household things are made from wood.

It's not really as roomy as Celestial or even human homes, but... we spend a lot of our time outside, anyway.

[Surprisingly not brimstoney??]

[sotoshini]

[ That was a dumb joke. Natsuno huffs, but it's kind of an amused one. So dumb it's not, or something like that. ]

Is that why you spend a lot of time outside and not in your room here? [ That is how they keep running into each other during their late night talks after all. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

[I don't know how this thread got so long but he probably is getting his sight back by now??

Of course the first thing he does with it is prod Natsuno again, but more accurately this time. Just casually.]

That's part of it. You can just do a lot more of the things I like to do outside. And I hadn't been outside in a while, of course.

[He's made no secret of that! The Foundation is dumb. But also at least he's calmed down a wee smidge since his first days around here.]

[sotoshini]

[ Cause reasons. Long blink at the poke—guess Anon can see him again? He gives him a bit of an apprehensive look but makes no comment for the time being. ]

I didn't like the outdoors before but now it's less confining, especially in this place. The foundation's leash feels even shorter sometimes. [ The foundation really is dumb. Natsuno doesn't really get a lot of freedom back at base either, boo. This island and the Foundation are just two different types of cages really. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

[He just grins at the apprehensive look. It's just a poke, it won't make you fall into dust unless vampires are actually weak to poison oak. Silly vampire.]

At least we can move around and talk to whoever we want here. It's not like the Foundation could totally contain a guy like me, but every place has its downsides.

[And there's no real cage big enough to contain him, probably. He shrugs.]

How come you didn't like the outdoors?

[sotoshini]

[ Small sigh! He's allergic to physical contact not of the fighting sort. Ruins his edgy aesthetic. ]

Yeah, even with the weird goats. [ They've gotten even weirder since the first day too, augh. ]

Besides the fact that it was either hot and humid or icy and freezing? The "Great Outdoors" is why my parents moved to Sotoba in the first place. That and the "friendly and quaint" neighborhood. I've always liked the city best, but anything besides the sticks would have been better.

[anonnomnomnom]

[It's too bad he's literally surrounded by people who ruin his edgy aesthetic just by association?? This is why he and Shadow have quarantined themselves into the Edgy Library Zone, huh.]

The goats are actually pretty exciting. You never know what they're going to do next.

[Like, oh, I don't know, suddenly turn into Akira clones. He's pretty okay with surprises like that?!]

Oh. Right, the whole countryside thing! The city really seems a lot more exciting with a lot more people, huh? The first time I got to go to even a smaller one was really something else. [dare you imagine the things he got up to turned loose in an Underworld city.....] There's a lot less room to move around, but it's not like you can't fix that.

[Dare you imagine how he would fix that.]

[sotoshini]

[ Yes, there they can be edgelords in peace. Also just, pass on the goats. Maybe he's still holding a grudge against them for their whole not speaking to let him in thing. ]

Yeah. There's a lot to do, no matter what your interests are. And even though it's always busy, everyone minds their own business. [ Cocking his head to the side on the fixing part. Now he has to ask. ]

How?

[anonnomnomnom]

[What about the speaking ones!! There are so many speaking ones now, but maybe that just makes him saltier on the side. Pickled Natsuno with extra slices of sour lemons.]

It's the same in the Underworld and the human world, I think. I haven't been to the real big cities in the human world, either. But you know, I hear there are these things called bulldozers that let you make a path of your own no matter how many buildings there are.

[Welp.]

[sotoshini]

[ Pictured: Natsuno ]

...I don't think a bulldozer will help on skyscrapers. You'd need something bigger, like a crane. [ He's being helpful? Yes that's clearly all he's being. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

[Crisp, refreshing, and seriously not a real meal.]

Hmm? I feel like you'd just need a big enough bulldozer. I thought cranes were just for lifting things up to the top of buildings and everything.

[Well, both are probably pretty destructive considering who's talking. But hey. Natsuno is helping!]

[sotoshini]

More like a tall enough bulldozer. Cranes are for lifting yeah, but you can attach a wrecking ball on the end of one and break things too.

Or just use explosives. [ Sounding very satisfied, blowing up Tatsumi will always be a good memory. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

Maybe I'm an old-fashioned guy, but I like getting to feel the destruction with my hands! Explosives are great, but you can never really be at the center of it all.

[He is maybe serious but maybe also verbally prodding a little at Natsuno's smugness. Can't help it, really.]

[sotoshini]

You can, it just kinda sucks. [ Now that's a tad self-deprecating but hey it's the truth. No reason to be ashamed of it.

...how did this conversation even wind up here. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

It's a pain, and most people get knocked out! It's hard to enjoy it like that.

[There's something both knowing and laughing in the look he's giving him, but hey, he's not judging too much. If Natsuno's in one piece and still into explosives, obviously he can blow himself up as many times as he wants.

(How and why did any of this happen, we just don't know, they're just disasters like this.)]

[sotoshini]

[ Chuckling at himself all the same. ]

I guess that's true.